It's less than 90 days till Christmas and my BIG plans to have my Christmas gift sewing has been deterred...again, happens every year. Why is that? This is my favorite season - FALL - it is the season that rejuvenates me and makes me feel I can do anything. It's the season I WANT to be outside, walking, looking, breathing, waiting for leaves to change, jumping every time an oversized acorn falls (I am being targeted), mums showing up on everyone's front porch. Last year my next door neighbor cut down 2 huge trees that were in between our houses...I miss those trees...I would sit on my patio and watch squirrels until I lost track of time...then the squirrels would spot me and start hulling their nuts right above my head and I would get bombarded with remnants and missed bites...well not this year...the squirrels had to go find new trees and a new person to annoy in their own squirrelly way.
The last 3 to 4 weeks has been a foggy nightmare...and I couldn't shake it. The political madness had me in knots. Innocent conversations would turn vile and ugly. I normally keep my mouth shut so when people would ask me how I was planning on voting I would just say that I was still weighing the possibilities of both sides (I HATE JUST 2 SIDES). People that I trusted were just like me (in that they also didn't like turmoil and heated discussions) became belligerent and name-callers (things that were said by candidates and bloggers and reporters) that were totally uncalled for and untrue). My sons would come home from school and want to discuss what they had heard and read ...too much political brain overload based on rumors, gossip, and outright falsities.
I have been voting since I was 18. I never knew what party my parents belonged to until I was 25. It was a very personal and private and an extreme thought-provoking privilege to them. I remember the first time I voted. I rode with my dad and on the way there he asked if I knew who I was voting for, not to tell him , just did I know who...I said yes, I knew and before I could say who, he said "Just vote for for who you trust the most". He did ask me how I came to decide and I told him that I looked at it like the US was one big family...the Pres would be the dad (the tiebreaker) if the family (Congress and Senate) was undecided. I told him the Pres to me would be responsible for all outside forces ( like foreign policy, helping other countries, world business) just like my Dad would do making sure all ran well around the perimeters of the USA (family) with the Congress and the Senate. The state offices would be like my Mom who made sure my day-to day life ran smoothly. He just smiled and that was that. I always thought my parents were the opposite party of what they are...they do look at things in a very different way than I do but it's funny we end up wanting to vote for the same candidates.
My decision is done and not without pain and I mean literal pain...the political turmoil this year caused a stress factor like I haven't had in over 3 years which was the last time I had a fibromyalgia attack as bad as the one I am in now. So my absence, foggy brain, lack of projects completed has been explained. Fibro sucks and it sucks even more when stress is added to it, or maybe stress is the real factor in fibro...don't know , I am still learning and coping with this extremely weird, unexplainable condition. But I am feeling better and it's FALL!!!!
The mountain is awesome to hike and takes everything I have...thus very few pics because I was so worn out I could barely hold the camera steady.
