A Little Bit of Politics

Happy first day of Women’s History Month!  This month is always very important to me.  Being a woman in this world is never the equal, kind, loving, fun, exciting place we want it to be.  Some things can be, but with all of the inequalities within sexes, we have to work extra hard to prove that we are good enough.  So for all of the women identifiers out there, you rock and I am so honored to share this history month, and every month, with you.

Every blog this month will have a quote by women in this world who I believe are important people in the women’s rights movement.  This week:

“Women belong in ALL places where decisions are being made.”  – RBG

We had a lot going on this weekend, but I believe that this week we need to talk about something important, so keep reading for Steve’s entry.

Hey readers, Steve here. Skye and I just got back yesterday from an amazing weekend, where my cousin got married on Saturday. We had a great time with extended family, my immediate family, and a lot of my cousin’s friends who I still don’t know anything about, except they know how to have a great time.

We went for a walk yesterday afternoon, and Skye asked how I was doing. This is not really something I’m used to. Skye can tell when I’m off. I don’t really know what her thought process is and how she figured it out, but I wasn’t having the greatest time. It’s not that I was in a bad mood (external observations may refute this), but I wasn’t in a good mood. I was drained. And I want to talk a little bit about why that was.

It was two big things, with a little bit of a third that contributed. Primarily, I consumed a lot of media this past weekend. Secondarily, I have friends in Ukraine that I worry about. And thirdly, I had a lot more socialization than I’m used to. 

I usually consume a lot of media. Partly for my job and working on a computer all day, partially because I like keeping up with current events. It’s a mixture, and I’m sure it’s not all healthy. It’s very hard to have a good balance. I remember during the 2016 election, I stopped going on Facebook because of the misinformation campaigns going on, and unsubscribed from a few political discussion forums. I now rarely go back to facebook. I only log in to coordinate hangouts with a group of friends in a group chat. I felt a lot happier without that media than I did with it. This week, I’ll try to re-strike a healthier balance with all of that, but it’s difficult due to the next thing that was on my mind.

In 2018, I went to a wedding in Ukraine for a coworker. I flew from New York City to Kyiv, then from Kyiv to Odessa. I then had an amazing time hanging out with a now good friend, staying up all night for his bachelor party, and seeing first hand many Ukrainian wedding traditions. It was so cool, and I made a lot of friends that I still follow on social media. The recent events in that area have me very worried for their safety, and the future of their democracy. Skye mentioned she had a worry about WW3, but that is less of a concern to me due to the position so many countries are taking against Russian aggression at this time. It’s not an aggressive stance, but it’s not a submissive stance either. It’s very defensive.

I don’t know what was different in Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014, but this time it’s not being tolerated. Maybe it has to do with the Russian systematic doping in the Olympics, and the spotlight already being on Russia for that. I’m also a lot more confident in the transparency the US government has been using to shine a light on Russian movements and intentions, so they can’t fool anyone on the world stage.

The last thing, the smallest thing, is the burn out from socialization. Skye and I both felt this. We have been isolated for the last two years. Having so much socialization at once really burnt us out. It was fun, and I’d do it again (after a suitable cool down period), but when Monday rolled around, I was not in a great mood. Also, I think I may have been sick with something, and it is currently going around my family. Not COVID, but some sort of flu. That may also have contributed.

Thanks for reading, readers! Hope you have a wonderful week! 🇺🇦

THIS WEEK:

This week we drove to Phoenix, had dinner with some of Steve’s friends, and flew out the next morning to Atlanta. His cousin got married (CONGRATS Mel & Ryan!) so we were all flying to Atlanta to meet up with family and celebrate the happy couple! We had the best time with friends and family, snuggling Steve’s new baby cousin, visiting the ATL Aquarium, eating delicious foods, and dancing our hearts out so hard I quickly took my heels off. Though things are in flux in so many parts of the world, somehow life goes on. Our hearts are forever with the people of Ukraine and the innocent Russian people who don’t want this war either.