Election 2016

We only had two trips to the hospital this week!

On Monday, I pulled a muscle in my ribs so badly that I couldn't walk or stand-up straight.  Unfortunately, this happened at work so I had to ride in an ambulance to the Royal Preston Hospital in the middle of the day and see yet another doctor.  After a few hours, I got to leave with some really strong medicine that takes away the pain for about two hours at a time.  The doctor said that the pulled muscle stems from the chest infection I had and that for the next four weeks, I will have to keep taking medicine to dull the pain because every time I sneeze or cough, it pulls the muscle again and again.

Then, on Thursday when I picked-up Jackson from nursery, I noticed that he had developed a strong cough and had some green gunk coming out of his eye.  Half-way home, he started crying after every cough and it sounded like he was getting a sore throat.  Lee and I gave him some cough syrup when we were all home, but that didn't seem to stop the coughing or make it any less sore for him, so we headed to the hospital in Ormskirk.  The doctor said that he has an upper respiratory virus and conjunctivitis!  We just can't catch a break.  The medicines he need are the basic paracetamol and ibuprofen doses and then a gel for his eye that goes on three times a day for five days.

Because of this, I had to take Friday off of work to administer his eye medicine and keep him from spreading the conjunctivitis to the other children at nursery.  However, all of the materials were not ready for my class for Friday so Jackson and I trekked in to work at 5:40 A.M. and at 6:45, we were strolling into my classroom to lay out the plans and work needed for the day.  By 8 o'clock, everything was done and we headed home, but we made a pit-stop at his nursery to have my first parent conference to get updates on his progress.

Jackson's reviews were impeccable and although she didn't say it, I know his teacher thinks that he's the best baby she's ever taught.  What she did say, though, was that he is very sociable and loves to get messy.  She also said that he is on track with all of the milestones typical of a 13-month-old.

So with all of this week's events combined with the last two months, I must say that the fact that there will soon be a President Trump didn't take up too much of my thoughts or energy.  Many people did ask me at work since I am American, after all.  I gave my honest answer that I didn't expect him to win so many states, but after that, the conversation ended and we went about with our lives as usual.

The reaction was similar when the EU Referendum came about because after a day or two, no one mentioned it again and so far, we haven't seen any effects of the decision.  And that decision is something that will last this country a lifetime--not four years!  But that is one thing I really like about the English culture:  they don't worry near as much about political matters as the US seems to be doing at the moment.

From all media outlets for months and months, we have been told that Hillary Clinton was winning in the polls and that 'obviously' the American public would choose her because she was the 'smart' choice.  Perhaps out of spite of being told what to do for so long and who they should choose by biased news anchors and out-of-touch celebrities, the people chose the person who has never held a political office and who claims to be anti-establishment.  I hope that he sticks with what he promised and isn't swayed by lobbyists, but instead listens to the people who elected him.

Now, that doesn't mean that I agree with everything I've heard him promise, but as I watched a man explain why he voted for Trump and he said, "Jobs.  He's going to bring jobs to our country," I immediately had hot tears fill my eyes.  This man was about 65-years-old and he had a sound of desperation in his voice with a look of yearning hope in his eyes.  For his sake and for whomever he knows who needs a job, I hope that Trump delivers at least on his promise of bringing jobs that have been sent to other countries back to the U.S.

And for people who are 'ashamed' of the outcome and have done nothing but protest or complain for four days straight, please give yourself a break.  From the outside looking in, you don't need to ashamed for anything other than the violent, rioting protests that are only harming the people and businesses in the cities where you have to live and work with the people who probably voted like you did.  I know a lot of people think that their loud, belligerent protesting is going to change something, but I hope that they think of a different way to channel their energy and their time.  Imagine having that much time to march in the streets, repeating the same chants for four days!

If President Trump does anything illegal, then there are policies in place that will remove him from office.  If he does a good job, then maybe he will be re-elected for another four years.  It's amazing how many people think that he is going to mess-up the country in such a short amount of time seeing as these same people have complained for eight years that President Obama hasn't been able to get anything passed that he wanted to.  Eight years ago, the Democrats had a majority in the House and Senate (which is mirroring what is happening now with the Republicans), yet the elected Democratic President, didn't fulfill all of his promises while he had Congress on his 'side' so to speak.  With all of the checks and balances in place that have protected America for over two-hundred-years, I believe that it can survive no matter who the President is.

Our family photo from Jackson's photo shoot--this was the best we could get after many attempts

Dapper Jackson

Giving us a genuine, sweet smile and showing-off his big brown eyes

Developmental updates:  When I collected Jackson from nursery on Wednesday, I peeked in the window to see what he was doing and he was playing chase with a little boy who looked a little older than him.  As they 'caught' each other, they sat and clapped their hands, and then one chased the other, crawling as fast as they could across the floor.  On Thursday, Jackson's teacher told me that she heard laughing coming from the reading area as she was setting-up for lunch and as she looked over, she saw Jackson sitting by an older toddler named George, sharing in laughter, and Jackson had his arm around George's shoulder.  What a picture that would have made!  Our sweet little baby is making friends.  Wouldn't it be great to know what the two little tots found so funny?  Jackson is finding that he can climb over things instead of just around them and goes over the sides of his house like I do when stepping over his baby gate.  Maybe I'm setting a bad example.  Oops!  He's starting to want whatever food or drink we have and wait with his hand out until he gets a tiny bite to try.  Most of the time he does, but we draw the line with caffeinated or sugary drinks and salty or fattening snacks. Jackson is inadvertently getting us to re-think some of our eating habits.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.