Holding My Son While Trump Dismantles Our Rights

A moment of clarity in an overwhelming time

Gosh, I’m tired. A new baby rests in my arms as I delicately tap buttons on my phone. A pile of laundry is waiting down the hall. My body, pulled in every direction, simultaneously yearns for the bed and feels completely uneasy with rest.

As I type these words, I know that there is a daunting world of need just a tab away. Recent headlines keep drawing me to the computer—or really to any scrap of nearby paper—to jot down information, ideas, and responses. The dismal state of our public land management begs to be confronted.

But then, this baby stirs. He lifts his eyes, looking to me for comfort, and I don’t finish the big essay. I don’t even finish the thought.

It’s a strange juxtaposition—going from daunting, complex issues that affect life and death to holding my son, whose immediate survival need is to receive milk from me. I divert from being lost in my mind to completely focusing on my body. I go from deliberating the future to grounding in the present.

Like the flip of a switch.

As night-and-day as it may seem, it is all connected in me. I want my kids to thrive, and I want to be a part of creating the world they grow into. I want to be a part of those big conversations that contemplate what to do, and how to be in this ever-changing country.

So right now, I shift my focus here, and offer one small observation about the big dilemma we’re in: the immediate need for connection and life overcomes the big idea every time.

It’s a common thread I see in the news stories of late, that the need for land, water, nature, community, and life itself is abundant in protests against this administration. In response, the GOP is offering big, elaborate long-term explanations of trickle-down wealth. I don’t see how it can work.

Americans have something more pressing to attend to. No matter the distractions or hardships, we’re going to take care of our lives. And little by little, we’re going to find a world where they can thrive.

With love and hope for the future,

Stephanie

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