I really considered going to work today. The forecast is dreary and rainy, we don’t have any plans for the day, and I wasn’t sure if it was worth using one of my days out.
(Our PTO policy is a little different from many other companies – we have a bucket of days off to use for holidays, sicks days and vacation, and we’re able to use them as we please. Which is great if you want to work on Memorial Day for another day off during Christmas.)
But after having the morning to myself, I’m so happy I decided to take today off. I was able to wake up to the rain on the window, and then decide, nahhh, not ready to get up yet. When I got up, I had some time for myself to fit in 21-Day Fix Upper Bod. I had a shake and some coffee and sat down to write a little. It’s nice and dreary outide and Louie’s asleep next to me on the couch and laundry is going and sonofabitch why can’t every morning be just like this one omggggg.
I love the Fourth. I love the sentiment and the fireworks and the patriotism, and in spite of my very vocal disdain for this administration, I still overwhelmingly believe that America has the potential to be the best country in the world. That ranking comes not from its leadership, but from its people. The American people make the country what it is. Be kind to each other, babies. We are a country of immigrants and of refugees. We are the mutts of the the world, and to quote John Winger from Stripes (watch that today, please):
We’re all very different people. We’re not Watusi. We’re not Spartans. We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse. We’re the underdog. We’re mutts! Here’s proof: his nose is cold! But there’s no animal that’s more faithful, that’s more loyal, more loveable than the mutt.
We’re all mutants. We’re all immigrants. We’re all illegal. And unless you are a full-blooded Native, your history starts somewhere that isn’t here. Just be kind. We’re all fighting the same fights in different arenas. We have more in common that we have differences. Simply be kind to one another.
Today, I celebrate my independence from tyranny, oppression and hard pants.
And if I make it outside the house, I promise to be kind.
Happy Birthday, America.
From all of us Americans, documented or not.
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