Friends and Politics

I'm going back a few days here...
Some of my very dearest friends are conservatives, politically. A couple of them got really obnoxious on election night trying to rub liberal noses in their conservative victories on Facebook. I am not a Democrat. I am independent, voting Republican when I think that the candidate has something to offer that meets my criteria on MY issues...but overall, I am a liberal thinker...and I became really offended by their personal attacks. One of my favorites is, "Guns kill people like spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat". Yeah...HAHAHAH...funny. Funny, perhaps, but also discriminatory. And nasty. And personal. A year or two ago, one of my best friends in life accused me of voting for Obama because he was a black man. In that moment, I realized that the friend and I didn't really know each other. In short, on election night, I became incensed by the rhetoric and attempted to expose the hypocricy of one "friend"...who quickly sent me endless emails telling me to stop because he didn't want anyone to know. Huh???? If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen! What bothered me the most from this was that I was totally out of control. I couldn't have cared less who won the elections. I just hated the "hate" rhetoric that was showing up online. I am convinced that liberal thinkers and conservative thinkers are wired differently...like men and women. Ugh!

Today, I went to lunch with my bestest friend in all the world...a sister who isn't my sister. Phyllis and I taught together way back when I was first hired in the Monrovia district. She single-handedly got me through my divorce...and even though we haven't stayed physically close through the years, every time we meet, it is like we were never apart. Phyl and I are unlike in a lot of ways...but when we are together, we are totally in synch. She is obsessive/compulsive about her surroundings. I am a sloth about mine. Still, we get along. Lunch today was a shot in the arm for me! I love you, Phyllis!

My grandchildren are in Cleveland for their step-great-grandmother's funeral. They are heading for home tomorrow. Wish they would head for home via Indiana and leave my grandchildren here for the weekend. I can't even ask..

My church has an Angel Tree project which is based on incarcerated parents requesting Christmas presents for their kids in absentia. I volunteered to call a number of caregivers to determine what the kids need. It has been a real education for me! Glad I started early. Catching people at home and/or getting to know their individual needs gets tricky... One family is a third-year recipient of the Angel Tree project, but complained that "nothing they sent last year fit nobody." I explained that everything that was purchased came directly from the sizes they were given on the phone...but I'm not sure anyone was listening.

I keep my head up and hope for the best. You should, too!