So, it’s been a minute. I blame the gap on three things:
I have been traveling
I have felt physical and mentally busted
The US Olympic swimming team
Travel. I ended up spending much of July at home in Alabama, barely feeling like myself and trying to process the events of June. I thought I’d feel well enough to go back to my own house in New Orleans, but ultimately I needed my mom’s company and support more than I thought. Now that I’m back in New Orleans, my youngest sister is with me, providing me with continued company and encouragement.
I then needed to return to Emory for follow-up appointments (thankfully all went well) and tied that excursion to a trip to Virginia to see my sister and celebrate her son’s first birthday. Getting together with my whole family (bless the vaccines!!) after such a trying period was exactly what I needed.
I’ve felt busted. Through it all, I’ve been gaining a clearer picture of the challenges of this recovery period. It’s now been two months since the brain surgery and six weeks since the second surgery, and I can see the slow but steady path of improvement now when I look back. Physically, I feel lethargic and achy, even though I still feel much better than I did a few weeks ago.
Mentally, I’ve been struggling with anxiety and low mood as a result of the physiological changes from the surgery as well as the more normal feelings of anguish that follow ordeals like what I went through. Most days, the mental stress is the hardest thing to surmount. For the past two weeks, I honestly couldn’t pull together the mental energy to produce this newsletter. Things are getting better, though, and I’m in a much better place than I was last week, the week before, and the week before that.
Those damn swimmers. And then there’s the Olympics. I know the Olympics are deeply problematic and that this year they just don’t feel right at all. At the same time—y’all know I’m locked in front of this TV every night. It just is what it is.
All in all, though, I am feeling much more like myself. I’ve started reading and collecting articles again, and I hope you all find some of this stuff interesting!
COVID
I needed to read this, to be honest. I was starting to feel so discouraged: 'The sky is not falling': Provincetown outbreak shows vaccines work, even against Delta (Yahoo)
Unvaccinated Is Different From Anti-Vax (The Atlantic). This is a great one discussing the difference between folks who are vehemently anti-vaccine and those who aren’t vaccinated for many reasons.
I Had Stopped Masking—Until Delta (The Atlantic)
‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe (Washington Post)
I found this article interesting because it captures the peculiar level of distrust some NFL players have towards the COVID vaccines—particularly peculiar when compared to the risks players regularly take in the sport. The NFL Confronts Vaccine Refusers (The Atlantic).
Alabama's COVID-19 Vaccination Rate Is The Lowest In The U.S. And Infections Are Up (NPR)
The Olympics
I was so pleased to catch this man’s reaction in real-time and have watched this clip multiple times since. He is 100% cutting up: Ariarne Titmus' coach has epic reaction to her win over Katie Ledecky – NBC Boston (video)
My favorite family reaction so far has been watching Caeleb Dressel's wife scream. His own tears when he saw his family via video afterward was pretty great, too.
So much has been said about Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from most of the Olympics, so here are just two things I read.
Sunisa Lee as an inspiration to her community: What Olympian Sunisa Lee Means to Hmong Americans (Time)
Odds and ends
Should I Warn My Friend That She’s Difficult to Work With? (The Cut). I’ve been in this situation, and yes, I really do wish I’d warned her!
The Master's Trap, Part Three - by Anne Helen Petersen - Culture Study. A great read on how master’s degrees so often serve as cash cows for universities (and more).
Louisiana photographer aims to portray climate change without the disaster (USA Today). This Louisiana photographer captures the region’s beauty in a bid to deepen understanding of climate change.
Moms see a road out of poverty with the child tax credit expansion (The 19th)
Favorite headline of the week: Australian Olympian fixed kayak with a condom, threw up and won gold (NYPost) The headline is kind of annoying because it makes her sound like a partier when in reality both the condom usage and the vomiting were totally reasonable!
This helped me understand the Black Widow lawsuit a bit better. But did y'all watch it? Did you like it? I did... ‘Black Widow’ Legal Battle: Inside the Fallout After Scarlett Johansson Sues Disney (Variety)
See ya next week, lovelies!
Because everything is better with a wonderful, beautiful, gurgling one-year-old in your life, I leave you with this pic from my weekend in Virginia with my nephew, Bryce!
Stay safe
<3
Sam
Love all you articles Sam! Stay safe and take care. Love you