Having a good cry

My hubby is out of town for a few days so I thought I would take this opportunity to have a good cry--a good, guffawing, snot-slinging cry that comes from the bottom of my feet and works it way all the way up to my head and out my eyes, nose and every other escape route. Every once in a while, I need this to cleanse my system and my soul. And it's not often that I am afforded the opportunity of performing this ritual without worrying the kids or freaking out my husband.

Times are tough everywhere. I am trying to put on a brave face and have been doing an okay job, at least I think, but every once in a while I succumb to the need of having a good pity party with myself as the Guest of Honor. I have so many good things in my life to be thankful for--a wonderful husband, three great kids, my loving parents, a beautiful sister and her family, terrific friends--I am so appreciative, but sometimes I am overcome by great sadness.

Our country is in dire straits--good people have lost their jobs, their homes, their belongings, their faith, their lives--what is going to become of us? I am hopeful that our new President and his administration can turn our economy around, but it seems things are so far gone that that might not happen for a very long time. Unemployment is at an all-time high, the stock market and all-time low, morale is abysmal at best. I, like, countless other moms and dads, worry, worry, worry what the future holds for our country, our families, our children.

I am not an economist, nor a politician, nor a theologian, but I am somewhat intelligent and can read the writing on the wall and it is not a good story. I don't know if we need more government intervention or Divine intervention, but what I do know is that things have got to get better. What can I do to make a change, a difference?

I know some people are perpetual optimists and would argue that it is not all so bleak--that there are shiny moments in an otherwise gray existence--but that is not what tonight is all about for me.

I am so grateful to have found a church where I can go and pray and spend peaceful moments with my husband and kids--an escape, much like the tears I have shed this evening.

Tonight, I will cry. Tomorrow, I will hope.