Changes

There have been so many changes going on this year and it's only January. Ok, so changes have been taking place a little before hand. Last month was all about drama and this month I'm actually starting to feel calmness after the storm. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Of course, I have to thank my wonderful hubby for helping me through it all (insert cheesy sigh now). After close to 9 years, I think I actually love him more now than ever. But enough about that.

I hate relying on the fact that I'm a minority down here. Communication or I say miscommunication is a factor daily for me whether it be a language barrier or because I have a different mindset than a lot of folks down here. My music tastes seem to differ and I know my politics differ.

I had a conversation with a friend recently who lives abroad. I was telling her about trying to keep up with the politics this year. She called herself ignorant for not knowing more of our system. I don't like that word because I believe ignorance to lead to hate and to prejudgments. I told her this and told her I preferred uninformed. However I was surprised to still hear some ignorant statements even from my in-laws. Alex had told me that his parents were a little racist but I hadn't really heard or seen it until recently. My father in law didn't use the "n" word but he still used some terms that made me feel uncomfortable. I knew that there had been some discussions that some people are still racist down here. My first case of that was when I got injured at work. I needed to get a list of doctors available for me to go to. I got a list but was "warned" that one doctor was black. Hell, that decided it for me. He was the doctor for me. I continue to go see him. I haven't told my in-laws this not because of how they might act but it doesn't make a difference to me. However, it's gonna come up soon I'm sure.

My in-laws are republicans. What can I do? I love Alex and am grateful that he and I at least share some of the same political views. We have discussed politics a little bit but not at great length. Alex and I are currently supporting Barak Obama. We want to get bumper stickers. I support Mr. Obama for a lot of things and I supported him before I found out about my in-laws but in the same case once I found out about them, I wanted to really spout of my political leanings much like how I chose my doctor. However, I know that is really not their concern because they shouldn't affect me so. If my mother-in-law still cannot spell my first name properly after 9 years and often forgets I'm allergic to almonds, I should simply get over it. They have their own voice. And now, I have found mine again.