A Letter to My Friends

Dearest Friends:

The quarantine and furlough have been rough. I'm tired and while I've held up pretty well for two and a half months, I'm starting to crumble a bit. And it's not for lack of things to do - I have plenty to keep me busy until Fall. I miss seeing you. I miss hearing your voices. I miss your diverse personalities - even the irritating ones. I miss your unique perspectives on various issues. I learn a lot from you.

Now, once again, we have a situation of police brutality against an African American man in Minneapolis. I don't understand how this is still happening in our country. Have we learned nothing from the past? My heart breaks over this. I'm not saying this to be politically correct. Hopefully, you know me better than that. I think, what if this man were your husband, brother, father, son, boyfriend? You know I would be there for you, arms wrapped around you as tight as you will let me (social distancing be damned). I would cry with you and pray with you and beg God to ease your pain. It would be personal for me, because you are my friends.

I would hope you would do the same for me. However, we all know that may never happen because I'm white. I'm sorry about my privilege. If I could share it with you, I would in a heartbeat. In truth, there shouldn't be a thing called white privilege. We Americans are all covered by the same Constitution; yet, the administration of our guaranteed rights is subject to the color of our skin. This is wrong.

The current administration is doing nothing to comfort our nation that is grieving in so many ways. The healing and repairs needed will have to come from the people. All of us. This means we must all stand together against unjust practices, root out corruption, and, most importantly, vote in every election. Every election -  from the local school board to the Presidency. Keeping up with all this can be tedious. I agree. I'm busy, too. However, I fear that our "busyness" is how we got to where we are today.

My dear friends, I want you to know that I care about you, love and miss you dearly, and hope to see all of you soon, if life ever returns to "normal." Like you, I just want to live my life in peace, earn a descent living, and be surrounded by a loving family and friends. I value each and every one of you.

Prayers and Blessings,

Elizabeth

Life, Death and the Holidays

Somehow the holidays always seem to sneak up on me. I know I'm not alone in this observation. However, for our family, this holiday season is drastically different.

Last August, we lost my mother. After almost 91 years, her heart, mind and body finally decided enough was enough and she joined her brother, parents and my father in Heaven. While I know she is in a better place, I and my family miss her dearly. Someone posted on Facebook a few days ago a little sentiment, "I wish there were visiting hours in Heaven." Today, I wished that more than anything. Today wasn't anything special. It was just another day with Thanksgiving looming in the almost immediate future. I'm not cooking this year. Neither is my aunt - my mother's older sister. We have chosen to eat out this Thanksgiving. Any other Thanksgiving, I would have regarded this as sacrilege. My aunt was concerned that we would be insulted by the idea. Not this year.

Shortly after Mom's passing, we acquired a stray cat. The plan was to find her owners or turn her over to the Humane Society. After two months, no one came forward to claim her and we had become attached. We named her Rosie. Nosie Rosie would be a better fit. She is in everything. She's no longer a kitten; the vet put her at about a year old. Rosie has a personality that is all diva, and Rocky, our older male cat, isn't so sure he likes the idea. However, they have learned to like each other and sometimes sleep together on Big Jack's recliner or my lap. I wish Mom were alive to see them. Rosie would have had Mom laughing until she cried.

Big Jack's mental and physical health issues are taking their toll on all of us. We've made adjustments in his medicines for his psychiatric problems and now his kidneys are rebelling against him. Since last spring, he has had a total of 7 kidney stones. This latest one had to be surgically removed through his back. The thing was the size of a golf ball and the doctor believes there may still be more. Needless to say, Jack is in agony and I'm exhausted.

The pressure of the holidays is always the same. However, this year, we will be absent from a lot of the holiday traditions. We haven't really decided if we want to decorate for Christmas. I don't think I'll be baking cookies or anything else. Maybe we'll try being normal next year.