On guns and kitchens

I am still so upset about the most recent mass shooting that I can't wholly articulate my thoughts yet.

I will say this: If you feel that your right to have an assault rifle trumps a child's right to safely attend school, you are sick and have truly fucked up priorities. If you think that guns don't kill people, people kill people, and you can watch this video of bloody kids (shot) dead in classrooms, you are wrong and sick and have some sort of terrifyingly selfish ability to compartmentalize the facts on the ground. If you think that "thoughts and prayers" are anything but an offensive and grotesque slap in the face to all victims of gun violence, you are wrong and beyond offensive.

Emma Gonzalez, a 17-year-old student from Parkland, FL, said it best: "We call BS!" If you haven't seen her powerful speech at the anti-gun rally following the slaughter at her school, please watch.

***

In lighter news, our damn kitchen renovation. We had a few hairy days following Tuesday's debacle with the plumbing permit. On Thursday, after paying one water commission inspector $200 to come out and count our toilets (to double-confirm the number we and our plumber had already provided), I spent four hours at the water commission attempting to finish things.

Initially I was told that we would have to "put our renovation on hold for 6-8 months until WSSC could come out and install the new main and meter." Early responses to my plea that "not only do I currently have no kitchen but also I have two kids and there are holes all over my house" included "rules are rules." Ah, yes, but I didn't break the rules.

Finally, after applying for an abandonment permit, a service connection permit, attaching a notarized promise to pay for the upgraded service to my house note, paying the abandonment fee, and paying for a new permit, I was promised continuation of our renovation PENDING an inspection Friday morning. After that was complete, I waited several hours for an elusive yellow sticker to be granted. Now, we can proceed.

Fortunately, and I say this with the most sincere gratitude in the world, we really do have an amazing team. They continued work on everything that didn't require inspection such as dry wall repair, replacing a random rotten board on our deck, patching the floors, and finishing up the new register installs. Everything is looking good and cabinet delivery starts early next week. 

Before the snow started falling today, we had a gloriously sunny morning. I went nuts working in the yard- dividing my houseplants, pruning and sawing, raking and bagging. My soul felt so happy and light. My yard is one of my primary sources of life and joy. Thank goodness we can afford to keep our access to water and hoses. I am grateful. 

two happy plants are now four

Women's March 2018/March On the Polls DC

Left at 8:15 this morning, home just after 5p tonight. I'm tired but it was a great day of resistance and active participation in our democracy. The tenor of this year's March was different than last January's. Then, shocked and worried and desperate for hope, we came together to seek solace and strength in one another.

A year in, the shock has largely worn off. We know what we're dealing with, even when he sinks to new and ever-coarser lows. We have seen the damage being done to our country, our citizens of color, the poor and undocumented among us, our standing in the world, our environment. We woke this morning to a government shutdown.

Today we again came together, to vent our rage, to celebrate the many women who have run and won in local and state elections since trump's inauguration, to thank the women of color who got Doug Jones elected, to look ahead to the women and right-minded men who will run this November, to make clear that we are still here, we are still fighting, and a giant blue intersectional wave is only just beginning to really build its strength. 

Yet another protest: we march again

Well, tomorrow is another protest. The one year anniversary of the big one; the Women's March. 

2017 Women's March in DC

I'm grateful that we have this opportunity, grateful for freedom of expression, the freedom to gather, the freedom to express rage and disbelief and heartbreak in words and action. But, I am also furious. Furious that the United States has gone and is going to shit in so many ways so quickly and so constantly since a:

sexual assaulting
money laundering
stupid bouffanting
adultering
lying
addicted-to-golfing
couldn't-give-a-shit-about presidenting
ignorant-as-fucking
tweeting
reality TVing
small dicking
long tie-ing
small handsing
orange skinning
dictator loving
failed developmenting
hated-by-New Yorkers-ing
Birther-creating
"wall"-building
DACA-n-CHIP-killing
tax "reforming"
environment killing
big game hunting (vicariously)
racisting
McDonalds eating
can't-stop-talking-about-Hillarying
white supremacist-admiring
NRA-money-loving
charity stiffing
no-family-from-Swedening

a-hole won the Electoral College but not the popular vote in 2016. 

As we should all now know, democracy is not something to take for granted. Ane yet I am peevish to the g-damn max about spending yet another day with yet another homemade sign and mesh pack full of trail mix, phone chargers, lip balm, and Metro card hoping against hope that Republicans will find their balls and spines and that RBG and Mueller don't die anytime soon. 

my (double-sided) sign for tomorrow, March 2018

I am angry and tired. And I am tired of being angry and tired. But then again, at least there is hope in this messed up idea that is America, for that is more than many countries have. 

My sign and pack sit at the ready by the front door, and I'm off to bed now. I hope the turnout around the globe tomorrow (and Sunday) is huge, and I hope this November's elections are blue and female tsunamis. In the meantime, I continue to try to do my part. Try to show my sons how to be active participants in an imperfect system that is better than many alternatives. Try to imprint upon their dear souls that working for the good of many, especially the weakest, poorest, and most voiceless among us, is absolutely the way to go. Hoping against current evidence that maybe in the future, justice won't take quite so much rage and effort.