Deflection...

Got up with some goals in mind, and the broccoli/cheddar quiche is already out and cooling, the spiced blueberry pie is in the oven, and the bills are paid. 

After breakfast I'll get some chores done, and we'll get to the bank. 

If the pool water is not frigid, I hope to get in there today-- I know Holly would love it. 

All of this, of course, is deflection. The news cycle is scary as hell. The "priorities" that are being touted do not align with the very things that would make life survivable for so many thousands (millions?) of people. It's a weird version of the Hunger Games, and we are all paying and paying tribute, only to see people sicken, die, get hunted, hurt, and struggle to live in a way that can make meaningful things possible. 

On the NH state level, the incomprehensible choices being made that affect public education, local taxes, and the state of home-schooling children by removing all of the guardrails are all things that hit the news this morning. It makes little sense to me that now, parents do not even have to tell the schools that they are "taking it from here." These kids will just disappear. No required curriculum, no testing, no accountability. I thought education was required? And child safety? 

It's an upside-down world. 

And apparently, our tax dollars are now going to, amid so many other "important" things, pay to have yearly testosterone checks done on military men. Never mind, it's not necessary, but y'know-- he-man mentality? (And medical advice be damned; ramping up the T levels has long-lasting negative effects on the body, but I suppose that once we've used them up, who cares?)-- and the money spent on seniors "could be better spent elsewhere"--

There's so much that hurts my head and heart. I just want kids to be safe at home and in school, I want people to be fed, secure, housed, educated... 

All of these things fall on us. With our money stretched thin (we've now been told that affordability is a made-up word), our time spent and spent again, and our emotional and spiritual banks depleted. There is still some cause for joy, but joy is a limited commodity these days.

I'm sad, scared, angry, and tired. 

I bet you are, too. 

Hug your loved ones, keep the faith, and do what you can as often as you can for as many as you can.

C