I’ve written and erased a million things here over the last few days – I guess I just don’t have anything to say. All the words are simple ones: I’m anxious and angry and scared of the future, I’m trying to understand, I’m waiting to hear. Just like everyone else. After the initial check of everyone I know directly saying they’re okay, and the incredibly thankful deep breath afterward, now I just feel this waiting. And then I think about the people who are doing an entirely worse kind of waiting.

In the elevator in my apartment buildling, everyone makes eye contact now. Most of them say hello, and some of them ask how your day was or what the weather’s like or who the postcard you're reading is from. There’s an unspoken-but-clearly-communicated subtext, about living in DC and about things that are affecting all of us no matter where we live. Everything seems to be right up at the surface — people are being kind to each other, careful with each other, in a way they weren’t before. And the Jewish New Year starts tomorrow night... this has always been my favorite holiday, my favorite time of year. Maybe this year it will mark a time of people who share a single roof over their heads talking to each other more, and a year that’s better than the one that’s ending.