I Really Want To Judge You But I Can't

Image courtesy of totallandscapecare.com

There’s one particular house in my subdivision that always has lovely seasonal decorations, and not just major holidays! I pass it on the days I take my longer loop through the neighborhood with my dogs. I so enjoyed the red sparkly hearts swinging from the tree branches in February, that I’ve been considering writing a note and taping it to the front door, to let the owners know their efforts make my walks a bit more pleasant. I think about it each time I pass, but then promptly forget about it until I approach the house the next time.

Last week I was admiring the giant Easter Eggs dangling in the trees and thinking Dang it, I’ve got to remember to write that note, when my eyes moved from a cute concrete bunny to a sign staked into the grass that read: TRUMP: Make America Great Again. My thought was Oh, son of a B, and my heart sank. I continued walking, wondering if I still want to write that note or not?

I automatically made a LOT of assumptions about that homeowner in a split second. That sign tells me all I need to know, right? 

That’s what I thought at first. But what if someone put that sign on a friend’s lawn as a joke? (Talk about a total dick move.) Maybe it’s a rental and the landlord put the sign out or perhaps one spouse supports Trump and the other doesn’t. Could they be getting paid to have the sign in their lawn? There could be a myriad of reasons as to why that sign is there... 

Of course the most logical (and “worst case scenario”) is that the person who lives in the house and hangs décor that brings me so much joy believes Donald Trump is a great choice for a leader of our country. 

I do NOT believe that. I see Donald Trump as a hateful human being and I fear for the future of our nation if he is elected President. 

However, my politics may differ from that households’ but clearly we celebrate the same holidays and enjoy colorful decorations. Surely we may have other things in common?

I was working on my initial thoughts for this post over the weekend, writing by hand at my mother-in-law’s kitchen table, my ten year old niece was across from me coloring. We worked in comfortable silence for a while, then she asked “What are you writing about?” I looked down at my pages in a panic. My initial  thought was Oh just stuff for my blog, but she deserved a legitimate answer. 

I pushed my notebook aside and explained. I was impressed by how intently she listened, smiling at my description of the decorations and nodding in appropriate places. I finished by explaining my blog and saying "I like to write about the ways people are connected that we don't realize. Like how that person's decorations make me really happy but they don't know it. Even though that person likes Donald Trump and I don't, it doesn't make me like the decorations any less." She tilted her head to one side while considering, then nodded and said "That makes sense."

  

And right then, I knew I had my answer. I need to write that dang note.

To be continued…