So, I Marched

Kat and I raising our voices!

"Feminism is for everybody" ―bell hooks

 I participated in the Chicago Women’s March on Saturday.  We were 300,000 strong!

I know that walking a mile in downtown Chicago isn’t a magic wand. We didn’t wake up on Sunday to a new world of racial and gender equality. We didn’t smash the glass ceiling or even silence that damn Twitter account.

But…

Marches strengthen communities. Marches start conversations. Marches ignite calls to action. And just because we’ve come a long way, doesn’t mean we don’t have even longer to go.

So, I marched.

Welcome 2018!

After a whirlwind three weeks of traveling and celebrating, I finally feel like I have my feet back under me. The decorations are packed away. The indulgent treats are gone (almost). And just the general excess of it all has faded back into normalcy. Which, for a Type A like me, feels really, really good.

But, before the holidays slip away into warm memories past, I would be remiss not to post about Anderson Christmas/New Year’s in Chicago. We survived the deep freeze, but it did keeps us rather confined, so the kids were really going wild by the end of the visit. I think I probably should have given everyone Advil for Christmas this year. Soooooo loud (although Grandpa and the Uncles own some of the culpability for that—evidently noisy toys were all that were in stock)!

New Year’s was a quiet evening at the house. We let the kids do a Netflix countdown around 8:30 p.m. Dad and Sharon headed back to the hotel early and (maybe?) did the final countdown there. The rest of us barely made it to the Chicago midnight, although Chris and Sean get a little pass since they’re on eastern time.

Thanks for all the patience and entertaining provided by Grandpa, Sharon, and the Uncles. We all love you, but the kids especially adore having you around. When it was time for Sean and Chris to leave for the airport, Nick ran to the basement crying and refused to say “goodbye,” because he thought that meant they would have to stay. We got him to come around with the promise that it wasn’t a “goodbye”—just a “see you a little later.”

I hope all had wonderful celebrations and are settling into 2018! May it bring us joy, health, and love!