November 2020 – themillennialboomer

What is Optimism? by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Weeks after the U.S. Presidential election, we are still in limbo as we wait for #46 to be named. We have a second waive of coronavirus threatening our healthcare workers and school systems. Many people are out of work and lining up for grocery giveaways. Others feel certain someone is scheming to harm them.

Amid concern for the mental health of our youth and isolated adults, we are tasked with the business of carrying on. No matter how much inconvenience, hardship and heartache we feel, we must continue on with our lives. The way we live will certainly impact the outcome of our difficulties.

I am disturbed by current events and have fallen into despair from time to time. Even so, I choose happiness. I choose joy. I choose to believe that my actions matter and that my actions are formed from my thoughts and feelings. What I think, I believe. What I believe, I do, and what I do becomes my world. I choose optimism.

Optimism appears at the end of the day, when the sun sets and the business of the day is over. Optimism appears in the quiet of the evening routines. I smile when I pick my homegrown Asian Pepper to spice up the chicken soup simmering in the pot. When I pulled the tiny seed from a dried pepper and dropped it into a 2 inch pot of soil, I gave it some water and hoped it would grow. It took no more effort than a few teaspoons of water each week for my seed to grow, bloom, bear fruit and provide me with a delicious reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do is to hope for the best and believe in what you cannot see.

Presidential Election 2020 by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Today is election day in America. There are reports that one third of Americans have already submitted their ballots.

We are so polarized that it is hard to imagine an outcome that will benefit anyone. Why are we so divided? I think people are worn out and tired. Many are still recovering from the last recession of 2008. Some are doing well and don’t want to lose hard earned gains. Others have never been well and continue to struggle financially as well as socially. All of us want to feel safe and that means different things to different people.

Donald Trump ushered in a new kind of politics and it is bringing out the meanness in people. I have a hard time reconciling with people I have known throughout my life who are suddenly calling everyone names, behaving with rudeness and selfishness while at the same time glorifying the one man who is least concerned with their well being or mine.

People who claim to be Christian ignore everything about Christian teaching and Christian values while they angrily uphold the rights of the unborn. Yet, they are the same ones who are unwilling to say Black Lives Matter. They merely say all lives matter, thereby reducing the message of racial inequality that people of color are trying to relay.

Some people say it doesn’t matter how our President behaves or what he believes, as long as he is pro-life, reduces taxes and makes the economy great. I don’t believe any of those things are possible without moral and ethical integrity, empathy and love toward all people. I don’t believe it is possible to behave like an undisciplined child and lead a nation to greatness.

No matter the outcome of the Presidential election of 2020, I want more than to ‘Make America Great Again’, I want to make America better than ever before. I know we can do it, but I am not sure how much effort it is going to take. The score was never settled for past racial injustice against natives, involuntary transplants and immigrants looking for a better life.

I hope Americans begin to disregard the political rhetoric that tells us there are only two paths for life in America. I hope Americans remember that we are a diverse nation of strong people who can find a way forward when we work together.

C19 Quarantine Hobbies #5 Vintage Style Tree Skirt by Sheri LeClair Banitt

So I have been making many things during the last 7 months that we have been quarantining at home. Other than a few family occasions and some outdoor activities, I spend most of my time at home. It has been fun to work on some old hobbies as well as trying a few new things. In true boomer fashion, the new things I’ve tried have been based on past memories. I have been making beaded ornaments reminiscent of my childhood.

There are now so many that I decided they need their very own, old fashioned, tinsel tree. So I bought one online.

Well, everyone knows if you have a tinsel tree and beaded ornaments, you’re going to need a tree skirt. I thought about one that one of my Grandmas made for our tree when I was kid. I wanted to replicate it with some sequins and beads. So I bought some felt and stuff and got started.

I used a skirt I already have to get the round shape and got to work pinning and sewing the rick rack.

Next up was planning the felt appliques. I decided on green trees, red stockings and silver bells.

It was easier than I thought it would be. But as I was sewing on the shapes I thought about the time it was taking. The tree skirt and felt stockings we had as kids were sewn by hand which would have taken much more time. I am thankful for the luxury of the sewing machine and my comfortable craft room to sew it in. Only thing left to do was to embellish the appliques with sequins and beads.

I sewed on the sequins, beads and bells by hand in the evenings while watching television. I always had one or more little helper sitting with me in my recliner while I worked. Pictured are my shih-tzu, Ping and my kitty, Remi.