“All The Girls”

(Young Migratory Mother by Dorothea Lange, a public domain image.)

All the girls on the telephone
All the girls standing all alone
All the girls sitting on the wire
One by one fly into the fire

Be careful how you bend me
Be careful where you send me
Careful how you end me
Be careful with me

–from “Be Careful” by Patty Griffin

I promise this won’t become a political or news blog.  Though I’m a huge news junkie, I don’t have the time needed to stay current, as evident with yesterday’s post.  And I struggled with what to write this week, especially after witnessing the events that transpired downtown Tuesday.  But I’m so focused on what’s happening in my own backyard that I can’t look away.  It’s all I can think about right now.

Watching the women of Texas stand up for themselves this week filled my heart with so much hope and renewal that I’m literally brimming over with excitement.  Sometimes, it’s too easy to get discouraged and bogged down with the politics and vitriol that divide this state, but Tuesday night, something truly historic happened.  The people of Texas took it upon themselves to shut down a series of oppressive bills that only seek to hurt the women here.  They finally had enough, and they did something about it.  There was no unruly mob, but only concerned citizens exercising their freedom of expression.  And it worked.

Since then, our governor has called a second special session, beginning next week, and I’m certain there’s another crowd already forming.  I’m hoping to support my legislators and fellow Texans in any way I can, which might mean more posts like this.  I realize the topic of these bills is incredibly divisive, and I urge you to examine the bigger picture at stake.  Though abortion features heavily within them, the bills coming before our legislature next week ultimately end reliable care for many Texas women, and that simply cannot stand.

I’ll be watching, Texas will be watching, and I hope the entire country and beyond will watch, too, as our lawmakers and citizens, together, have the chance to stop this oppression once and for all.