Crazy

 No matter your political slant, the last 7 days have introduced some new crazy chaos in each of our lives. The White House web page was redesigned with some significant exclusions and a new tone was set. In less than 6 hours, our government changed and I felt, we were just along for the ride. Regardless of which team you bat for, you were about to witness and experience a whole new set of feels. If we had gone from Trump to Obama, there would have been the same reactionary feels. The addition of social media is making this time even more subject to the revolutionary pull. My husband gets breaking news alerts on his phone and it goes off constantly. I realized last night that this new normal is just that. I will have to change my perception to survive it. I am choosing to leave doom and gloom behind. Do what I know to do is right. When it comes right down to it, that is all I can do. Be the best me I can be. Stand up for what is good, regardless of who is in the White House. Like the AA creed. Serenity to accept, courage to change and most importantly, wisdom to know the difference. My hope is to start a new period of serenity, courage and wisdom, and going where it leads me. That is where I want to put my heart. My Hope. My Life.

The art of hygge

 Hygge. It is a Danish term that translate to our English, cozy. A state of being where all psychological needs are met. Like a big hug. A roaring fire with a good book and a warm cup of cocoa. For women, sounds like the nesting thing we all like to do. It must be hygge that makes me want to buy every cable-knit blanket that crosses my path. I have had so many snow days that I am preferring them to Real Life. As long as the Diet Coke and almond milk are flowing, staying in is fine with me. We have all had too much hygge this winter, time to mix it up. Won't be easy, will be like pulling teeth. The snow has taken its toll. I have cried uncle enough for several winters. I have other fish to fry. Must gear up for this one.

Tomorrow starts his last semester of high school. We are looking at graduation announcements, party details, a school trip overseas and college all in the next 7 months. I know how fast it will go. I find myself trying to take it all in and start learning to let go. There is no letting go in hygge. There is no cozy in letting go and there is most certainly, no happy in pulling up your big girl panties and doing the hard thing. Pops and I talked about it all the way home from basketball and broke of our voices broke with tears. No hygge to be found anywhere. Will try again tomorrow's to look for our brave and make an effort to engage. If not, will turn to my cozy, familiar state of being this winter and burrow in for a little bit longer.

What do we believe

 An interview with a group of women who voted for Donald Trump almost 3 months ago, the conversation focused on how they see their candidate now. They had all voted for President Obama before. Twice. I wanted to know how these  seemingly smart, thinking women could vote for a candidate for the highest position in the land with the outward appearance of being, and I will roll all his  perceived characteristics in one, a doofus. I wanted to ask them how do see what he is showing you and expect him to morph into a game changer? How does one go from Obama to Trump? What does that path look like? We are now coming to understand that the Hillary affect did not resemble the model put forth. She had more problems than she could shake a stick at and being a woman was the least of them. Yet what these ladies said, made perfect sense. They did not like the way Trump presented himself. They did not like his rants and raves, tweets and obnoxious actions but they put ALL of that aside, for the perceived change that he promised to bring. They did not blindly disbelieve Trump poor and bullying ways, they just decided that the promise of change trumped his character. This is a real game changer. It speaks to our overall feeling of frustration. That we will forsake proven character for disproven change. Bravo to these ladies for explaining the why to where we find ourselves today. It has also made me check my belief system and with respect to these women, no change is worth letting the bully be in charge. The changes a bully, brings are no greater than himself. I need to remember this in every area of my life. Don't give in, do not roll over. Do not let the bully act out what he has already revealed about himself in your life. You have come too far. Be proud and never give up on what you know to be true, let the promises of man parade by. Bullies gonna bully, we can choose to search for higher ground.

Book club

 Book club. We had to reschedule to next week because of inclement weather. Worse snow fall in over 30 odd years. It has been tough enough trying to get out of our subdivisions, no less meeting early evening at our local coffee shop. We have much history with each other. There are many 20 year friendships and even some 30 year. And yet, each book club doesn't get its real time personality until the evening of book club. Each time there is a different group, someone is always missing because book club is no respecter of persons. The book club takes on persona of those who attend, those who share. Even having one person gone, changes the dynamics of the evening's discussion. Because we know each other so well, there is always much catching up time. If a book was the only thing we had in common, it would be a  completely different fit. Have had conversations about whether which camp is better. I have wondered myself how the conversation would change, how my takeaway would change. Would I appreciate the book experience more if it was the sole focus? This month I discovered the silent book club. Yes, if is a real thing. It is a type of book club for introverts. The premise is you just enjoy the experience of reading with others, no conversation. You all sit at your table with your coffee or wine and collectively read whatever you want. Never having any kind of conversation. It is a growing like crazy trend. Taking great pride in my introverness, when I read I do it alone. By myself, in my sweats. Reading is a one person team activity, imagine that I would be very uncomfortable reading to myself in a group. Conversation is why I am in a book club. I already have my idea of whether the book chosen was a good fit for me when I get there on the those Monday nights but I am interested in seeing it in a different light. I want to be challenged to see the other opinion .More often than not, the interaction becomes personal and we have leave the book behind and head into Real Lfe. I think that is my favorite. What we read affects our lives and we use those life lessons to incorporate or understand why we think the way we do. Everyone woman should consider a book club, even the strong, silent woman.    

1969

Peace. The ideology is part of every culture. Something to achieve. Something to negotiate, somewhere to compromise. It is not Something that is achievable in the human realm. There will not be true peace this side of heaven. Just look to Genesis. It did not take long for peace to end and murder to begin

Peace. The ideology is part of every culture. Something to achieve. Something to negotiate, somewhere to compromise. It is not Something that is achievable in the human realm. There will be no true peace this side of heaven. Just look to Genesis. It did not take long for peace of the Garden that had been to end and murder to begin.
1969
4 locations
5 weeks
9 murders
Charles Manson is be a name that would stay with me for 46 years and counting. To start 2017 with the news that he was seriously ill, put a smile on my face, although not one I am proud of. Finally, death using its powers for good. Two months before, I graduated from high school. Two months later, my mother would commit suicide. A few hours later after I heard the news, I would be praying for his soul. Not for a complete recovery of his body but his soul. Sometimes we do not get to understand. If you have to know, if you have to have all the I's dotted and t's crossed, faith is not for you. Faith says you are willing to delay the all knowing and accept what is given. We each get to choose. Every day. Faith or no faith. You choose.