Tag: Tim Scott

Feeling Friday

Hello my dear friends and readers!! We made it!! We made it to Friday. In my life, a lot of “my people” have gone through some challenges this week such as crazy, busy workloads and deadlines, huge snow storms, and scary health challenges. Somehow, though, here we are at Friday, and everything feels like its going to be okay. I am happy to report that two of my dear friends got the vaccine this week. They had no reaction to the shot, other than big smiles on their faces. That makes my heart, happy and hopeful. My regular readers know that I love Fridays and I typically list three favorite products or songs or movies or food stuff that make life a little more fun and eventful. I strongly encourage you to put your favorites in my Comments section. Share the love, friends!! Here are my favorites for today:

Hunt for the Wilderpeople – This movie was written by Taika Waititi, the same man who created JoJo Rabbit and The Mandalorian. The movie features a young man who is a foster child in New Zealand, and his adventure with his “uncle.” What I love most about Taika Waititi’s creations is that he shows his stories through the innocent, hopeful, resilient eyes of a child. He makes it okay to laugh through extremely difficult experiences. I always fall in love with the characters (even the supporting cast) in his movies, and I always feel a little expansion in my heart and in my smile, after watching. I highly recommend this delightful film.

Mineral Fusion Lipstick – One of my favorite things in life, is to find an “old favorite” which I have forgotten about. I was cleaning out my little cross-body, dog walking purse, and underneath the poop bags (unused, of course), the dog whistle, the hand sanitizer, and a few random dog treats, was my metallic orange tube of Mineral Fusion Lipstick (shade – Intensity). I forgot how much I like this lipstick for its brightness and staying power. The older I get, the more faded out I seem to look, and a nice, bright lipstick always does the trick, to perk me up a little bit. Lately, one of my friends (a somewhat conservative English teacher), has taken to wearing red lipstick every day and she looks so gorgeous on our Marco Polo videos that we share we each other, in our friend group. Lipstick is our friend, ladies! (Peony is another shade that I like from this line.)

I was reminded of one of my favorite biblical verses today, from Tim Scott’s (senator from South Carolina) Twitter. Tim was raised by a single mother who worked sixty hour weeks as a nurse’s aide to support her family. Tim Scott has said that his mother always saw what he was capable of becoming, well before he did and he quoted this verse, as he wished her a happy birthday today. Those of you, who also believe in mystical numbers, can appreciate that this verse is number 11:1. Keep the faith, friends and have a wonderful weekend! (Go Buccaneers!!!)

Image result for hebrews 11;1

Are you passing on love, or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Hard to Hate

“No matter who the threat is, no matter what the threat is, you look them in the eye so that they know you’re human.” (a Black Lives Matter demonstrator in Whitefish, Montana, who stood up to an angry man who was inches away from her face, talking about the advice her late father had given to her)

“There is no law that we can pass that will change an individual’s heart. We must create spaces for open communication between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve. These serious conversations will lead us to better outcomes. It’s hard to hate up close!” – Senator Tim Scott, South Carolina

dont be racist pin, anti-racism pin, anti-racist button, black lives matter pin, BLM pin, feminist pin, protest pin, gifts for feminists

In a tensely angry moment, I purchased the above pin. The purchase came after a day of running errands with my daughter, last week. As we all know, last week was very tumultuous and emotionally charged. My purchase came from a moment of helplessness at my very core, where I wanted to hug every person of color whom I came in contact with, in order to show that I truly care about George Floyd’s needless death. I wanted to show that in my deepest humanity, I felt sick and sad and scared and yet even hopeful about the whole situation, but in reality, I also felt entirely uncomfortable, too. I didn’t know what to say to anybody, and I felt very ill at ease and anxious to get home. I remained silent and awkward in every store, although I did try to convey my heart, through my eyes, the only part of my face that was showing, above my mask. In the car, my daughter mentioned that she had felt the same level of agitation and helplessness that I had felt. We both noticed the races of the other people who we had come in contact with, more than we ever had before. It was a strange awakening. So, in my anger and in my sadness, and in a mix of shame and righteousness, I purchased the above pin.

I proudly showed my new piece of attire to my sons. They winced. “Wow” and “Okay” is all that they said. I was surprised by their reaction. In my emotional moment, I honestly thought that I would probably get some “cool mom points” for my purchase. I imagined that by me wearing that pin – me, a middle-aged, well-heeled white woman, with nice clothes, a designer handbag and coming out of a snazzy car, would be making a statement, everywhere I went, without having to say one word.

But then I calmed down. That choice didn’t seem particularly brave. It seemed sort of defensive and it lacked self reflection. It pushed the problems of society away from me.

In my settled-down self awareness, I decided that no child, no matter what the color of their skin, needed to see me adorned with “the f-word”, no matter how many pretty flowers were surrounding it. Instead, I started researching racism on-line. I downloaded the book How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. I am currently reading this book, slowly and carefully, watching for any signs of defensiveness I may have, that could cloud the open mind, which I have always prided myself for having. I am currently scouring my own beliefs, and the hidden, subconscious aspects of my own character that do not, in any way, reflect what I want for me, and for my family and friends, for my country and for humanity.

I don’t wear the pin that I purchased. Instead, the above pictured pin, has a rightful place on my cork board next to my desk, where I keep pictures of my family, our dogs, trips that we have been on, and other images that are inspirational to me. The pin still serves as an excellent reminder . . . . a lovely, forceful reminder to me.