Fight or flight?

I'm angry. I'm angry at the turn of events in this country which feel incredibly hostile to anyone identified as "the other". As much as it pains me to say it, it feels to me right this moment if you are not white, Anglo, heterosexual, cis-gendered, Christian, & a native English speaker, the United States has become incredibly unwelcoming, if not out right hostile. Is it being driven by our current president, or is he simply a symptom of a larger malaise within this country?

With the change in the administrations, we have gone from 'class' to crass, from the audacity of hope, to simple audacity, from a society that was moving towards inclusivity, to one now turning it's back & embracing exclusivity. The more I watch Donald Trump, the more I ask how in the name of Sam Hill did this man get elected? He seems to vary from bigot, to buffoon, to bully all within the space of a single paragraph. My response to almost everything I hear him say is either to cringe, shake my head, or want to throw something. It's painful when I respect the office and yet hold no respect for the man who currently holds it.

As I alluded earlier, that I keep hearing people support him, & actually cheering his actions on, doesn't just sadden and disappoint me, it scares the bejeezus out of me. I may be white, but I'm neither a Christian,l nor heterosexual, and while an American citizen, I'm the child of an immigrant family. Having lost the bulk of my mother's family during the holocaust, as they did not have the wherewithal to get out, I find myself asking if this new president is a harbinger of still worse to come? Will we as nation rise up and fight back, or is it time for people like me to start thinking about getting out?

Progress and milestones…

I had gotten dressed and was about to go out the door when my husband arrived from across the street, intent on some marital time. It's unusual for us to be sleeping apart, but the dog is having a hard time adjusting to our new living situation, and it's not like we can sit down and reason this out with him. Since we can't have him in the rental across the street, one of us needs to stay with him in the new house, even though it's currently a construction zone. Since nothing is happening to one of the two upstairs bedrooms, that's where the two of them have to stay home.

During my trip to Santa Rosa yesterday, as Home Depot is just around the corner from my gym there, I made a quick stop to check my weight. Really, my primary goal is to find out if I can trust the scale at the new gym. It had been a week since I had last been to the gym in Santa Rosa and as the story goes , inquiring minds want to know.

The good news initially was that yes, I can trust the scale. The little electronic model at the new gym correlates with the beam balance at the old. After my workout this morning, I stepped on the scale and saw that I had crossed the next milestone; I'm now down into the 280s.

The weight is coming off in spurts. I'll go along for 4-5 days at more or less the same weight, and then suddenly 5 pounds will disappear. That was this morning. I was 4 pounds lighter this morning than I was on Friday. Further, I am almost where I was when I stopped going to the gym Thanksgiving before last.

This morning I had no trouble finishing a 40 minute run. All in all, progress is beautiful.