Speaking up

 

When I wake up in the morning I roll over to my left and look up.

That coffee mug is usually what I see.

Here's why.

40+ years ago it became a daily thing for Donald and I to bring one another morning coffee in bed.

Whichever of us happened to get up first would make coffee and bring two cups to bed.

It's how we started our day.  

Things have changed over the years.  Now that we're retired, I am often still reading when Donald falls asleep, so he's usually the first one up.  

Sometimes the first one up by several hours.

He'll fix me a cup of coffee and leave it on my nightstand.

Yes, sometimes it's stone cold by the time I wake up and he's gone on about his business, and that's okay.

It still makes me smile.

And I know I am loved.

And that knowledge has never been more important than it is right now.

When I was younger I was fairly fearless.  Granted, some of that fearlessness came from the naivety of being young and untested.  Witnessing and confronting mortality had not yet happened.

But it's more than that.

For one thing, I have, on occasion, been stopped by police for driving too fast.

It was annoying, frustrating, certainly not fun, but, sadly unlike our friends and family of color, I was never scared to pull over while those lights flashed and the siren whoop-whooped.

Not true today.  I think I would try to keep driving long enough to find a well populated spot before pulling over.  But now we know, even having a crowd of people around is not enough to keep us from being shot and killed.

I could write volumes about this, but I just don't have it in me right now. 

This morning while having my quiet cup of coffee, I did what I often do.

I wrote to my members of congress.  Tillis, Budd, and Foxx.

Today I was on a tear and included many many many things I'm upset, angry, and scared about.

ICE, Greenland, Venezuela, Health Care.  Our missing congress.

Being a Third World Country. 

I may not be as fearless as I once was, but I am, by damned, determined not to be cowed by our own elected officials.  

They're supposed to follow the will of the people.  NOT the will of an insane tin pot bully of a dictator.

As long as I breathe I will remind them of this.

I hope you will too.