Monthly Archives: January 2021

So that’s done…

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I’m gonna be honest here, my friends. Well, I feel like I’m always honest here but that’s besides the point. Anyway…

The last four years have been rough. Living in a country that elected that vile excuse of a human being and everything that went along with it was a challenge. If it had been realistic to do so we would have left, and trust me when I say we had a lot of discussions around it (you might be surprised to learn that there aren’t a lot of countries that are really chomping at the bit to let Americans move there). I watched the new President give his inaugural address, and I realized as I was doing so that it was the first time I’ve willingly watched the President of my country speak since the last inauguration, when I sat there in open mouthed horror as Cheetolini extolled the kind of “virtues” that had not been publicly embraced to that extent in decades.

I’m really looking forward to going back to the President not being part of the daily discussion, and not cringing every time that person speaks.

But in the spirit of unity that President Biden is calling for, here’s a few things I’m going to commit to…

  • I won’t use President Biden’s name as a weapon. We have removed our yard sign, and I won’t be wearing my Biden/Harris mask any more.
  • I won’t begrudge the people who want to say that Biden is not “their” President, but I will not hesitate to remind them that he is the President.
  • I will continue to have open dialogue with people who disagree with me on the way the Government should run, but I reserve the right to continue lambasting Nazis, white supremacists, racists, and others who were emboldened by the 45 administration.
  • I’m also going to continue making fun of anyone who still thinks Q is a reliable source.

Gotta get back to work, but I wanted to get those thoughts out.

Momentum

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Perfection is the enemy of good. That’s how the saying goes, isn’t it? I’d take the time to look it up but that’s kind of antithetical to what I’m writing about today. As is typical for me by now, when the year rolled over I glanced at my neglected network of blogs and committed to do better by them in the coming year. I even created a Trello board called “editorial calendar” that has three lists of topics, and I promised myself I’d write three posts a week.

That was three weeks ago. As you can see, no blog posts as of yet.

I almost opened up my editorial calendar to see what I should have written about in this blog on Monday three weeks ago, but I decided not to. I just wanted to get some words down. Get things moving. Get some momentum.

That would certainly be a nice change after 2020.

Don’t get me wrong. In a lot of ways, if I’m being honest, 2020 was pretty good to me personally. I lost more weight. My wife and I committed to making some serious inroads into our financial future and we have done so. I kept up my walking routine and completed a good number of virtual distance challenges. I’ve remained alcohol-free. I listened to a lot of books and podcasts. My team and I have received many accolades and are held up as being highly influential employees in the organization. I’ve continued to go to therapy every two weeks, and I’ve really learned a lot about myself as a result.

But, of course, 2020 was 2020. Pandemic. 45. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria. We’re coming up on a year since the lockdowns began, and all the related factors are of course impacting all of us, and I’m not immune to that. The virus has mutated and that version is making the rounds, so it looks like another extended period of extreme lockdown.

I’m also writing this 10 days before the second anniversary of Christopher’s death, and almost a week after what should have been his 20th birthday. We continue to do our best to heal, to be there for each other, to figure out what life is supposed to even look like now in what we refer to as the “after.” It’s been hard. It will continue to be hard. Most of the people around us probably don’t even think about his suicide when they think about us, and that’s completely normal, but it’s still very much a part of who we are now. Part of who we will always be.

I don’t mean to be maudlin here, and I don’t feel like what I wrote above doesn’t even qualify for that if I’m being honest. It’s not a sad fact. It’s just a fact. It is, as my step-son says, what it is.

So there is a post. I hope there are more to follow. That I keep up the momentum. At this point I have to agree with my Mother, who loves to say that as long as she keeps moving she keeps living. She’s living proof that is true, so all I can do is hope to emulate her.