clues to the election

Obama won. Conservatives the nation over are asking, " how did this happen- is America blind?" The short answer is yes.



Those who elected Obama have purposefully turned a blind eye toward the facts, steadfastly refusing to question any sketchy information that made its way forward. Obama's surface is so smooth and shiny that it reflected what many voters wanted to see, namely themselves. Before any one is quick to judge think harder about why this happened. African americans and other people of color have had so many distorted mirrors held up to them for many, many years ( even recently think of CNN's Black in America- that didn't reflect any of the black people I know.) that when some one finally reflected the good in them at least on the surface people of all races swarmed toward that image. NO ONE WENT BENEATH THE SURFACE! When surrounded by ugliness for so long and presented with a beautiful image the last thing you want to do is scratch the image. However what American's might have bought themselves is fool's gold. I pray that isn't so.



Blindness isn't just common to Obama supporters, those who supported McCain are not immune. As Americans many of us claim to be color blind. However that doesn't make us a nation of various shades of gray. Part of America's vibrancy is its color and the color is only skin deep. Each one of us beautifully shaded by our Lord in his own image. The Bible tells us that God is love. John1 4:8 As Christians when we have failed to embrace each other as children of God beautifully and wonderfully made we have failed to embrace God himself. We have failed to love.

This will be the challenge for America in the coming years to love one another while we struggle to create a culture of life in America that celebrates and protects al lives from their beginnings to their natural ends. We cannot fall into the snare of hating those with whom we disagree, even if our disagreement is of the most serious nature. We are called to love by Him who first loved us.

Palin Rocks Fort Wayne

The Palin rally tonight was worth the wait. I left most of the kids home with Dad and brought DD#1. Despite the cold and really long wait we had a great time. Nosebleed seats on the concrete next to the actual seats behind the stage our actual "seats" could not have been worse but her speech reached us just the same.

The theme hammered home was lowering taxes because citizens know best what to do with their own money as well as defending "Joe the Plumber" for just asking a simple question to which he responded to Obama's answer truthfully. "To spread the weatlth around" really does sound like socialism.

As a mom of a special needs daughter she further cemented my support by her hopeful and proactive words in support of special needs children, her desire to challenge Americans to accept and further integrate these children into our society.

My greatest wish now is that these children are not forgotten as our health insurance system is overhauled. I don't want these children who already have too many labels attached to them being tacked on with pre-existing condition and as a result be denied the coverage they so desperately need.

election mess

Today somebody asked me what would happen if we all just decided not to vote in this election? As a practical answer I answered quickly and incorrectly that the presidency would then fall to Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. Later in the day I rehashed the conversation with my husband and realized that duh, it would be Dick Cheney. Either direction is scary. The question itself is what' s really sad. How many others feel that way?

As eloquent a speaker as Obama is I can't come to grips with his abortion stance. It just seems so disconnected from humanity to cast a vote in what appears to be a case of letting a string of faulty logic play itself out to conclude that an aborted baby that somehow lives should not be saved. Just wrong headed and it makes me question how else he would let things play out here and abroad just because in his mind a+b must = c. A leader's logic must be tempered by his faith and with Obama I just don't see that.

McCain pulling Palin onboard is also an odd one. If she was picked for her faith and conservative policies as a governor the campaign should really just leave it at that and let Palin speak to what she knows. What on earth inspired her to claim knowledge of Russia just because of a precarious view of it from her office or home or wherever in Alaska? I could hear sea lions from my bedroom in San Francisco but that does't make me an oceanographer! The blind insistance of politicians of being all things to all people chips away at them until we no longer know who they are.

What speaks to me thankfully are not her words but her actions. She and her husband chose life for their littlest one. Fear didn't determine her choice but rather faith. I can only assume that the same faith led her to accept McCain's offer of the VP spot. Faith doesn't preclude misteps, I am a living testimony to that and so is Sarah Palin. We all are learning on the job no matter what we call our work. Her tasks for the weeks ahead are to convince voters that she is a quick learner and stop pretending to be what she isn't. Be proud, be pollyanna!

chore jar

Yeah, it's come to this, the chore jar. I don't like starting these organizational tools because I invariably stop them for some reason and then feel guilty that I stopped. However after 4 days this appears to be working for everyone who is old enough to get the concept. My nearly 2 year old prefers to shake the jar and try to hurl it as far as she can across the kitchen table. No harm no foul, it's plastic.

The kids pick their own slip of paper with a chore on it and then do said chore. My 5 and 7 year olds still need quite a bit of guidance but my older two are eating this up b/c they choose what they do and don't feel like I'm unfairly dishing out chores. The good thing I added is an oh so brief sit down with the white board to show the kids what the day holds activity wise so we can decide on a time to pick the chores and do them. Depending on the day and how busy it is , we might just pick one or if we have time we can pick more. And as I 'm checking out the progress I can mentally note what else needs to be broken down into paper slips and added to the jar.

One big exception is the kitchen. Clearing and washing dishes is the kids responsibilty on the nights that we are not rushing off to the baseball field or elsewhere.

The system will need to be tweaked but it is up and running. The miracle of miracles, our house is becoming cleaner this summer with not so much grumbling . I've heard it takes 3 weeks to create a habit, check with me in 3 to see if this is still going.

Man in the mirror

There's an article in Good Housekeeping this month that's about dealing with people you can't stand. Sad to say I thought of my children first. I read the article and was struck by the section Turn The Spotlight On You...... "People who irritate us usually have something to show us about ourselves." Talk about hitting close to home. My recent dust ups with DD#1 and DS#1 really point this out to me in technicolor! I've been nagging non-stop about orderliness, attitude, and the need to eat healthier ( no small trick with Easter Candy still around) when really I could just be playing that same loop tape in my own walkman. Ugh... I noticed on www.testosterhome.com that blogger said that she missed Lent already. I think I see what she means about the slowed pace that Lenten reflection invites but I also think I missed the boat in our family. Maybe if I just believe, I can also step out onto the water and walk towards Christ. So I will pick myself up and try, try again.

oh yuck

There' s a line in Mrs. Doubtfire where the little girl says with horror, " diarrhea forever?!" I think my DD#2 must be feeling this way. She's been home sick since Monday with the stuff. Poor thing has been either on the couch or on the potty ever since she came home with this. Originally I was concerned this was caused by something she ate, that maybe she had something in addition to lactose intolerance like Irritable Bowel but this has gone on all week! So I will keep my fingers crossed that she improves today.

Here is a quick tip that will save you parents out there time, anguish, and perhaps money.... If your child has diarrhea do not feed him or her red jello! It has never happened to my other kids but this red jello went right through her and we thought she was bleeding. This went on for hours and so I called the pediatrician who in turn told me that the only way to know for sure is to take a sample to the hospital to be examined in the lab. This occurred to us the other night and of course worried mom that I was, I dutifully brought DD#2 to the ER with sample ( don't ask!) and proceeded to wait and wait. The next day I called the pediatrician for the results and no, it was not blood.

We are in the clear now so to speak, no more red jello, only clear and lemon flavored things. Let's hope that DD#2 wakes up feeling better.

mommy vs the bikini

I have ruined her life. Absolutely none of her friends will be dressed like her. Why does she have to be different? All this drama for the mama because I won't buy my nine year old a bikini. Truly I must be from ancient times and have a heart carved out of ice. Nevermind that I have purchased two piece bathing suits for her as recently as last summer. I just happen to have drawn the line at triangle shaped scraps of material for preteens.

To her I'm just all that stands in the way between her and the slumber party of the year. I actually feel her pain and remember when I thought my mom was so unfair. I'd like to take her aside and explain to her that her mommy did indeed wear a bikini as a teen but that she in fact isn't even past the age for requiring children's tylenol. However I won't. She will try my patience again and again over this with heart wrenching sobs and equally ear splitting shrieks of indignation and misery. However I think I will have to be Mt. Kilmanjaro or Everest. I am there to be climbed but immovable. Time will march on and she will also turn into a teen with a bikini much to her daddy's horror. Yet it won't be me, it will be time that has passed and I'm sure another line to draw in the sand.

In weak moments I actually wonder if I am just somehow out of touch and should just get with it. Is this a case of changing fashions or changing standards? I guess a little bit of both, ok alot of both. I dig in my spurs a bit when I think since when does a twelve year old without a job need to have a cell phone to call his own? Is the whole school really IMing each other? I'd prefer that my kids could actually spell accurately 90% of the time before they start texting and cranking out IM's to their bff's or bf's or whoever, whatever as they might say. When did it become desirable for kids to be miniaturized adults? Ralph Lauren ads? What does it say about us as adults when we fail to provide lines of demarcation on the path from childhood to adulthood? If they jump through all the hoops by age 7 what's left for them to strive towards? A job? Kids of their own to hurry along?

Delayed gratification is a quaint beauty in our culture. I'm hoping my kids come to know its features well and in time even appreciate it. For now though preteen angst is the rule and mom is just so mean.