The folly of a pity party

There some wisdom going around the internet to the effect that if you’re complaining about the high price of gas or having to wear a mask in your favorite grocery store, you need to be grateful that you have food on the table, are sleeping in your bed and not in an underground bomb shelter, and aren’t sewing your children’s blood type into their clothes before sending them off to school.

That certainly hit home with me yesterday when I had myself a little pity party, mostly because I have an infected tooth (no, it doesn’t hurt, thank you), I had a bloody nose (while eating lunch—lots of fun), Sophie threw up on the living room rug, and the few words I did write were uninspired and will be deleted later today. And on a weekend, when I usually have fun cooking, I was eating leftovers. The world seemed pretty bleak to me, and I guess I was determined not to see all my many blessings.

The saving grace of the day was that Jordan and Christian both came out for happy hour on the patio, and while we studied calendars and planned menus, we had several good laughs. And last night I finished a book that I much enjoyed—The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valraux, by French chef Samantha Verant. You can read my review here: The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux by Samantha Verant | Goodreads or here: Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Secret French Recipes of Sophie Valroux.

Yesterday brought one other highlight (see? I’m getting better already at looking on the positive side). Every day I faithfully read “Letters from an American,” the column by Boston University history professor Heather Cox Richardson. If you don’t already know her, I recommend it. Yesterday I came across a one-on-one interview she did on February 25 with President Joe Biden. It was a momentous day: Russia invaded Ukraine, and President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

Biden spoke naturally but without hesitation, displaying a deep knowledge of American history and politics and a passionate belief in the ordinary people of our society. He is dedicated to maintaining democracy and to opposing those who would replace it with autocracy. (Side note: he pointed out there are fewer democracies in the world today than there were some years ago.) Already a fan of both Richardson and Biden, I was tremendously impressed. You can watch it here: Historian Heather Cox Richardson interviews President Joe Biden February 25, 2022 - Bing video

My instincts are not peaceful. I want to take every person who rails about Biden being weak or senile or not a leader, strap them in a chair, and force them to watch this. I know, I know, force is not the way to change minds. But there is a definite smear campaign against a man who was bold enough to take on the presidency in a time of unprecedented crises—pandemic, supply chain, rampant racism, cratering economy with high unemployment, climate crisis, etc. And now Putin has added the Ukraine invasion to the international scene. The campaign against Biden makes me angry to an extent my mom would have told me was unladylike.

While I’m on my not-so-peaceful instincts, I want to mention Margery Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert. Their behavior at the State of the Union confirmed what we all already knew: they are not fit to represent the American people. Uneducated, unknowledgeable, lacking class let alone grace and common sense, they need to be silenced. I truly don’t understand why at the least Speaker Pelosi has not moved to sanction them. If I knew how and who to ask I would.

I hope there’s a point to this rambling post. I think it is that if you look back on a day, it’s not quite as dismal as it seemed. We in this country are so blessed, and we need to fight for our way of life. Today I am over my pity party. Not exactly full of enthusiasm, but I’m getting there. Now to cut those unsatisfactory words out of Irene Keeps a Secret and get back to Irene’s misadventures—and murder.