Hello everybody! It’s taking me a little bit of time to gather myself and sit down and write after our current election. I was truly devastated and shocked and really had to take time to fully process what happened. One thing that’s very important that I have learned from the past is that I have to stay engaged and not allow what I believe is a setback to push me out of the arena. It’s the time to for me to educate myself further with regards to our country and our politics. Rather than take a passive stance and complain, I will aim to be more active moving forward. No that doesn’t mean I’m going to run for a political office, but I would like to push my activism more to the forefront and to increase my knowledge especially in areas that are important to me. Part of being a citizen in this country is to be a part of the democratic process and the only way that we can do that is through active education and an engagement. So as I learn things I will share some things on here with you all and I hope that everybody feels inspired after this election to take action and to be involved. Now enough of that, and onto my meanderings.
As for my work, I managed to miss my launch date twice: first with house guests and this last week, I lost all motivation to do anything after the election results. But I am going to push on and get this latest release out. The timing is off but can’t be helped. The beauty of cards is that some people buy seasonal cards for use next year, so it isn’t a total loss for me. I will be sure to let you know when my new products finally make it on the shelf.
Friday was Veteran’s Day so the boys and I headed out to catch the parade. Apollo brought his iPad so he could record the parade.
I love seeing the old cars in the parade. The owners are always so proud and friendly. It adds to the charm of the parade.
The boys wanted to walk down to where the memorial is in the town center to hear the talk. So off we went and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of our shadows as we walked. I love the sprinkling of leaves.
As we got there we managed to find a spot that was unfortunately closer to the back of the crowd so I could barely see the speakers. But I could hear them when they approached the microphone. So while I was listening, a part of me was peekint to see the people standing behind the speaker and noticing not one person of color or female for that matter. So I drifted off into thought and complained about the lack of diversity. When all of the sudden the crowd shifted and I couldn’t see the speaker anymore and he began to introduce his keynote speaker. Well what do you know, he introduced Lieutenant Colonel Gayle-Bennett as the keynote speaker and as he began to talk, I was thrilled to find the speaker was a female and African American. Below is a little bit I pulled off the internet about her:
Lieutenant Colonel Gayle-Bennett has been an officer in the U.S. Army National Guard for more than 20 years and has completed several active duty tours. During her employment to Iraq, she worked as a Physician Assistant providing medical care for soldiers. She currently serves as the Deputy Commander of Medical Command for the Army National Guard and is now the most senior ranking African-American woman in the Massachusetts National Guard. LTC Gayle-Bennett is also a pediatric Physician Assistant with the Harvard Vanguard Medical Group.
In 2010, LTC Gayle-Bennett led the Massachusetts National Guard Command Resiliency Team in organizational support for soldiers at mobilization and demobilization sites. She also facilitated the identification of wounded soldiers and served as an advocate for them during the wounded warrior process. The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, LTC Gayle-Bennett is also a wife and mother of five children.
As soon as the ceremony was over, I rushed over to meet her, shake hands and thank her for her service for our country. The boys seemed excited too and I was so happy we decided to attend this year’s parade. After our photos with the Lieutenant, Apollo grabbed a seat on a bench to see the parade re-assemble to complete the second half of their march through town. Despite my feelings of despair from the election, I found the parade and the speeches including Colonel Gayle-Bennet’s moved me towards a place of hope.
I hope you all have a blessed week and I plan to resume my posts with a new series starting tomorrow.
Belinda
Well I have gone and done it again. Went MIA on my Happy Monday Musings. I had every intention of sitting down and writing a post on Monday but it was Halloween and I started day one of the 21-day Clean Gut Cleanse (later on that). I went away for the weekend to Newport Rhode Island with my family and neglected to shop prior to Monday for the cleanse. So grocery shopping and preparing for Halloween to the front stage. But let me slow down and catch you up before another Monday sneaks up on me.
First, we took the boys and my in-laws to Newport Rhode Island for a weekend getaway. I had visited a few years ago for a sister’s weekend with my sister Bernadette ansd boy did we have fun. But aside from me it was everyone else’s first visit. Saturday was a bit windy and cool so I had planned an indoor activity to keep things moving. I found a glass blowing place that teaches you how to blow glass and we made our own ornaments.
We all weren’t sure what to expect but was so pleasantly surprised at how much fun it was. Being a crafter, I knew this would be something we would all remember and have something amazing to look at and remind of our special time.
The guy that taught our lesson was really fun and relaxed so that helped set everyone at ease.
We drove around to peek at the mansions (we are saving them for another visit) and then rode along Ocean Drive to “oh and ah” over the amazing views and the enormous homes. We had lunch at Panera because it’s Apollo’s favorite. Then I even researched and found a local comic book store to take Nick to see. He was quite pleased. Then we checked into The Marriott and it didn’t disappoint with the ocean view, modern furnishings and amazing balconies. The boys love staying in hotels so that in itself is always a treat.
I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the weekend! I will do better next week. I’m still reading like crazy and need to put up a review.
Hello! How are you today? It’s cold and sunny outside in my neck of the woods. But nice and comfy inside. I have my cup of Chai and I am ready to wrap up work on my fall collection of cards. I had taken a long time off from production for my online store and focused on offline custom items and continuing to explore new techniques in my craft. So I have to shake off the cobwebs and get down to the business of making some products for my online store.
