On Saturday night Oliver and I attended the latest of Theatre Horizon’s Art Houses performances, The Peay Family, directed by Marisol Rosa-Shapiro.

Toward the end of the show the members of the Peay family cast each read out a series of affirmations about themselves, bold declarations all, and then we in the audience were invited write our own, turn on our Zoom cameras, and share.

Embedded as I am in a place where any hint of tall poppyism results in the severest censure, the best I could muster was I Am Alive. True, but also the most basic necessary precondition for making an affirmation at all.

As it happened, my friend L., also in the audience, came up with the exact same declaration.

So, yea!, L., we’re alive!

And we need to get better at realizing and affirming our strengths.