:the one where i talk politics:

in the days preceding the election my heart felt heavy. i'm a fan and frequent user of social media but in regards to politics it became down right poisonous, spewing venom in every direction. well meaning people writing ugly, hateful things in the name of jesus. i felt anger in my heart more than once for insults voiced that i took personal.

conversations and studies involved the election process. we watched shows, thank you very much PBS for using Martha Speaks and Arthur to make politics tangible for my five year old. i took all three kiddos with me to vote so they could see first hand how things work. eisley asked questions and i answered them to the best of my ability. one day she expressed her desire for a particular candidate to win, who was not my choice. i asked her why and we had a conversation over snack about our political views. at the end of the talk we were still friends. she did not insult me, nor I, her.

as i thought back on our conversation i realized it would never occur to eisley to dislike me or lose respect for me because my views are different from hers. i am still the same mommy that makes her breakfast every morning and comforts her when she is scared at night. who we vote for does not change who we are. it is not a barometer for worth.

so the day after the election i avoided social media as a whole. instead of fuming over statements out of my control and making unnecessary judgements....

we baked.

we colored pilgrims.
we giggled.
we blessed friends and family.
we ate lots of pumpkin bread.
we took pride in hard work.
we solidified our forever friendship, in spite of our differences with love, laughter and lollipops.

let us go on loving one another.