A distinctly more difficult day

 Today was a distinctly more difficult day to think about joy. March 25th is a day of sorrow in Latvia (more about the important history of this date below) - one that hits particularly close to home this year. But there it was: my walk home with Dainis. He wanted to walk slowly this afternoon, so we were well behind the usual rowdy rush of children and had unhurried, delightful conversation all the way home. We had a hearty laugh about his story of gummibears in orange underwear, debated whether cucumbers are more tasty when thinly sliced or as thick wedges, and marvelled at how long and skinny our legs looked in the bumpers of parked cars. #lettingjoyin Even as I ask myself 'who am I to be posting about feeling joy when there is so much sorrow in the world?', the answer comes 'who am I not to?' There isn't a single day on this sweet earth that is all joy or all sorrow. Steadfastness in noticing and acknowledging our joy feels like an important way to keep ourselves healthy and strong, and goodness knows, each of us to be on our top game right now so we can keep putting our best foot forward out into the world.

On March 25, 1949 the Soviet-Russian regime, military and KGB, forcefully removed 42,000 innocent and peacefull Latvian men, women, and children from their homes in Latvia, giving them only a few minutes to gather the belongings they could carry in their hands, drove them to train stations and forced them on to cattle cars to face the horrific ride to concentration camps in Siberia where most would parish. Another 30,000 Lithuanians and 20,000 Estonians faced the the same fate on this day of mourning for all three countries. 70% of those deported were women and children. Please join me in remembering these innocent victims and praying for the Ukrainian people who today are facing this same terror.