Month: November 2018

Thankful for Quiet Holidays

IMG_4052This Thanksgiving marks my first major holiday as a mom spent apart from one of my children. My firstborn won’t be home to visit until the end of next week. It’ll be just me, my husband and the six-foot-tall kid who lives with us.

We could have gone somewhere, but chose not to. We could have invited people, but didn’t. I haven’t dusted, or anything similar. Honestly, I’m looking forward to a quiet day.

I had so many years of busyness, of overwhelming to do lists, of making the holidays into something. As much as I enjoyed a lot about those times, I got worn out. I’m depleted. I find myself now just wanting to rest from more than two decades of being on.

I have a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner planned. Homemade minestrone. Rolls. Mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Steamed asparagus. Cranberry Sauce. Pumpkin pie. We’ll probably play a board game. Maybe take a walk, weather permitting. We’ll say what we’re thankful for.

This year, I’m thankful for the prospect of a quiet, low-stress holiday.

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Looks peaceful, doesn’t it? Just like my vision for Thanksgiving.

Vote!

i voted sticker spool on white surface
Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

I like to offer my opinion, but had to learn as I grew up that there are appropriate and inappropriate occasions for that. The most appropriate time and place ever is the voting booth on election day. I couldn’t wait to turn 18 and go express myself on a ballot.

In all of the intervening years (there have been a lot) I’ve only ever missed voting in one election. There was a single city bond issue at stake and I had a stomach virus. I still regret how the world was deprived of my input.

I have a plan tomorrow. It involves dragging a 20-year-old along. He was diligently researching and filling out his sample ballot yesterday. He’s a responsible, informed, caring person, and would vote even if I didn’t make him. But I want to do it as a mother-son activity, so I’m making him accompany me early, before I go to work.

What’s your plan for voting? Or have you cast your ballot already? If you don’t yet know where to show up or what to bring, check that here. Your voice matters. If you can at all, show up and vote.