Was your weekend like mine, a mixed bag? Combined with good times and not so good times? I feel like that might have been the case for many of us. At home, we truly had some fun despite the brutal weather conditions. No school and free time meant some fun projects for the kiddos. They made some cute cake pops to share with their cousins. A giant blanket ‘nest’ was created in the living room for movie time but mostly became a fun fort to hide in. An awesome marble run was constructed with the help of my husband garnering hours of enjoyment racing marbles before it became more fun to destroy it.
For my part, I once again hosted trivia at the Lake City Municipal and had a wonderful time. I was concerned that the Arctic temperatures would keep people away, but we had a nice turnout. Friends and family and strangers made the evening a blast. It’s always fun to hear people loudly exclaim when they know an answer or give me a hard time when they deem a question too difficult. As usual, the night transitioned into a karaoke party with my completely amateur set up. Folks don’t seem to mind and make the best out of my mediocre sound equipment. I always enjoy facilitating the fun and look forward to many more such events.
In the midst of the fun, there were some definite down points. Both kids were sick at different times in the weekend. Luckily, they bounce back super quickly but it really hurts the sleep patterns of all involved, especially us old folks who don’t get to sleep 11 hours at night. Perhaps I was extra tired and rundown, but the news that came out of Minnesota hit hard.
I find this stuff hard to talk about in my column though of course I have strong personal feelings. Still, it’s hard to ignore when it’s happening to our next door neighbors. Regardless of what side of the aisle you are on, what is going on in Minnesota is just sad. I don’t think a single person can look at the events over there and think ‘Wow, America is really getting it right here!’ Is anybody saying, ‘This is what I think when I think of a great country, the greatest country in the world’? I would wager that’s a big fat no.
When I heard of another person dying in the fray, I was just sad. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s the loss of a human life, and every time I saw a new piece of news about it, I would tear up a little bit and have to walk into a different room. Of course, the events were accompanied by the usual shoring up of positions, digging in and, unsurprisingly, so much hate. Perhaps that’s the most depressing part.
It is okay to be upset by what’s happening, regardless of your side of the aisle. As I saw a friend post on social media, and many other versions of this sentiment all over the place- Don’t let your politics get in the way of your moral compass. You can always say this is wrong.
I hope a few more people are able to do that this week, including lawmakers. Will we see changes coming down the pipe in the next couple of weeks? I don’t know. I hope there are a few changed hearts out there though.
Ultimately, I’ll probably be kind of sad this week while at the same time continuing to enjoy life and laugh at my children’s antics.
A smart little thought I saw this week was a poem by writer Karen Salmansohn:
The world is both burning & blooming.
You get the bad news and the sunrise in the same day.
You cry over the headlines, then you laugh at a baby wearing a hat shaped like a bear.
This is the dual citizenship of being alive.
Rage and reverence,
Grief and grace.
You are allowed to feel both.
You are allowed to scream,
& still notice how good the soup is.
You don’t have to choose.
Let it all in.
