Hedreich Nichols

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Long Time Coming

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This post has been a long time coming, and I’ve missed you, but hopefully this will make it worth your while:

I remember a wise woman, the mother of a friend told me, “laugh whenever you can, even now”. I was a 29 year old widow, suddenly faced with burying my beloved after only 10 months and 4 days of marriage. As the days, weeks and months of grieving went on, I often remembered her words. Laughter is like a ray of sunshine breaking through the darkest clouds, even if only for a moment. With everything going on around us, I’m hoping, with this post, to provide a short burst of light through some clouds.

I want to talk about the dangerous new trend of wearing mis-matched socks. It seems that, in order to combat the invisible sock-thieving troll located in washrooms all over the country, some people have started to adapt a can’t-beat-’em-so-join-’em strategy. This trend causes a downward spiral in which not only the person starting the trend, but the whole household, ends up with NO matching socks. The troll himself was more merciful. In spite of 3 sock purchases within the last year, the troll and my sock-thieving, mis-match sock wearing 13-year-old have reduced me to 2 full bins of single socks. IS THERE  TINDER FOR SOCKS?!! This plague began slowly about two years ago and has taken over my home. If you have children or anyone in your home willing to flaut simple sock conventionality, I warn you, stop them now! Additionally, if you have ideas on curative measures for this great societal ill, please message me on Twitter, fb or IG. (Did you click? See what I did there? If you have power, water and internet, don’t talk about it, just do it!)

 

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Credit: Shutterstock

Remember that video from Art On Ice a few years back? I took the song title this month not only because it’s AOI time again (shout out Gary Scott and the gang!) but because listening is what’s sorely missing these days in our country’s discourse. I fully understand that seeing your President’s chants go from “Yes We Can!” to “Lock Her Up” hurts. I also understand that if your team won you are tired of seeing violent protests. But…can we just listen to one another? Not jeer and name call, just listen. If your Twitter feed is laced with derision and mockery, YOU are a big part of the problem. If we all practice more kindness in discourse, we’ll be able to move forward as one team more quickly. Kindness doesn’t mean not having a voice, it just means using that voice graciously and more effectively.

Kindness means not regurgitating every angry thought onto the pages of social media. Instead, if you have something worth saying, call your congressional leaders, tell them they’re doing a great/awful job and tell them why. At home teach your children about the values you hold and why your leader does/does not represent those values. Donate time or money. Buy or boycott products and companies.  And if you find yourself typing on Reddit, Facebook & co. in a spittle-slinging fervor, just stop. The world doesn’t need another angry rant. Instead, find someone in your corner of the world who doesn’t think like you and just listen. It’s not easy and you may hear something you don’t like but take the high road. We’ll all be better off for it.

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