When Life Has Piled Up And You’re About To Conquer It, Why Not Runaway Instead?
A bustling, noisy, overcrowded city seems a mismatched setting for a suburban-minded dweller who appreciates serenity and solitude.
That’s why the holidays are the best time to stay put. Say what? Hang in there for a sec. It’s true, after the tree lighting, and the last minute shopping, the tourists go home for the holidays. With school out, families take their kids to Disney or go on cruises. People go skiing or beaching on islands. The point is, they are not in the city. Walking down a block is a breeze. People are calm, unfrazzled, unhurried. You don’t get elbowed or pushed out of the way. Shopping is quick. The air feels almost fresh.
It’s pleasant, people. You’ve looked forward to this week for months. Imagined all the relaxing you’re going to do, the books you’ll read, and the writing you’ll write. All the piles, all the overwhelm from lack of productivity, set for therapeutic attack. And just as you’re about to lean in to it, an opportunity to go to Dublin comes, and for the life of you, you can’t find a reason to say no.
If you could run away right now, where would you go?
Read It:
Breath Taking written by
is a must read. It’s a memoir about her journey through infertility, adoption, and the illness and ultimate loss of her child, with too many family trials, tribulations and losses in between. Yet, love, joy, and hope fill this story. Jessica also hosts a podcast “I Don’t Know How You Do It.”Breath Taking FINAL SCORE:
The rating scale: Take the number of days to read, subtract all of life’s responsibilities, obligations, fun, and a few hours of sleep each night, plus some brownie points, and this beautiful memoir scores a 1 day read.
Are you looking for your next great Book Club pick?
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And Now For Something Completely Serious…
Sometimes Snarkastic is not a place for political discourse. But emotions need emoting.
My child is a teacher. A warm-hearted, dedicated teacher. As the beneficiary of some selfless educators, the career path took shape by middle school and the goal of giving back never wavered. As a parent, there isn’t a big enough word to express how much pride I feel to see a child live out a dream and excel at it.
Teaching is hard. One must give every bit of their soul to it. Not to mention off-the-clock work with little resources and often providing self-bought classroom supplies. Tangible rewards are few. A child’s smile, a drawing of appreciation, their delight at good grades, are the benefits of teaching.
School shootings have become a job-hazard. It’s not that we accept it, or that it’s acceptable, but it’s understood. I can remember the helplessness and wild thoughts when my children’s schools went on lockdown because of active shooters in their area. The not knowing is unbearable and you pray your child’s teacher will know how to protect them. In the end, my children were not in imminent danger. These were “lucky” situations. For their generation and the next, it’s a norm.
Normal or not, each day my teacher-child goes to school, the danger is on my mind; the worry tucked neatly away in a knot on my shoulders. The awareness that, God forbid, something happens, my child will carry the responsibility of securing twenty students against a madman/person. Are there enough drills in the world for anyone to prepare and follow through in that kind of heightened chaos? The consolation is knowing I’ve raised my children as well as I could, and they put others before themselves. They will reliably choose to do the right thing. Will they know to protect themselves, too? They have all the tools, but we can’t say how we’ll react until we do.
This is what we’ve learned to live with. Waiting till the workday is over, sighing with relief, knowing my child and the students have made it safely.
Today, things got worse. On top of all the already scary things that can happen in our day, an executive order targeting immigrant families allows ICE and other agencies to enter school buildings to seize their prey. Imagine how terrified both citizen, and immigrant children will be. The unerasable images and fear they will live with the rest of their lives. And what about the powerless teachers who will have their students ripped away? What trauma will they sustain?
Of all the awful experiences we’ve had to prepare for in our current life, a school invasion by our own government is not something any of us could ever have imagined. I am at a loss for how to advise, console, or protect my adult child for this likely event. There’s a new knot in my shoulders that knows I can’t, and another cluster that fears for our future.
🚫 NO POLITICS ZONE
I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences. But remember, this discussion is rated NP.*
*For those in the back, NP is no politics 🙃
Last Licks
As this newsletter nears completion, the news of a school shooting at Nashville High School and a new fire evacuation in northern LA is breaking. We extend our deepest sympathy to all the families grappling with these unimaginable losses and devastation. We wish words were enough.