Friends,
The tragedy of gun violence is again at the top of the headlines this week. You may, like us, be thinking about the Boulder shooting and wondering what we can do to make common-sense gun reform a reality. Before we get into lighter fare, we want to point you to The Trace, a nonprofit news organization that reports specifically on guns and gun violence in America.
Carrie here. Today in Unpacking we’re going to dive into a newsletter *brainstorming session* (who doesn’t love a group project?!).
Promising reports on vaccine rates and declining covid cases have us occasionally daydreaming about the day we are fully inoculated. The inevitable question becomes: What are we going to do that day? It feels momentous in a way that requires intentionality. Party with my 100 closest friends? No. But, an indoor hang with a friend I haven’t hugged in a year? Sign me up.
We could use some help remembering … What did we do before the pandemic? We can scarcely recall what those weekend nights were like. Or, maybe the better question is: What are we going to do now? I might not want to let go of my Saturday evening reading sessions.
Here’s the fun experiment: We are asking you, readers, to chime in with your great ideas about what to do and we’ll report back on the findings next week.
TAKE OUR SURVEY: What are you most excited to do once you have your vaccine?
For now, here are some of our initial ideas for Day 1 post-inoculation:
Emily: Immediately, seeing friends for prolonged carefree periods, INDOORS, is probably what I’m most looking forward to. And sitting in a bustling restaurant. Then of course I’m itching to see my family who live out of state / country!
Carrie: I definitely want to hang out on a friend’s couch and share a meal. That, plus catching a movie in a theatre, and my reintroduction to society will be GAME ON. I’m also curious if there will be outdoor dance parties?
Water Cooler Conversation
Emily: Ok Carrie you were the one who first tipped me off to this AMAZING ESSAY by Ann Patchett back in January but I didn’t get around to reading it until last week. Dear reader, I recommend sitting down with it this weekend if you haven’t already.
Carrie: Ann Patchett is like a godmother to this country.
Carrie: Statistic of the week: In the U.S., 275,000 women left the workforce in January 2021, compared with 71,000 men.
Emily: Oof. My demands after reading this: 1) cheap, accessible childcare, 2) that The Atlantic get a large cash prize for getting us through this year.
Carrie: I recently stumbled upon these digital “care packages” produced by On Being and am definitely intrigued. Check out this one: “A Care Package for Uncertain Times,” which definitely fits this era.
Emily: I love this and I love the audio or text options!
Emily: I don’t even know what to say about this one but I aspire to have this much grit and sense of purpose some day.
Carrie: I opened this link and then said to myself, I have limits.
Carrie: Emily, very important PSA: When was the last time you had fruit snacks? It’d been about a decade for me, and oh my, they are delicious. 10 out of 10.
Emily: I for one never gave up on fruit snacks. I practically built the school lunchbox to college dorm to yuppie pantry fruit snack pipeline.
Okay readers, what are your hot tips for preparing for the post-inoculation phase? Please respond directly to this email and tell us what to think about. And! If you’ve been enjoying this letter, will you share it with a friend?
Your pals,
Carrie & Emily