Happy Valentine's Day...

I've never been a detractor of Valentine's Day - though I've also never completely bought into it either. After all, I'm narcissistic enough to believe that people should declare their undying devotion to me EVERY day, not just once a year.
Still, roses and chocolates have been a nice bonus at times in the cold depths of February.

That being said, aside from the commercial hype of florist commercials and the like, I've never noticed too much of a public celebration of Valentine's Day. Maybe I've been blissfully unawares? Maybe. But yesterday, as I walked through the throngs of displays and booths and Valentines signs in the SIUC student center, I was struck with how demonstrative this year's Valentine's Day seems. I asked someone else if it was just me - she said that she was kind of floored by this year's display as well.

So what's going on this year? Is a subconscious societal attempt to relieve the growing stress of our faltering economy? I'd love to be all gushy and warm and "Valentine's-y," but I can't really wrap my head around any other kind of excuse for it all.

Valentine's Day will come and go this year, for us, with a dinner and movie date. Alexandra gets to pick the restaurant and we'll go see "Push" (yeah, Alex chose that too). There may be chocolate involved, but her doctor said she should cut down on chocolates earlier this week. Alexandra is nothing if not a rule-follower.

I MAY have a fake chocolate rosebud that I'm carrying around in my bag today, but it's more for use as a magic wand than anything Valentine's-esque.

Happy Valentine's Day. Not in an ostentatious kind of way, but in a - have a good day, a happy day, and remember that there's someone who loves you, who's thinking of you, today and everyday.

Should _I_ Have Paypal Set Up On Here??

Okay, I will freely admit that, as a single parent, oftentimes ONE child is overwhelming. Add into the mix the multiple pets, the work schedule, not to mention the school schedule (and that pesky thesis), and I end up being, for the most part, a frazzled, overwhelmed Kylie most of the time.

It's worth it, though - I love my daughter, I'm working towards what I love - it's all good. Right?

Then today my eyes are opened to the newest sensationalist story in the country (at least, I think it's the newest, I could be behind still)... the Octo-Mom.

I'm one Kylie (and I've been told that I do a lot) and one kid can be too much at times. This woman, Nadya, now has 14??? She's a single mom as well - and she's in school as well. But 14 kids??
Her defense at that number was that she was really only trying for one more - to make it seven children. Because seven children is a picnic?

So, as happens when Kylie discovers something like this - I read up on it a bit. I read a bunch of news stories about this woman from the past few days and even visited her website (sorely disappointing - it was just a page asking for donations. nothing more). There's no way that I could or would want to defend her. I mean, I do understand the desire to have another child - but fourteen seems a little over the top. She actually reminds me of a Naylor character, but I digress.
I can't defend her. I don't want to defend her.

Then I read through the comments section of a few of these articles. There are comments on there calling for the death of the children rather than let one cent of government money be spent on them.
There are people on there calling for the children to be removed from the mother's custody and immediately put up for adoption.

After all, if you're in school and have children, they should die or be taken away from you?
*shudder*

Mind you, I DO understand the public frustration with this woman and her decision to have this brood of children. As yet, she's not actually taking responsibility for them - mostly leaving them in the care of her mother who went bankrupt last year. She doesn't contribute money to the running of her own household, in fact. She relies solely upon her mother.
Again, I understand how hard it is for just one child - I can't imagine six (let alone now 14). But to not contribute at all? That's unconscionable. That her mother is enabling this, as well. *shudder*

And with all that being said, the thing that makes me most upset is the attitude of absolute intolerance that this issue has brought out in the public.
Seriously? Kill the children rather than let them have a dime?
Really, WHO is the mentally unstable one? While I don't think this Nadya in living in what I would term "reality," I wouldn't credit those people leaving these comments as "stable."

Take the children away and adopt them out? There's a bit of a slippery slope there...
Hey lady who made that comment, what happens to your 2.4 children when you get laid off this year because of the economy? Do you get to keep them? But you might end up on some form of government assistance - unemployment, food stamps... Really, it'd just be better if the government stepped in and took them off your hands permanently. That would solve everything.

The thing is, and I'm guilty of it now as well, if we're so horrified as a culture about the actions of this one woman, why are we allowing her to be news? Why are perpetuating her time in the limelight and her chances of profiting from her actions? Why aren't we just ignoring it? If we don't buy into her hype, it won't be hype anymore. She'll discover what a mess she's made of her life and hopefully it'll be a wake-up call. Oh, and all those people calling for her dismemberment, or whatever harsh penalty they've dreamed up this hour, won't have to worry about going to hell...

cuz I'm pretty sure that when you call for the infanticide of 8, that's where you end up.

Commitment...

A quick thought or two on the subject.

I have trouble relinquishing my hold on some commitments - in that I'm fiercely loyal and committed to my relationships.

Why then, do I swear up and down I have a fear of commitment? I'm rethinking how I examine my relationships with my work now. Is it a fear of commitment really, or a fear of the unknown - of what happens NEXT?

On the road again...

I have been blessed with a child who may just be the world's best traveler.

Alexandra and I left Connecticut on Thursday - headed for Washington DC on our way back to Illinois. It's not exactly on the way, but we have a lot of people we wanted to visit with in the capital area, so it's our regular ending to visits back east. We spent two nights in DC - got to see a number of people, but not all (sadly - I hate missing people when I get to town!) - and then we were on the road again this morning. In an attempt to replenish a few little items that had broken and/or disappeared, we also wanted to hit Ikea in Virginia on the way out of town.

FYI - Ikea is NOT actually on the way out of town. It is, if you're going on a different highway. However, if you're heading out the way we usually do, it's not. We discovered this before it was too late, though, and still managed to get over to Ikea.
Unfortunately (?) we chose to visit Ikea on the same day that RadioDisney was broadcasting from there. I say unfortunately because instead of the 45 minutes we would have taken at the store, we were there for more like two hours and 45 minutes.

I'm a sucker.

Alexandra, on the other hand, is a PRO at the RadioDisney contests. She won a Hannah Montana dvd game, a Jonas Brothers poster, and two movies on dvd. She had a great time dancing her heart out and (I think) trying to become famous over RadioDisney.

All of this excitement at Ikea, however, also meant that we lost a good chunk of travel time today. Which translated into a later arrival tonight in Charleston, WV. I commiserated with Alex as we drove that this trip tends to suck. It does. I know that. She knows that. It's a long ass trip - and it basically ends up being about three days in the car (one to DC, one to Charleston, one more home). It's hard to sit still for that amount of time - and you can only watch movies over the iPod so many times.

That being said, Alexandra and I agree on most music and so enjoy singing along to whatever playlist we choose - or cd - or whatever is on the radio.
There's no whining or "are we there yet" from Miss Alex.

So, we're holed up in our hotel room for the night, now, and I'm ready to pass out. Alexandra and the puppy are unwinding before bed and ... well, it's another day of driving for us tomorrow!

Merry Christmas

At the end of a really wonderful day, filled with family and fun, I just want to extend my hopes that everyone had such a great day and that their season continues to be merry!

It's Almost Here...

I'm not sure what I think about Christmas anymore. I mean, I still enjoy it - I like the music and the anticipation. The thing about Christmas, however, is that it's really all about the anticipation. That's it. The exciting part happens so quickly ON Christmas - that the bulk of the "joy" is in the anticipation. It's eagerly waiting to see the children's faces as they rush to the fireplace that morning. It's the savory aromas that waft out from the kitchen while we salivate over the impending meal. It's the carols on the radio becoming more and more frequent as Christmas nears.

For our family - well, for Alexandra and myself - it's overdosing on carols early on... and never letting them up. It's the long and arduous drive from southern Illinois to Connecticut. It's the hope of snow upon arrival and the hope for no snow on the journey. It's decorating my father's tree with the ornaments that document my childhood and now Alex's. It's passing down the stories of Christmases past to a new generation - and creating new traditions with her.

Of course, our holiday lasts a little longer, I guess, than most. We are able to spend over a week visiting with friends and family whom we don't see very often anymore. We partake of so many experiences that used to be so ordinary - and now are a rare treat. I drink my Dunkin' Donuts coffee and Alexandra enjoys her Friendly's sundaes and we're both a little happier.

It's the end of the day on the 23rd. I'm not sure entirely how productive today has been for me, but it's been enjoyable. And tomorrow the anticipation will increase - especially as I prepare to do a whole lot of wrapping that I've been putting off.

Caroling, caroling, baking and singing will be the order of the day. Anticipation.

I'm sorry - was I WANTING cold weather??

I know I was bemoaning the warm weather back in Illinois the other day - but I think I'll take a sunny 65 degree day over the bone-chilling cold that I'm dealing with at present.  

Of course, I love the idea of a white Christmas.  Bing Crosby instilled that in me long long ago.  I just put the dog outside, though, and the minute that I was outside was enough to get under my skin and chill me to the core.

Brrr....

So I'm going to make some hot chocolate tonight to warm my cold cold heart.  Tomorrow we're going sledding and then decorating Grandpa's Christmas tree.  We're also going to catch up on our baking.  I'm hoping that all this activity will make me forget that chilling feeling invading my soul... or at least my bones.

This is the week before Christmas, right?

... the reason I ask is that it's 65 degrees outside and sunny with blue blue skies.  Oh, there's a puffy white cloud over my car, but other than that...

The idea of driving back to CT tomorrow morning with these conditions shining down upon me - well, that's not so bad.  The problem comes with the fact that the rest of the country (or at least the part that I'll be traversing) is covered in multiple inches of snow.  

Don't get me wrong, I love a white Christmas.  

It's been a year, however, since the last time I made this drive - and being out of practice, I'm a little nervous about the drive to begin with.  After all, not only is it a hellishly long trip, I'm doing it with Alexandra, two guinea pigs, two hamsters, and the puppy.  The hellish nature increases exponentially with each being.

At the end of journey, we will be rewarded with seeing our friends and family back home, catching up, and relaxing of a sort (okay, I have some writing to do too).  

Then, two weeks later, we'll do the trip in reverse!

Happy Holidays! - Our Digital Christmas Letter

Happy holidays from our family to yours!  

Welcome to our digital Christmas letter!  It’s that time of year again – and we’re trying something a little different. 

As technology advances and we’re brought back into contact with so many people in our lives,

we’re trying a more techno-savvy method of conveying our holiday greetings to everyone we love!

(I’ve been assured that this is acceptable and not tacky by multiple people…)

2008 has been an interesting year for us, filled with all kinds of highs and lows.  My teaching assistantship ended last year, which found me working for the graduate assistant union in the spring semester and scrambling for employment in the fall.  I found it at the campus Starbuck’s – as well as a great appreciation for teaching! Since I started there, my constant latte addiction has been cured.  I’m much better now about going without my coffee!

Alexandra finished up her first year at St. Andrew’s school with an excellent report card and jumped right into second grade with gusto.  She’s still taking her regular dance classes (advanced ballet as well as jazz/hip hop), participating in the Southern Illinois Children’s Choir’s Apprentice Choir, active in Brownies (I’m her troop leader), and simply being the crazy kid she was born to be! 

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year for us was a trip this past summer to Australia to visit our family – and, of course, do some sightseeing.  We spent five weeks visiting Sydney, Toowoomba, Lismore, and Canberra, with trips to Burleigh Heads, Hervey Bay, the Big Banana and Australia Zoo!  While the experience of traveling to Australia itself was definitely incredible, getting to spend time with our family there was certainly the best part for both of us.  It was so wonderful to spend time with my cousins – as well as finally meet all the children!  Alexandra also adored meeting all of her Australian cousins for the first time – and hasn’t stopped talking about them since!  According to her, we’ll be going back every year.  According to me, we’ll see.

My fourth year at SIUC has found me starting a new program here – working on a second MA in Linguistics, specifically Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).  The new department is really welcoming and I’m enjoying working on my skills at teaching English.  I can’t wait to apply what I’m learning in this program to what I’ve already gained through teaching English to native speakers.

This past autumn has also brought us to a new home – Alexandra and I moved out of the student housing where we’d lived for three years and into a house about twenty minutes outside of Carbondale.  Alex is most appreciative of the big yard that came with the house (not to mention the fact that she has her own room plus a playroom!) and I’m still in my honeymoon phase with the laundry room!  Just before we moved, I managed to break my wrist, putting a damper on the whole moving adventure.  Five weeks later, two days after I took the brace off, I fell and sprained that same wrist.  Oops!  This autumn also brought a new addition to our family – we adopted a very sweet little beagle puppy, Violet Whey (aka VW Beagle), who has since kept us very busy.  She’s quite the handful, but a wonderful playmate for Alex and such a loving little girl!

From Alexandra, Violet Whey, the hamsters (Hannah and Lily), the guinea pigs (Hermione and Gigi) and myself, we wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season with all the love and joy that accompanies this time of year. 

With love, Kylie, Alexandra, and all the girls

 

Papers are all handed in...

... and except for a quiz in Phonetics tomorrow morning, this semester is over for me!

There are a couple more things that I'd like to get done tonight, but I'm not overly concerned whether that happens or not.  I still have my hours at Starbucks to spur my daily trips into town and, of course, Alexandra has to go to school until the end of next week.  

Now that things are handed in, though, I'm trying to map out my activity for the next few days.  The hours that have been spent on school work can now be applied towards preparing for the holidays - with gusto!

I'm looking forward to completing the photo albums in the next couple of days and am contemplating making some cards as well.  While I'm not going to send out cards this year (after all, every year I get the cards and usually forget to mail them) - I'm trying to come up with some creative way of wishing everyone who's important to me a very happy holidays.  The problem lies in the fact that so many people whom we love are scattered all over this planet.  We can't very well deliver a plate of cookies to people in Japan, Australia, and Germany (if I'm forgetting your country and you're not close, then I'm talking about you too!).

Of course, avoiding the obligatory Christmas cards also means avoiding writing the obligatory Christmas letter... which may actually be of use this year (especially considering we moved rather suddenly in October).  

I guess I'm just torn about the card issue after all.  We'll see what I decide.  

If I don't have your current address, though, shoot me an email - just in case!

xxxooo

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

... at least, that's what "they" say.

At present, though, I'm overwhelmed with too much worked that's piled up on me throughout the semester.  At least for the next two days, I'm SWAMPED.  

My thesis is written and handed in to my committee.  I'm still operating under the assumption that I'm defending next week - no date has been set yet, though.  

I'm sad to note that my work hours will be cut with the end of the semester - after all, no students means a lot less work.  The extra time at home is nice, of course, but the smaller paychecks really aren't.

Alexandra is an activity magnet during the weekends leading up to Christmas!  This coming weekend brings her First Reconciliation, marching in the Lights Fantastic Parade, and a Brownie Troop dinner.  I also have my work Christmas party - and did I mention that all of this occurs on the same day?  

Next weekend is even more busy with activities completely filling Saturday and Sunday - two Christmas concerts, a birthday party, and two scheduled shopping dates.  

In the midst of all this hoopla, I'm trying to adopt a new Christmas outlook.  Yes, Alexandra will get presents from me and from Santa.  However, most of the other people in our lives will be receiving baked goods (oh yes, there will be cookies!) and handmade photo albums.  We're embracing the idea that Christmas should come from the heart - and so are trying to cut down on the "stuff" that the holiday has become.  

I won't lie and say the economy hasn't spurred this change, but I'm not upset about it either.  I really like the idea of putting the effort to make the gifts for everyone rather than looking for stuff.  

That said, I'm enjoying Sirius' 24/7 Christmas Carol station and trying to psych myself up for a joyous season (provided I get all this writing done soon!)...

Is 32 too old to go "emo"?

Fourteen years ago, I fell in love with a vampire.  Brad Pitt stole my heart in the movie version of "Interview With A Vampire" - and I was hooked.  I could still probably recite the entire film.  

A few years later, I began reading the Anne Rice books and found myself immersed within worlds of witches and vampires - living so well amongst the rest of the world.  I read every book she wrote - and I think owned them all too.  I'm still regretting the fact that a few of those books got sold in a yard sale just prior to my moving to Illinois.  

However, they were in that yard sale for a reason.  I'd outgrown such romantic fantasies as vampires and I was a much more practical adult moving on with her life.  Those that didn't sell got packed up with the rest of my books - those that did, I hope they bring joy to whomever is reading them now.  

I'm too much of a grown up to be pulled into such wonderfully fictitious worlds.  

A few months ago I started seeing all these mentions of "Twilight" scattered around Facebook.  Ah, the next teenage girl thing, I thought.  A movie based on a young adult book - yeah, there's such a dearth of those.  

Then the buzz reached some of the undergraduates I know.  Okay - they're still fairly young, though, right?  I'm above such things.

Then the buzz landed on a friend, older than me, in an administrator position.  She lent me her copy - which landed in a pile of books that "I'll get to when I have the time."  It sat there.

Twilight, the movie, was released on Friday to scores of lines and sold out theatres.  By now, I knew it was a teen vampire flick; the book remained unread, unopened, now in a box that moved with us into our new home.  

I agreed to succumb to the hype to watch the movie 

- vampires can be a pleasant distraction, right?  

Saturday show, 4:00 pm.  Lots of previews and then....

It's now 4:03 on Sunday afternoon.  Exactly 24 hours ago, I was settling in to my seat at the movie theatre, about to watch a fun vampire movie.  In the past 24 hours, I've watched the movie, read the entire first book, dreamed of my own personal vampire, and become obsessed with the book's main character.  I won't run to the movies practically every night for the next three weeks (okay, yes, I MAY have done that with Interview With A Vampire) - but I'm anxiously awaiting the movie's release onto dvd and I may allow Alex to see the movie (so I can watch it again).  I am, however, jonesing for the second book...

So how is it that this movie has thrown me with such vehemence back into my vampire lust of ten years ago?  The book is excellent, I think.  While the story is centered around the angst that is adolescence, I think the writing is more compelling than I remember Rice's series.  

My solution to my obsession?  

Well, I want to read read read - which I don't really have a problem with.  

And then shrug and embrace it.  

Since the only other option is to dye my hair black and attain a level of "emo" that I would never have even reached at the peak of my emotional youth, I'm already practicing my shrug.

A Quick Word to the Wise...

While I'm always a fan of a good movie, I discovered that there is a time and a place for all such movies.  That is, even good movies should be watched only in an appropriate context.

I'm a single mom - and as such, I spend most of my time (when we're not in school, that is) with my darling daughter.  Tonight, however, Alexandra is at a sleepover birthday party.  She went home after school with her friends and will be picked up tomorrow morning around 11am.  I haven't seen her since dropping her off at school this morning.  On days like today, I miss the little kid.  

I decided tonight, though, that I could go see a movie without Miss Alex - a grown up movie.  I'd wanted to see "The Changeling" since discovering that Jeffrey Donovan was in it - and this was my chance.  I roped a friend into seeing it with me and we planned for the 10pm showing.

This is where I should have done a little more planning, or at least reconnaissance, before going to this movie tonight.  

Don't get me wrong - it was a really good movie.  Donovan played a prick, yes, but whenever I see him, I picture him doing situps up an incline and eating blueberry yogurt.  I love that guy.  Jolie was good as well, as was Malkovich, but I have my favorites....

I digress - this was not the movie to see on a night when I don't have my daughter.  A movie based on an unsolved missing child case is never a good idea on nights when she's not safely tucked in bed in the room next to mine.  

Now What?

I spent the past three months anxiously (no, not in a good way) anticipating my phonetics presentation of Dutch.  I finished that yesterday.  I also had to put together a micro teaching demonstration in French - did that this morning.  My thesis has been looming over my head for a year and a half and I am now at the end - I'm defending in about three weeks (probably a little less).  I'm sitting at Panera, having soup for dinner with Alexandra, before a Girl Scout council meeting ... and it just hit me.

Now what?

Of course, life goes on and I need to keep looking for gainful employment (emphasis on that gainful part) and what not.  I still have a paper and a bunch of smaller assignments that I need to get done over Thanksgiving break, as well as my pre-defense revisions - but all of a sudden I feel as though a rather large weight has been lifted from me.  I fear that it may be that all my stresses have finally numbed me?  

I guess that I'll just take this moment - be it fleeting or lasting - and savour the hugs and snuggles from Alex, the facepainting decorating my right hand, the sourdough goodness encompassed by chicken and wild rice soup.  I'll go to this meeting, then go home and enjoy the peacefulness that is my existence this evening.

I may actually take tonight to read for ... wait for it ... PLEASURE.

"The Holidays" are approaching...

... and no.  I'm not the least bit freaked out.  Okay, maybe a little.  

I just have to keep reminding myself that the lowering gas prices are going to make it all better.  After all, isn't that what this latest attempt at economic stimulus is supposed to do?  It's no longer over $40 to fill my car's tank.  Yesterday I did it for under $20.  Is that enough to really help people, though?

I suppose the extra $20 is a boon and all - and it does relieve a certain amount of anxiety.  I'm still on the hunt for another job, though - not to replace but to supplement my current employment.  

So with all this economic malarkey (and really, what else can it be called, the present US economy), Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that are just around the corner.  Alexandra and I will not be having Thanksgiving dinner with our family this year - the trip back to CT would be too much of a hardship financially, not to mention the annoyance of the long trip, the missed school for Alex, and the stress of moving a veritable zoo of animals 1000 miles for a week.  

We're cool with that, though, and are planning to have friends over to our house for the holiday.  I'm not making the turducken I'd originally proposed - especially not after finding out how expensive those are!  A traditional turkey, with Kylie's special stuffing, will suffice as the main course.  

What we're doing for Christmas, however, is still up in the air.  As Starbucks won't be offering me any hours while they're closed for break, the viability of remaining in Illinois for the break is ... well, slight.  I guess it all hinges on whether I find another job today.  My day's goals do include filling out some applications.  It was pointed out to me, though, that the ever-decreasing gas prices will at least make the trip more affordable than I'd originally planned.  

All will be okay, I know - but I'd prefer to live without such stress.

... at least Alex just wants Uno and Scrabble for Christmas :-)

Do I Expect Too Much?

I was explaining to someone today how Alexandra was so offended that she couldn't vote - how it really wasn't fair that adults who don't know who Obama and McCain were could vote while she couldn't, even though she'd been following the races since before the primaries, because she's seven years old.

"Why doesn't that surprise me, coming from your daughter?"

I advocate social responsibility - and I do so in my daughter.  Voting is a privilege that should be cherished - and something to be viewed, not as a chore, but an opportunity.  

I hope that I'm instilling such values within Alexandra.

I was more than a little shocked to be confronted with so many people today who had not voted and were not going to vote - and who were not even registered to vote.  

I guess I shouldn't take offense at the flippant remark - after all, she is a politically aware and socially responsible child - and a child of whom I am extremely proud.

Are You a US Citizen? VOTE ON TUESDAY!

About a month ago, I commented to Alexandra (who has been very invested in the Obama campaign since Clinton removed herself from the democratic race) that she wasn't able to vote in this election.  There were many tears and she raised some good points - she's paid attention to the newscasts, the debates, the candidates.  She knows who she supports.  Why can't she vote?  

The day before, I'd overheard someone talk about who they were going to vote for: "you know, that guy who elected that woman for president."  How could I then disagree with her words?  She knew more about what was going on in US politics than adults who would be voting.

She'll be with me as I cast my vote in the morning.  She'll also get to vote in a mock election tomorrow at her school.  Her vote, however, won't be counted in the general Presidential election.  

I have family on the other side of the world - some of whom have pointed out how, really, unfair it is that the whole world can't vote in the US Presidential elections.  While it's true that our president is OUR president and so should only be elected by the US citizenry, our choice has repercussions that are felt throughout the world.  There truly are people all over the world who would like to be able to vote in this election.

I received an email today from moveon.org.  I'm not a huge fan of moveon.org - I've just been too lazy really to unsubscribe from their emails.  However, I really appreciated today's email:

Dear MoveOn member,

You don't live in Ohio. You don't live in Florida. The chance is pretty small that Illinois will decide the presidential election. So: Why vote?

Here's why. This list is important—so please read it, and then pass it along. And remember: To find out where to vote, what you need to bring, or when the polls close, click here: www.voteforchange.com.

The Top 5 Reasons To Vote In Illinois 
Or: Why It Still Means A Thing Even If It Ain't Got That Swing

1. Big margin = big mandate. The popular vote doesn't put anyone in the White House, but it affects what presidents can do when they get there. Want Obama to be able to actually do the stuff he's been talking about? Pass universal health care? End the war? Then we need a landslide.
   
   
2. The other things on the ballot matter! For example: Congress. Without more support in the House and Senate, Obama will have a hard time getting progressive laws passed. Plus, there are other important local races and ballot questions in some places. 
   
   
3. If you don't vote, everyone can find out. Voting records are public. (Not who you voted for, justwhether you voted.) Pretty soon, finding out whether you voted could be as easy as Googling you.
   
   
4. Help make history. You could cast one of the votes that elect the first African-American president. If we win, we'll tell our grandchildren about this election, and they'll tell their grandchildren. Do you really want to have to explain to your great-great-grandchildren that you were just too busy to vote in the most important election in your lifetime? 
   
   
5. People died so you'd have the right to vote. Self-government—voting to choose our own leaders—is the original American dream. We are heir to a centuries-long struggle for freedom: the American revolution, and the battles to extend the franchise to those without property, to women, to people of color, and to young people. This year, many will still be denied their right to vote. For those of us who have that right, it's precious. If we waste it, we dishonor those who fought for it and those who fight still. 
   
   Live your values. Love your country. Vote.

I can't stress enough how much I want everyone to go vote tomorrow.  While I have my own opinions as to who to vote for, I'm not even asking that everyone go vote for the candidate I support.  I really just want to stress over and over and over that we should all get out to vote.  I've pointed out in previous blogs the struggles women went through in years past to get us the right to vote - now I'm pointing out the privilege we all have in being able to vote tomorrow.  Take advantage - be proud of what we're able to do - VOTE.

Did I Step Into an Alternate Reality?

The economy sucks.  It finally hit me – at the bottom of the economic barrel – recently.  I get it now.  The economy sucks.  Even Alexandra is aware of this – offering to bust open her piggy bank to pay for food.  The economy sucks.

 

I ventured for the first time today to DCI Biologicals.  Those people who are in Carbondale know what I’m talking about.  It’s that big stone building that I’ve always thought looked abandoned.  I’ve never seen a person walk in or out of the front doors – and it’s always looked kind of seedy.  When I told friends that I was going to go there, they made comments about meth addicts and the like.  Oh boy, I thought.

 

Well, okay – this isn’t the cream of the crop of society, to say the least.  I’ll grant them that.  I don’t see anyone around here who look like they’ve been ripping the skin off their faces, though.  There are remarkably quite a few normal looking people here – of course, a number of college students. 

 

I’m getting ahead of myself.

 

I walked through the doors and blinked repeatedly.  At 11 am, there were no free seats in the lobby area.  I’d say the room holds (seat-wise) about 30-40 people.  I couldn’t believe that it was full.  Wow.

 

After waiting a while, I at least got to fill out my first form and talk with someone who works here.  I smiled and said it didn’t look like the crashing economy was hurting them in anyway – that, if anything, it looked to be helping them.  She laughed and said they’re now getting all kinds of phone calls asking what other things they’ll buy.  I shudder to wonder what, beyond plasma, these people want to sell.  

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

We're having an issue lately in our house: an issue with telling the truth.  Alex has never been the kind of child who tells wild and imaginative tales - she's always been the tattler in most situations, really.  Or, if she isn't telling on someone to the authority figure relative to the incident, she's likely to tell me about it later that evening.  

Last year, at just about this time, they had a speaker at her school, the local DARE officer, who talked to the younger grades about alcohol awareness.  Alex was honest at that assembly to the point of over-sharing.  I was the parent in charge of the event, the only parent at the assembly, and wishing I could drown my embarrassment in a really big strawberry margarita.  

So who is this kid who has taken residence in my home, who looks just like my little girl, who cannot tell the truth if her life depended upon it?  

Alexandra, did you feed the guinea pigs?  Yes.  Then why don't they have any food?  Oh.

Alexandra, did you take a shower?  Yes.  Then why is your hair still dry?  Oh.

Alexandra, did you do your homework?  Yes.  Can I see it? *tears* I forgot what I was saying!

When I got to her choir rehearsal tonight, I noticed a little stuffed animal on her desk.  I beckoned her over (they were still in their break) to let her know I'd gotten there and to give her a hug.  

Did you get a new stuffed animal?  No.  What's the animal on your desk?  I don't have one!

She walked back to her desk and took the animal from the desk and, reaching under the desk to her friend sitting in front of her, passed it away from her in what was an obvious attempt to hide the thing from me.

I've had a few people now tell me it's a phase and that she'll grow out of it.  It's so unlike the Alexandra I've known ... well, since her birth ... though, that it's driving me absolutely batty.

To Wax Political for a Moment...

There is an anti-abortion organization that has taken up protesting outside of where my classes are held.  For the past two days, images of aborted fetuses have been erected in comparison with images of the holocaust.  They're in the free speech area of the university - and they're being sponsored by an RSO.  They can be there and they can display these images.  

Yesterday, at the same time as local elementary schools were letting out 5, 6, 7 year olds (okay, all elementary school aged children), this organization thought it appropriate to drive a truck bearing these images throughout the town.  They went beyond the university - the presumed target of the protest - and happened to pick the same time that elementary schools let their children out nationwide.  "We weren't specifically targeting 5 year olds" was the response I received upon challenging the ethics of doing so.

Protests like these - specifically those that attempt to engage the entire community, regardless of whether that engagement is appropriate - get my dander up.  It's not so much the issue - in fact it's an issue that I remain constantly torn about - as their methods.  My daughter goes to a conservative Catholic elementary school.  Oftentimes I even shudder at how conservative it is.  She takes the bus to and from school every day from our church parking lot.  The bus is owned by the school and is driven by one of the parents with a CDL.  At school she is not allowed to watch anything rated higher than PG.  In order for her to watch even PG, I had to sign a blanket permission slip at the start of the year.  She exists ( at least when it comes to school ) in a bubble.  Yesterday, as she got off her bus, she was met with these images driving past the parking lot.  

Again, the issue itself is something with which I continue to struggle.  My own beliefs dictate that life is sacred and that I would NEVER have an abortion.  So, in my own life, I am pro-life.  I would never advocate that another individual have an abortion.  However, I would also NEVER want my beliefs forced upon another individual in the same way that I would never want someone else's beliefs forced upon me.  I would (and do) support any woman's informed choice in the matter.  

I've been attacked a couple of times recently for calling my daughter a choice.  Perhaps I misspoke.  She is my daughter, the most important person in my life.  HAVING HER was the best choice I ever made.  

My lunch is now over and I have to go back to work.  

xxx ooo