2016 was quite important for our family. We moved to a new
(rental) house -a real house, with stairs and a “garden”, which is actually a
small front yard, that left Léo in awe for a good month! Leo started
Kindergarten at our neighborhood public school -no more French school, which made
me a bit sad- and Jude entered a new daycare at the end of the summer. We’re
able to walk to both schools and enjoy our friendly neighbors. We spend a lot
of time with family as we live about 20 minutes from every one of Joe’s core
family members. I really love where we live!
On a personal level, the year has been good but tough in 2
areas: I turned 36 and the November presidential elections left me reeling and
depressed for weeks.
Turning 36 has been harder than I thought it would be. When
I was just about to turn 12 my dad died at almost 36. When you’re 12, 36 seemed
like a big ol’ age and even though everybody said he died “so young” I thought
it was old, period. Because of that I have always thought that 35-36 was it -an
appropriate age to die. So now I’m 36 and it’s been so hard to imagine the
future, to make plans, to be excited about anything because… I don’t really
know how to explain this but 36 feels like the end. My brain knows that 36 is
young indeed but my heart hasn’t quite caught on to that yet. So I’m left in
this weird space between what I know and what I feel. I’m working on it,
developing small goals for myself to prove that hey, 36 (and beyond) is a good
age!
And the second thing… November and Hillary Clinton’s loss… I
felt sad and sick and furious and dumbfounded. I was part of the liberal bubble
who frankly didn’t see that coming. I was expecting to celebrate until about
8 PM when I understood that the man who had insulted every
single minority population and had flaunted his brash ignorance of facts had won
the election. What a disastrous moment that was. Like many people, I cried.
But, like many people, I vowed that instead of posting rants and memes on
Facebook, I would do something. I have become an active member in 2 social
justice groups I had joined before the election and I will be a strong ally to
ensure that human rights are not taken away, whether we’re talking about
marriage, reproductive health or religious freedom. Now is the time to advocate
and let our voices be heard. Now is not the time to normalize the rejection of
the “other.” The next four years might be tough -will be tough- but we can be
united to show love, compassion, and active solidarity with those who fear for
their very lives and liberties.
What about you? What are the main events that shaped how you
felt and acted this past year -good or bad?
So glad you posted this! Would you mind sharing the social justice groups you joined, I would love to check them out.
ReplyDeleteOf course! One is Multi-Racial Justice - Orange County (it's an affiliate of SURJ, Showing Up For Racial Justice. You can find you local chapter here: http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/affiliated_groups_local_contacts) and the other one is the Social Justice Committee in my neighborhood, of which I'm now a core member (http://lrsjcommittee.weebly.com/).
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