1/365 Family

Second Cousins Bring in 2009 in Richmond

Project 365

I heard about this on a podcast while I was running this week and thought it was a great idea. After a little research (g00gling) I found that it's a pretty popular undertaking. So, here goes: I will try to document the next 365 days, for better or for worse by posting at least one photo per day.

Holding Pattern

With my job prospects looking dim, and even the possibility of substitute teaching in the clutches of red tape, I am holding my breath, holding my heart and holding on for dear life. Alas, the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed (room and board) may not be attainable on the spouse's sole educator's salary. Holding so tight, I haven't been moved to prose. Go figure.

Check this off

I'm a list-maker. Every morning I look at my to-do, and every night I scribble the undone on a notepad at my bedside. Some items are pre-loaded everyday. Run. Laundry. Clean bathrooms. As soon as I check them off for Sunday I make a mental note to add them on Monday's list.

My daughter isn't a lister, but I wish she would be. All the "to-do"s scramble around in her head along with other pressing matters like deciding on the boyfriend-of-the-week, or overcoming the girlfriend-drama-of-the-day, or whether to flat-iron the hair or pull it into a ponytail. She doesn't prioritize like I do, and she doesn't demonstrate my discipline to tackle the big, bad and ugly items before kicking back for the leisure activities.

This is a constant tug-of-war. I want to manage things for her, but at age 14 she should be learning to manage for herself. So I sit in front of this screen at 7:30 AM on a Sunday, ironing for the week complete, cat litter changed, and dishwasher emptied, anxious for her to wake up and start checking things off. Heaven help me.

Musings after a night of witnessing history...

I have always loved my country.

For the last eight years it seemed like the kind of love I offered wasn't welcome. My love came with suggestions. My love came with a stern critique. "Love is blind" is a lie perpetrated by those who refuse to see. In the best relationships we see the flaws in one another and work together to grow. Too often I heard that my love for country wasn't authentic because I questioned, or because I showed disappointment.

Those opposed to my brand of love stole from me. Not only did they hold onto the White House and most state houses, but they took the symbols that belong to all of us.

But the flag is, and always was, mine too.

Please, God. Let it count.

The Scary Burger King Guy Would Be A Welcome Change

In my hotel room the television keeps me company. The innocenct sounds of Wheel of Fortune are intended to break the silence and provide a backdrop for my workshop-prepping and net-surfing. But the innocence is broken by loud, condescending campaign ads. The Republicans use the movie voice over guy, images of Washington D.C. melting away, and Obama's face in a pained grimace. They claim "leadership" on the financial crisis (didn't the House vote fail, in spite of McCain's suspension?) and then randomly insert graphics about the tax and spend policies of Obama, in some kind of attempt to hold him responsible for the current mess.

How can they get away with saying Obama has no experience yet simultaneously blame him for the financial crisis brought to fruition by a couple of generations 'de-regulators?" I'm guessing the majority of "Wheel Watchers" don't bother to do any fact-checking on their own. Campaign advertisements on TV encourage lazy citizenship. We'd be better without them.