I think we might be in The Upside-down...

It's feeling kind of like The Upside-down from Stranger Things lately, isn't it?

• We're becoming a cold, dark, scary, intolerant place with menacing figures lurking all about. 
• Things often aren't what they appear to be. 
• There's definitely someone here trying to deceive us all.
• The environment in our nation is so toxic, it feels difficult to breathe. 
• And there's this small, oblivious, but loud group of people insisting this is all worth exploring.

The rest of us need to channel our inner Mikes, Dustins, Lucases, Wills, Nancys, Jonathans, Steves, Joyces, and Hoppers to resist the Demogorgon.

Life is like...

Life is kind of like editing a photo:

- focus on the parts you want to keep
- discard what doesn't beautify your overall picture
- crop with care
- take a little time to clean-up the rough edges

You Might *Not* Be Pro-Life If...

It's never made sense to me that many folks who call themselves "pro-life" are also:

pro-unrestricted gun laws
pro-war
pro-policies that oppress the poor, minorities, immigrants, & other marginalized people
pro-corporate interference in lawmaking and politics
anti-environment
anti-living wage
anti-access to affordable birth control
anti-equality for everyone
anti-immigrants
anti-affordable healthcare for all

Pro-I've-got-mine-and-you-don't-so-screw-you seems a more accurate moniker.

Who's Steering This Ship?

So, I haven't posted in a while. (Errmm... depending on your point of view, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.) It's mainly been about life steering me, rather than me steering it. You know, when life just keeps you busy and you feel like that lyric in John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy":

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans..."

I hate that feeling of being steered, rather than me doing the steering. (Umm...control freak?) 
I suspect that it's a feeling at least some others also share. It's part of the nature of living in this "modern" world, having a family, making ends meet, and choosing to homeschool. It's also part of living in a nation being "led" by people with little to no moral fiber. Zilch in the heart department. I literally had about 20 minutes last night where I could not stop my racing mind from scrolling through all that's going on and all that I have to do. We all have so much going on, so much that we care about, and--if you're at all like us--so much that we're worried about on a daily basis, and have been for the last 9+ months. It's an ever-increasing sinking feeling and persistent worry of what kind of world are our children going to have to survive in? Ugh. I've had to take a facebook hiatus because I...I just can't process all the daily unnerving news stories, the endless debates between Trumpers and, you know, rational people; and those folks who insist on posting every single random thought they have about everything from their nightly dinner plate to their annoyance at "political posts". 
I just can't be out there on the face-space right now and be a fairly happy person. 

Instead, I'm choosing to focus (mainly) on stuff that does help me feel happy: my wonderful family, Halloween, the chilly air that's finally arrived to our area, making "mummy dogs" with our kids, snuggling and watching the Halloween Baking Championship, making my hubby's favorite chili, having family over for a football game and chili and game-playing. 
Focus on the good. 

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."

Our love of country and national identity must extend deeper than the symbols of the flag and anthem, than the politics of left and right, or "what church do you attend?" or socio-economic status. Our national heart and soul and all that we treasure most as Americans must genuinely be about freedom and equality for all who reside in our borders. We must be truly accepting of our beautiful diversity of cultures, lifestyles, and perspectives--especially when we disagree. We must be about caring and helping our fellow humans, regardless of how they arrived at their circumstances. Any less renders songs and flags and platitudes rather hollow.

Here's the thing: the U.S. Constitution (under the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights) guarantees each of us the right to decide if we stand or kneel. It does not give us the right to dictate to others whether they "must" or "should" stand or kneel. If we don't recognize that, if we don't protect that right for all perspectives--especially the ones with which we disagree--then our nation has much bigger problems than how people treat a song or a piece of fabric. Those items are lovely things, but they are symbols of the true beauty of America--the freedom and equality that are supposed to be afforded to everyone, no matter their gender, skin color, religion, politics, gender-identification, socio-economic status, ethnic origins, sexual-orientation, or geographic location. And sadly, in 2017, not everyone has complete freedom and equality--this is what the players are very successfully bringing attention to; and the fact that they have us all talking about it proves that their protest is meaningful. It's up to all of us to carry the ball from there. 

The protests have again brought to the forefront the fact that not everyone here is truly free...not when certain skin colors are systemically profiled, punished more harshly, and generally persecuted. Not when some genders, identities, and lifestyles are treated as second class. This bigotry is ingrained in our society. We must decide to care more about liberty for all people than what boxes people fit into. It's a tough, ugly national conversation, but it is one we must keep having and working through until we are truly the "land of the free".

Silence Is Not An Option

Bigoted, deceitful, sinister predators achieve positions of power by playing on people's basest instincts and worst fears, using fear and the associated anger to divide people.
I don't want to play into that agenda. We are all human--so much more alike than different. At the same time, racism, bigotry, misogyny, and hatred must not be allowed to stand. Ever. So, remaining silent is not an option. And having to explain to my children that this kind hatred exists...What. The. Hell. They "hate" bedtime, you know? They have nothing in their hearts or in their lives to even begin to compare to this level of utter malevolence. And yet, there it is, threaded into the fabric of the nation in which we live. This has to be a line in the sand, or we allow our nation to become what Trump and his gang value--which has nothing to do with love, kindness, or equality. His actions/inactions should be unacceptable to every single human being who values love and respect, freedom and equality for all.
And yet, there are people who *still* support Trump. Just how much are their stocks and commodities and Supreme Court justices and Confederate landmarks and dreams of unregulated gun ownership worth?
Other people's rights?
Other people's freedoms?
Other people's lives?
What does it take for his supporters (for who he cares nothing) to draw their own line in the sand and refuse to stand with him? You'd think they'd at least draw that line out of self preservation....because, eventually, Trump and his gang of bigots will run out of "others" to condemn and will starting turning on their own flock. That's what bigoted, deceitful, sinister predators do.

A Mint for Your Thoughts...

This is a golden memory from childhood: an Andes Mint wrapper folded into what looks like a tiny version of a paper hat. Growing up, one of our Fam's go-to restauratns was Olive Garden, especially when dining out with our Memere and Papa and Gramps. When the server would bring the mints with the check, we kids would revel in making these little shapes. We dubbed them "Spock ears". One of us would don the Spock ears and we'd giggle. I haven't thought about that in a long time.

We don't go to Olive Garden much these days. ($18 for Chicken Alfredo? Come on...) But, my Hubby was recently given some Olive Garden gift cards at work. Gift cards tend to burn holes in our little ol' pockets, so we went today for a late lunch. When the server came with the check and a treasure trove of those Andes Mints, I was immediately transported back in time. Seeing those little mints made my heart smile at the memories of those golden years. Before I knew it, I was making two Spock ears as I told our kids the story. They giggled and asked if we really wore them, and giggled some more when I confirmed that we did. Our son then tried out the ones I made in tribute. Both our kiddos pondered how they'd never encountered the pure glee that is an Andes Mint until today. And additional golden memories were made.