Pollyanna or Debbie Downer

Some people are Pollyanna types.  They skip through life, smiles on their faces, seeing nothing but good wherever they look.  Others are in the Debbie Downer category.  Everything is bad and we are all doomed.  I think I fit somewhere between the two.  I have lived long enough and am not naive enough to believe that life is all magic fairy dust and unicorns.  But I do know that there are still good people out there, doing the best that they can with what they have to work with.

I also don't take everything I read about at face value.  I know that some conspiracy theories are just that - theories.  If I read an article on Drudge that would have many heading for the hills, I check out the sources.  I find out if it is true or just another rumor.  If I read a rant and it is believable, I check that out as well before forming my own opinion.  And if the source of that article or rant is a politician, I am especially diligent in finding the truth, for the politicians are few and far between who have the good of the people at heart.  I find that most have their own agenda which includes, above all else, winning the next election and holding onto power.

That being said, I find that since the first of this year, I have had a strong feeling that things are a bit off-kilter.

Merriam‑Webster Dictionary
\off -ˈkil-ter\. : not perfectly balanced or even. : different from the ordinary, usual, or expected.

It has nothing to do with politics.  I mean, the Democrats are blaming the Republicans for our troubles, and the Republicans are in turn, blaming the Democrats.  Business as usual in Washington.  I have gotten so I pay very little attention, for when all the posturing and bluster is over, nothing really changes.  Hasn't for years, except possibly they are more obnoxious.  That, and the fact that the word "truth" is pretty much foreign to them.  No, it's not that.

The pundants, experts and talk radio hosts are full of dire predictions.  I have been leery of predictions since my old computer rolled over from 1999 to 2000 without a hiccup.  Those folks are expressing opinions, and if they have facts to back them up, I need to see those facts before I believe.  So, no.  It's not that.

I think it is the little things.  Like the box of bacon ends and pieces I buy to can.  Was the same price for a long time and a month ago the price went up $1 a box.  Much of what I buy has drastically gone up in price lately.

I think it has to do with seeing people at the grocery store buying staples in quantity the way I do.  There are still those who fill carts with chips and soda, but I see more with carts full of sale items.

I think it is hearing people I know talk about their grown children moving back home because they just can't afford to live any other way.

I think it is others I know of who have reputations of being people who are not afraid of hard work, but yet can't find a decent job.

But most of all, it is that little nagging voice that tells me if I don't get off my duff and get done what I need to do, I will soon be in a world of hurt.  I have gotten lazy.  I have used the excuse of a hard winter.  I have used the excuse of arthritic joints to keep me inside doing the things I find pleasant and fun, and ignoring the tasks that aren't so much fun and that need doing but I keep putting off.

So with that in mind, I am taking the weekend off to get busy.  I have a closet that is full to overflowing with stuff.  I don't need all that stuff, so out it goes...some to the trash and some to Goodwill (I am never, ever going to fit into those slacks I have been hanging onto, and where on earth did that sparkly jacket come from.  It is so not me.)  I have a list of the groceries I need to fill the shelves in my closet pantry.  The bus doesn't run on weekends, so Monday morning I need to begin ferrying food from the store shelves to my pantry.  I am getting low on some home canned food, like hamburger, chili and soups.  I have a stack of canning jars that is taller than I am, waiting to be filled.  Time to just do it.

Sometimes I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I know I can't change anything that may happen.  I am convinced that all the petitions, emails and phone calls to congressmen have little if any effect.  So the other shoe will drop, no matter what.  What I can do is be ready for it.