Joy💛

"So Joy, quick question. Where are all our dishes?"

"Oh I'm taking them to a river. I left compostable plates in the cupboard. I'll be back tonight, don't worry."

However, in the past year, whenever I've updated a chapter or published a new story, someone I know has died. And the cause of their death has been tangentially related to the plot.

High speed car chase? Someone from high school dies in a car accident the next day. Medical AU? Rare diagnosis pops up in an acquaintance's life. Reflection on a character's high school years? An old teacher's obituary gets sent to me.

Yes, it's been rough and I'm processing. But there's also a point where you have to go "Okay, now what the hell is going on here?"

On one hand, I greatly enjoy the humor that inherently comes with religiosity. There's a general rule-- if you throw in a kippah, clerics, or any sort of religious symbol into a joke, it becomes a hundred and ten percent funnier. And it's all true. After a long-long time of not feeling safe, I have multiple friends from completely different backgrounds.

On the other hand, I don't want to dilute Jewish culture to make it palatable for others. I want my stories to be about us, and I don't want us to be the butt of the joke.