Luck
I have some. For a very long time, I felt as if I had none, but I wasn't looking hard enough.
I am an extraordinarily lucky person.
1) I was born in America. That still means something. There is a reason that people want to be here. We are a democracy. I'm not stupid. I am not one of these people who think that those who risk everything to cross our border are just doing it because they feel like a change. The majority of these people are fleeing for their lives. They live in places where life is excruciatingly hard. They want better for their kin. They want to be able to feed and clothe their children. My Father once told me, "Walk a mile in someone's moccasins before you judge them." I try to imagine living in Guatemala. I have had occasion to visit with someone from Honduras recently and listening to them speak about their day-to-day life, I was humbled. And educated.
I am so lucky to be here. I don't like the direction my country is going in, but I have the right to speak out about it. And if you know anything about me, you know that I do. I'm with Emily Dickinson on this one: "No coward soul is mine."
But, I know how lucky I am to be here.
2) I have someone whom I love. It isn't always easy. We are two extremely different personalities. But, we agree on the important things. And I had the great good luck to not only fall in love with someone who is a good person, I fell in love with someone who is intelligent. That means a lot to me. I like discussion. I don't think I would fare well with someone who didn't have an opinion on things. We have our disagreements. We disagree on just enough things to keep it all interesting. But, when the chips are down, when one of us needs the other.....none of that matters. What matters is that love we share. That devotion. Some don't see our love as moral. I'm so sorry. You are missing out on seeing one of the best love stories play out. Your loss.
3) I have beaten cancer. Twice. I was in that chemo room for eight hours a day, every day for a very long time. I know the odds. I've seen the odds. I saw people walk in with rosy cheeks and high hopes and saw them carried out on stretchers. I'm nobody's fool. I am not just lucky. I am FUCKING lucky.
4) I have people around me every day who I genuinely like and enjoy. I have come to LOVE seeing Padric at the park. He is different. He has Asperger's Syndrome and he is one of my favorite people to converse with. Mainly because he has a solution for everything. Yesterday, it was abnormally hot for September, nearly 96 degrees. We were sitting on a bench, I was dressed in a blue sleeveless sundress and sandals. He was dressed in a long sleeved cotton shirt, chinos, shoes and socks and a panama hat. I was sweating profusely and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. He was cool and unbitten. When I commented on this, he told me that there is good evidence that one keeps cooler if one simply wears cotton and keeps the skin covered.
"You are wearing what looks to be a dress that is not pure cotton and you have no hat," he told me. "Plus, you are fair skinned. Bugs like you Celts. Your blood is nice and thin."
Then, because he sees a therapist who helps him with social skills, he said, "Not that it isn't a very nice dress. It is a pretty blue color."
I've learned a lot about the woods and the animals who live there from Padric. He also watches the news carefully and with an open minded eye. We often discuss politics. He has actually written an incredibly dry, but informative paper comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. And he wrote it "Just because the information is out there and I find analogous situations intriguing."
I like knowing that people like Padric exist. I have so many people in my life who are funny, kind, and smart. I think that you can go pretty far if you have that.
5) I am not in real need of anything. I have so much. Good books to read. Movies and television shows that give me reason to think or maybe just to laugh and have a good time. Or cry and feel sentimental.
6) Lucy. Enough said.
7) Conrad. Enough said.
8) Sarah. Enough said.
9) New friends keep showing up. That would be you, Terri.
And last, but never least....
10) Coffee.
Lucky, lucky me.
converse
I am an extraordinarily lucky person.
1) I was born in America. That still means something. There is a reason that people want to be here. We are a democracy. I'm not stupid. I am not one of these people who think that those who risk everything to cross our border are just doing it because they feel like a change. The majority of these people are fleeing for their lives. They live in places where life is excruciatingly hard. They want better for their kin. They want to be able to feed and clothe their children. My Father once told me, "Walk a mile in someone's moccasins before you judge them." I try to imagine living in Guatemala. I have had occasion to visit with someone from Honduras recently and listening to them speak about their day-to-day life, I was humbled. And educated.
I am so lucky to be here. I don't like the direction my country is going in, but I have the right to speak out about it. And if you know anything about me, you know that I do. I'm with Emily Dickinson on this one: "No coward soul is mine."
But, I know how lucky I am to be here.
2) I have someone whom I love. It isn't always easy. We are two extremely different personalities. But, we agree on the important things. And I had the great good luck to not only fall in love with someone who is a good person, I fell in love with someone who is intelligent. That means a lot to me. I like discussion. I don't think I would fare well with someone who didn't have an opinion on things. We have our disagreements. We disagree on just enough things to keep it all interesting. But, when the chips are down, when one of us needs the other.....none of that matters. What matters is that love we share. That devotion. Some don't see our love as moral. I'm so sorry. You are missing out on seeing one of the best love stories play out. Your loss.
3) I have beaten cancer. Twice. I was in that chemo room for eight hours a day, every day for a very long time. I know the odds. I've seen the odds. I saw people walk in with rosy cheeks and high hopes and saw them carried out on stretchers. I'm nobody's fool. I am not just lucky. I am FUCKING lucky.
4) I have people around me every day who I genuinely like and enjoy. I have come to LOVE seeing Padric at the park. He is different. He has Asperger's Syndrome and he is one of my favorite people to converse with. Mainly because he has a solution for everything. Yesterday, it was abnormally hot for September, nearly 96 degrees. We were sitting on a bench, I was dressed in a blue sleeveless sundress and sandals. He was dressed in a long sleeved cotton shirt, chinos, shoes and socks and a panama hat. I was sweating profusely and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. He was cool and unbitten. When I commented on this, he told me that there is good evidence that one keeps cooler if one simply wears cotton and keeps the skin covered.
"You are wearing what looks to be a dress that is not pure cotton and you have no hat," he told me. "Plus, you are fair skinned. Bugs like you Celts. Your blood is nice and thin."
Then, because he sees a therapist who helps him with social skills, he said, "Not that it isn't a very nice dress. It is a pretty blue color."
I've learned a lot about the woods and the animals who live there from Padric. He also watches the news carefully and with an open minded eye. We often discuss politics. He has actually written an incredibly dry, but informative paper comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. And he wrote it "Just because the information is out there and I find analogous situations intriguing."
I like knowing that people like Padric exist. I have so many people in my life who are funny, kind, and smart. I think that you can go pretty far if you have that.
5) I am not in real need of anything. I have so much. Good books to read. Movies and television shows that give me reason to think or maybe just to laugh and have a good time. Or cry and feel sentimental.
6) Lucy. Enough said.
7) Conrad. Enough said.
8) Sarah. Enough said.
9) New friends keep showing up. That would be you, Terri.
And last, but never least....
10) Coffee.
Lucky, lucky me.
converse
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