Do you ever have things to say or write or want to post about and are just too afraid to say what you really want to say? I think I would write more often if I actually had a different blog with a different name.

Back in the 80’s I had a fake ID. Yep. It was so dumb and too easy to get. I wish I could remember if I had the same name. Surely not.

Why? Why the need to want to hide behind these written words? Well, that is a loaded question that I honestly know the answer to, thank you therapy, but still. What in the absolute sam heck am I afraid of?

What I learned in therapy in a nutshell: being exposed. Ok, moving on because that is not the point of this post.

I am afraid of the same things you may be afraid of. I don’t want to be cancelled any more than you do. I want to be liked. I don’t want people to talk about me and what I’ve said and judge me and my words so harshly that I then hear about what people think and say about me and shrink back into my insecure shell afraid to move and say another word.

UGH!!! I just like to process things and wonder about things and ask questions about things and learn things and have conversation about things that I may or may not align with but for the dang love, we can’t do that anymore. So, I am afraid. At 54, I am afraid. My skin is not thick enough I guess. I am ok to get bruised. I just know it takes me awhile to heal. Maybe the more bruises I get, I’ll learn to heal faster.

So, what do you want to talk about? Here are a few not so controversial thoughts bouncing around my head that I will not elaborate on at 8pm on a Thursday night.

1. I don’t know if I trust our healthcare system anymore. Why do I feel like we aren’t being as taken care of like we used to?
2. When did we lose the art of hospitality in business? Where did good customer service go? When did the breakdown occur? Why is it hard to train and teach this?Why is it only Chick-fil-A that cares about this?
3. I worry about food now. Remmber when we only had a handful of restuarants to choose from to go out to eat. Oh, McDonalds. You were such a treat. Now we have 1.9 bazillion restaurants everywhere and our food really is injected with this, that, and the other and it’s terrible for us but we keep eating it anyway. And it’s not just restaurants. It’s all food. We need to bring gardening back. I have been saying for 5 years I want to grow something, but haven’t even bought a tomato plant from Lowe’s that requires hardly anything from me. I’m just like you. Hello drive-thru. Here I come. Bleh. I want to do better.
4. Lastly, politics. STOP THE YELLING at everyone about how right you are and dumb they are. How do we turn that ship around?

I know. It’s all complicated and nothing happened over night and it will take more than a week, i’m impatient, to turn things around, but I promise you I could do a number on the customer service and hospitality world.

Oh, one more. I’m worried about Gen Z. I saw a story on the news the other day that larger corporationgs are now offering etiquette classes because these poor kiddos didn’t learn some things. I know…maybe my beautiful Gen X generation idn’t teach them properly, but I think its more complicated than that. Is it mainly because of the invention of the lovely Iphone and then social media that has wrecked us all? I do love my phone and have right beside me on my lap. I’m no better I guess. Many of these darling young ones aren’t able to have complete thoughts and conversations and hold eye contact or shake a hand. Someone help them write an email, put a napkin in their lap, and use silverware properly.

Ok, if I was really brave I would elaborate on each one of these with my words but i’m scared and I won’t so this is probably all a waste of both of our time right? Nah. I just want to talk about things in an open forum and let others speak. I would even love the occasional online argument as long as it ended nicely.

What are you worried about or thinking about these days? Tell me. I’m curious.

You are all amazing and we need space for healthy conversation again to learn, grow, and be challenged. And be kind in doing so.

Lemme have it. Whatcha got?