I just gave the baby a bottle. Rarely does he fall asleep taking it anymore and even rarer stay asleep snuggled up on my chest. Yesterday was a long day for him though. We were at church by 9:15 and had family arriving by 12:00 for football. Sunday’s are my favorite day, but most especially during football season.

My family is loud, goodness… So loud! We aren’t politically correct and to some we may be considered downright heathens, but we are family and we love Bengals football. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Like I said, Sunday’s are my favorite. Little man was really thrown for a loop with all the chaos of yesterday, but he was great and I guess he’s just catching up on lost nap time from yesterday. 

Here I sit, sleeping 4 month old on me and my phone that is down to 8% battery trying to put into words how my heart is today. Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of 9/11. 15 years? Blows my mind. 

A lot of controversy has arose in recent weeks. In an already ugly year of division because of the upcoming election, I feel like America is only drifting further apart. When did we lose respect for the national anthem and the flag? The flag and that anthem represent lives lost. Thousands and thousands of lives. Had the lives not been lost you wouldn’t even be allowed your right to protest. I guess it’s a slippery slope we’re on. We can’t force someone to respect the flag because well, this is America. On the flip side I’m allowed to be disappointed and even a little angry because well, this is America. I understand being hurt by things occurring in this country, I too am hurt. I mourn for the victims and I mourn for those vilified by the actions of so few of their comrades.  

Yesterday, President Obama was booed at several different football stadiums during a pretaped segment recognizing the events from 15 years ago. He was booed! The same people who are angry at people kneeling during the National anthem were booing the president who was doing nothing more than speaking for the nearly 3,000 innocent lives lost in horror. Those are both our right to do and both are equally deplorable in my eyes. If you have an issue with someone kneeling during the national anthem or turning their back to the flag you should be just as disgusted by booing the president, but again, this is America. 

I’m not Obama’s biggest fan by any means, but really? They were booing the president on September 11! Do you see the problem? If not, I really don’t know what I can say to make it more clear. 

How I long for this country to be unified. How I long for change and for this country to be great. How I long for this country to be better for my children than it ever was for me, my parents or grandparents. 

For now, I sit here and hold this sleeping baby and I pray. I ask that a power bigger than the people of this country and bigger than the leaders of this country intervene. Bring about the change needed to be what we once were. We don’t need to be made great again. We need more than change. We need to be made better than we have ever been before.