All Hallows Eve
The veil is very thin
We have all heard it said that on All Hallows Eve the spirits of the dead are allowed to walk the Earth. On Dia de los Muertos the dead are close and celebrated by those who are still alive.
The veil between us and our ancestors is very thin at this time of year. It seems fitting with the dying of the seasons of life as we trudge ahead toward the season of rest and hibernation.
I can’t help but think that this year, and election cycle, that this is even more significant.
I am being drawn to think about the matriarchs that have gone before me. The women who toiled and slugged and raised children and had to listen to the men in their lives. They had to have permission to do anything. They couldn’t own property or even be entitled to their own children if their husband forbade it. Children were property and so was their mother. Women were only seen as valuable because of their proximity to men or to wealth. They couldn’t vote or have their own bank accounts. They couldn’t open businesses or even be published authors.
I do not want this way of living for myself or for my daughters.
Even if I didn’t have daughters, I wouldn’t want it for YOUR daughters either.
This crossroads feels very real this year as we see a new headline weekly declaring another young mother dead because she didn’t receive life-saving care from the doctors who have sworn to protect her but their hands are tied by the government.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, maternal mortality rate has risen—and it was already the highest in the world for a “developed” country. Infant mortality rate has risen since women are being forced to birth sweet babies who would never have lived because of severe defects. Pain is being wrought upon families and, especially, women and it is preventable.
I care about human lives. Babies should be loved and cared for. They should be cherished. Forcing women with non-viable fetuses to birth them is cruel and unusual punishment. Forcing teen girls who are raped to carry a baby to term is cruel and unusual. Men are not being held accountable.
There are countless women that have fought hard for freedom. Freedom to live and make decisions for ourselves is a basic human right. No one should be making choices for you. Men sure don’t have anyone who is trying to make their choices for them. They can impregnate over 2,000 women a year with their sperm. Women can carry one baby a year. Men should be the ones who are bending over backwards to change reproductive rights in this country.
The blood in my veins feels tied to the stories of all of the women who have come before me. The stresses and the demands they had to endure. I am sure there was also joy and love for them, I have to believe that is true.
But when I look to the future, I want to believe in the best of humanity. A country where we all take care of each other. My daughters deserve to make their own choices. So do I. So does my mom and my grandma.
I voted. Things are complex. I voted for Harris/Walz because I believe in America as a free place. I believe we are better when we are lead by different voices. People who want to work, not just have power.
I am going to keep speaking up for Palestine. For innocent people in Congo. For women in Afghanistan. For trans and queer lives. For all of us.
I feel steady in my own power to work to improve the world for all people.
I hope we can do this work together with love, compassion and empathy. We can and need to listen to each other.
If there is any truth to the power of the season, I call upon our ancestors to help guide us all back to each other and to freedom. May you feel connected to those who have gone before.
I am here for you.
Sending love,
Stef