Spring is here. Almost

Spring is almost here, and we wanted to dedicate this issue to the season. Our editor, Ania Kaminska, has written a wonderful article about an old Polish tradition of drowning a Marzanna. You’ll find it below.

Spring is also the time for spring cleaning. The Polish Home Association organizes the Polish Home cleaning every spring. Contact PHA to find out if they could use your help.

It’s also a great time to review and maybe change our habits. Yesterday, I noticed that I spent almost four hours on Facebook. Far too long and totally irrational, given that the experience we all crave so much for is not always pleasant. Even though I try to be as polite and factual as I can, I am often bombarded with insults and questionable stories. This makes me angry and defensive. So here is my plea: let us be, this spring, more thoughtful, polite, and listen more. And most importantly, use what I call THE MOST RESPECTFUL INTERPRETATION (MRI).

MRI is a technique that forces us to react to any news, emails, or interactions that we think are hostile (which would be the least respectful) in a different way. It’s simple. Take a breath, digest the information, and try to imagine what the most respectful interpretation would be. In most cases, you’ll find that the MRI is a much better interpretation than our atavistic, defensive one.

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We Are Not Alone

We Are Not Alone

I was prompted to write this article by two events, one last Saturday and one happening soon.

On Sunday, March 2, the Seattle Polish Film Festival organized a fundraiser for Ukraine and presented the movie “Erase the Nation” about the war in Ukraine. It was a sold-out event with lots of Poles, Ukrainians, and Americans in the audience.

Starting March 13, the Seattle Jewish Film Festival will present a Polish movie “The Death of Zygielbojm” (Śmierć Zygielbojma).

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To Give or Not to Give. That’s the Question

To Give or Not to Give. That’s the Question

The Polish Community in Seattle responded to this question with an incredibly strong YES. Since 2020, we have donated over $240,000 to the Seattle Polish Foundation through personal donations from individuals like you and me. We can be proud of ourselves and our generosity. These donations support our community, the Polish Cultural Center, and events like the Polish Festival and the Seattle Polish Film Festival. By donating, you also help members of our community who have fallen into hard times.

If you are not familiar with the Seattle Polish Foundation, I encourage you to visit their website, learn about their mission, recent fundraisers, and meet the members of the board of directors.

This year, the biggest fundraiser event in Washington State, GiveBIG, starts in a month and concludes on May 6-7. Visit the Seattle Polish Foundation page hosted by GiveBIG to find out about this year’s causes and specific fundraisers.

We all like the LIKES

We all like the LIKES

We all appreciate the likes. That’s why we encourage you to use the like (or dislike) button on our website to share your thoughts about our newsletter. Buttons show up at the end of every post once you open it. Additionally, feel free to leave comments on our Facebook page. If you like it, share it with your family members, friends, and neighbors. We aim to double the number of subscribers this year, and we cannot do it without your help.

Where Are My Friends

Where Are My Friends

A few days ago, while driving on Route 2 towards Sultan, my Spotify Daily Mix playlist suddenly played a song I hadn’t heard in years. It was Republika’s “Biała Flaga” (“White Flag”), and the first verse was “Where are my friends?” (“Gdzie są moi przyjaciele?”). When I got home, the song was still in my head, and I kept asking myself this question: Where are our friends?

We left them behind when we moved. They left us behind when they moved. There were a few friendships from high school that survived our turbulent times and all the departures. Some lasted for years, but we stopped responding to their Christmas cards, and they stopped sending them. Some just faded away as we had nothing in common and nothing to say.

Then we ended up in Seattle and heard about the Seattle Freeze.