It has been one hell of a freekin’ week, to say the least. I spent much of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday alternating between doing what’s necessary to keep a 6th grader calm about election results that dramatically shape his future (plus the obligatory food, clean clothes and a ride to his soccer match because grief or not, a guy’s gotta make a few goals), helping a college freshman keep collected while racist incidents occur on her campus, curling up in a catatonic ball petting my pups (gizmo, pupses DO help!) and working through my stages of grief (for the record, I seem to be stuck at “Anger”). But today… well, let me tell you about today just over the jump, after a word from our sponsor!
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Our church holds an annual fair every November; the largest single fundraiser we do each year. It’s very, very loosely themed around the cultural Christmas holiday… lots of red and green, holiday items for sale as well as the traditional baked goods, “attic treasures”, kids toys, books, jewelry, and raffle. I took several boxes and bags of stuff over mid-week and we managed NOT to come home with much- K2 has two lovely, calming (his words) pieces of art for his bedroom. Everyone in the congregation who CAN get there, usually does.
The mood this year was definitely different than every past year we’ve been there. Yes, people were smiling and laughing, searching amongst the items and offerings for something special and volunteering time and talent at item tables and behind the entertainment mic. But along with all that were more hugs than usual… everyone was just GLAD to see one another. I probably should mention that as a Unitarian Universalist church, the vast majority of our members are horrified at a Trump Administration. I also noticed more quiet conversations than usual at the snack area, in hallways and corners, and outside by the many parked cars. So many people wondering “how this happened” and “what do we do now”.
Two things stood out for me:
1. I did not realize how badly I needed community. All the Facebook in the world did not compare to dozens of hugs, smiling faces saying “It’s so GOOD to see you” and a shared, physical feeling of togetherness. I needed the self-care of community as much as I needed my dogs’ snuffly noses poking at me as I petted them, and that really nice red wine we quaffed Wednesday night. This holds true for my Daily Kos and Top Comments communities, too. I needed a few days’ break, but as I sat to write this diary I felt relief that I was coming ‘home’ as it were, to my peeps.
2. There was a palpable feeling for many that we became too complacent (one I don’t share, because I was NEVER complacent about this election, nor will I ever be. See: Bush-Gore, 2000). During a conversation with one church friend, she said “I never saw this coming. I sat back because I was sure she would win. I have to do more next time.” We need to harness this energy and show people who’ve never been involved before besides sending money and voting, what else there is to do.
More than one friend mentioned having to ‘get back to the world’ next week. I know *I* need to… K1 comes home Thanksgiving Eve and we’re having out of town friends for the weekend, so I literally have to clean the real house, not just “facebook house”. I have to get K2’s Certificate of Citizenship papers filed- he’s already a citizen but I never filed for the magic paper that he may one day need to prove it. Fee goes up from $600 to $1170 on December 1st and seriously, that’s INSANE. And both Mr. Brillig and I have passports expiring in the next six months, so we need to get on that ASAP. It’s time to get back to it… but it will NEVER be time to put aside the work that must be done to mitigate the damage this man will do to our country and our world. I just need to find the balance.
How are you doing, or planning to, find that balance as we all get back to life? How are you taking care of yourself these days? Please share in the comments, after getting your daily dose of what you really come here for… the trifecta of Top Comments, Mojo and Pictures formatted for you tonight by BeninSC!
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Note: Especially during this passionate primary season, please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
From siab:
Comes this fine comment from nobody at all (#whosonfirst) with a key to recognizing our own bigotry in speech. Sadly, this arrived too late for inclusion in last night’s diary, but is well worth the read!
Comes this funny comment by Elwood Dowd, riffing on Corey Lewandowski about political revenge against fellow Republicans regarding their relative support for Trump.
If you are having a problem with assertiveness as a Democrat, you need to read this terrific comment from first-time Daily Kos commenter, foldedmocha. Such a fine sentiment!
I also greatly appreciated this comment from first-time Daily Kos commenter, Berger Norwegian on the idea of crowd-sourcing investigative research that, one way or another, the MSM abdicates. Yes, they fail us. but that doesn’t have to be the final word!
This comment thread with dinotrac and first-time Daily Kos commenter, vagrancy, was a heartening one for me.
First-time Daily Kos commenter, billrick02, with this comment, does a terrific job of redefining ‘privatize,’ when Paul Ryan and his cronies speak of privatizing Medicare.
From yours truly, brillig:
Getting back slowly means I’m not ready for complicated comments, yet still there are gems to be had. From Laura Clawson’s Like a death comes this exchange that made me laugh. Start with pearlsarefuzzy, move on to Reallysuperscrappy, and bring it home with barley peace.
Top Mojo ala mik!
For Friday, November 11, 2016, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on the subject.
2016-11-12, courtesy of jotter!