Bernadette Benda

Nationally and worldwide, May has been a rough month. There are crazy goofy things like murder hornets and monkeys escaping with COVID-19 (and monkeys on little motorbikes supposedly stealing children. I think this monkey thing is getting to my head cuz the other night I had a dream they were trying to get in my car and I had to run them over).

And there are serious issues. Police violence, racism, the murder of George Floyd and so many others, and Hong Kong’s democracy in peril. COVID-19 deaths in the US have surpassed 100,000. It’s not surprising at this point, as the death rate has been slowly rising for months, but still it is shocking. And weird.

Things are reopening, people are going on vacation. It’s just all so strange.

I started reading Hidden Figures this month, which ended up being very appropriate.

Finished the first draft of The Michigan Triangle.

I’m on the final phases of editing They Called Her Silver. (!!!!!!!) (and still need to think of a gosh darned title that doesn’t sound dumb.)

Lily is currently waiting patiently for the next round of edits.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this month except UGH. I’m tired, so that probably doesn’t help (allergies, and the temperature plummeting randomly this weekend did nothing to help).

I hope this was a month that we all grew a little, grew a little in love.

Grew a little as writer. Learned how stories can provide an escape when people need it most. Learned how stories give hope and inspire. How stories give witness to the truth.

Someone just recently said to me, (I’m paraphrasing here) “we have to make our little corner of the world better, and if we all do that, maybe the whole world will be.”

I know usually I go on and rant about stuff and crack a few jokes that make you laugh (ok I hope you laugh), but this is where we’re/I’m at now. So, there you have it. I need to go make dinner (this is being written Tuesday night).

It’s a short wrap up by my knowledge of time passing is still like zilch. So. May happened. June is here.