Goodness me, it’s a new day in America, isn’t it?<\/p>\n
How’ve you been coping with either your immense joy or your severe depression, or are you enjoying that “I didn’t vote because I don’t care” ambivalence?<\/p>\n
Are you dreading the upcoming winter holidays because you’ve got friends or family on the “other side” of these divisive political and social issues, and there’s sure to be heat?<\/p>\n
I don’t have a family and I love spending the holidays alone so, for my weird self, everything is super clean and simple, but for normal people, it’s just a huge challenge to find a way through what, even in good times, is an emotionally charged, difficult to navigate holiday season.<\/p>\n
How about this.<\/p>\n
Let’s back off of broad assumptions for now and work on realizing that the good people you know who voted for the candidate you didn’t are more like you than not. \u00a0They’d help you if you needed it. \u00a0 They look just like friends of yours, maybe they look just like you. \u00a0They want the same things you want. \u00a0They work hard. \u00a0They try their best. \u00a0They believe as much in their candidate as you do in yours.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To help you enjoy\u00a0the holidays, practice saying:<\/p>\n
“thanks for letting me know how you feel, isn’t the pie delicious?”<\/p>\n
“only time will tell how this turns out and I know we’re all hoping for the best”<\/p>\n
“I’m needed in the kitchen, will you please excuse me?”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To help you enjoy the holidays, avoid saying:<\/p>\n
“He’s going to start a war and it’s going to be your fault”<\/p>\n
“America is the laughing stock of the world, happy now?”<\/p>\n
“Mike Pence for President”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For more help in preparing for holiday interaction with “them” read this<\/a>\u00a0and this<\/a> and this<\/a>,\u00a0which contains the gem “If he continued, she would hold her hand up, making a peace sign and signaling for him to stop.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This Thanksgiving as you gather with loved ones, some of whom will surely be on the other side, here’s hoping you have the grace and decorum to flash that peace sign, excuse yourself and get busy in the kitchen or better yet, out in the yard where you can more easily enjoy the crisp air and marvel at the enormous sky as the world continues, as the world does, to spin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.<\/p>\n PS \u00a0I knew Trump would win.<\/p>\n UPDATE A day later: \u00a0PPS \u00a0A reader wrote that they thought my PS was snarky, and they were disappointed in me for that.<\/p>\n __________________<\/p>\n If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of when I do engage for counter\/correction\/calling bullshit, you know the difference between what I meant by my PS and how I present when I have something counter to express. \u00a0The opposite of passive aggressive\/snark – I have a long consistent history of pragmatically addressing controversial subjects, keeping personalities completely out of it and strictly adhering to the facts as established scientifically by experts outside the unregulated, unsafe\u00a0Pilates industry. \u00a0I’m known for being direct, clear and absent personalization.<\/p>\n
\nCombination of “snide” and “remark”. Sarcastic comment(s).
\nAlso snarky (adj.) and snarkily (adv.)<\/div>\n
\n“Your boundless ineptitude is astounding,” she snarkily declared.<\/div>\n