The Sunday Squirrel...and Politics? That's Just Nuts!

I participated in the formal election process yesterday, but I had already made up my mind and made a more important choice for my family:

I’m not one to talk politics.  I listen and watch.  I observe and follow trending topics.  And yes, sometimes I smile, while at other times, I shake my head.  And later this year, like most registered voters in the USA, I will make a choice.  We all will.

Some may choose not to participate at all.  Still a choice (cue Rush, “I will choose free will”)!  Some may vote party loyalty.  Some may vote out of fear.  Whatever the reason, I’m going to remember that it’s a privilege we all have living in a country with a democracy.

I scan my Facebook feed, follow Twitter, and see that like every other topic in the 21^st century, this one has gone viral with hashtags and emojis on steroids in social media.   Commentary and opinions that would never show up at the water cooler with such voracity, spill out over the internet in rants…often becoming a trending topic, prime “meme” material and sometimes even the perfect breaking story angle on a slow news day.

My own choice is a lot closer to home.  It’s what I’ve decided to do regardless of who swaps seats in the Oval Office for the next four years.   I choose to:

• Make plans for my spring garden, with a belief that it will be just as rewarding at harvest time as it was this year.
• Raise my kids in a way that teaches mutual respect.
• Keep an open dialogue and conversation going with my kids at all times.
• Listen when there is something my kids really want to understand.
• Laugh when the circus is too much to take.
• Continue to believe that we are all in this together and no matter what kind of party animal we pick in the 2016 Election, we find a better way for Donkeys and Elephants to dance together.

As for this squirrel, I’ll keep storing away nuts wishing desperately that, like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, I could magically test and tap nuts and immediately know which ones are bad and should be rejected.  If only life (and the political process) was that simple… 

M