Oh Tina Fey, you get me. The sheet cake, the disbelief, the frustration, the fear that this presidency and its supporters has brought: it has crashed down hard upon all of us. I don’t know what to say.
Another week has passed where I feel like I sit in stunned silence and watch as one nightmare after another unfolds in front of all of us. I just can’t with this stuff. So, in a time that seems incredibly dark, I’m going to focus on the light for a minute and not give another second to the darkness, which has had center stage for far too long.
What are some good things in my life?
- School is back. My kids are excited and so am I. My two older ones are now in 2nd and Kindergarten. I can’t say it gets completely better watching your second child walk away with his class on that first day. The sweetness of little years vanishes far quicker than I’d like, but I find so much comfort in knowing that he is in a wonderful academic environment, learning from a variety of wonderful and caring people.
- Old Seinfeld episodes. I can only deal with so many hours of exposure to current events. There is very little heaviness that a little Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer can’t fix...by allowing my brain to turn off for about 30 minutes each day.
- Genuine connections to other people. Some of these connections are deep and sustaining, like the one I share with my husbands, kids, or friends. But I would throw in those brief and friendly interactions with people you meet along the path of life: the kind that leave you with a smile on your face as you walk away. Have you ever gone into a store and had a random conversation in the baking aisle with a fellow shopper about coconut oil? The kind where you listened and they listened, and maybe you both laughed and felt happy to share some kind of coconut oil feelings with another person? Those are good moments.
- A small, old house. I live in a small house built in 1954. It is in constant need of new projects, and repairs. It has a to-do list and a wish list that fills up my pinterest boards. We’ve killed off the grass, and our renovations move so s-l-o-o-o-o-w. But it our’s and my husband and I have worked on it together, We took what was old and undesirable to many “American dreams” and made it a warm and inviting space. I love that it takes minimal time to clean it. And it has a pool. And our kids love it so much they can’t yet fathom a day when they’d want to leave it, even if it meant not sharing a room.
- Coffee. No brainer. Coffee is delightful. Small, local coffee shops with simple menus and friendly people are all that is good in this world.
- “Adam ruins everything.” He actually makes everything better. Sure, he makes us ditch outdated and preconceived notions about all that we hold dear, but it is so fantastic and freeing. I think the world needs a little more Adam in their life.
- Yoga. It’s so good. I need more of it. My body and brain suffer so much when I don’t make time for it. Healthcare should cover yoga classes. Ahhh, I just mentioned healthcare. Shit, the realities of 2017 just came back to me. Looks like it’s time to get my mat out and breathe through this.