Maelstrom

...a situation or state of confused movement or violent turmoil


I purposefully created this image for this day.  It's dark, it's turbulent, it feels like our country at this moment.  Yesterday afternoon, Hubs and I settled in to watch the Senate go  through the process of confirming Joe Biden.  We expected certain Republican representatives to throw roadblocks out, but that eventually it would all be for show.  Sure enough, when it got to Arizona (a historically red state that voted for Biden this time) the process of contesting the electors began.  Interesting, but fairly routine.


But then... the news channels started showing crowds gathering outside the Capitol Building.  And suddenly what seemingly started as a relatively peaceful gathering of MAGA/Trump fans turned ugly.  Right before our eyes, we saw our nation's Capitol, the place where our elected representatives carry out the business of "we the people" was under siege.  It was honestly one of the most frightening things I've watched in a long time.  It was, in the words of so many media people - surreal.  It was sickening and disheartening to see how much anger and hatred has brewed within our borders in these last 4 years.  We watched TV long into the night, until both houses of Congress had completed the Arizona vote and moved on to Pennsylvania.  


But, in the midst of the madness, we also learned that Georgia went Blue in the two senate runoff races - for us, that was incredibly good news.  Sadly, for many people in this country, it was incredibly bad news.  We are so divided.  


Again, not all the news was bad.  Around midnight, I got a text to say my Covid test result was available and I am happy to say it was Negative.  SIL's results came in today with the same result - so we've dodged that bullet.  


I am trying to be calm today, to find my zen.  That means snoozing some of my friends on FB - the ones who really can't see Trump for what I believe him to be.  That means not reading too much news.  That means extra hugs for my Hubs and extra lap time for the cats.  And probably a little more time on Blip because this community is just so kind and inclusive.


Many thanks to Ingeborg for continuing to host Abstract Thursday, giving me the perfect inspiration for today.


And if we ever needed kindness and caring, it's now - so you know what to do.  


xo
Debbi


PS:  And if you want to see the original image I will put it in Extra - it's a close up of Phoebe's fur.  I edited it in PS