Skip to main content

Pollyanna struggles

I don't have a huge following with this blog. So when three different people in three different situations on two different days say something like, "Have you written anything recently/miss reading your blog" - I take note.

And I do the math, because we all know how much I adore math and just how good I am at math! So if three readers over two days say they miss reading my blog, and I have 17 followers and average readership of 223 per post with 71 posts, and a + b= c then ... heck, I don't know if there's an equation for it, but I do know there is a reason.



At my very core, I am a positive person able to see the good in everything and everyone. But I have been struggling.

I have been watching as kindness and civility have been eroding. Racism, misogyny, bigotry, fear and judgement have been taking hold and gaining strength. And I have tried to find my voice, tried to rekindle my spirit whilst fighting against the tsunami of greed crashing on and destroying our Democracy, I have instead been drowning in that tsunami. this Pollyanna has been struggling. I cannot fight against it or I will surely be lost. So I have decided to seek the safety of 'higher ground' where I can see more clearly and breathe more deeply and regain my peace.

I need to get back to writing more and seeking positive sides to everything and everyone. (well almost everyone!)

Was it Michelle Obama that said, "When they go low, we go high"? Or something like that. Well, that's what I'm going to try to do. It might take a few glasses of wine or a few visits to a medical marijuana facility (if they ever get one around here!).

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Ten Year

When I was in junior high school, I staged a sit-in and learned about 'ten year'. This will come as a total surprise to most of you readers - I was not a perfectly well behaved child. I know, I know - you're shocked, amazed, in wonder how I could have turned out to be so well-behaved despite the oats sown in my youth.  And the sit-in is a perfect example of how I marched to the beat of my own drummer. Miss Brown was an English teacher - and not a very popular one. She would invoke the yardstick on wayward student's hands and scowl the moment we walked into the classroom. We weren't very kind to Miss Brown but then she wasn't very kind to us, either. Personally, the hardest part of having Miss Brown as an English teacher is that she nearly ruined my love of my favorite topic in school. It was the year we were to learn grammar (have I ever mentioned that as a writer I detest grammar?). I think some new way of teaching English was introduced and in all l...

When you encounter a totally different reality

John and I arrived early for an appointment (for those of you that know my husband, you know that this is not infrequent! The story of arriving three hours early for a flight to Phoenix from Midway still gets repeated and laughed about when the 'kids' get together). We found a seat and the waiting room began to fill. We had chosen seats away from the TV where NBC's Today Show was playing, so we couldn't see what was on the screen. Another couple sat before the TV and provided commentary and as the time progressed provided a glimpse into a total different 'reality'. "Oh I can't even stand to look at him. He's so evil" "What is wrong with his hair?" "This administration will do down in history as the worst ever." "The federal government is taking over the states. There's going to be a civil war, just you wait." "They just let all those illegal aliens in and then they're going to give them weapons to take...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I put my pride aside and got my ass off the grass and into the wheelchair. {I spent a couple minutes deciding whether to put an exclamation mark after that declaration or to put the period after that statement. I think the period better suits my mood about getting said ass into the wheelchair!} On July 4, Saugatuck has a wonderfully unique parade that includes quirky participants like the artsy-fartsy campers at OxBow art colony and the LGBT members of a local foundation along with the more traditional participants like Girl Scouts, fire trucks, and local politicians. It had been a couple years since I had been to the parade, this year, though, my Mom and sister were in town and I wanted to take them. So we loaded up in the van, including Kerri's wheelchair and my own. Once we parked, John asked if I wanted to use my chair and I initially balked but then remembered that it can be a long, hot parade and it might be better to have a place to sit. So, I acquiesced and took the cha...