Gratitude Part 1

I was lamenting via email to my most excellent cousin, Rosie, about how I was in a bit of a funk. She sent me back a lovely missive full of expletives that basically told me to get my head out of my arse, which turned out to be exactly what I needed to hear. She suggested that I might like to give gratitude a try (as in record some of the things for which I am thankful) in an effort to adjust my focus. Since Thanksgiving is a mere three weeks away, I thought, why not?

First installment below.

1. I am grateful for my husband and I am grateful that his name is not Shifty, Slutty Pants, Mark or Paul and that he is not afraid of crazy.

2. I am grateful for my son even when it takes him a mere six weeks in a new school to get into an altercation with another child, resulting in a three day suspension.

3. I am grateful for my daughter because as many times a day as she folds her arms, pouts and ignores my instruction, she is still quick to hand out hugs and kisses at bedtime.

4. I am grateful for my cat, in spite of the fact that he chooses 2:43 am to thunderously vomit up that hairball that he's been working on for a month.

5. I am grateful for our new, big house because even though I could spend every waking moment of every day cleaning away the filth of the people who lived here last, it is a reliable roof over our heads. And it has lots of hiding spots.

6. I am grateful for my Honda Pilot even though a month out of warranty, it sounds like I am dragging a knight in full, metal, armour down the road. I am grateful for the mechanic who looked at it, told me it was nothing and suggested I turn my music up to cover the noise. Works for me.

7. I am grateful for my job. I am not doing anything remotely noble like helping to alleviate human suffering but I am feeding my children and today, that is enough.

8. I am grateful for my health because I know it can all turn to custard in a moment. I've been on the receiving end of shitty medical news so each day really is a gift. I must remember that.

9. I am grateful to be in my forties in spite of the fact that I can't read the small print anymore. So, I guess I'm grateful for glasses, too.

10. I am grateful that we found the funds to pay for our Christmas holiday in New Zealand this year. The anticipation of that upcoming trip is my Santa Claus. It's my motivation.

Well, that should do it for now. I'm feeling rather fortunate. I might actually make it to the gym tonight.

Maybe.

Vote

It's here. It's FINALLY here. Thank God.

The American masses will head out today and decide the fate of the Senate and the House. Most of the pundits agree that the House will be lost to a Republican majority and that John Boehner in all his tanned glory, will become the next speaker of the House.

Unless...

Unless the people who got out the vote two years ago, return to mark their ballots and make their voices heard.

We had EIGHT YEARS of war, deregulation, fiscal irresponsibility, bank bailouts, tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans, trickle down economics that DON'T WORK, lies, witch hunts and fear-mongering. I don't believe that two years is enough time to fix that mess.

I wish I could vote.

That Was October

This weekend passed by in a blur of activity.

Friday night, we had a family dinner out which has become a big deal for the kids but for some reason, Olivia chooses these special occasions to morph into her alter ego: cranky, difficult girl. Invariably, I am hissing at her through clenched teeth, inches from her face, threatening bodily harm and then, like a light that has been turned on, she sheds a few cathartic tears and returns to her normal, delightful self. It's stressful, mostly because she hasn't hit puberty yet and these little episodes of hers give me a pretty good sense of what is to come.

Saturday night, Dallas and I splurged on a meal at Wolfgang Puck's Bistro in Brookside.
It was quite good. We sat out on the patio to take advantage of the last of the great weather and the atmosphere was exactly what we sought. As I sipped Prosecco and nibbled on prosciutto, I felt the last remnants of my work week slip away.

After dinner, I told Dallas that I wanted to go Christmas shopping, which for him, is like being repeatedly beaten about the head on a pain/pleasure scale. However, after much dramatic sighing, he agreed. The thing about Christmas shopping for me is that when I am of singular purpose, I don't mess around. The goal of the ordeal is to finish, not to browse. Having gifts left unpurchased haunts me so when we arrived at the mall, I was on a mission. In less than an hour, we got at least 50% of it done, in spite of the fact that my husband could have inflated the Goodyear blimp with his deep, calming breaths.

Sunday, I woke up with an itch to make cinnamon rolls from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook.
This is a must-have cookbook for anyone that wants to whip up something delicious without worrying about fat, calories and carbs. She uses lots of butter and makes no apologies. Every recipe that I have tried has been over the top good. Her meatloaf is a work of art. The blackberry cobbler makes you look like a star. So, I wanted to try the cinnamon rolls.

Like everything else so far, they were legendary, which was good because later on, I overcooked the pork roast into a dry, inedible, mess.

Of course, Sunday night finished with Halloween. Liv went as a witch.
Dylan was a teenage ghoul.
There are times when art accurately captures life.

I'm just saying.

Not My Kind Of Tea Party

Sarah Palin

Christine O'Donnell

Sharron Angle

Joe Miller

Rand Paul

When Dubya was "elected" the first time around, I was astounded at how easy it was for the a large segment of the American public to accept an ignorant, woefully inadequate and polarizing figure as their president. When he was put back into office four years later, I was schooled on the power of money, misinformation and Karl Rove's mastery of spin.

When McCain picked Sarah Palin, another ignorant, woefully inexperienced and polarizing figure to be his running mate in 2008, I thought the world had finally tipped off its axis.

Now, we face a political climate so partisan that nobody even pretends to be there trying to legislate ideas that might be good for the country. Instead, we have asshats like Mitch McConnell who, "feels his “single most important” job is to defeat President Obama in 2012" (Think Progress via Gawker). Nice.

Look at the list of people above. I can't imagine that a majority of people in their congressional districts think the way that they do. Come Tuesday, we will find out. It makes me shiver a bit.

With dread.

Lunch with Liv

Today, I had lunch with Olivia at her school. The flexibility of working from home enables me to do things like this now, which is pretty amazing.

I arrived a few minutes before her lunch was scheduled and waited at the end of a long corridor. My daughter's classroom was at the very end of this hallway. When her door opened, I could see the children line up, waiting to be dismissed for lunch. Because Liv is her class's "Star of the Week", she stood at the very front of the queue.

She didn't see me right away as she was engaged in an animated discussion with one of friends but when she finally looked up and recognized me, she lit up like a Christmas tree. I watched her chatter with her friends and all of the sudden, several pairs of hands were waving. Liv jumped up and down a few times, unable to contain her excitement.

I understood then, how important our little lunch date was to her. At the entrance to the cafeteria, she patiently took my hand and led me through the lunch line. She proudly punched her student number into the machine and introduced me to the cashier. We sat and as we ate, she told me about her morning, pointed out her new boyfriend and informed me that immediately following lunch, we would go outside for recess. What struck me the most was her gratitude. She thanked me over and over. At one point, she confessed that she thought I'd forget and continue working through lunch, which broke my heart just a bit.

Hopefully, our short time together today went a little way in repairing her faith in her mama. I know it made my heart sing.