Getting Off the Struggle Bus

I'm cranky and I can't get up!

Everyone in my household is cranky. Actually the dog is nonplussed but the rest of us are on the big old struggle bus. There is agitation in the air. Little things are setting us off. Did the trash bag that I was trying to load really just fall on the floor? If my husband doesn’t speak louder, I simply cannot hear him which is IRRITATING me. Will I ever get on top of this endless war with technology? Why oh why is everything out to get me? If my eyes were working better, that would help. But bad eyesight aside, it is a daily battle to wrangle spreadsheets and find long lost documents. It probably doesn’t help that it’s freezing cold outside. In the plus column, the sun is out so there’s that. I really do try to find things to be optimistic about.

I know I am breaking my own “no whining rule” but I can’t help myself. What new travesty awaits us when we reluctantly turn on the PBS Newshour at the end of the day? That’s as much news as we can take. No MSNBC or CNN for us right now. We hope that Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and John Stewart will give us something to chuckle about even as we gnash our teeth.

I keep wondering what it must be like to be inside the offices of the liberal media. While I’m sure there is a temptation to lead with all of the outrage that so many of us feel, is that a winning strategy to keep viewers? I don’t think so. I’ve heard that their viewership has dropped precipitously which must be making them cranky too.

My act of resistance on the day of the inauguration was to make valentines in my art studio. I cranked up some show tunes and thought about the people I love. I’ve been burying myself in books as a means to escape. Ruth Reichl’s latest book, the Paris Novel is wonderful if you want to dream of being in Paris and eating incredible food. I am continuing to inhale the words of Brian Doyle who is my new favorite author. His book One Long Slow River of Song: Notes on Wonder is a balm for the soul.

Despite all of the strategies to stay sane, It feels like we can’t look away from a terrible car crash that is happening in slow motion right in front of us. Actually there has been nothing slow about it. The insanity has been coming at us at breakneck speed. I pray for our leaders who are standing up for what’s right. I hope they can steel themselves for the fight and not give in.

And finally in my own little corner of the world, I am choosing to work on a musical theatre play that is about love and community and acceptance- A Man of No Importance. In a world where the notion of acceptance is being challenged daily, it is more important than ever that we shine a light on the redemptive power of loving and accepting each other just as we are

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