Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: election


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Wow

Last night as I watched mid-term election results come in I heard the talking heads use the term “Wow moments.” I didn’t watch the results late into the night, I fell asleep pretty early, even before we knew what was happening here in Michigan.

But before falling asleep I knew we were witnessing more than one wow moment. This morning I’m learning about several of them:

We here in Michigan elected the first Muslim Senator ever, Dr.Abdule El-Sayed.

Georgia elected the first Black woman governor in US history, Keisha Bottoms.

New Hampshire elected the first openly gay male as Senator, Chris Pappas.

New Mexico elected the first ever Native American governor. The first ever Native American elected as governor in the 250 years of American history.

In fact, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin and Nevada elected their first Black governors.

And there are probably other ‘firsts’ that I have missed.

I’m proud that our country has opened it’s mind and heart and found the strength to elect people that might not look or believe or be just like ourselves. Last night we elected some people that make our government more representative of all the people in our country. Our country isn’t made entirely of white males, and for years it’s been mostly white males making the decisions.

I know that some of my readers were happy with the way things were. But what makes America great is the fact that we can have differing opinions about the direction of our country and still have a civil conversation. We can still be friends.

This morning, just about half of any states’ voters are unhappy. Some are scared. It’s going to be a very big job for everyone in a position of governmental responsibility to make sure policy discussions include everyone, not just the people that look and act like themselves.

Last night proved the people of our country are stronger than the massive amounts of money spent, stronger than the gerrymandering, stronger than the divisiveness. All of that was hard. Moving forward will be even harder.

But for today I’d like to sit in my rose-colored world and enjoy a teardrop of hope.


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Another year flies by

Somehow we’re headed toward the new year already. Day after tomorrow will be the first day of 2024, and nothing I can do will stop it.

Time is moving so quickly, it’s all a blur.

It hasn’t been easy, 2023, and part of me is happy enough to see it go. But it’s all moving so fast I wonder, if in a week or so, I’ll be welcoming 2025. 

We all need to spend more time sitting still and listening.

It seems I blink and whole months have evaporated. I’m almost afraid to blink again.

Here’s hoping 2024, an election year in the US, encourages us to work together rather than against each other, helps us find new ways to connect with each other, and highlights the good inside so many of us.

Santa has headed back to the North Pole, now it’s on each of us to find our own joy.

I am hoping. But maybe I should just blink us into 2025.

We can hope.

Happy New Year everyone. I’ll see you in 2024. 


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Inspired to be kind

Thank you rises to the ceiling.

Thank you rises to the ceiling.


Reading blog posts yesterday afternoon I was inspired by Nancy’s notquiteold piece on kindness. She had, you see, been a bit rude to a Medicare employee on the other end of the phone the day before and she wanted to make amends.

Who does that?

The remark she made didn’t seem all that rude to me. Really, it was just a tiny bit off color and I’m sure the people working the phones at Medicare have heard a whole lot worse. But Nancy felt bad, so she called back the next day and apologized, and though the person she spoke to wasn’t the same as the one the day before, I’m sure she made someone’s day.

Because, really, who does that?

Nancy is right, in this election year filled with accusations and taunts, lies and misconstrued actions, we seem to have accepted rudeness as the new normal. But we don’t have to.

We can be trend setters.

Today each of us could go out of our way to be kind to someone. Consciously kind. Take the extra moment to look someone in the eye when you ask them how their day is, then listen to the answer and respond with empathy. Add a little extra to the tip at lunch and thank the server with a genuine smile. Offer to grab something at the grocery store for your neighbor. Visit an elderly relative who lives alone. Hold a door open for someone, let a car cut in front of you, slip that guy who’s always on the corner a dollar with a smile.

Do something kind today. And tomorrow. Start a new trend.

Let’s shrug off the negativity of this year’s campaign. You’ve probably made your election decision by now, so turn off the TV. There’s no point in letting more of that into your brain or heart. There’s no room these days for more drivel and spite and lies.

Spend the spare time you have doing something you love and spread a little kindness about while you’re doing it. The world will benefit and you’ll feel better too.

Thank you, Nancy, for the inspiration. Sometimes we just need a gentle nudge in the right direction.

PS: And if you need to clear your head, today is the first day of Robin’s “Walktober.” The concept is to take a walk, take a few pictures, and then share that walk with all of us. You have until October 23rd to do your walk and until October 25th to share it with us by linking to Robin’s blog. I think a walk in the beautiful October sun (or cool October rain if that’s what you’ve got going on) would be a very good way to spend a few minutes or hours. Go check it out at Robin’s blog!

I’m headed out even as we speak.

Another, cooler walk.

A cool walk years ago.