טאָק‎

You’re not lazy

It’s okay if you can’t work

It’s okay if you need a day of self-care

It’s okay if you have to take a break from school

It’s okay to ask a friend to come over because you can’t go out

It’s okay if you have to do phone appointments for therapy sometimes

You’re worthwhile

and most importantly

remember that moisturising is an important part of hand hygiene. especially if you’re washing your hands more frequently these days. healthy, intact skin is one of your immune system’s barriers, as dry and cracked skin can harbour dirt and microbes, and in extra bad cases skin infection can tank your immune system further

I know some of you just went “SQUEE!”

And some of you just went WTF?

Demons.  Everything in Judaism eventually comes back to demons.

Asher yatzar (Bathroom prayer) - toilet demons.

Breaking a glass at the end of a wedding - demons.

Psalm 91?  Demons.

Vintage Inspired Bath & Body Products from TheParlorApothecary

And do I believe in those things? No, but I think I might need them. 

When I was a kid I went to Hebrew school and we talked about how to worship G-d, and we never mentioned the little things we still do at weddings or when babies are born– those times when you can’t be too careful, when you have a happiness worth protecting with new and with old ways. 

And I grew up with Jewish religion, but absorbing Christian superstition, and I didn’t learn until much later that we had our own Jewish superstitions, and Jewish names to give our fears, and Jewish ways to make ourselves feel safe from them. 

As a mostly-secular American Ashkenazi Jew, a lot of what’s been passed to me has come to me from institutions: my synagogue, which naturally tends to capital ‘R’ Religion; and political and cultural organizations, that tend to focus on the rationality and the potential universality of ethical values. And I think it’s worth thinking about what isn’t transmitted that way, and what gets lost, and maybe making more space for embracing our own particular weirdness and irrationality. 

-Victorian Valentine cards, 1870-1880

Victorian Valentine cards were flat paper sheets, often printed with colored illustrations and embossed borders. The sheets, when folded and sealed with wax, could be mailed. On 10 January 1840, Great Britain introduced the Uniform Penny Post, meaning that Valentine cards could be mailed for just one penny. The mass produced Valentine card was born. Valentines were sent in such great numbers that postmen were given a special allowance for refreshments to help them through the extraordinary exertions of the two or three days leading up to February 14th. Rather than purchase a ready-made valentine, some Victorians assembled original valentines from materials purchased at a stationer’s shop: lace, bits of mirror, bows and ribbons, seashells and seeds, gold and silver foil appliqués, silk flowers, and clichéd printed mottoes like “Be Mine” and “Constant and True.”Victorian valentines commonly feature churches or church spires, signifying honorable intentions and fidelity.

Manual of Surgical Bandages, Devices and Dressings