A Mess

Although the Presidential election was two weeks ago, things have not gotten better yet.  Trump, of course, is still tweeting multiple times a day that he won the election, that the election was rigged, and that the democrats are trying to rob him.  His legal challenges to the election are being dismissed in state after state, but he is not deterred by that.  Today two large national militia groups announced that they will not recognize Joe Biden as president and will not follow any law or directive he passes.   They view themselves, said the founder of the largest militia, as founding fathers, and they are eager "to nullify and resist."  (Militia are illegal in every state, but they continue to grow without interference, another story for another time.)  Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections are doubling in our state every five days, deaths are rising, the hospitals are begging for help, and our governor has put some new restrictions into place.  Our Republican Legislature refused to meet with her to create a pandemic plan; instead, they are planning to try to impeach her for taking steps herself to stem the spread. They are also supporting Trump's claims that there was massive election fraud and vow to "get to the bottom of it."   It is a frightening time and hard to imagine healing this division any time soon.

But here at home things remain calm and bright, even as it appears from the news that the country, and even the state around us is falling apart.  My son's family had a Facetime visit with us this week, something we hope will become a regular habit (something Jack's large family does every week because he was smart enough to start it a dozen years ago), and it was so good to see and hear them.  My grandson told me about his experience as a beginning driver and cello lessons and my granddaughter talked about the art and theater she is doing.   Under the governor's latest order, all of the high schools and colleges in Michigan have gone back to remote learning for at least the next several weeks.  I am glad that my son's family will be able to stay home together for awhile now and keep themselves safer than when they were exposed to many other people during their work and school days.

Because of the pandemic, we will not be getting together tomorrow for my grandson's 16th birthday, although I plan to do a "drive by" to drop off his gifts.  We will not be getting together for Thanksgiving, although I plan to prepare a dish to share with them, just to feel that connection.  It is frustrating for everyone and even more frustrating to feel that our elected government is intent on making this time last longer than it ever needed to because of their rejection of science and common sense.  We already know that we will not be getting together for Christmas.  

Meanwhile, much is good, at least in my little life.    Our home-life is peaceful, which I know from past experience should not be taken for granted.  And we have lots of little joys along the way, including the kindnesses of strangers.

One little joy this week was a delightful package from a child named Grace,  a young Irish artist.  Grace's mother, aside from being mother to five, is an amazing home maker and also an artist, and I have followed her blog, her Instagram and (used to follow her) Facebook accounts for eleven or twelve years.  I saw Grace's Instagram posts because I recognized the connection between the two of them.  Recently Grace awarded me the "prize" of a portrait.  Grace drew my husband of me from a photo that I had on line and I received it, beautifully packaged and with a sweet note, in the mail this week.  She included in the package a set of the 'stickers' she made, and they are also adorable.  Her professional screen name is gracegoldenrose, and she is the sweetest child, no more than 12 years old, I'm sure.  A child with many talents, in a very talented family.  I love being able to cheer her on.   Jack and I plan to have our portrait, which is about 4 by 6 inches in size, framed and we will hang it proudly on our wall.   Everything about this makes me happy.

Another wonderful surprise came at the hands of another person I don't really know.  Last year for my birthday, my son's family gave me a Shipt membership so that I could have my shopping done and delivered while I was recovering from my shoulder surgery.   Once the pandemic took hold, the service became even more valuable to us, because stores were limiting the number of shoppers and neither of us felt comfortable going out more than we had to.  Over time, a couple of the shoppers have proven themselves to be truly amazing at their jobs.  I added notes in my last few grocery orders asking whether the stores had a cheese advent calendar because I'd read that they were going to be available.   One shopper, Melinda, took it upon herself to check every store in the area for the calendar and today she found and delivered it.  Melinda has been a full time shopper for three years and she clearly loves her work.  Although I am not religious, I love advent calendars.   I have given my grands some kind of over-the-top advent calendar each year for the past several years, and I was really hoping to find the cheese one for my grandson so I am happy as a clam to finally have it!   My granddaughter's calendar this year is filled with make-up samples, and it was hard to think of something that my grandson would find amusing, but I think this will do it, even though the cheese itself is unlikely to be very good.  Melinda searched for and found another item on my fantasy wish list, too, 'cocoa bombs' that are dropped in hot milk to make a cup of hot chocolate.  She will be delivering those next week and they will be part of my Thanksgiving delivery to the kids.   Her kindness makes it possible for me to stay out of crowds and still provide fun surprises for my grands,  who are growing up way too fast, so she has been a bright spot for me during these long months of being apart from my family.

So I am ever aware that this is an amazing world with amazing people in it.  I am hoping, despite the state and national news, that we will somehow manage, despite the crazies and science deniers, to let life continue on a mostly even keel, no matter how unlikely it may sometimes seem.