Quarantine Journals - Disney World & Standing Up

I felt like we all needed a pick me up today, so I took the kids on vacation. 

First stop: the pool. Then we went out front so Penny can ride her scooter, and Oliver wanted to climb on the latter because he saw the next-door neighbors had theirs out. So I brought out our ladder, and we hung up the new birdfeeder, and I let him climb up and down it over and over again.  He and Penny took turns climbing the ladder and riding the scooters, but eventually Oliver ended up tripping over the scooter and falling on his face. I'm honestly not sure what happened? He was standing on the scooter and ask him for my hand, and the next thing I knew he was on the concrete. I feel like maybe I dropped the ball. I thought he was wanting me to hold his hand while he was riding, and I told him that I couldn't do that that he needed both hands on the scooter handle, and the next thing I knew there was a loud thump and he was face first in the sidewalk. He's got a pretty big bruise on his forehead and he smashed his nose, skinned up both of his knees. 

Afterwards, we came inside where Richard had prepared the lunch that Penny had requested. Avocado toast with bacon. While we were eating, we watched Epcot's Living With The Land ride on the ipad. 

After that, I told them we could ride a roller coaster.  I put the laundry basket in front of the television, and I let both of the kids climb in. Then I streamed Disney World roller coasters to the TV while I moved the laundry basket in motion with the videos so that it felt like they were on the rides. It was a huge hit.  This was followed by a much needed nap.  Oliver woke up and said "roller coasters!" I asked him, "what did you say?" And Oliver said "ROLLER coasters! YAY!" So I agreed that we could come in the living room and after I got some water we could do roller coasters again. Then I texted Richard that I had an idea to end the roller coasters for today with splash Mountain. But I'm gonna need some help, I told him. You're gonna have to pop into the room with some water whenever they hit the splash. So I set up the iPad to record it, and we did a couple of roller coasters, and then we did Splash Mountain. When we got to the bottom, Richard popped his head in the doors with a cup full of water and splashed both of the kids. They were shocked, then tickled, then shocked again. My body was starting to hurt from all the rides, so I told them that they can watch a couple without the laundry basket involved, but Oliver just couldn't transition to a happy place. He kept asking to ride in the stroller, go for a walk, go in the backyard, and then when we got him in the backyard all he wanted to do was get in the pool again. So I let them get in the pool for half an hour while Richard was getting dinner ready. I'm exhausted!

In other news, I decided that having a platform on DFW craft shows but not using it to stand with the Black Lives Matter movements was not something I was proud of. So I made a simple yet supportive post of a chalk drawing we had done earlier that morning, and posted it with much anxiety. Here in conservative Texas, it is not difficult to guess how such a post is going to be received by many people. And, indeed, most of the initial responses were negative, and I lost about 30 followers within the first hour. But then Support began to pour in, and really important conversation started happening in the comments, and people started liking the page to balance out the people who were leaving. And it ended up being a rather encouraging experience overall. 

Post:

This is a craft page, and I've never gotten political—but human life shouldn't be about politics, and there is no change to be found in silence.

We stand with you.

And, overwhelmed in the moments of the initial negative out poor, I cried and posted this on my personal page:

I think most folks know that I run an events based business (DFW Craft Shows). I've spent the last decade connecting local arts & crafts related events and vendors with North Texans. You can imagine how well that is going in 2020.  It's depressing to pour your heart and soul into something for over a decade just to watch it all fall apart at the seams because of a pandemic. WHILE you are actively building a new website for the third (or fourth?) time because that keeps falling through.  Investing your own money, blood, sweat, and tears into an organization that may not event exist in 2021.  

BUT, NONE of that compares to the sadness of growing up watching your family be discriminated against in your OWN local community that you work DAY AND NIGHT to support, OR the laughter, hate, and abandonment of your own followers because you posted that you believe that black lives matter. 

In the first half hour, I have lost 20 followers over this sentiment alone. During the time it took to write this on my phone, I lost 10 more. Watching this hate pour out of a community that I have built and love with all my heart is truly depressing.  

And I hesitate to even post this because despite my heritage, I think I've lived a pretty privileged fair-skin life, and I suspect this all falls under white tears. So I will be quick to delete if it seems as such.

And I received another wave of supportive friends and encouraging remarks about standing up for what I believe in and setting a good example. Even from Richard's aunt, who weighed in on what it was like to be a fair skinned Puerto Rican growing up.

So, I feel like that concludes today's events. It was a roller coaster of emotion, both from watching the protests happening all across the world, and the varying degrees of police response, both good and bad, some good than bad… And then trying to personally get involved in this fight that I feel passionately about.  And, to be clear, it wasn't all just talk. We did also make multiple donations to various black/POC organizations and bail out funds as well.