COVID-19: A Kirkland Resident's Perspective

Hello again, my wonderful readers.

I have rarely spoken of where I live, but today, I feel I must.  You read correctly. I am in Kirkland, Washington, the site of the COVID-19, or novel Coronavirus, outbreak.  I've decided to tell you all about what life is like right now in a suburb of Seattle that is now on the international stage.

I live a few short miles away from the Life Care Center, and you'd think that would mean nothing changes. Well, things have changed.  The first and perhaps biggest change for me is in my career.  As some of you know, I am a preschool teacher.  Over the past couple of weeks, I watched as my students coming to school dropped by half and gradually to a quarter of the class roster.  Over in the older class, attendance dropped by a similar rate.  This past Monday, only one child showed up to class.  It was that day that we decided to close down until April 13th, if we're lucky. I understand why it had to be this way, but... I miss my kids.

The second thing I've noticed is that traffic is way down. If you live in the Seattle area, you'd know that for a few years now, traffic has been awful.  Our elected officials, including Governor Inslee, came up with the "brilliant" idea to toll certain corridors of I-405, but that only served to make traffic worse.  But in the last month, with the tech companies having their people work from home, traffic has returned to levels I haven't seen since I was a little girl. 

The third, and perhaps most disturbing thing I've noticed is how quiet things are.  Even after 9/11, it wasn't this quiet.  The only places that are busy are grocery stores and pharmacies. It's...unsettling.  I wandered my favorite mall on Tuesday before it closed for two weeks. I felt like I had crossed over into a sci-fi horror film after the Apocalypse.

If this posting is something you'd like to continue seeing, please let me know. These are my observations for now.  Thanks for reading!

The Political Scene and Slogans...

Hello again, dear friends!


It's been a long time since I last posted for this blog, isn't it?  Well, today I'd like to talk about a topic that is presently driving me crazy.  I'd like to talk about our political scene and things that drive me insane.


Let's begin with the current political scene.  In my life, I've seen politics get really ugly, but within the past decade and the past, oh, two years or so particularly, it's worse than I've ever seen it.  I used to be a little bit right of center. However, recent events have pulled me to the middle by US standards.  I cannot be a Democrat or a Republican. I watch party members squabble like small children over a favorite toy in the class and it sickens me.  I want the US back to people looking at other people with interested curiosity, not hateful suspicion. 


I also want to talk about the use of slogans that are quoted somewhat mindlessly.  When you say a particular slogan, what does it mean to you?  What could it mean to another person?  I want you to think carefully before you answer.  What is a slogan you've heard that sounds good when someone says it, but could be bad if looked at in another way?

Recommended TV Series

Wow, a second post in a day!  This isn't part of my "Spiritual Journey" series, but I needed to post about a show I've fallen in love with.  This show is Steven Universe. 


Steven Universe, for those of you who don't know, is the story of a boy named Steven. He is the child of a human father and a mother who is... well, it's complicated. Steven's mom, Rose Quartz, is part of an alien race known as Gems.  The Gems in their original forms are literally gems.  However, at some time in their evolution, the gems gained the ability to project a solid humanoid form.  For some reason, the Gems' chosen form is that of human women, albeit with skin color across a wider spectrum than Homo Sapiens. 


But back to Steven. In order for Steven to exist, his mother had to give up her solid form and her gem to her son.  So Steven has grown up with his father and his mother's Gem friends (one of them who would've loved to be more than a friend) taking care of him and helping him understand both sides of his heritage.  He isn't forced to choose one side or the other; he has to be himself.


Steven Universe isn't your typical series on Cartoon Network.  It deals with topics like grief and what love really should be. We see examples of healthy relationships and unhealthy relationships.  We see how someone's good intentions don't always turn out right.  We also see how sometimes those who care for us don't always make the best choices. And for those reasons, I highly recommend Steven Universe.

The Spiritual Journey, Continued...

How does one deal with the world when it seems to be coming apart?  This is a question that's been stumping philosophers for millennia, I'm sure.  Some religions speak of change as a constant.  I know it's true that life is made of constant change. But I do find myself wishing more often that I could stop time. Life's just changed too much for my liking lately.  I have to be okay with that feeling.

Life and Death, a Reflection...

Hello again, dear readers.


For those of you who know me off this blog, you already know. On Monday, April 11th, my mother died.  She had been suffering for a long time from a disease that took her from us piece by piece. It was not Alzheimer's, but something called White Matter Disease coupled with microvascular disease and hardening of the arteries. For more than eight years, I watched as my mother became more paranoid, lost her eyesight and mobility and her memory.  By the time everything ended, Mom hadn't been able to speak for almost a year and couldn't let us know her thoughts or feelings.


It's been four days since my mother's soul moved on from this world and I can't quite make sense of it all.  I'm planning to go to counseling for a while because I need to be sure I make peace with what's happened. I know that there was nothing anyone ultimately could have done to prevent this from happening, but I wish I still had my mom, happy and healthy.

A break from the spiritual: A possible definition of "Frozen's" Elsa

Hello again, dear readers!


I am taking a break from the spiritual journey posts to talk about a flash of insight I had regarding "Let It Go," the song from Disney's Frozen.
Elsa's journey has been considered like coming out in the gay community. However, I can offer another possible meaning. Throughout history, women have been pushing their emotions and opinions down within themselves in order to fit in, deal with other people and even deal with the chaos around them. I realized how often I did that and also saw that even while singing in triumph, Elsa was still running away from what was.
The King and Queen were, out of love, attempting to protect their elder daughter, as parents do when they want to help their child fit in and be good. But as sometimes happens in real life, that backfired.  Elsa pulled in to the point that she shut out everyone, including her parents and her little sister. And when her parents died, Elsa felt like she had to keep the secret of her gifts, having been trained to see them as a curse. Only when she was truly honest with her sister and embraced something that she really loved to do was Elsa truly free.

Spiritual Journey Part XI: Thanksgiving

Hello again, viewers. It's been several months since I posted to this blog and considering the holiday I'm about to celebrate, I'd like to talk about giving thanks.
There are things, big and small, that we can be thankful for. I won't go into too much, but I am very thankful for many things this year.  Be thankful when you find the good.

Spiritual Journey X: Shared Pain

Hello again, everyone. While watching the Oscars on Sunday night and listening to Graham Moore's admonition to "stay weird," I realized something. The key to harmony comes from understanding pain. We may not share the exact same pain, but at one time or another, we each understand what it is like to be different. We hide who we are to try and fit in only to hate ourselves. Why should we hate ourselves for who we are if it isn't hurting anyone? Why should one person hate another person for their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or even something like a fandom they're in?
The crux of the Golden Rule is to love each other. Let's stay weird together.

Spiritual Journey Part IX: Further Thoughts on the Human Condition

Hello again, followers of my blog.


In the past months, I have been learning more about the nature of humanity's condition. We are meant to suffer and perhaps be stronger for it. I will admit that right now, I feel as if my own personal suffering is something I cannot fully understand.

The Spiritual Journey Part VIII: Depression and Anxiety

I know I'm publishing these posts fairly close together, but I felt that part eight couldn't wait.


I write this now as I'm feeling a slight panic attack. Over the past year or so, I've felt highs and lows and don't always know what to make of them. But again, what I've learned is that faith can help you, but it's not a cure-all. So what do I do when prayer, meditation and deep breathing don't help me? I go swimming if it's available. I feel at peace in the water, though I wish the chlorine smelled more pleasant. I feel the weight leave me and get myself to a point of... I wouldn't call it exhaustion, but I can call it good.
What do you do that makes you feel calm?

The Spiritual Journey Part VII: Simplicity in Faith

Hello again, dear readers.

While chatting on message boards, I've noticed that some people think faith has to be exceedingly complex. I think it's actually pretty darned simple. If you believe in God or some higher power, you don't need to be tied to all of the manmade rules. Some rules are good like treating others like you'd like to be treated.
There are some rules that shouldn't be treated as an absolute. I think it's pretty easy to recognize the rules that we all should follow and leave the rest behind.

Spiritual Journey Part VI: The Rediscovered Fun

Hello again, faithful readers!

Last time I was pretty down in the dumps with a lot of things going on in my life. This morning as I write, I reflect that the darkness doesn't have to last forever. Darkness falls but the light comes again. The past few days, I have enjoyed a break from heavier duty and have been able to do some fun things that I like. I've made three kinds of bread and loved every minute of it! For those of you who know me on other websites, you'll know that I love to bake. So yesterday, I made one of the things that was on my "drop in the bucket" list. I made challah bread. Challah, pronounced Hall-uh, is an egg bread traditionally made for the Jewish Shabbat or Sabbath if memory serves. I've always wanted to make it and yesterday, the weather where I lived was perfect for proofing the bread dough or helping it to rise. I did it successfully the first time I made it!

I think what we all need occasionally is time to just breathe. I'm out of the dark night for now.

Spiritual Journey V: Dark Night of the Soul

Hello again, dear readers.  This next topic deals with what is referred to as "the dark night of the soul." While I wish I had a Dark Knight of the soul, I think I am dealing with the first mentioned. Why am I bringing this up now? I believe I'm going through it in some form. It may be different than how others go through it, but I think I'm going through it. Rather than catalog the crud I'm dealing with, I'll just say that there are times I see God as fairly impersonal rather than the Being we can bring our problems to quite easily as I learned about in church and in the Seventh-day Adventist school I attended.
Am I a weak Christian for feeling this way? That I feel like God has abandoned me sometimes? I don't think so. In fact, I think questioning why you're being dumped on is okay. I think that was the whole point of the book of Job.

Spiritual Journey Part IV

Good morning, readers... Is it a good morning? I know for several families in Newtown, Connecticut, it isn't a good morning. For those of you who don't already know, there was a horrible shooting in that town and among the dead were 20 little children. They were five- and six-year-old babies, for babies they are at that age still. They're still young enough to cuddle close to you, young enough to see the world with loving eyes and young enough to hope for all.

I'm not going to discuss the "how could this happen" today. It's too soon. But what I will tell you is that I have had a lesson reinforced.  There is, without a doubt in my mind, evil in this world. I needn't write why as we saw it in a school in a small town. We have seen it in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, at a summer camp in Sweden, and in events that stick in our minds and hearts.

For now, that is all I have to say.

The Spiritual Journey Part III

Hello again, readers of Peach Wookiee's Party. I apologize for taking so long in writing a new post, but real life has a nasty tendency of getting in the way. So what is the next thing I've learned in my spiritual journey? Well, the idea of suffering. In many modern Christian churches, it seems like suffering isn't really dealt with. You're supposed to suck it up and deal because there's got to be a reason for it. It seems every world religion has the idea that suffering is going to happen for whatever reason. It can be best summed up in five words: life is going to suck. Sometimes, it just is going to suck. You'll be going along, thinking your life is awesome and everything's going to work out great. And then, something just plain crappy happens. Can you figure out why it's happening? No. Can anyone else? Not really.

So how in the heck are you supposed to deal? Is it okay to cry about it? Ask God, "Why me?" Yeah, it is! Read the book of Job or the book of Psalms. The writers seem to be asking God, "Why in the heck am I getting dumped on?" Sometimes, there is no answer. A relative of mine maintains that suffering is part of human existence, and I agree with him.

What are your thoughts regarding suffering?

The Spiritual Journey Part II

Hello again, everyone! I'm sorry it's taken so long to update this blog, but as most of us know, spiritual journeys take time. I'm not expecting to figure things out overnight, but I hope to sort things out a bit quicker than the day of my death.

And so I come to my first truth regarding spirituality. The human being, in attempting to define his/her spirituality, is in a constant state of searching for what makes sense. A lot of people joined up with the Pentecostal movement because they felt there was something lacking in the churches they attended. They spoke in tongues and couldn't simply dismiss the experience. Their own churches didn't think it made sense, so these people looked for and formed something that did make sense to them.

I know I'm in a state of flux regarding my faith. I don't doubt that God exists and for me, Christianity makes a lot of sense. But I'm not quick to dismiss things that make sense from other faiths. I also happily recognize what Pope John Paul II said regarding Jews. They "are our elder brothers in the Faith."  That simple statement recognizes that without Judaism, Christianity would not exist. The place where Judaism and Christianity diverged was on Jesus' divinity. But does the Christian have things to learn from the Jew? I believe so.

A Quest for Me...

Hello, everyone. It has been some time since I last posted an entry. Since that time, I have dealt with some changes in my life that require an analysis and restructuring of my faith. When you see a family member struggle with issues regarding health and spiritual life, you realize that perhaps there were unintentional gaps in your own religious training. So what does one do in such circumstances? Do you necessarily go to a clergymember or another family member? Do you go to friends? Or do you look completely on your own? I'm still figuring that one out. But today I am reading a book called Restoring the Faith by Edith Blumhofer. It deals with the history of the American Pentecostal movement and as I was raised in a Pentecostal church, it makes sense for me to examine that history. More about my journey will be posted.

Bullying Must End

Hello again, everyone. I come to you after hearing of the tragic death (it could be considered a murder) of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi. His death didn't have to happen. It was all because of two people who thought it would be "sooo funny" to take a picture of him being intimate with his boyfriend. It wasn't. Gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual or transsexual, unless you're in the adult film industry, you don't want to have your intimate moments broadcast. That is not a prank, folks. That's cruel.

The Internet has allowed many wonderful things. However, it has unleashed some terrible things as well. Cyberbullying, also known as cyberharassment, takes many forms. We see it in message board forums, in chats and even in videos posted online. How many more people is it going to take before people ask themselves, "Is this worth a life?" If someone tells you that they're having problems, be understanding. It may not seem like a lot to you, but it may be a lot to them. In the schoolyard, at work, anywhere, if you're doing this, stop.

Gulf Aid Update!

Hello again, everyone. As you have probably heard by now, it appears that the BP oil well has been "killed." So it's appropriate that I bring you a Gulf Aid update, courtesy of Heleentje!



Heleentje states that donors gave $5500 dollars to the cause, and that the Gulf Aid group thanks you all for being so generous. The money has been given to the charity of each bidder's or offerer's choice, and so there are people and many animals that thank you as well. And a big thank you to the estimated 400 people who donated 442 items for the three bidding rounds! Gulf Aid couldn't have done it without any of you. Thank you again!

Another Update on Gulf-Aid!

Hello again, everyone! My apologies to everyone involved in Gulf-Aid for not getting this up faster, but Round Three of bidding is well underway! It started last Sunday. I wish the organizers continued bidding success! Thanks again to Heleen for updating me!