How long can we simply hug our children goodbye every morning while saying a silent prayer that no-one shows up at their daycare or their school and shoots them?
What will it take for those of us who speak about love and compassion to begin to actually stand up, do something and demand better?
What will it take for us to stop blaming other cultures, other skin colours, other believes, other religions, and start looking at ourselves as part of the problem?
When will we start to realize that when we supported elected officials who chose to trim mental health budgets, we also elected people who do not stand up for the most vulnerable and those that need the most help? And by keeping them safe, we keep other safe?
When will actually understand the importance of our democratic rights and freedoms that so many of our grandparents and great-grandparents fought for in the first and second world war? Why don’t more people vote and use their democratic right to demand better? Why aren’t people calling their elected officials and demanding they listen?
Why are we so invested in the liberal/conservative or the democratic/republic ideology that we cannot lift ourselves above it and see what this is all doing to our society?
I saw we, because this is so much greater then just our elected officials. This, right now, the world we live in, isn’t just a matter of those terrorists or those with mental health issues or those immigrants. It’s not just about those who are different from what we knew growing up. And it sure as heck is not just about the color of your skin who the person you choose to love.
This is all of us and all of our lives. This is all of our basic democratic freedoms. Those of us who are fortunate enough to live in a democratic society, have a duty, a basic responsibility to use this right and demand better. And if we don’t start actually using this right, we wont have it for much longer.
This is not simply a United States of America problem. Even if we don’t like it, the USA is viewed as the leader of the free world. This is a world problem. This is a we problem. We, as the world, as living, breathing human beings, owe it to everyone who has died at the hands of a gun wielding person. We owe it to those who have lost their innocent lives because someone had a semi-automatic or automatic rifle that shouldn’t have had a gun, let alone one designed to kill the most amount of people in the shortest time frame. Sadly, and infuriatingly, we also owe it the innocent people who are going to die next – it could be my son or my parent or my friend or my spouse or me. It could also be you. And it could also be your child. Your parent. Your friend. Or your spouse.
How long can we stand by and watch our society fall further into chaos?
I’m sick of reading the morning news, with tears running down my cheeks. I’m sick of reading twitter and blogs, with tears running down my cheeks. Our tears aren’t enough. They wont do a damn thing!
When did it become part of our lives that yearly/monthly/weekly mass shootings are okay? When will we learn? What will it actually take for us to do something? I learned this lesson in 1999 after the tragic and senseless killings at Columbine High School, and yet, here we are are, almost 20 years later and it seems as though no-one else learned a damn thing. The innocent casualties just keep piling up. Records for worst mass shootings just keep being broken. What will it take for us to make much needed policy changes? How many innocent people have to lose their lives? How many mass shootings do we have to endure? How many times are we going to turn a blind eye? How many times are we going to continue to let this happen?
Has it really become the goal of the our modern society to self-implode? Has it really become our goal to place the rights of individuals to own guns above the basic safety of our society at large? Are we actually just waiting for the third world war, the war that will likely end all wars by ending society to happen?
.
And for me, as a mother, I have to ask, how do I raise my bi-racial, dual citizen/immigrant son, in this world? How do I teach him that his birth country is safe, when innocent people continue to be killed en masse? How do I teach him that he is more then just the colour of his skin, when clearly that’s not true in our world today? How do I teach him that this world is safe? How do I teach him to help the most vulnerable when society doesn’t help those most in need? How do I teach him that good always wins, when it sure seems like evil is prevailing and good has forgotten to show up for the battle?
Please, someone, just tell me how? Because, right now, I’m at a complete loss.
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We’ve managed to cook all our supers at home through September, with the only exception being if I’m away for work because I’d rather eat out then not eat at all.
Yay us!
Anyways, this last week was interesting as I was on a low fiber, no raw veggies or fruit diet as I prepped for a colonoscopy. So, it made for a weird week of food for me, but Mr. MPB and Little MPB ate a more balanced diet, so most of the pictures are actually Mr. MPB’s meals.
Day 25: September 25, 2017: I was away with work (again), so I had a quesadilla at a restaurant (not pictured) and Mr. MPB and Little MPB had lamb roast left-overs again.
Day 26: September 26, 2017: Cheese burger with lots of fresh veggies, sautéed mushrooms and onions for Mr. MPB. For me, the same thing, minus the fresh veggies (not pictured).
Day 27: September 27, 2017: My last solid food meal before I had to start the colonoscopy prep. So, I chose wild sockeye salmon barbequed on a cedar plank. This photo is of Mr. MPB’s meal as I wasn’t allowed rice or raw veggies. So, I literally just had the salmon and some white bread, which would not have made for as nice of a photo.
Day 28: September 28, 2017: Mr. MPB and Little MPB enjoyed barbequed lamb and veggie Kabobs. We don’t often cook Kabobs, but I must say, they are so easy to prepare and barbeque – we should definitely try to do this more. I on the other hand endured a day of clear liquid fluids and a dinner of Colyte. I can assure you, their meal was much better then mine! Colyte is beyond disgusting!
Day 29: September 29, 2017: My post-colonoscopy/post-gastroscopy meal of my choice was simple – steak and potatoes. Mr. MPB cooked the steak perfectly (I did nothing as I was legally impaired and not allowed to do much of anything).
Day 30: September 30, 2017: We decided to finish this month’s challenge with a Canadian classic – Poutine. French fries, cheese and gravy. Our little twist was including left-over steak from the night before. Little MPB loved it. Mr. MPB and I, not so much. I put in way too much cheese and it was just too heavy.
Day 31: October 1, 2017: I thought I’d add in one more meal because we did cook super at home. Venison chops and carrots. Mr. MPB and I also split a giant Grolsch, because why not?
Hopefully our one month of making and eating our meals at home will help keep us on track through the fall. Even though every meal wasn’t perfectly healthy, they were all probably better for us then the meals we would have ordered in restaurants, so I really do hope we continue to do a better job of eating at home. Also, have I mentioned lately, I do realize how fortunate I am to be married to someone who actually likes cooking and can cook well? I know I’m spoiled, and I’m definitely thankful because if we relied on my cooking skills, we’d live off Kraft Dinner.
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My Perfect Breakdown 