Soldiering On 🐦

Thoughts on the Day After

Hi readers.

The past few days have felt heavy for all of us.

So many are needlessly suffering as it seems like the world is burning down around us.

The Man and I are both worried about losing money — possibly our jobs.

Regretting not buying a house in December when things were still stable.

Coming to the realization that we may have been “liberated” from our birthday beach trip — but grateful that we got our Volkswagen when we did.

All of this harm and uncertainty — for what? The insane whims of a dipshit because the “vibes” were that Joe Biden was old and Joe Rogan said to vote for Trump?

It’s a lot to take.

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So I decided to go to the park this afternoon.

It rained last night and it brought some warm air with it. It’s cloudy today — but breezy and not terribly humid.

A perfect day for a walk on a stunning hillside overlooking the James River.

On the way to the park, I walked past some 19th century homes. It gave me great comfort knowing that the last time we went through something like this, those houses were standing.

There’s a particularly lovely house on the corner. Its yard is a stunner — covered in blooming wildflowers.

I filmed this Mini Snapshot a few weeks ago when the side yard was blooming — now the whole yard is full of purply white wildflowers.

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I took some deep breaths as I walked up the hill into the park.

The birds were all out and singing — celebrating the joy that comes with spring.

I caught the faint scent of cherry blossoms on the wind — sadly, they are almost gone.

Their time here is so fleeting.

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The park was full of people enjoying this beautiful day.

A dude in a hammock chilling among the trees.

Folks walking and playing with their dogs.

A couple enjoying a picnic.

All finding simple ways to enjoy the bounty that nature has given us.

There was also an adorable baby squirrel playing with what I assume was its mother.

It made my day.

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That’s what it’s going to take to get through this: an embrace of simple pleasures.

Finding joy in the little things.

Reading a book, petting a dog, growing a plant.

Potluck dinners. Playing a board game.

Patching those old pants instead of throwing them away.

All the things our Greatest Generation — in my case — grandparents took pleasure in and taught us.

Including washing and drying our Ziplock bags!

Do you have any tips for surviving the Tariffpocalypse?

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I hope you’re all doing ok. We’re experiencing narcissistic abuse as a country and it can be difficult to deal with.

Hell, I’m used to narcissistic abuse and he still gives me “fight, flight, freeze” all the damn time.¹

Try to take some deep breaths and slow down this weekend. Remember that nature provides and that our ancestors went through worse than this.

At least we have YouTube and flushing toilets 😂

We’re going to the protests on Saturday to register our displeasure with the way things are going.

Something tells me they’re gonna be massive.

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I’ll also be sending a new Virginia Snapshot your way this weekend, so be on the lookout!

I filmed a few while the cherry blossoms were at their peak because don’t you have to if you’re making a web series about Virginia life?

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And speaking of simple pleasures:

Nothing like getting snuggly in your cozy bed.

Take care of yourselves, readers ❤️

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1. I freeze. It explains a lot of my failures. Hopefully knowing that helps me recover.