I rang in 2020 with my daughter, then less than a year old, her mother and Nana, and both of my parents called Yaya and G-Ba. Three generations from two constellations together. We laughed at my baby’s introduction to lemon, her pinched and puckered expression preceding eager pleas for more. We bounced between gatherings in friends’ homes and restaurants. To memory, that was the last great merriment of 2020. And the first.
My Umoja experience looks different this year, more adaptable. It has been finding common ground in co-parenting. It’s virtual celebrations with my scattered constellation. It is tremendous support for local artists. It’s the homies checking up on one another. It is teaching and learning by any means. It is seeing and being seen on screen, being still, together even though apart.
Umoja (Unity) is mutual support so that we endure and flourish.
How did you practice Umoja in 2020? What is your intention for unity in the new season?