It is a Sunday afternoon, as lazy as Sunday afternoons get. In a rare stretch of time, I have the house/cabin/40 acre compound to myself (not counting dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens). Vinny and Nina are both away for the weekend, camping with friends, and The Hermit and Joe headed to town to get away for a while. I can never get enough of being home, so I declined to accompany them.
Actually, I may be home for an extended weekend of indefinite length. The State of Minnesota is shut down, and I am in temporary layoff status since Friday. No new budget talks will happen until at least Tuesday, so Wednesday would be the earliest day for me to report back to work. I don't mind having a couple days off without pay; I'm enjoying relaxing around the house, getting a few things done. And realistically I don't think the shutdown can continue for more than a few days without serious consequences: the state is losing money, state parks and rest areas are closed, and vital services are not being provided. I didn't even think it would come to this, but the Republican leadership in the state legislature was not willing to negotiate in good faith. I had a lot of admiration for Democrat Governor Mark Dayton when I voted, and I have even more admiration for him now for sticking to his principles of doing what's best for the people of Minnesota.
I would say more, but I don't want to go there on this beautiful afternoon. This too shall pass. I hope to spend some of my free time writing, playing music, trying new recipes, and living in balance. This morning I went for a 4.4 mile run, and while the last mile or so was not feeling so good, it was all worth it when I jumped into the cool waters of the pond at the end. It was like instant euphoria in every cell of my body. I'm still walking on air it seems.
5 comments:
Sounds wonderful. Sorry about your state's financial woes. I think you're right. After the politicking is finished, some solution will be reached, each side claiming victory.
I miss seeing more posts on your blog, but I have no room to complain.
Deb,
so sorry you are caught in this mess, but hope that it will be short enough that you and your family are not heavily affected.
it's nice to hear you say you admire your governor for sticking to his guns and not caving to those who put supposed principles above people and reality. it will be happening in lots of states and probably Congress before we finally remember that we send our delegates to state and federal government to work together for the better good of us all - and not so that they can "win".
compromise is not a dirty work, it's what makes the system work. bullies don't do any of us any good. wow! what a soapbox i have tonight.
enjoy your furlow!!
I thought maybe you were talking about Florida? How did we get in such a mess?
Well, your day sounds delightful even if the political scene is a bit wonky right now.
I never got time off when Reagan would shut down the government, because law enforcement stayed on when the rest of the park was closed.
It was a nice quiet day though.
How's Sally?
Pablo- The politicking is still going strong, with no sign of compromise. Vandals are trashing state parks. And I filed for unemployment today. What an embarrassment for Minnesota. (And we already have Michele Bachman!)
Webb- For most of our nation's history, the various sides have been able to conduct civil discourse and agree to things. What has happened?
Island Rider- I dunno. But for what it's worth, my state legislators from my district are good people and had nothing to do with this mess.
FC- As I mentioned above, we need more enforcement in our state parks. And a state park fifteen miles south of here is impassable due to fallen trees from a wind storm.
Sally is fine, she has her daily pond visit and she experienced her first campout/music festival a month ago. She did pretty well.
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