From the Editor: November/December 2020

To say I’ve been stressed lately would be an understatement. Thanks to COVID-19, remote schooling for my children, concern for social justice issues, and the election, my anxiety has bloomed full force: bandages on my thumbs cover areas where I’ve picked at the skin and daily headaches manifest from hours of tooth clenching. I’m not alone: when I posted about my issues on social media, within minutes, forty-seven friends chimed in with similar stories.

Admittedly, my problems are privileged and a small distraction helps me find a smidge of peace. My distraction of choice: focusing my energy on one small thing each day. Recently, that one small thing was a quote by Martin Luther King Jr.: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

While King referred to the daily challenges that weigh our society down and keep us from our vision of a more just and kind future, his words apply to other situations as well. I must accept disappointment in my fellow Americans, in my family members and friends, in those millions of citizens who voted to keep the current administration in office. But I cannot lose the hope that someday all of us will be regarded as equal, and King’s famous dream will become a reality.

Literary Mama has been a place for hope since its inception in 2003. We look hard at heavy realities but offer a listening ear, a guiding hand, a friend with a similar story. As humans and as parents, it’s easy to get mired in the large and small disappointments of the day and to forget that hope exists, but among the pages of our journal, we hope you find what you need to get you through the days ahead.

Be well,
Christina
Senior Editor