Turning the page & finding catharsis with community

Happy Friday, DMV! It’s May 1, and today I turn the page.

Yesterday was my last official day at the Washington Post. My colleagues and I were laid off on Feb. 4. The separation has been protracted and emotional. We’ve been immersed in bureaucracy this week. It felt heavy.

So after my morning yoga, I went for a tennis lesson with the local coach whom I ran into at a garden party over the weekend. I hadn’t played in years, but I knew it would do me good. I felt rusty and told him I wanted to play with the softer, slower red-dot balls for beginners.

He gently lobbed me a ball. Thwock.

I ran after it. Thwock.

My eyes were fixed. I bounced on my feet, pivoted. Thwock.

Hand-eye coordination: still working. Thwock.

I felt like a dog, tongue wagging in glee, chasing that ball. Thwock.

My heart raced. I was beaming. Thwock.

It was cathartic. We took a water break. My coach told me to take it easy. He worried my cheeks might get sore from all the smiling.

Later in the evening, I went with my family to the middle school talent show, which was the cherry on top of a sweet day in community.

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This pic’s a cutie. I searched up the person who sent it in — Nancy Canales, 33, of Beltsville, Maryland — and when I saw her photo, I realized she’s a friend from yoga! (I didn’t know her last name.) What a pleasant surprise.

“We took our daughter to the azalea trail inside the National Arboretum this past Saturday,” Nancy wrote in her submission. “It was a perfect day and the azaleas were in incredible bloom.”

Share your photos of porchfests, spring life and fun outings across the DMV here.

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