A touch of lipstick

 

Me with lipstick.

If you were in North Texas today, you know it was one of those days—so cold, damp, and dreary that it chilled to the bone. Not a day to recover good spirits. And yet I learned a lesson—over again.

A friend asked me to talk, via Zoom, to her granddaughter who wants to write fiction. I’m always glad to pay it back if I can, so I readily agreed. But with not sleeping well yet, the interview loomed on my mind during the night. This morning I decided for my own sake I would shampoo my hair, put on some makeup, and wear a decent shirt (okay in the picture above the shirt disappeared in favor of my usual T-shirt). It made a world of difference in how I felt about myself. Jordan came in and exclaimed, “You look so pretty. Let me take our picture.”

The young woman I talked to turned out to be an actress with a strong sense of presence and what she wants to do. She’ll go far. She just wasn’t sure what to do next with the manuscript she has, and I hope I was able to steer her in some right directions. My main advice to her was to become part of the community in which she wants to publish. She wants to do sci-fi, about which I know nothing. But I encouraged her to get a web page, start blogging about her writing journey, comment on other blogs, develop an online following. I truly hope she found my ideas worthwhile, and I look forward to following her as she moves into writing. But if I helped her, she helped me a whole lot, gave me a boost I needed.

My lesson for the day beyond that dab of lipstick is that I am learning to keep my opinions to myself. For four years or more I’ve spoken out about the betrayal of our country, the perversion of everything we hold true about ourselves as Americans. Now, many people are speaking out about the sense of relief they feel that we have an active and open administration. It is, as many have said, the first time in four years many of us sleep soundly and wake without apprehension. But many others are saying those things, and I don’t need to add to the chatter.

There are still of course detractors, from wild conspiracy theories that have trump still in charge to milder but nonetheless devastating comments from some who seem waiting to gloat, poised for Biden to miss-step. The temptation to jump in is strong—for instance, no Antifa did not burn down a Federal building—but nothing is to be gained by arguing with such people. I am going to be among the watchful waiting, because I firmly believe Biden will get results that will discredit the naysayers.

I am more disturbed by some freshmen in Congress—Senator Hawley (who is being played like a puppet by Ted Cruz) along with representatives Boebertt and Greene and a few others. Those newcomers need to learn to work with others and not grab their futile five minutes of fame (or fund-raising). But I leave it to the wheels of Congress to deal with obstreperous newbies.

Me? I’m going to enjoy pictures of babies and dogs and news of my friends and maybe a good book or two I’ve read. And recipes. Always recipes. At least that’s my plan. And those snarky comments? I’ll try to let them roll off my back like water off a duck. Don’t hold me to it, but I’ll try.