this week’s Thought (singular)
none, only sleepiness
a very warm welcome to all new readers. i love new readers so much that whenever i get an email about a new reader, i manifest that they stay un-bitten by mosquitoes. thank you for joining us. may you not wake up itchy and scratchy. literally why did they go for my face last night why can’t they stick to the normal spots like elbows OR BETTER YET LEAVE MY ROOM
a very warm welcome to old readers as well. may good sense continue to prevail.
hi
welcome to the second thodi together!
i asked you a question, you gave me an answer, and we now have a community edition of thodi.
Q. long distance friendships. you’ve moved away, or they’ve moved away, or you’ve both moved away. as we get older, how do you stop physical distance from causing relationships to drift apart? how do you stay in touch with the people whom you don’t live in the same place as anymore and/or don’t see as often as you used to be able to? do you have any weekly/monthly/annual rituals that help?
sky - sending reels on instagram
laasya - there’s this website called letterloop. i have a girl gang of 20 of us and we use this. love it
smrithi - i feel vv disconnected since moving here and i have no clue what to do about it but my school group does this thing called waffle wednesdays and we just send videos of weekly updates on the group and everyone watches it when they can and responds it’s v nice
krishna - gaming + discord calls, minecraft, stardew valley, webfishing are all amazing ways to combat this!
anisha - annual rituals, i try to meet them at least once every couple of months or call them
jui - we have an insane number of whatsapp groups, (1 for every member of the group so 7 groups with all of us and countless groups with a combination of the 7) and we have our own version of a monthly/bimonthly tumblr update thing where we ask each other questions (what is you dream house, what would you ask for from a genie, if we were furniture, who would be what) and respond to all of them while also updating each other about our life
@sunsbleeding on tumblr lasya - waffle wed
pramit - i take breaks during committee work at 1:00 am called ‘girlfriend breaks’ so i can call my qt 3.14
naman - i send them stuff that reminds me of something i associate with the person. could be a meme, a place we loved, food we ate, a person we talked about. for example, every time i have biryani i text the person who introduced me to it and so on for other things +
So when you say we think alike I read that we are one. And hence, no one's ever departing No matter where's the run. Go take that trail untaken, I am there accompanying you Go search more cliffs, and better winds You'll find me But with you.
thank you to everybody who responded! i hope these answers made you feel more connected to your friends, and maybe gave you some ideas as well. stay in touch!
in case you missed it, you can find TT #1 here, which has your lovely answers to the question-
warmth. the weather is colder, noses are stuffier, minds are heavier, days are shorter. how do we stay warm emotionally and mentally? what brings comfort and lightness?
if you liked this post, please hit the like button! it’ll help more readers discover thodi and join this lovely community. thank you!
English Recitation Competition
Migraines have their say, Terri Ellen Cross Davis (read the full poem here)
But the body has its own narrative in mind. Neurons hustling pain blank out any page. No writing can be done when an electric snare corrals the brain. No ear searching for song while one temple pulses an arrhythmic lament. Mercifully there’s triptan, a black curtain over this inflammatory act. Strike through today, uncap the pen again tomorrow.
Happiness, Stuart A. Paterson (read the full poem here)
Step right up, pay nothing, be called in to watch the carnival of you begin, the show to beat all shows where nothing’s out of bounds & every good thing goes around & comes around again, not down or out & you’re the hottest act in town, the permanently top display, the troupe of you booked solid every single smiling day.
March 1912, Natasha Trethewey
At last we are near breaking the season, shedding our coats, the gray husk of winter. Each tree trembles with new leaves, tiny blossoms, the flashy dress of spring. I am aware now of its coming as I’ve never been— the wet grass throbbing with crickets, insistent, keen as desire. Now, I feel what trees must— budding, green sheaths splitting—skin that no longer fits.
The Good Side of the Internet
… has been permanently shifted to The Good Side of the Internet. subscribe for many many links at the end of each month, and tell your friends about it :D
this week’s Song
Out Like a Light by The Honeysticks and Ricky Montgomery
find all shared songs here.
thank you for reading, and see you next week <3