Monday Musings

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Since the last election, I've been a news junkie. My normal affinity for NPR has increased. I've started watching the news every night, followed by the late night shows with their political commentary. And then, of course, there's social media. And Saturday Night Live.

But tonight...I just couldn't. I couldn't muster up my usual righteous indignation over unfettered access to firearms. I couldn't watch more than five minutes of news, turning instead to the lightness of my DVR'd episode of Dancing with the Stars with its bright colors, sparkle and camaraderie. Even then, host Tom Bergeron's exhortation to young people tempted to bully their peers who are different ("Don't be an ass") inspired both laughter and tears.

As an educated adult who loves to learn, I feel as thought I ought to be informed. But lately, that information comes at too high an emotional cost. I used to love scrolling through Twitter for fun tidbits and new reading material. Now, I have much less trouble limiting my time online.

As a mom, I've always been concerned about the world my generation will leave to my daughter. More and more, I wonder as much about the immediate future as the distant future, as much about my daughter's world as the world her eventual children will inherit.

I know stepping away from the news -- even if only temporarily -- solves nothing. I can bury my head in the sand, but the sand could still be laced with explosives. I'll find my way back, most likely through a mix of grit and humor.

I found a small dose of that humor on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight as I was polishing my blog post, much, much later than usual. Before beginning his monologue, he took a few serious moments at the top of the show, concluding with this advice to our President:

"Think about what you need to do. And then pray for the courage to be able to do it."

Pretty good advice, even for those of us who aren't President.