Life Lately

I took some time away from here last week, mainly because I really didn't even know what to write...or where to begin.

 

I had an awful upper respiratory infection and am still recovering from that. That's the one down side to fall...the sick that comes with it.

 

Tuesday was election day, and I voted for Hillary Clinton...which was probably the easiest vote I've ever cast. It wasn't only a vote for Clinton. It was a vote against Donald Trump. I anxiously watched the news all day and stayed up late as the votes came in. I went to bed, unsure of what the outcome would be, but still feeling positive that love would, in fact, trump hate. Waking up and seeing the results felt like a punch in the gut. I cried. That day felt like a really bad dream. Honestly I walked around the whole week in a fog...trying to understand the results, trying to understand what the results meant for our country, what the results meant for so many I love.

 

Now, before you dismiss me as someone who needs to be coddled when her candidate doesn't win, please try to understand me. Please try to understand others who feel similarly. We are sad that our candidate didn't win, no doubt. We supported her; we believed in her; we were excited for the possibility of her. But we are even more sad because of the candidate who did win. To me, electing Donald Trump says that we are OK with someone who demeans women, Mexicans, Muslims, and people who are disabled. And there are plenty more groups to add to this list. And I'm just not OK with that. For the life of me, I cannot understand how so many were able to overlook that. And yet there were.

 

There are a lot of us who are sad for our fellow brothers and sisters. There are many of us who are scared for our country and what the next four years might look like. We're not being melodramatic. These are real concerns.

 

But here we are. So what next? The punch in the gut has worn off some, and now we are only left with one option. To put one foot in front of the other and to move forward. Nothing I say or do will change the results. Donald Trump is our president. Now that we are here, I am choosing to give him a chance. I am hoping that he doesn't really believe the words that he has said about so many. I do not want Trump to fail...I want him to prove me wrong. I want him to succeed because if he does, it likely means good things for our great country. And that's all I want. I want the best for all of us. And by all I mean ALL...

 

I am hoping for the best. I have already prayed for Donald Trump, and I will continue to do so. And in the meantime I will continue to speak out for whom and what I believe is right and good and true. I will not allow intolerance to go unrecognized. I will not look the other way when insults are thrown out as freely as beads in a Mardi Gras parade. I will spread kindness and love. I will continue to believe that love, in fact, does trump hate. Because at my core I believe that is true.

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Now, switching gears completely because this is a life update and not just my thoughts on the election results.

 

It has finally cooled off in Mississippi, and that has been a bright spot. Nothing fuels me more than being outside when the weather is nice.

 

 

I worked on Sunday, and working on the oncology floor always (and I mean always) brings me perspective. That's part of the reason I like oncology...maybe it sounds selfish, but I gain so much from the patients and their families.

 

This week we are gearing up for Thanksgiving. Lily has a feast at school on Friday, which Rob and I will attend...and I'm on the hunt for a last-minute Pilgrim costume. It's virtually impossible for me to do anything ahead of time. Argh. The girls are off the entire week of Thanksgiving, and I'm so excited for slower schedules and a few free days of play with them!

 

I'm trying to savor the holiday of Thanksgiving this year...and am focusing on gratitude and the many things for which I am thankful. Because there is so much. It's hard to not rush Christmas, especially when I love Christmas and it's in our faces in all the stores and online. I'm enjoying all the browsing, but I'm in Thanksgiving mode right now.

 

That's all I have for everyone today. I hope y'all are having a great week. I'll leave you with this.

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