The Saturday 7

1. I don't have much written down for this week. Uhhh, here's a link to the shower game I made up that I referred to last week: Bridal Shower Meme Game. 

2. I taught Levi how to play Uno on Friday. We played for hours. 

3. I had a really rough morning with Lucy on Wednesday. It inspired me to reach out for counselor recommendations. I researched a bunch while the girls were at school. And then Lucy came home from school acting totally normal. She got her tablet taken away for the morning's shenanigans, but didn't even care. I'm less likely to pick up the phone and make the dreaded phone calls when she's being pleasant. Also, she's told me before that she does not want to go to counseling, so I'm not sure how effective it would be. Maybe I'll call during the next outburst. . .

4. At my last chiro appointment on Thursday, he said my pre-paid plan is over and he's ready to do another nerve-scan thingy to see how much I've improved in the 9 weeks he's been working with me. When I mentioned that I'm still having a lot of pain, he said ups and downs are inevitable, but objectively he can tell my back is getting better. We'll see what the nerve scan says on Tuesday . . .

5. I came to a couple of realizations this week. The first is something I've touched on before, but it was clarified by a friend's facebook post on Wednesday. (I'm pretty sure said friend reads my blog, so please don't think I'm criticizing you in any way. Your post just solidified an idea that's been rolling around in my head.) She shared how one of her daughters has been bullied in school, and because of that:

Bullying is not okay. Whether you’re 7 or 74.

If name-calling, shaming, and laughing at another’s faults is how President Trump wants to earn votes, I’m sorry. I don’t care what policies he stands for. I cannot vote for a bully.

It made me realize that part of the polarization between sides in this election is because people are voting from different baselines. This year more than ever (ok, probably 2016 too), I feel like we're being asked not only to choose a candidate, but to choose why we choose. Haha. It comes down to this: are we voting for someone based on their personality or their policies? I don't claim to know which is right. But I can see how if you strongly believe one way or the other, how easy it would be to get emotionally involved. For my friend, it would be easy for her to say to Trump supporters: how can you vote for someone who is such a terrible human being? For my Trump supporting friends, it's easy to say: by withdrawing your support from Trump (for admittedly being a terrible human being), you support a "sweet old man" who espouses horrendous policies. Maybe if you hate Trump and love Biden's policies, this is an easy one for you. But for many of us, it's still a lose/lose situation. 

6. My second realization came on the heels of Chrissy Teigen's miscarriage.  A prominent celebrity, with prominent friends, she bravely shared the loss of her unborn baby this week. Most articles I've read say she was "about halfway" through her pregnancy. She and her husband (John Legend) had named the baby Jack, she was on bedrest, and was devastated when the baby didn't survive. My observations here are in no way meant to minimize her grief - if anything, they're meant to maximize it. I'm also not going to jump on the bandwagon of "maybe you should re-think your pro-choice stances now, Chrissy!" I'm only going to point out that this situation solidifies in my mind what I think abortion really comes down to. It's obviously not about "science" or "when life begins" or "whether or not a fetus is a blob of cells." Because Chrissy was crushed by her loss. Because her outspoken democrat friends (including Hillary Clinton) conveyed their condolences. You don't console someone who expelled a blob of cells. It just serves as a reminder that abortion is totally about whether a baby is wanted.  If Chrissy's situation was different, and she decided halfway through her pregnancy that she didn't want the baby anymore, none of her pro-choice friends would've batted an eyelash. She would've been hailed as a champion for women's reproductive rights (like Biden's VP Kamala Harris currently is). The only difference between those scenarios is the desirability of the baby. And determining someone's right to life, based on whether or not their existence is desired seems like a very dangerous slope to start down.

7. Whew. That got political. Let's finish this off with some pictures.

Homework time!

Ambidextrous multi-tasking

He's obsessed with having his picture taken in this tree.

Girl after my own heart

Oh, did I mention my birthday is a week from today?

Headband twins!

My grandpa is almost exactly 60 years older than me - which means he turned 95 this week! His dad lived to be 103, so Grandpa might have a ways to go still! (My dad is on the right - here's hoping he got those long-living genes too!)

My mom and Lena at Nova's birthday party today.

And then there's me at Nova's birthday party. Either something was making me mad (I don't remember being mad about anything!) or I have some serious RBF. It was so nice of Lena to capture it for me. Lol.

Levi voluntarily did the dishes tonight, and kept asking for more! 😍