A P-Free Zone

Happy Halloween! I hope you all have a spooky and fun day wearing orange and black or dressing up or doing whatever it is that you do. 🎃

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I want to address something important today.

In case you hadn’t heard, the U.S. is about to have an election! I mean, who knew?! 😆 Of course, these have been coming around every few years since, oh, just 1789, so, this is not brand new information. (And it’s not like you could miss it if you tried! It’s like Roy Kent, for Ted Lasso fans. It’s here, it’s there, it’s every freakin’-where!!)

Except, there is one place it is decidedly not. And that place is: gratefulkae.com.

This is a P-Free Zone. (P for Politics….)

Now, I understand that the election is an important event. I understand that politics are important. I understand that important issues are at hand. I understand people’s desire to talk about it, to share their views, to try to “win friends and influence people”, or however that book title goes. I understand the importance of exercising our right to vote.

BUT. Here’s the thing. I do not like politics. I do not like talking about politics. I do not like reading about politics. I do not like debates. I do not like conflict. I do not like controversy. I do not like people fighting and “unfriending people” based on political disagreements. I do not like the inherent negativity and friction and stress that comes with politics and election talk. I do not like any of it.

So, back in 2020, when I started this blog (which was also an election year!), I made a very conscious and specific decision that I would never talk about politics here.

To be very clear, this does not mean that I don’t care, or that I’m not going to vote, or that I don’t stay informed, or anything like that.

But you know what? There are a lot of other places you can go to hear or read about politics. You can, for example, turn on your TV. Or your radio. Or your computer. You can open a newspaper. Or scroll social media. You can get pop-up ads in your Gmail, or your internet browser. You can listen to podcasts. You can drive down the road and see flashing political billboards. You can hear about it in the breakroom at work. You can browse magazine headlines in line at the grocery store. You can get texts from strangers on your phone about it, or many, many calls. You can walk to your mailbox and emerge with fistfuls of election stuff. You can talk about it with someone at your front door. There may be a blimp flying over my house right now with a candidate’s face on it; I’m not sure… but I wouldn’t be surprised.

My point is: I really think that it’s quite alright if this one little, teeny, tiny slice of the internet (my blog) does NOT talk about politics.

I want this place to be an outlet that focuses on GRATITUDE. And HAPPINESS. And FRIENDSHIP. And FUN. I want the most negative discussions to stem from this blog to be controversy over if you are Team Morning Workout or Team Evening Workout. Or if you are Team Paper Planner or Team Google Calendar. (SHU, I’ll battle you to the death on this one. 🤣🤣 jk!! 😘) Or, occasional whining from me about how hard it is to work full time and get a proper dinner on the table. LOL.

Additionally, it’s important to me that this blog be a completely judgment-free zone. I welcome all people, from all places and faiths and ideas and beliefs and backgrounds and political views, and I’d never want anyone to somehow feel alienated based on a political discussion or statement happening on my site.

So, I guess I just felt the need to issue this little “gratefulkae.com policy update”, to explain why I will not be discussing anything about the election here in the coming days. Doesn’t matter who wins, who loses, what happens- you aren’t gonna find it here! 🤷‍♀️ As outlined above, there is a plethora of other options for you to find that content, and I in turn will carry on, business as usual, in my decidedly not political wheelhouse over here, sharing stuff about my dog and things I’m grateful for and the same pictures of that same park I always walk in. 😅

Again, one more time for the people in the back, I’m not saying I don’t care. Everyone- please do get out and vote!!

I am just saying that I have chosen to keep this blog a happy little “politics-free” bubble. So, if you need a safe-space over the next week or so away from it all, feel free to just hang out here and keep refreshing the archives. 🤣

*I understand that you may not agree with my particular stance on this, but I appreciate you respecting my personal choice!*

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for going to the UW Badgers basketball game last night! Ivan was given some awesome box suite tickets from work. Ethan had a soccer dinner, so he couldn’t go, but Ivan, Asher and I went and we brought his cousin’s wife and son along. Not gonna lie, it was dark and POURING when we left the house for the 7 pm game, and I was like, ughhhh…I didn’t really want to go. But, as usually is the case, once I got there it was very fun and I’m glad we went! (It was just an exhibition/ pre-season game, plus the weather was terrible, so attendance was low, but it was still a really nice time!)

Oh, I also love this pic I took of the Capitol building, all rainy and foggy and gloomy…. it’s the Halloween-Eve Version of the Capitol!