Dear friends – I’ll be honest, the month of August was mentally a tough one for me (as I’m sure it was for many others). The world at large was in shambles, my faith in humanity felt tested and tragedy seemed to be around every corner. Receiving the news that Chadwick Boseman was taken before his time, in an age where so many in the Black community needed the power, presence and quiet courage he emulated, was one straw too many. How could someone who was so purely good and genuine, be taken, while indescribable evil is still alive and thriving? Boseman kept his own battles quiet, fighting through his own pain and suffering to bring a little bit of hope to audiences and spreading his light on to young cancer patients. Chadwick was a true King and superhero, both on and off screen, and while most of us never had the privilege of personally knowing him, his death still leaves us shattered. It is in these moments, where not even writing can soothe my soul, I feel I just need to disconnect from the world. It’s been a struggle to regain my creative spark, but after these past two weeks my spirit is slowly returning.
I’ll never be that person who says that “everything happens for a reason.” There’s too much inexplicable evil that exists to justify this platitude. However, I will acknowledge that the universe sometimes delivers bright moments when you need it most. For me, this came on September 5th when my brother Chandler was MARRIED!! And I was the officiant (*I’m not crying, it’s just hot and my eyes are sweating….) After getting engaged in August of 2019, Summer 2020 was always their target date. To their credit, in the face of COVID, they came together and found a way to ethically, healthily and responsibly have the day of their dreams. The gathering was comprised of both our respective circle of germs, masks were required, and, though it was approximately 2,000 degrees, everything took place outdoors. Despite our almost six-year age gap, my brother and I have always been close. Over the past 26 years, we’ve garnered a relationship fairly exceptional when it came to siblings. As a little boy who routinely endured frequent periods where his mom and sister were gone, friends and relatives literally stepping over him to get to me when I came home from the hospital, all while being too young to truly understand these adult situations, he’d certainly earned the right to anger and a rocky sibling relationship. Yet, he’s always been my closest friend, confidante, and a role model for the ages who unapologetically marches to his own drummer.
Officiating his own happily ever after made me happier than I can ever hope to be. It was just the reminder that I needed, that sometimes as corny as it may be, in the midst of darkness it’s these fairytale moments that brings us together.