The Reality Of Life Under Trump

 

I’ve not been much into expressing myself lately. I’m 100% sure it’s my annual holiday gloom and I am trying to stay ahead of it. My way of dealing with winter and the drudgery of holidays is to stay busy and keep my head down. The compounding factor is I have a friend who’s become ill due to lack of affording medication and food, someone dear to my heart. Life was not like this at all a year ago.

Living in the USA continues to become more difficult for all including the working class, and people who are living on week-to-week pay aren’t making it. Tariffs, high food prices, housing and other help cut to nothing or stopped altogether, the constant sight of the immigration Gestapo crawling the streets, it’s a lot watching it play out on television (which I rarely turn on now what’s the point?), and now I’m seeing it all directly overwhelming the people I care about. Neighbors, family, coworkers, nobody is being spared. Everything continues to escalate, everyone in one form or another lives with fear of the unknown. I’ve not seen this much open hate and negativity since Trump’s last term, and I’d hoped I would never experience it again. There’s no excuse for any of it regardless of what this administration is doing, people know right from wrong.

Thanksgiving was a small affair for the three of us. My husband cooked a chicken because we don’t do turkey, and to be able to afford beef, (including ground beef) is now a rarity. We had fun adding other vegetable dishes with it and for dessert there was a pie. This year he and my son are pulling extra work hours, so all were tired and the holiday is their only day off for a while now the retail shopping season is underway. My son himself has been working two jobs to try and get ahead. Had we lived closer to my other children and grandchildren it might have been more festive, but it is what it is. 

This is my first time in years not returning with my spouse to the distribution center to do my holiday work I used to love. The extra hourly pay incentive has always been a no-brainer while they offer it. This season I just couldn’t do it physically and in ways I feel I’ve let myself and the family down. The hard tumble I took in September while at camp began a snowball effect and I am two months later still experiencing it’s after burn in my hips and knee; it’s not been fun trying to get around. Here I am complaining like the old lady I am becoming. I really need to get myself moving outdoors and shake the negativity off good lord. 

The yard birds make me happy and help replace my lack of pets in life. I still miss our cat, bird, and the dog. We thought about acquiring another but then reconsidered having remembered the vet bills, It’s daunting and I can’t imagine the costs now. Like everything else it’s got to be astronomical. We are still on the hunt for a new home, maybe once we find one we might consider adopting or maybe it’s safer just to get a fish. Yes that’s a bit of sarcasm but then again I had a Beta fish living in Florida that wasn’t such a bad experience. It was amusing in its large tank following from side to side watching me bustle around the house. For now I get my animal fix both outdoors and from the neighbor's dog. 

I’m switching up my hobby photography this winter and hoping to get more living shots than still or landscape. Nature photography is rewarding but it’s time for a change. I really love life photography and capturing the unexpected in the moment, it can be people or an event, primarily just candid moments. Sometimes I see interactions in public that can be the sweetest if caught and it becomes a wonderful story. An example is simply one cold snowy day an elderly woman made her way down the walkway, and a young boy came out of the local pantry to offer her a pair of new gloves from the donation box as she wore none. Children and the elderly interacting is such a touching thing to witness, it's so raw and innocent. It was a series of three photos and ended with them quietly waving good-bye to each other. The whole experience left me feeling humbled and hopeful. Often, I get caught up with day-to-day stress and there in front of me is what life should really be about. Kindness and making one small effort can change a whole day for a person.  

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way hopefully Christmas will be just as swift to arrive and go. This year I’m just not into winter, once January arrives, we turn a corner. The days will begin to slightly get longer signaling change and that will boost me up a little, fingers crossed. As of my writing it gets dark so quickly it’s as if the sun is setting right after lunch. Time to make dinner, turn on a comedy classic on television, and lighten things up for the moment with I Love Lucy. 

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