This is what Hope feels like

Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

This is what Hope feels like | Weekly Snapshot

Yesterday was a good day. A very very good day. After four years of uncertainties, hateful rhetorics, and so much damage to public health and international policies, it feels so good to realize that some of it will change at the policy level, even if the aftershocks are going to continue for a while. At least, it's cool again to have a decent person in the White House, and I won't need to turn off the TV every time the President speaks. Laws and decisions will be made in government buildings, not on Twitter, and we can again build our trust in the systems that failed. This is good.

When Trump won the 2016 election, it spurred me to leave my previous town and make a home in a new place. This was always coming, but the election results just convinced me overnight that a change was needed. I was joking with my husband that if 2020 becomes a repeat, we may have to look for a new home again. I'm glad to report that no move is upcoming.

Today

It's really hard to want to talk or think about anything but the elections right now. While I am excited about the upcoming changes, it's disappointing that there wasn't a full repudiation of Trump. Looks like for some, there are other priorities above human and civil rights (it feels so wrong having to write that). And clearly 2016 wasn't a fluke either. I just hope that Biden can bring the country to a state where we don't feel a need to choose between basic necessities such as rights, health, and livelihood.

Enough about the election now. I mean I'll try - it's hard to not celebrate this win after the last four years, after what 2020 has been so far.

On the homefront, we're all down with some kind of virus this weekend. The boy got it first and while he's mostly alright now, the rest of us are battling sore throats. I think he picked it up at the daycare last Monday. Obviously, after being home for 8 months, our immune systems haven't had to deal with other people much. Hopefully, we'll get this out of our system soon.

About that...

We sent the kids to daycare last Monday. For days leading up to that, the husband and I have been debating back and forth on whether this was the right decision. It was incredibly hard to take that step - the low/no Covid-19 exposure in daycares/schools in the area is what eventually convinced us to give it a try but we were still very guilty doing it. We have been (and still continue to) work remote, help the girl with online school, keep the toddler engaged - more often than not, we've had epic meltdowns due to not being able to do it all. I mean, who can? As guilty as I felt last Monday about sending the kids to daycare, I hate to admit that it felt so good that day - I was able to work without worrying about anything else. I don't think this is going to be something we do often but we may try this option on days when we have to compromise on a lot.

Reading

Considering the week we just had, I didn't read much, if at all anything. I was hoping to complete Just Mercy considering what a good start it is but no, it wasn't until last night that I got back to it, five days after starting the book.

I have a few other books I'm reading in parallel, though at a much slower pace. One is Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids. I feel like I really need this book some days. The other is The Home Edit Life, another book that I really need some days. These are likely going to be quick scans - but we'll see.