Published by  | | |  |  | | My husband moves mechanically through airport security screenings. Pockets empty. Shoes off. Laptop placed in a separate bin — all in a series of swift, precise movements. But for as many times as I've gone through the motions, I still always find myself in an awkward dance, bouncing on one foot as I try to remove my shoes. My camera swinging dangerously at the crook of my arm. The contents of my backpack strewn about. After a year of no flights, when we arrived at Reagan National Airport two weeks ago to board our plane to Tallahassee, I wondered how my travel anxiety might manifest this time. It was the eve of Memorial Day weekend, and a record number of Americans were returning to air travel since the pandemic began. But aside from a few fumbles, our big return to the skies was uneventful. It wasn't until we landed in Tallahassee that I felt a glimmer of something more familiar. As we piloted our rental car down a long, dark road, we nodded along to Southern rap and marveled at the supermoon illuminating the sky. I hadn't noticed it in D.C. | |  | | Janay Kingsberry on her trip to Tallahassee, outside her husband's grandmother's home. (Michael Whitaker) | | Now that we were back in the South, where both my husband and I grew up, a wave of longing and nostalgia kept sweeping over me. I felt it as we pulled up to the driveway of our family's home and watched the lights flicker on inside. As my husband peered over the wooden fence to greet his grandmother sitting on the porch. As a large pan of fried chicken glowed in the oven. As a chorus of cicadas, crickets and frogs serenaded us to sleep each night. | | | | | For many in America, the return to normal is less about relaxed guidelines, vaccination milestones and record holiday travel. Instead, as Lily readers told us, it's charted by moments both big and small: reuniting with loved ones, going to the movies, hugging a friend, sitting at a coffee shop. For Hannah White, it was the moment she and her partner, Alex Wright, finally went on their first date. Since meeting on Bumble last September, their relationship had been confined to park walks and FaceTime. But for White, those months in lockdown gave them an opportunity to build a solid foundation of communication. | | | Hannah White and Alex Wright during one of their first dates in April in Chicago. (Hannah White) | | White, 26, works as a sexual violence prevention educator in Chicago high schools. "So someone who is easily able to be on board with a lot of my work and what I'm interacting with daily is incredibly important to me," she said. She was also spending a lot of time with her parents and wanted to make sure Wright's priorities about the pandemic aligned with hers. "I was like, 'I don't want to go inside with you unless we're serious about this,' " she said. "So it was kind of a lot of serious conversations early on, which was unnatural for us." In April, they finally went on their first date — dinner at a Chicago beer garden, where they enjoyed mussels and local brews. "We talked about all the funny things that we have done together prior to doing something normal like that," said White. Indeed, Wright had already met her parents; they'd spent the holidays with one another and attended a protest together. Now that they're finally in a normal dating setting, White says, "it's exciting again." | | | | | Three need-to-know stories | |  | 01.When he first took office, President Biden said he would "speed up" the process of putting Harriet Tubman on the front of the $20 bill. But despite the growing national push to honor the contributions of women and people of color, Tubman is still not set to appear on the bill by the end of Biden's first term, or even a hypothetical second term. 02.Chrystul Kizer, a child sex-trafficking victim charged with killing her alleged abuser, may be able to use a Wisconsin law known as the affirmative defense. It would allow Kizer, 20, to present evidence that her actions were a "direct result" of the trafficking she experienced. If successful, she could be acquitted of some or all of the charges against her — and could break legal ground for trafficking victims accused of crimes. 03.Amid 2021's wave of abortion challenges, Biden recently made good on his campaign promise to repeal the Hyde Amendment, a budget rider that bans federal funds from going toward abortion services. Although the budget is unlikely to pass the 50-50 Senate intact, reproductive health advocates are celebrating the symbolism of the omission and say women of color are to thank, reports Cecilia Nowell for The Lily. | | | | | | (iStock; Washington Post Illustration) | | How has your relationship with your body changed during the pandemic? Are you feeling more or less confident? Did you undergo a major transformation? Have you overcome certain health conditions that affected your self-perception? Let us know by filling out this form. We might contact you for a story. | | | | | | | A story to make you smile | | | (Courtesy of Paige Hunter) | | Paige Hunter remembers hovering over the edge of a bridge three years ago with unsettling clarity. But what she recalls most vividly, she said, are the words of two strangers who stopped her from taking her own life. Two onlookers approached her and said, "You are worth so much more than this," said Hunter, who lives in Sunderland, England. "Those words changed my life." The next day, Hunter wrote down the same words the strangers imparted to her. Then she stuck the notes all over the Wearmouth Bridge. Since 2018, Hunter has covered the landmark with more than 1,000 uplifting signs. Based on messages she's received from strangers, plus encouragement from local officials, she thinks her notes have helped save dozens of lives, writes Sydney Page in The Washington Post. | | | | | But before we part, some recs | | | (Courtesy of Michael Whitaker) | Janay KingsberryMultiplatform editor, The LilyWhat I'm making:Homemade chai. I love Oakland chef Tanya Holland's recipe, which includes white peppercorns, crushed bay leaves, fresh ginger and cayenne pepper. Check out our IG Stories today to see how I make them as iced lattes for summer. How I'm spending time outdoors:I've been dog-sitting my friend's cute Yorkie for the past few days, and it has made my time outside a lot more exciting. More neighbors walk up to chat with me as their kids play with Khaleesi. It's been a nice reminder of how animals bring people together. What I'm playing on repeat:I fell deep into a Spotify black hole one night and discovered the indie Canadian band Dacey. Their EP, Satin Playground, which infuses pop, R&B and jazz, queues up endless summer vibes and easily doubles as the perfect soundtrack for a night out or a night in. | | | | |
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