620th Friday Blog Roundup

I’m done crying, and I’ve moved on to the take action part of recovering from the election.  There are a lot of groups and causes that could use your energy right now.  Don’t boo… work?  Protect?  Aid?  Let me know if you are looking for outlets for your energy.  I would love to connect you with like-minded people.

*******

I thought I would tell this story in a how-sweet-is-life post on Wednesday, but that clearly wasn’t to be, so I’ll put this here.  Before we left the house to vote, the twins and I spent a few minutes practicing filling in a third of a bubble at the kitchen table.

We got to the polling station and did our usual song-and-dance in the voting booth, and then we brought our ballot to the machine.

Election Worker: I think it’s so sweet that the three of you do this together.  Just feed your card into this machine, dear.

Wolvog: Let’s all hold the paper together.

Me: Yes, wait, is everyone holding on?

ChickieNob: Yes.

Wolvog: Yes.

Election Worker: Just feed it into the machine.

Our three-headed election monster attempted to feed said floppy piece of paper into the machine.  We continuously missed the slot.  Each time we missed the slot, we started nervously giggling which made us miss the slot again.  And again.

Election Worker: Just feed it in there, dear.  Just do it.

Me: We didn’t practice this.  We only practiced the bubble.

Election Worker: Please.  Will you just feed the paper into the machine?

Wolvog: How could we have practiced?

Me: We could have made a fake machine out of LEGOS with a narrow slot and then tried to feed paper into it.

ChickieNob: I don’t think we have enough LEGOS.

Me: Well, it wouldn’t need to be this big.  We would just need to make a realistic slot…

Election Worker: THE BALLOT.  JUST PUT IT IN.

Not so sweet now, is it Ms. Election Worker?

We finally got it into the machine and realized WE HAD TO DO IT A SECOND TIME FOR THE SECOND SHEET.  The woman definitely didn’t love that I involved the kids in this democratic process by the time we got our I Voted! stickers.  But you know what, it was really important that we all had our hands on that ballot, that we all felt involved.

Because my kids own this election.  They feel the results of this election.  They are ready to take action after this election.  They are ready to roar.

*******

Stop procrastinating.  Go make your backups.  Don’t have regrets.

Seriously.  Stop what you’re doing for a moment.  It will take you fifteen minutes, tops.  But you will have peace of mind for days and days.  It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “#MicroblogMondays: A Halloween Blessing” (Searching for Our Silver Lining)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Normally these posts are all about infertility, adoption or loss.  But… this week is a different week.  Clearly the election is on everyone’s mind.  So election thoughts from Iffers:

Anabegins has a post about the upside down, which is fitting in so many ways this week. (Demogorgon!)  She writes, “This is OUR job. WE are the grown ups. We need to stand up, speak up, and fight for what we believe in… for ourselves and for our children. We are donating money, we’ll be calling/emailing/writing our state and local representatives frequently. We are brainstorming places to volunteer our skills and time. We know we want to be more involved with the process than just showing up to vote next time.”  Yessssssss.

A+ Effort combines her words with the words of her husband.  Read the whole piece, but this ending says it all: “As I walked back to my car with shame, sadness, and remorse in my eyes, I caught the glance of a Hispanic father dropping his children off for school. He gave me a nod, as if to say ‘it’s ok.’ Probably, because this is nothing new for him. He has come to expect it of America. Whereas I have only shouldered this burden for 4 years, 8 months, and 10 days–the day my African-American daughter arrived home.”

Lastly, Magpie Musing’s letter to her daughter filled me with tears and hope.  “Hillary’s defeat is saddening, it makes us angry, it makes us scared. But we are stronger than that. Stronger together in our little family, stronger in our little town, stronger in our conviction that all people need to be lifted up, that all children deserve an education, that all people need good and affordable health care, that no one should live in poverty.”  Go over and read her empowering words.

The roundup to the Roundup: Don’t just be angry: Take action.  The downside to doing everything together.  Your weekly backup nudge.  And lots of great posts to read.  So what did you find this week?  Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between November 4th and 11th) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week?  Read the original open thread post here.