States of Union

Soon I will hear the details of the State of the Union messages last night.  Regardless of who has given the speeches, throughout my adult life, I never watch the extravaganza in real time on T.V.; I can't stay up that late and still be functioning the next day.  I count on NPR commentators to give me the high and low points the next morning.

Today is the birthday of Ronald Reagan, who was born in 1911.  Long ago, I had similar feelings about Reagan as I've had about some politicians who came after him.  I was outraged by some of the actions he took and outraged by some of the actions he didn't take.  I worried about the future of the country under the people he appointed.

I was in high school and college during Reagan's time in office.  My main memories of the Carter presidency are the Iran hostage crisis and the rising cost of regular life, along with record high interest rates, which helped savers but penalized those looking to buy a home.  When we got our first mortgage at a 7% interest rate, I thought we'd scored a real win, mainly because of my memories of stagflation.

I didn't experience Reagan as the breath of fresh air that many did.  I was suspicious of his sunny optimism.  Now I miss it more than I would have thought possible.

I am feeling a bit brain dead this morning even though I didn't stay up to see the State of the Union.  I am feeling creatively drained--especially for someone who announced that her wells had been filled up at the end of her travels.

I have not been sleeping well for a few days; I'm not sure what that's about.

Let me remind myself that not every day has to be one where I blaze creative trails.  Some days, it's enough that I pay the bills and wash the dishes and do the work that my school requires.