I was watching a tv show the other night and a younger person asked an older person, actually a Holocaust survivor if she had a happy childhood. It got me to thinking how I would answer that question about myself. Did I have a happy childhood?
The answer didn’t come so easy in my mind. Overall, my first reaction is, yes I did have a happy childhood. I grew up in a loving home. My parents treated me really well. I did not want for anything. However, upon reflection my childhood wasn’t so easy for me.
In the first few years of my life I was in the hospital four times. It took a while for my parents to realize I couldn’t see out of one eye. I wasn’t a great student and was always told how lazy I was about school and studying. I was a bit chubby and got picked on by bullies in school. So I think it is safe to say that I struggled in childhood. But my overall memories are those of happiness.
I think my belief all these years later that I had a happy childhood is due to the fact that I have always been a half full person, rather than a half empty person. My family environment and nurturing was always optimistic. That’s the atmosphere my parents created in our household. All was well and would be well for my life. My dad and mom for that matter were always looking forward with great hope. I think that’s how that has been for me and my family. Everything will turn out alright.
That feeling of hope and optimism is being tested right now as I write this. The corona virus pandemic is in full swing. We are not working, daily routines are still upended. The grandchildren are in a bit of limbo about going to school. And we have an upcoming Presidential election where our current president is making noise about not leaving peacefully if he loses the election. He is talking about shaking our countries Democratic principles to its foundation. He is speaking as if he wants to be an autocratic dictator. He has already stated that the election will be a scam if VP Biden wins. He is talking as Hitler did in Germany in 1933. All government institutions should be loyal to him and not our Constitution on which our country was founded. We are living also in very scary political times.
With all of this said I am an optimistic person. I expect there to be an unprecedented large voter turnout with VP Biden receiving a large majority of the vote and electoral college thereby making it impossible for Trump to make any noise. He will just have to leave. I am an hopeful optimist. We shall see. The election is in about 40 days.
