safe places
My cat likes to play this game where she hides somewhere and I look all over the house and can’t find her. She’s good at it, hiding. I remember back when I moved from New York City to San Diego, a minivan loaded with my small mound of belongings and the cat driving coast to coast, I thought I’d lost her one morning when I couldn’t find her in the hotel room. I mean, it was a small room. There were only a certain number of places she could be. She wasn’t in any of them. Eventually I realized she’d somehow wriggled herself between the couch and the wall. The picture here is her newest spot, a place she retreated to after a visit to the vet (no one likes shots), and after a return trip to the vet a couple weeks later for a follow-up procedure. It was a safe place after a bit of trauma.
We probably all seek out safe places, whether or not we’ve been through something traumatic. Our homes can be safe places, sometimes people can even be safe places. Perhaps a hobby, a career or office, a warm and comfy bed. My parents have just moved away from the house where I grew up, a place that was not only safe but significant to my life. I’m honestly surprised at how sentimental I feel over them moving, despite how seldom I find myself there these days. But places stay with us, long after we leave them.
This country has long been considered a beacon of safety, and for many who come here after fleeing unimaginable circumstances in other countries, it is, and always will be. I consider it a safe place too, although it’s disheartening to admit I feel less safe than I used to. It’s hard to admit that, honestly. It feels like defeat. Or just good old-fashioned anxiety. The world may be troubled, and surely we each have a few things about this country that are of serious concern to us, whether immediate or directional. My wish as we celebrate the birth of our nation is that we remember how good we still have it, that we put aside any malice we feel toward any party, leader, or policy at least long enough to feel immense gratitude this week both for those who fought to form this great country and for those who have fought (and continue to fight) to defend it.