Caution: Venting ahead

I’m kinda stuck today.  Last week I stayed at my sister’s house while she was out of town to take care of mom.  Mom doesn’t need 24-hour care, but she does need someone to bring her food throughout the day.  And with my sister gone I needed to stay overnight just of in case.  You know my mom’s blind.  Or if you don’t know, mom is blind.  Although I am VERY set in my ways and I am unhappy when I’m not in my own home, it actually proved to be a lovely week.  I was able to cater a bit more to my mom, because I’m retired, don’t you know, so there wasn’t any stress that I had to hurry up and feed her to check emails and do something stupid for someone else.  So she enjoyed the attention and pace.  Mostly I fed her all morning; feed, dishes, feed, dishes, feed.  And then in the afternoon she’s good.  She’s grazes in the morning and then the afternoons are pretty free for whatever.  One day I went on a hike with friends.  The next day I went to lunch with those same friends. One day I went shopping and out to lunch with my niece(s), two of those days I came home to the apartment to get clean underwear (TMI?) and check mail and just look around the apartment.  I was grateful to spend the time with mom, grateful to be able to walk around my home town. I could not believe how many old friends and acquaintances I saw at the grocery stores and got to catch up with.  It sort of felt like I was visiting from out of town.  Well, I guess because I AM visiting from out of town, but that out of town is only 20 minutes away.  Anyway, it was a lovely week and it never left my immediate gratitude that I am RETIRED and able to spend the time needed, and enjoy the time needed, with my mom and in my home town.

But now I’m home.  Mom did ask “what are you going to do this weekend when you get home?” – and I was like “nothing, I guess.  Just get reacquainted with my home?” I have such a routine now, when I’m home, and it all went out the window while watching mom.  No morning yoga.  No morning meditation.  No morning readings and journaling.  It was just coffee, toast, dishes, breakfast, dishes, snacks.  I mean every morning.  Although at least two of the afternoons I did write a little for a new book idea. It wasn’t a total lost week.

ANYWAYYYY, first of all, I didn’t get to sleep last night until after 5 am today.  Why?  Well could be the caffeine in the afternoon Diet Coke.  Could be the caffeine in the chocolate covered pretzels.  It wasn’t stress so it’s gotta be caffeine. So I slept through most of the morning.  BUT my daily routine can start anytime.  I did some yoga, Wordle, checked personal emails, my bank balance, then walked around the city doing a couple errands, pissed off that I forgot my CVS card allowing me 40% off a product and asking god why my rewards card is not tied to my phone number.  But after that little kerfuffle I came home to my wide open day of what to do next.  I decided to do a little Oracle card reading for myself, just incase the message was to prepare for lottery winnings, then I journaled a little, then I made the mistake of looking at Facebook. 

This whole reversal of Roe v. Wade has me coming out, so to speak. I am sooo upset about the state of affairs in so many ways.  Posts on Facebook are sayings about the Handmaid’s Tale, about setting our clocks back 50 years, about women taking a knee during national anthems and they are all so good but also all so horribly sad.  I guess being sad doesn’t help but it has struck me to my core. I am NOT Pro-abortion.  As a matter of fact, in highschool I did a senior presentation in my English class (with Shirley Stevens, god rest her soul) on anti-abortion.  My slide show was to the Seals and Croft song “Unborn Child”.  It isn’t (and wasn’t) that I’m against abortion, most of my friends, like 90% of my friends at the time, had abortions.  I didn’t, if you must know.  And I didn’t and don’t judge them.  But what I felt bad about at the time, and still do, is the fact that these friends, and women in general, are put in a situation or a decision where they feel that they have to make that decision.  It breaks my heart for them.  I was very close to that decision at one point in my life and I CHOSE not to do it.  And I’m thankful I was able to and had the mindset to choose. There are many people that choose NOT to have an abortion.  It’s just it’s “our” choice and no matter what you choose you have to live with the consequences, good and bad. As does that child who also has to live with the consequences. Many that chose NOT to have an abortion do not have an easy time, struggling financially, emotionally and often physically.  Imagine choosing to have your child and then not being able to afford to feed them, or clothe them, or have to work 17 jobs and not be home with them and then they are neglected or abandoned or worse.  I mean it ain’t easy.  And then there are those that chose to have an abortion and they too have to live with those consequences.  Often of guilt, or sadness deep in their heart.  I mean it’s us, the one’s carrying the child, and ultimately taking care of that child, that have to live with the choices.  OUR choice.  It’s nobody else’s right to make that choice for us.

And where is the dad in all of these decisions?  Where is their responsibility? In many circumstances the dads are the one’s saying “get an abortion” in the first place. They sure don’t want the responsibility (sometimes…not all the time of course). Some/many dads in these types of situations with a surprise pregnancy do not want the burden of a child emotionally or financially. They can just walk away from it all.  Does anyone EVER enforce child support? Is it ever enough? And what kind of psychological effect does that type of relationship have on a child?  The parents always fighting.  Parents going to court.  A kid thinking his dad’s (or mom’s) love is tied to child support.  I mean we weaponize everything in the name of children. They are the victims.

Then there is the matter of religion and bending your religious belief to fit the circumstances.  It is amazing how people bend the constitution and religion to fit their definition of right and wrong. If God wanted you to have the choice of having a child YOU would be pregnant.  I mean in religious terms/thinking, God granted women the gift, and the curse, of child bearing.  I would “think” God understands that women have the sense and the burden of deciding what is best for their body, their circumstances and THEIR own child.  Noone else has the right OR God would have made babies grow on trees.  Not in women.  But apparently the regular lay person can interpret right and wrong better than God can. God just must have made a mistake in this design. Doctor’s detect a heartbeat but how many people in hospitals are unplugged from breathing machines because they can’t live on their own without a machine?  Their heart is beating? In the womb the heart is beating, is there a soul yet?  Is there a soul in the person whose machine you just unplugged?  What about the soul of the person you just shot with your automatic rifle that you are allowed to own and carry in public?

ON THE OTHER HAND, If the supreme court says that it’s not a government’s decision to decide abortion I do not disagree with that, so then why is it passed to a state’s government?  GOVERNMENT should not be in the equation at all.  That I do agree with.  It is an individual choice.  Not the government’s choice.  So that does make sense to me. But passing it to another government is pretty convoluted right?  Shouldn’t it be NO government’s decision.  I don’t know, someone, anyone, help me out here.

No don’t.

I just thought, since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my Saturday I would blog and so I did and this is what came out of my head.  It didn’t get political, because abortion is not a political issue.  It is a personal issue and one that is, at this moment, an issue pissing me off, to the point where I just decided to make my position known.  I think it’s called venting. Now what I’ll do about it, other then venting on the page, is yet to be seen.  I think the next fight is to have it dropped from the State’s politics as well.  Just drop it from politics altogether.  THAT is a decision I can get behind. I mean if the courts think it doesn’t belong in the government, then it doesn’t belong in ANY government.  Am I right?

Crazy stupid politicians, Putin, war, people shooting in crowds and at each other, inflation (WORLDWIDE inflation for those of you Biden haters) – I mean how crazy is this world?  It’s like our U.S. government says “SURE carry a gun and shoot someone if they have a can of soda in their pocket, especially shoot them 100 times with your automatic weapon because that makes sense. And then when you find out it was a Mountain Dew in their pocket and not a gun, well that’s okay because you THOUGHT it could be a gun.  Oh and those bystanders that got shot?  Well wrong place apparently. Go ahead, get another gun because really you may need that someday for the next person that you’re sure is out to get you.  Because anyone needing an automatic weapon for protection against all these people coming for them doesn’t have mental illness.  Thinking people are out to get you has never been a sign of mental illness. Anyone that wants an automatic weapon for protection is COMPLETELY sane. Your gun rights come before anyone else’s rights. You go ahead and buy that gun in the event you need to shoot some kids.”

Oh you’re a woman?  Yea, no. You don’t have the right to SAVE your life, or prevent unwanted life for ANY reason (health of mother or child) There’s only the right to shoot the kids after they are born.

And my Oracle reading?  Didn’t mention the lottery at all.  Maybe the God’s are not that concerned with me and my lottery winnings and are off on another mission; hopefully saving us from ourselves, because we are doing a VERY poor job on our own.

I think I’ll do some laundry now.

#VOTE

xoxoxo

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The sun will come out tomorrow

I have pinpointed, without a doubt, that my moods are weather related.  Perhaps everyone is going “duh” but living here it’s much more noticeable. In Pittsburgh the sun was hardly ever out so when it came out everyone was happy.  In Florida the sun was always out, and it’s hard to know if everyone was happy because it was just the norm.  I think I was happier.  I know I was happier with the sunshine but there were other factors there as well.  Here, in Virginia there is a mix of rain days and sun days.  There are no other factors that affect my positive mood so I have pinpointed that when the sun is out I am a happy happy camper.  My mood is different, the world is full of possibilities and well my life is just happier with sun.  Even when it’s 40°, if there’s sun I’m doing well.

This time in my life was probably not the right time to try to sell a book.  It is daunting and it’s so depressing.  First of all there are all these “rules” about writing the perfect query letter.  I want to say “isn’t this about the book??”  Can’t you just read the book and decide?  Who cares what experience you have or how your letter reads?  Either you like the book or you don’t?  I don’t know, call me crazy but I think these agents should read 10-20 pages, if you hate it pitch it.  That’s all.  But to hate it based on a letter?  And you know “my” book isn’t a literary masterpiece. It’s just fluff.  Maybe this is the wrong time to be pushing fluff?  Probably nobody wants to read fluff now.  Or maybe it’s the right time for fluff?  I thought I’d be okay with 200 queries and not get depressed knowing the Harry Potter story and there were agents (or an agent) that didn’t like the Beatles. I’m not saying I’m in that company of course but it’s hard to keep going.  I’ve received 4 rejects and the rest no response.  I’ve sent out a little over 20 queries.  A far cry from my goal of 200 and yet it’s hard to keep going.  On a sunny day, like today, would be the time to send them because I would be more positive about it, except I’m back to the lifestyle of when the sun shines I gotta get outside and enjoy it.  So today I was out clearing the front getting ready for the daffodils..

See?

Actually this was taken before I did my clean up but I forgot to take an after picture. But just look how high the daffodils are already!!

And then I walked down to the creek and sat there for a while trying to calm my mind.  I don’t think we’ve talked about the creek yet have we?  Well, there is a creek 🙂 As kids we would play in this creek.  There is a creek path.  I meant to count the steps to it today, so we can all compare to the 150 steps to the beach comparison but I forgot.  I’m going to guess it’s around 150 steps down the creek path.  I’ll count on the next 60 degree day.  Well anyway it is a very peaceful location.  There are birds, there’s the abandoned sawmill, there’s the sound of the water.  It’s so peaceful. ONE of these days I’m going to expand that path – not to the road – but just around so someday, maybe one can meander by the creek around the property – you know like a meditative walk thing.  Maybe, someday.  Hunting season starts here in November, right as I moved here, and was over on January 7 so there is no going to the creek during that time frame.  But now?  Before the bugs, before the chiggers come out is the perfect time.

creek sitting bench

abandoned saw mill

we used to slide down these rocks as kids. That big tree going across was not there back in the day

Have I mentioned that I have a paying job now?  I will never be able to pay a bill with it but it is something, which is better than nothing, or so I’ve been told.  I am a compassionate companion, i.e. babysitter for the elderly.  I have babysat twice for the same lady.  She is very nice.  The family is very nice.  It gets me out of the house and I will make enough money to have lunch with Lori and chai latte’s at Wegmans.  I know, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up, on many levels.  BUT whatever.  I can pick and choose my hours and assignments.  So there’s that.  Each time when I have come home I have gone straight to the computer and sent out a couple more queries for the book.  It is motivating to be broke and without hope of a career revival but at the same time it is demoralizing to have just another avenue of rejection.  It is hard to believe or at times imagine my life getting any better.

And now this world we live in has me really concerned.  I don’t typically get involved in politics other than listening to NPR.  I swore I would quit listening when Trump took office, much like I did when George W was in office.  And I do walk away from the news a lot.  But look at Facebook.  I can’t stand it, yet I keep getting drawn to it.  It is awful.  Everything about what is going on is awful.  Well almost everything.  I want to stay out of it but really I don’t.  I want to be in the middle of it.  I don’t want to sit by and let things happen but I don’t know what to do about it.  Sitting by the creek this is what I thought of:

I am thankful to Trump for the following:

The Women’s March – for years Obama was trying to get us all fired up, get us to get involved, get us to become passionate about the process and we all just sat back and posted things on Facebook.  Trump is in office one day and millions of us, around the world, are in the streets. MILLIONS.  What I also like about Trump, because it’s so unTrump like is that he has not said much about it.  What I have read is that at first he wasn’t pleased but then said “peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy.”  To that I say Go Trump.

The Press – because of the way Trump is attacking the Press I am hopeful that this will make the Press more vigilant in reporting facts. There is no denying that there is fake news, there is stupid news, and there is unsubstantiated news.  Trump and his alternative fact news will only strengthen the legitimate journalists in the world to be more vigilant and cautious as they are reporting the facts.  As consumers of these facts WE must be vigilant as well.  As we are now finding out that Trump is suppressing information and of course we all know he’s making shit up it’s going to be up to us to figure out how to know what is true and what isn’t.  Now when I see something posted on Facebook and I become outraged I take a breath and think about whether or not it’s fake.  Fake news outlets are going to take advantage of our naïvety and our willingness to jump all over Trump so we “lefties” have to be careful that what we’re responding to is true as well.  It is interesting scary times but hopefully we will all learn discernment and I am hopeful to have more accurate reporting because of it.

Voting fraud – on the surface I think Good!  Screw yourself asshole (speaking to Trump) If there is voter fraud then let’s find it. However, I am hearing the implications of this could be that there are stricter rules making it harder for people to vote.  However (again I say however) I see this still as a good checks and balance thing.  Maybe there IS voter fraud, and maybe it’ll work against him.  It is an antiquated system for sure that should be visited and reviewed.  However, having his hand in it is pretty scary.

That’s the end of my list of thankful to Trump.  He scares the bejeezus out of me.  And he should scare the bejeezus out of all humans on the planet.  But I came to another realization sitting down by that creek, we as a species are just never going to agree on anything.  Take the Women’s March.  I was shocked at the comments from other women. Which was stupid of me to be shocked when I was the one that commented that women have always fought against each other and then I see other women saying “you’re not marching for me” kind of statements and I’m like WHAT?  WHAT???  I mean the comments that “I’m not oppressed blah blah” I’m like okay.  But you know there are others in the world that don’t share your same fortune?  You know that right?  I have never had cancer, yet I walked in the Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk.  When I go to church and we pray for the sick and poor and whoever else we pray for well I’m usually not sick at the time and there are people MUCH worse off than me but I don’t get up and walk out of church and say “oh this doesn’t apply to me so I’m going to leave now.”  I mean doesn’t it make sense that just because our own human rights haven’t been violated that so many other people in the world DO have their rights violated?  And so what if Trump has not violated them, although clearly he is misogynist, but what is wrong with being an active participant in our country, and in our world? What’s wrong with saying “we’re watching you Trump and we care about these things and we’re letting you know in a BIG way?”  How is that wrong?  The only thing I think women can argue with each other on is abortion laws.  I am anti-abortion and I’m pro choice.  I see both sides, clearly.  But don’t you think women should be arguing/debating this in Washington?  Personally I don’t think this is a government concern.  The government shouldn’t be making decisions about our bodies BUT BUT I understand the other side.  Again though, it is women that need to be debating this not Trump and his merry men.  If nothing else it is women that keep the human species alive.  Without us there would be no humankind.  Every one of us has come from some woman’s womb.  Right?  Aren’t test tube babies put inside a womb as well? We should at least all agree that we are the mother’s of humankind whether or not we have bore children we have come from a woman.  And if we are to believe the Bible we don’t even need a man to have a baby. (although I wouldn’t bet on this idea to keep humankind going – and I am a fan of the two-party (mother and father) system)

Well, anyway, I had sent an email out earlier to a few like-minded peeps saying I don’t know how to handle living in today’s world.  I want to stay active, I want to stay vigilant but I don’t want to argue with people on Facebook and I know I am risking losing friends (but probably not good friends) by voicing my opinion.  The truth is that those of you that agree with me are going to agree with me, those that don’t agree with “our” side will NEVER agree to our side.  So what’s the sense in voicing my opinion?

And then I came up with this (all while sitting by the creek):

Those of us that WANT to stay vigilant and on top of things need to keep this going.  We need to keep reading things (or writing things) that keep our passion and activism alive. We need to be each other’s checks and balances too.  If we see something that claims Trump makes it illegal to be a redhead we should first do some fact checking. Instead of trying to change anyone’s mind my hope is to just keep vigilant (yes I KNOW I’m over using that word) and wait for the next time we can be heard or participate in a march and come up with ways to stay on top of “our” country and what is happening here.  I hear there may be a Science march next.  Maybe this time I’ll get on a train and go do that march in DC.  I really don’t know what I’ll do next but I can’t not do anything and I can’t not say anything (because that’s what I do, say stuff).  I want to give Trump a chance, I do, and I think Melania might really work in our favor, but he is a scary scary man and these are scary scary times.  There is no debating that.  This truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave.  I want to be brave!

All this from 30 minutes at the creek. Next post I promise I’ll stick to fluff.  Unless of course there’s a reason not to 🙂

xoxoxox

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