Like so many others, I spent most of yesterday in shock over the horrific mass shooting in Vegas. There are no words to adequately describe how sick to my stomach I felt as we watched the news in the morning and learned more about what happened.
Kaiden was positioned between me and Vishnu on the sofa, and as I looked at him, I couldn’t help but cry and think, “I’m so so sorry for this crazy world, kiddo. I promise we’ll do everything in our power to leave it a better place for you.”
Many people have expressed that prayers and thoughts are not enough in times like this. Times where policy change and a little stepping up on the part of our leaders and politicians could mean the difference between life and death. And while I will never stop praying for and sending positive thoughts to those who need them, I agree that action is the only way forward. Look, I get that the right to bear arms is just that…a right. But when one person’s right can ultimately cost someone else’s life, we need to rethink the entire system. I’m not an expert in the area of gun control laws by any means, but this, to me, isn’t about having all the facts. It’s about using commonsense. And at the end of the day, I’m just someone who wants to leave this world a better place than she found it.
Anyways, I’m looking into what I can personally do to help create change. Maybe it’ll make a difference, maybe it won’t. But I have to try. For Kaiden and all the other beautiful babies who deserve a bright and peaceful future.
One very easy thing all of us can do is contact our legislators. To make the process even easier, you can text ‘RESIST’ to 50409. Follow the instructions to send a personal and powerful message to those who have the opportunity to impact major reform. Enough is enough.
With everything that’s been going on in the world as of late, from natural disasters to the man made ones, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of have to vs. get to. Let me explain.
I 100% acknowledge that I live a very privileged life. It’s not perfect by any means, but from a needs based perspective, I don’t have to worry about much. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table, running water, electricity, etc. We are privileged and freaking lucky. I know this.
But then I go through my day thinking about all the things I have to do. I have to do the laundry, I have to make dinner, I have to pump, I have to pay the bills, I have to clean…and the list goes on and on.
When you think about it, for most of us, our ‘have to’ list is a really a ‘get to’ list because of our privilege.
Getting to do laundry means we have clean clothes on our backs.
Getting to make dinner means we have food on the table and full bellies.
Getting to pump means I can feed Kaiden breast milk.
Getting to pay bills means we have gas, electricity, internet, and TV services.
Getting to clean means we have a roof over our heads to keep clean.
There may very well be things on your list that you have to do because there’s no way around them. However, when you put the ‘get to’ spin on them, you’ll feel more grateful about even the most mundane of actions. Like laundry.
Look, I’m not saying it’s easy to live in a state of complete gratefulness day in and day out. But if you can tip the scale to be a little more ‘get to’ heavy, I’d say you’re doing pretty good. 🙂 In the midst of all the chaos, that’s what I’m working on.
