It’s okay not to make everything political all the time. It’s better to have deep conversations about life in general. It’s okay to be able to zone out with a good book. It’s okay to sit and just be with your family. It’s okay to let go of the “Yeah, buts,” and let go of the anger.

It’s not okay to lie, berate others and generally be mean to each other. It’s time to banish the lies and conspiracies from your lives and treat people with kindness once again regardless of their views. It’s not okay to be obnoxious just because you are young or old.

I don’t hate anyone; I just don’t like people who are bullies. We have to believe in consequences. We have to believe that the people who are bullying the most, spreading hate and lies will truly be held accountable in the future. It’s time to stop the hate and anger and get back to work. Let’s get down to living our lives. Let’s get back to democracy—not being democrat or republican—just democratic in our behavior! Now is the time to save our future. There is more opportunity now than ever before. It is time to bring back love for each other for our sameness as well as our differences. Stop yelling at each other. Bring back patience and kindness once again. Thank the servers that are trying to help you even though they may not be fast enough for you. Thank the teachers for putting up with your children. Tell the store managers how much you appreciate the kind workers who have helped you. Stop shooting and killing each other. Seek outside help before you get so depressed to the point of going out and shooting people.

Do something good every day, something that would make your mother proud. Turn off the news. The world will get back to the new normal if we let go and do what is good for everyone. We just have to be patient. We must be willing to live each day and not worry about some perceived slight, or what we think our future will become. We need to embrace change and move on from this day forward. We are ready to move on. We can do this!

Summer is almost over and school will be in session in a few weeks. Embrace teachers and knowledge seekers. Realize that you can go back to school no matter how old you are. Community colleges offer a myriad of programs for everyone – from high school students, working moms to seniors. For the first time in a very long time, I am going back to college and learn something that I want to learn. I got my degree a long time ago, and it helped my career. Nevertheless, for now, I want to go for learning’s sake. I may not get another degree, but my brain craves learning and contact with others who are just starting out in life. It will be good to see what young people think the future will hold for them. It will be good to see what a senior citizen really is to them. Most people in their teens and twenties tend to ignore anyone over forty. It is my hope to change their attitudes and broaden their way of thinking about aging and how they want to be when they are my age. It is my hope that I also learn from their lives up to this point. We can all learn to embrace a future in which we can age into and enjoy.

So for the next few months, let us all take a step back and breathe. Stop the negativity and seek a peaceful solution no matter what the consequence. Moreover, Florida people! Go home and leave the teachers alone. Your children are looking at your behavior and you are embarrassing them! So don’t be surprised if your kids turn out like you (and I don’t mean this in a good way!) Just take the vaccine. Just wear a mask! How hard is that? If you can’t abide by the rules, then keep your children home! You can teach them!

 Let’s create a year that only gets better and better without all the negativity.