I loved this, thank you! I still struggle to convince my PNW family/friends that the red state where I've ended up making my home is worth their time to visit. Shockingly, everyone that comes loves it??? (But still makes all the horrible "red state" comments you mention here and it makes me want to scream.)
Home is where the heart(h) is? A neighbor whose politics are diametrically opposite mine started a rant as she walked by. When it was clear that civil discourse wasn't in her vocabulary, I turned away. She soon realized that my husband had very recently died and she showed up with a home-made banana bread. While the friendship wanes and waxes, our determination to keep the neighborhood connected and its people visible holds firm. If either of us forgets and reacts to something political, the other gently reminds of our agreement that connection is much more important and lasting than whatever horrors are uppermost in our biased minds.
Is this God's country? As I watch the cars pour out of driveways on the way to church, reminding myself that I often attend services on Friday nite or Saturday morning, but "Never on a Sunday" and consider the many versions of God that obtain in these environs, I'd have to say: Probably, but not Uniquely.
Speaking of being back home, guess where I am! SWEDEN!!! I'm about to participate in a couple of very Swedish rituals: 1) making sure I get over to Systembolaget before it closes tonight to pick up some wine for the weekend, and 2) collecting fabric and e-waste for the pop-up recycling center that'll be in the neighborhood tomorrow (fun fact: it's illegal to throw away old clothes, towels, sheets etc. in Sweden).
As my 5yo and I listened to “What it Sounds Like” this morning I listened specifically thinkingto about collectivism, vulnerability, etc. Before I had only been bopping out w/ my kiddos not thinking about it, but this morning I got chills 😂
This really resonates as someone born and raised in Cleveland who spent summers in the Fatherland of southern Wisconsin (Brodhead) and ties to Chicago (Lake Forest) as we drove through each year. Having moved to Montana 31 years ago sight unseen (Potomac-Missoula-Stevensville) and watched those decades alter a place that was never mine but is now where my sons call their home. I hope you had restorative time under the Big Sky. I know I'll be thinking of it while spending Christmas in Cleveland😉
I loved this, thank you! I still struggle to convince my PNW family/friends that the red state where I've ended up making my home is worth their time to visit. Shockingly, everyone that comes loves it??? (But still makes all the horrible "red state" comments you mention here and it makes me want to scream.)
Home is where the heart(h) is? A neighbor whose politics are diametrically opposite mine started a rant as she walked by. When it was clear that civil discourse wasn't in her vocabulary, I turned away. She soon realized that my husband had very recently died and she showed up with a home-made banana bread. While the friendship wanes and waxes, our determination to keep the neighborhood connected and its people visible holds firm. If either of us forgets and reacts to something political, the other gently reminds of our agreement that connection is much more important and lasting than whatever horrors are uppermost in our biased minds.
Is this God's country? As I watch the cars pour out of driveways on the way to church, reminding myself that I often attend services on Friday nite or Saturday morning, but "Never on a Sunday" and consider the many versions of God that obtain in these environs, I'd have to say: Probably, but not Uniquely.
Do you know of any Blessingers in Montana? My ancestors stayed in WAUKESHA Wisconsin, but one of them went to Bozeman, Montana. Always on the lookout!
Speaking of being back home, guess where I am! SWEDEN!!! I'm about to participate in a couple of very Swedish rituals: 1) making sure I get over to Systembolaget before it closes tonight to pick up some wine for the weekend, and 2) collecting fabric and e-waste for the pop-up recycling center that'll be in the neighborhood tomorrow (fun fact: it's illegal to throw away old clothes, towels, sheets etc. in Sweden).
What about "Golden" and "What it Sounds Like" though? Sounds about collectivism and self-acceptance!
As my 5yo and I listened to “What it Sounds Like” this morning I listened specifically thinkingto about collectivism, vulnerability, etc. Before I had only been bopping out w/ my kiddos not thinking about it, but this morning I got chills 😂
This really resonates as someone born and raised in Cleveland who spent summers in the Fatherland of southern Wisconsin (Brodhead) and ties to Chicago (Lake Forest) as we drove through each year. Having moved to Montana 31 years ago sight unseen (Potomac-Missoula-Stevensville) and watched those decades alter a place that was never mine but is now where my sons call their home. I hope you had restorative time under the Big Sky. I know I'll be thinking of it while spending Christmas in Cleveland😉