My Birthday 2020…One Day In History That Has Already Changed The World
Last week I was shopping at Target for some organizing products for one of my It’s Just Stuff clients and as I walked through one aisle there was a plastic bin turned upside down on the floor. I went to pick it up and put it back on the shelf because, hey, I am a professional organizer and my OCD does kick in under these circumstances. Besides, it is just the considerate thing to do.
When I did lift it off the ground I realized there was a bunch of broken glass on the floor. So I put it back and started to head out of the aisle to find a store employee and make sure they were aware. A woman had apparently seen me and decided to verbally attack me thinking I was going to just ignore it and walk away.
Seriously???
When did we become a nation of tattletalers and adult “babysitters” not to mention judges and juries of everything in life? I didn’t deserve to be reprimanded by a stranger and yet there she was yelling at me for absolutely no reason. She could have just said, “Hey, if you can’t find someone to clean that up I will go get someone” or something like that. I mean, if she was that concerned, she should have just DONE THAT and not worried about what I said or did.
But this is America 2020 and far too many people are walking around angry and confused and frustrated. And Election Day clearly didn’t change the overall division that was pouring a lot of fuel on our year of constant “fires” we have been trying to put out. Here in Colorado and many other parts of the West we had literal wildfires burning in our backyards, adding to an already incredibly stressful year.
So what does this have to do with my birthday and why am I so brazen to think yesterday, November 7, 2020, my actual birthday, is a day in history that may change the world?
Well, for starters, the election was finally called in favor of Joe Biden. And, yes, I voted for him so if you have a problem with that then it is possible you have already closed this tab on your phone or computer and won’t read the rest.
But if not, I hope that means you understand that some things in life really are just about humanity and nothing else. Besides, I know I am a good, kind, compassionate person and while I may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I still want to be part of the solutions and not contributor to any problems we face. That said, if I could go back to that moment in Target and somehow impress this upon the woman who was so quick to judge would I? No, it isn’t my job to change anyone’s opinion. If that lesson wasn’t learned this year I don’t know when it would.
This blog wasn’t written thinking I would change anyone’s opinion. It is just one more of my cathartic ramblings and if one person feels uplifted or inspired or just happier for even a few seconds reading it, then I will consider it a success.
But I digress…
Here’s the thing…I really do walk the walk while talking the talk in the hopes I can make a difference or “change the world” or at least my little corner of it and my birthday was no exception this year. I have always tried to do some sort of fundraiser around my birthday and in a past life when living in Florida I participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Annual Light The Night Walk in Tampa several years which coincidentally was always in November. Both my grandmother and mother had blood cancers so it is a cause I clearly have a vested interest.
Since moving to Colorado though in 2016, I have been a bit remiss around my birthday. That doesn’t mean I haven’t participated in many fundraisers and volunteered many hours for various organizations throughout the years, but this was the first year in my new life here that I officially organized a fundraising event on my birthday. And I literally walked a walk while talking the talk for Conscious Alliance’s Hike For Hunger Campaign to help raise more awareness and, of course, money for so many people in need.
I happen to love to hike and my social media pages are always filled with my latest hiking adventures. It truly is the thing that has kept me sane for sure this year, but has always been an activity that feeds my soul.
Feeding my stomach?
Well, what can I say? I am so fortunate, despite all of life’s ups and downs, to always have food on my table and cannot imagine I would ever be in a position when I wouldn’t be able to buy my own groceries. But if it did happen to need help, knowing there are organizations out there every day trying to make sure every person in this country regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or any other “thing” that some people still believe makes a person less entitled is comforting although I don’t know if that is the best word to use since there is nothing comforting about hunger.
According to FeedingAmerica.org there are currently over 50 million Americans facing hunger each and every day, 17 million of them are children. How do we, supposedly the richest nation in the world, continually allow anyone to go to bed hungry? Some of us know the answer to that question and will always do whatever we can to reduce those statistics. Others? Well, let’s just say far too many are too busy thinking about whether their guns are going to be taken away from them or their stock portfolio is underperforming.
And before you all get persnickety and start labeling me as a liberal snowflake I will tell you to just go ahead. I really don’t care anymore. If someone doesn’t like me or tries to discredit me because I believe what I believe then I have no control over that. Am I equally guilty of labeling people? Of course…I’m human…but making guns a priority over something like hunger? Nope…won’t ever understand that.
I may not have raised enough to feed 50 million people, but I still believe just like every vote counts so does every dollar. I also believe that this has nothing to do with being a good Christian or Jew or Muslim or Catholic or any other member of any other religious group. It just comes down to whether you are a good human…period.
Using religion to make claims that you are?
Sorry…I’m not buying it. I never really did and I am certainly not now.
Have I given up all hope and faith that we will somehow really come together on humanitarian matters?
No…I just want to focus my energy on surrounding myself with people that genuinely do care for others and will support my efforts accordingly.
Did I expect anyone that voted for Trump to donate even $5?
Absolutely because this is not something that should ever be about politics.
Did anyone?
I am not going to answer that because I really I really don’t know ultimately how anyone voted even if they tell me. Could I guess? Sure but it really shouldn’t matter.
Meanwhile, the hike I organized yesterday was amazing. I mean, it wasn’t the most challenging or beautiful hike I’ve done but it was definitely the most impactful one. Meandering along a trail with the majestic Flatirons and Rocky Mountain Foothills in the distance should have been enough to elate me on a relatively warm November day along the Front Range. But doing it with a group of friends who support me each and every day and not just on my birthday was incredible.
Getting the news that Joe Biden had officially been declared the winner of Pennsylvania two hours before the hike started?
Well, for this “liberal snowflake”, I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.
I believe in Biden. He wasn’t my first choice during the primaries mostly because I really do believe we needed a younger candidate. But I do have faith that he is going to pick a very smart and savvy cabinet and actually listen to his advisors. You don’t have to agree…I’m just very hopeful.
Trust me…I was hopeful four years ago when Trump got elected. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt even though I didn’t vote for him because that is what we are supposed to do. But that wish quickly evaporated as far as I am concerned and I tried to keep from banging my head against a wall with every Tweet that he posted.
Hey, I’m just being honest. The past 3 years, 9 months and 20 days have been painful for me as a woman who brought two humans into this world and raised them to believe that love does trump hate. I never felt “hate” towards any previous administration and my mother actually raised me to never use that word. So I’m not going to use it now to describe my feelings about Trump. I just don’t think he is a good human. I didn’t know Richard Nixon and he may not have spent very much time with his daughters through the years, but at least he didn’t talk about them like they were a piece of meat.
So yesterday was a historic day for our country. Not only did Biden become the oldest President Elect (I know, not something many people think is a good thing but can’t change that fact) but Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President who also happens to be half Indian, half African-American and that ladies and gentlemen is something I was so happy to celebrate on my birthday.
My birthday has fallen on Election Day twice since I was born in 1962. Yes, that means I’m 58…not sure how that happened but here I am living to tell the tales. The first time was in 1972 when Nixon was elected and my grandparents actually took me to DC right after the election. I remember standing in the White House waiting for the tour my grandfather had arranged with the help of John Dingle, one of the most respected Congressmen in history and a man my grandfather always supported. I asked my grandfather if Mr. Dingle could arrange for me to meet the President because I was carrying a letter I had written explaining why I didn’t vote for him in my 5th grade class mock election a few days before. At 10 I was THAT KID and I was genuinely concerned about Nixon’s handling of the Vietnam War.
I didn’t get to meet him but did leave the letter with someone and got back a generic “thanks for your support” postcard. Suffice it to say, that may have been the moment when my child-like idealism was crushed like a bug.
The only other time my birthday fell on Election Day?
Remember Election Night 2000?
Hanging chads?
Ugh!
All I can say is I am claiming November 7, 2020 as the official Election Day of this year because, quite franking 1972 and 2000 outcomes changed the course of history in some not very positive ways and I need all the positive energy I can get to make it through the remainder of this year and to my birthday next year.
Be well…be safe…but most importantly…BE KIND.
