Thankful

In all honesty, it's been a little difficult to be thankful lately.  It's been a difficult few months for me and for my family.  However, that's not to say that I'm not thankful.  I keep a running list of things to be thankful for, so I won't forget how blessed I truly am.  And as a reminder that even when things are difficult, there is still much to be thankful for. 

This year we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents home here in Georgia.  This is only the second time in my life that I will not travel to Chicago to be with my family, to be with my grandmother.  The first was when I was in high school, my sister marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It's not going to be easy.  My mom and I are cooking on our own, we will have a very small crowd, my sister is not going to be with us, and most importantly, my grandmother won't be with us.  There will be tears, some happy, some sad.

I thought I would share a few of the things I'm thankful for:

1. Long weekends

2. Long conversations with my dad

3. Long conversations with my mom

4. Painting pottery with my sisters

5. A very patient husband

6. House starting to feel more like a home

7. Instagram so I can keep up with my cousins

8. Lighter holiday traffic in the mornings

9. Woman in the car in front of us paying for our Dunkin Donuts 

10. Snuggly puppy

This list may seem trivial, but I'm so thankful for the little things!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Election Day

I have read a lot today regarding voting.  I have listened to CNN all day about people going to the poles.  Earlier today I put a tweet out there that I am ready for all of this election propaganda to be over!  And I mentioned I am not voting.  I did not receive a huge backlash but there were a few people that responded to me and some that responded indirectly, so I decided to take my tweet down.  Not because of their response but because of my own beliefs.  My grandmother always said it’s not good to talk politics in a social setting.  I’m not even sure why I posted it in the first place, it’s very out of character for me.

But, I did and I thought I should explain.  It is my right and my right alone whether I chose to vote or not.  I’m not trying to sway people not to vote or to vote one way in particular.  I understand that especially as a woman I should feel a strong obligation to vote considering how many women fought to get the right.  I’m not trying to take anything away from that.  I understand that there are several places in world that people do not have the opportunity to vote or have gone to great lengths to be able to vote.  However, it is my personal opinion, that until they change the way the votes count, I am choosing not to vote in this election.  It baffles me that the man who wins the popular vote may not win the electoral college and therefore will not win the presidency.  So, my vote doesn’t count, right? Right.

I’m not saying which way I would vote, but in a historically red state, if I chose to vote blue, it wouldn’t count at all, and if I chose to vote red, well I’m in the majority, so what will one vote do?  Nothing.  And since I cannot positively agree with one side or the other, I chose not to vote.  I don’t talk politics too much, even though I have been known to voice how I feel about certain issues, my overall knowledge in politics is limited.  What I do know, is that our country is in a bad way.  But one man, one candidate, one party line does not hold all of the answers. 

I don’t expect anyone to agree with my choice.  It is my choice and I feel confident in it.  If you feel led to vote, you should do so!  Whichever party does win, I will pray that they make the decisions that can help get our country moving in the right direction.  There is no argument here that there needs to be change.