Begin the Begin

Here we are. I've written a very, very short version of life up until now in the right sidebar. More can be explained in the articles posted below. So why the video above? Well, we need to begin this story at the beginning, so begin the begin. If you know Pippa's mom, me, Megan, you know that I am an R.E.M. fan from way, way back. (And a former Athenian, at which time I was acquainted with Michael Stipe, but that was a million years ago.) Michael called "Begin the Begin" "a song of personal, political activism." And that relates to me because Pippa is the fire of my personal activism. I can't fight all the fights in the world that I want to. I am just one person. But I can fight the fights that relate to Pippa because those battles — and the betterment of her situation and how the world relates to her – are easy. I fight for her from a place of love. Sometimes the things that come out of my mouth (or keyboard) don't sound like they come from love (some of you know of my rants about handicap parking violators)! If my fights for Pippa result in her life being easier and the lives of other people being easier, then every rant is worth it.

So the fundraiser started by my girl Tamara was rolling along, and Then. It. Exploded. The darling Auður of I Heart Reykjavík spread the word around Iceland, unbeknownst to any of us. On the morning of Friday, September 26, I was awoken by my phone's Facebook Messenger dinging its head off. Tam — who had not slept yet from the previous night — was begging me to wake up because Pippa's story had been written about online. In Icelandic.

Then that afternoon Pippa's "Boys," as she calls them, Sigur Rós, had made an extremely generous donation.

Then there was another article on Saturday.

And second one on Saturday. 

And then Sunday.

And it all was wrapped up and tied with a bow by me — me?! — having an interview with the Reykjavík Grapevine.

It is now Monday, November 17. On Friday we are flying to Iceland. Pippa talks about nothing else all day at school, so I am told. We are still stunned by the kindness and generosity that we have been blessed with.


[I do apologize if some of those article links don't work. They were from DV.is who might not keep their articles online.]