In which I'm cynical about democracy . . .

Listening to the republicans gloat over their victories on the Today Show this morning was a little bit sickening. And not just because we had to hear the term, "Mama Grizzlies" 40,000 times . . . though I'd be lying if I didn't say that was a part of it.

Let's face it . . . yesterday's election was a little bit like a beauty pageant full of ugly girls. Winning doesn't really mean you're the most beautiful. It means your dress is less ugly than everyone else's.

So when I saw the gloating, I cringed . . . just like I did two years ago when the other side was doing the same thing. In 2008, the democrats were also using phrases like "America has spoken" and "the tides are turning" and were talking about how things will be different now. And some things are different. But politicians remain the same.

Let me be clear . . . I may sound like a jilted voter, but most of my selections on yesterday's ballot won. Even so, I'm left with little sense of victory.

A few years ago, I decided that I needed to be aggressively non-partisan. I needed to be active about examining candidates and their platforms and determining whose values most closely aligned with mine, no matter the party with which they were affiliated. That's around the time that the helpless feeling settled in.

Because the more I looked, the more I realized that candidates are the pawns of the people - and organizations - funding their campaigns. All of them. And there's really nothing I can do about it, other than to run against them. But that takes money . . . something I would need people and organizations to help me with - thus perpetuating the cycle.

We were bombarded with encouragement to vote yesterday, insinuating that it's our responsibility to do little more than to show up and cast our ballot. I feel like it almost makes a mockery of democracy (that is so, so close to rhyming).

We'll be happy with the changes in our government for a while, but the "tides will turn" again in a few years, and again, the pendulum will swing.

Purging

This week, I was trying to cram things into our hall coat closet and Jack said, "We need a bigger closet." I thought about it a little bit and responded, "No, we need fewer coats." Our house isn't huge, but we have way more than enough room . . . it just sometimes feels cramped and cluttered because of all our massive amounts of unnecessary "stuff."

So, we are in the middle of a purge. If we don't love it and/or it never gets used, it's gone. The camp garage sale is in 2 weeks, and we're well on our way to donating more than anyone else (not that its' a contest . . . but if it were . . . well, you know). We've spent much of the day clearing out our home and storage area of useless junk.

Part of this involved me going through some old trunks full of memorabilia that I've been collecting for 32 years now. I sorted through medals and report cards . . . old papers on the solar system and yearbooks with some insightful messages from former classmates. Did you know that I pretty much had every birthday card I received from the time I was born until I turned . . . oh, about 21? Because I did. The parent info folder on the trip to Europe I took as a high school junior was still there, with every last bit of no-longer-relevant information about the trip. I also found what might be some of my very first "graphic design" work, which I hope to scan and post later this week.

As I've been going through all of this stuff, I've forced myself to throw things away that I really wanted to hold on to. I know that I will never need all of the sheet music I ever played in high school (given that I no longer own a flute and have no intention to buy another one), but I wanted to keep it. And I realize that ribbons that I won on the 7th grade swim team and figure skating medals from 1987 are not things I ever plan on displaying, but throwing them away seemed so wrong. And why on earth do I need to keep every RSVP card from our wedding, sorted in order of where they were seated? What is it that makes me cling to those things so much?

I guess some of it has to do with wanting to remember who I am and who I was. I wrote a while ago about how we all become our own doppelgangers and that's good . . . I just don't want to forget how I got here. And I guess a part of me wants my boys to know this too.

The crawl space at my parents' house was where they stored all of this kind of stuff. They were actually pretty good about throwing stuff away (or so it seemed), but there was one box that belonged to my mom that held her childhood report cards and a few other things that were hers. There wasn't much, but for some reason, I loved looking in that box (and often did it when she wasn't around, because I got in trouble every time I messed with it). It didn't tell me much about her, but was fascinating to me to think about my mom at my age. I always wondered what it would be like to meet her then.

I guess this blog will serve as a better keepsake than medals or trophies ever will. And I'm leaving so many ways for my boys to know who their mom was, that they'll probably wish I had left a little less. But as I hear Kyle taking the trash bags out to the garage, I still feel like I'm saying goodbye to a little piece of my history.

Planning for Easter 2010?

Now is the time to get your Easter baskets (if you don't already have them).

I bought the Pottery Barn Kids baseball Easter basket liner off of ebay this year. They were completely sold out so early on PBK's website, but the first one I found on ebay had "Jack" embroidered on it. How perfect is that?! I would have preferred "Jackson" but I wasn't going to be picky when I could get it for the price that I did! Side note: When I was pregnant with Jack, I had a saved search called "Pottery Barn Kids Jackson" so that I was alerted anytime someone listed something from PBK with "Jackson" on it. I scored some really nice (and really cheap) personalized stuff. Just a thought.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find one of the PBK baskets for a price that fit within my budget. It was just a little more than I wanted to spend. So, I found one at Target that would be ok for this year. It was super shallow and flimsy and I was a little disappointed so on Monday, I got on the site and found that baskets had been marked down to $13.99! That's only $1 more than I spent on my cheapo Target one. Most of the liners are sold out, but you could check ebay for one of those. I think, with shipping, I spent about $30 total for the basket and the liner. And I'm ok with that because I plan on this being "the basket" he has for the remainder of his Easter-basket-receiving years.

The basket just arrived today. Side note: A big thanks to the UPS man, Jehovah's Witnesses and Census Bureau employees for ringing the doorbell, thus making Jack's nap much more difficult this afternoon. Seriously, this is a really nice basket. It's beautiful and it will last his lifetime. Oh, and we bought the "small" basket. Which is bigger than the basket he had last year. Plenty of room for Easter goodies. I think the big basket might have been a little too much (for us, at least).

I'm hoping they'll still have some in a few weeks when we find out if #2 is a boy or a girl.

Photo courtesy of the Pottery Barn Kids website.

Who do I think I am?

I've been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan off and on for the last month or so. It's a fantastic book, but there was one part toward the beginning of the book toward the beginning of the book that stuck with me. Maybe it'll stick with you, too.

I used to believe that in this world there are two kinds of people: natural worriers and naturally joyful people. I couldn't really help it that I was the worrying kind. I'm a problem solver, so I have to focus on things that need fixing. God can see that my intensity and anxiety are ministry related. I worry because I take His work seriously.

Right?

But then there's that perplexing command: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4). You'll notice that it doesn't end with ". . . unless you're doing something extremely important." No, it's a command for all of us, and it follows with the charge, "Do not be anxious about anything" (v. 6).

That came as a pretty staggering realization. But what I realized next was even more staggering.

When I am consumed by my problems - stressed out about my life, my family, and my job - I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack o fgrace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance . . .

Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?

It's Friday, right?

I've dealt with my share of mean people and stressful situations this week. Every day there has been something or someone. Some have stressed me out. Some have hurt my feelings. Some have made me cry and some have even made me laugh a little bit.

I know that being pregnant is contributing to my stress level and emotion, but the truth is that it's been a hard week. That's actually a little bit of an understatement. I'm ready for a break.

But we have our Crop 'Til You Drop Retreat at camp this weekend and I'm in charge of it. The irony of it all is that I'm not a scrapbooker. So I'm hoping for some time to just take care of these women and find some relaxation myself.

My two cents

I had 15 posts in my blog feeds today about the octuplets, and I only read one and a half of them before getting annoyed. So, I decided to throw in my two cents.

I think it's a mistake to treat this issue as black and white. We're dealing with human life here. Embryos. Babies.

And we can't change the past. Maybe things should or shouldn't have happened. Maybe the mom was making decisions for selfish reasons. Maybe these kids will be supported by our tax dollars (and, gasp!, by the good will and charity of people like me) for the rest of their lives.

But they're here. Which one shouldn't be? Which child was wasn't intended? Maybe their mother was acting irresponsibly by having any kids in the first place, but which child doesn't deserve his or her life? The one that might develop cerebral palsy? The one that could potentially be blind? It may sound drastic or harsh, but that's what the critics are ultimately suggesting, aren't they?

Like I said . . . lots of gray.

I know it's irritating that this mother is seemingly irresponsible and might get rewarded with money and diapers and other things that she can't afford. It sucks. But life isn't fair and she has 14 kids to take care of. So let's make sure they're taken care of . . . with grace and love, rather than judgment and condemnation. When did it become acceptable for us to judge and condemn for any reason, anyway?

I'm not saying we should ignore contributing factors to this dilemma . . . I hope that this situation brings attention to the need for regulation in the whole arena of reproductive technology . . . not just IVF. There are many embryos left from IVF patients who are done having children. Many of these people just throw the leftover embryos away. Would that have been a more responsible route? That's a different issue for a different day, I suppose.

There is one area of this whole thing that is black and white: This mom had 8 babies. 8 beautiful, miraculously healthy babies. And they're here. And they should be here. And they are acceptable, capable, lovable and desirable. And I hope that no one ever tells them anything different.

No gray area there.

Huh?!

I'm not sure the CPSC even understands the CSPIA. I just finished watching the raw footage of the former director, Julie Vallese, talking about the act. She uses phrases like "the law is not defined" and "our understanding of the law . . . " Huh? Did you guys write the law, or no? Am I missing something here?

Like I said a few days ago, I have mixed feelings about all of this. But it's frustrating that the people responsible for the law are so vague. The interviewer really pulled out some information about resellers and consignment shops, but I wish she would have questioned her about homemade items for children.

And don't even get me started on the "mommy bloggers spreading misinformation about this" comment . . .

Where should the line be drawn?

By now, you've surely heard about the new children's product safety laws that will come to fruition in February. Many etsy sellers and sellers of handmade children's products are facing extinction.

It doesn't only affect the sellers. It affects those of us who buy the products. I love the fact that I can find one of a kind gifts for baby showers. I look at some of the things that I wish I would have known about before Jack was born and I'm sad that they won't be available if we have another.

On the other hand, before any of this came out in August, if I were to ask you if you thought the government should take action to make sure children's products were safe and lead-free, what would your response have been?

Is finding a balance possible? Is there a good place to draw the line that would allow large manufacturers to be held accountable while still allowing small businesses to avoid, well, going out of business? Are we asking to have our cake and eat it, too?

I have no answer. But I do have links.

Jcaroline wrote a really easy-to-understand summary of this piece of legislation.

Etsy wrote an open letter about the situation.

Kathleen Fasanella offers some ineteresting commentary/advice.

You can see what children's products on etsy would cost under the new law here.

Jcaroline provides some insight on what she might do if she were a seller of handmade children's prodcuts.

His legacy

I don't care which political party you support . . . I think we can all agree that George W. Bush hasn't been the most popular president we've ever had. Right? Even if you are one of the few that absolutely love him, you have to admit that your opinion has not been the prevailing one . . . at least during his second term in office.

Yes, he's made decisions and said things that make me cringe. But I think the bottom line is that he was our president. The position alone means that he deserves our respect. And he earned that respect every day by making the hard decisions that we will never have to make.

I might not agree with the decisions that he makes, or the speed in which he makes them, but hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it? I think it's always easy for people who weren't responsible for responding to a situation to criticize a response. Who's to say, given the same circumstances and information, John Kerry, John McCain, Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton would have responded any differently? Fortunately for them, the world will never know.

As bloggers have been writing about the last 8 years, I'm amazed at how much I've forgotten regarding the situations through which President Bush led this country and the hard decisions he's had to make. But there is an untold story to his presidency that I hadn't heard until recently. Cameron Strang, editor of Relevant Magazine, wrote a note in this most recent issue about the legacy of President Bush. Here are a few excerpts:

Recently, I was reminded of one of the most significant untold stories of our generation, and it happens to center on our outgoing president. It’s a story so important that I contend a hundred years from now, it will actually be the primary thing history uses to define President George W. Bush’s administration. And it has gone virtually unreported by the media . . .

. . . For many people, that’s not what first comes to mind when they think about President Bush’s administration, but the long-term ramifications of his global health efforts cannot be understated.

It was at the 2003 State of the Union address that Bush announced the formation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). At the time, only 50,000 people living with AIDS in Africa were able to receive anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. PEPFAR’s ambitious goal was to increase that number to 2 million in five years—a milestone they’ve actually now surpassed.

Those people getting treatment and education have actually led to another 8 million people not contracting the disease who otherwise would have. Ten million lives saved. And of those, 4 million are orphans, the majority of whom were orphaned because both parents died of AIDS.

PEPFAR is touching every aspect of African society, providing hope to a generation that has been dying off at an alarming rate.

So why has PEPFAR worked where other efforts failed? President Bush insisted on collaboration with African leaders—partnering with them instead of merely pushing our strategies—and then holding those partners accountable for results.

“The innovation was trusting leaders at the local level,” Bush said at the forum. “Instead of saying, ‘We’re going to tell you what to do,’ we helped them determine their own strategies for each country. When they develop the strategy, it’s easier to hold the strategy developer to account.

“It’s the timeless management principal of aligning authority and responsibility,” he said. “If you disassociate authority and responsibility, you can’t have accountability.”

The measurable and unprecedented success of PEPFAR not only led President Bush to re-authorize it this past summer, he actually pushed through a tripling of its funding. For him it was a moral imperative that was non-negotiable.

“A president must have a firm set of principals from which he will not deviate,” Bush said. “I believe in the universality of freedom, and I believe freedom is universal because of an almighty God. It’s not just freedom from tyranny that the U.S. must become involved in, I believe it’s freedom from disease, freedom from hunger, freedom from deprivation. If you believe in the universality of freedom, then you should not shy away from doing your duty.”

. . . As we look at these closing weeks of the Bush administration, it’s easy to see the challenges our country is facing and forget monumental, positive initiatives like PEPFAR. I want to publicly applaud President Bush for taking a stand when others hadn’t, and doing so without the motive of political benefit. He has stood up for those who have no voice, and he did so because it was the right thing to do.

You can read the full article here.

On . . .

. . . cleaning.
I just vacuumed, swept and mopped all of the floors upstairs. After I post this I'm going to shampoo our carpets (as much as I can without moving furniture) in a last-ditch effort to clean them of dog pee, vegetable oil and dirt before we decide to tear up the carpet and put down something a little more traffic friendly. I'm still warding off bitterness toward the builder who put WHITE carpet throughout our entire house . . . foyer included.

. . . Jack.
He's sprayed himself in the face twice in 24 hours with the stuff that we use to get up carpet stains. This resulted in me stripping him down, plopping him in the bathtub and dousing his face with as much water as possible. This also means that he probably won't willingly take a bath for about a week. He seems to be doing fine. What kind of mother leaves carpet spray left out where her toddler can reach it . . . TWICE IN A ROW?!

. . . Halloween.
I wasn't going to get Jack a costume last year for Halloween, but I did. I found one on clearance at Old Navy the week before the big day. So, I bought it and didn't think much of it. But everyone else made a huge deal of it and thought it was so funny! I'm not sure what to do this year . . . but I do know that I refuse to pay full price!

. . . vacation.
I'm taking senior pictures near Ludington this weekend, so Kyle and I decided to go up afterwards to visit his grandparents in Traverse City. I'm looking forward to seeing them and to the time away, but I'm not looking forward to having no internet access for three days. I mean, I can handle not checking my e-mail. I like being computer-free every once in a while. But I get all stressed out when I get home and have 300 new e-mails . . . 100 of which end up needing a response. Whew. Deep breaths.

. . . camp.
Everyone always thinks that we "wind down" at camp during this time of year. To be honest, when the summer comes to an end, sometimes I get it stuck in my mind that things will stop being so busy and we'll be able to relax. The truth is, the camp doesn't slow down. And we lose a lot of our summer staff, leaving just the full time staff to take care of things. In some ways, it's actually busier now than it is in the summer. We had three different school groups at camp this week . . . two of which overlapped. I'm tired.

My time is up . . . I'll be back on Wednesday!

Miscellaneous

I'm at home alone (which I'm almost positive has happened less than ten times total since Jack was born) and I'm surrounded by the clutter that has built up in our house throughout this very busy week. I should be cleaning . . .

We sold our old clothes washer and our wine cooler today (yes, two people who don't drink with a pretty expensive wine cooler . . . another story for another time) and the lady who bought it saw Murphy peeking her head through the blinds in our bedroom. We brought Murphy out and the lady mentioned that her friend has a puggle and might be interested in having another so to call her if we ever wanted to get rid of her. Hmmm . . . that's something to think about. I know it's weird, but the thought of giving her up makes me emotional and relieved all at the same time.

Yesterday I caught Jack standing on the couch and pointing at pictures of Kyle and I saying "Mama" and "Daddy" and then chuckling like he had just told a joke. It was precious. I didn't have the video camera, but I was able to get one shot.

Cavity free since September, 2008.

So, I had my final dentist appointment (at least until March) today because . . . drum roll, please . . . I am cavity free. However, I do have two places they are monitoring. I'm so sick of dental work.

As the lady was cleaning my teeth, she kept going on and on about how clean they were. I told her I was obsessive about flossing and brushing and rinsing, though you wouldn't know that from the number of fillings I have. She told me that my saliva was probably very acidic . . . whatever that means. All I know is that it's a bad thing for people without dental insurance.

She then made a comment about how much easier her job was because of how well I took care of my teeth.

Hmmmm . . . don't you think that warrants a discount?

Confession

I'm pretty sure that this post might come back to haunt me later if I ever have to put restrictions on my kids' tv watching habits.

Part 1: Confession

Every year, I print off the fall line up.

Of television shows that is. I download a grid for each night and highlight the shows that we always watch in one color, and the new shows that we might like in another color.

I then assign them one of three codes: LR, BR, FR. Living Room Tivo, Bedroom Tivo, Family Room Tivo. Shows like Prison Break, Heroes and Lost get recorded in the family room because that's where the big tv is. Shows like 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother are assigned to the living room because I'll most often watch those while I'm making dinner or cleaning. Shows like 20/20 and Dateline get recorded in the bedroom, because I'm most likely to watch those while I'm getting ready in the morning or folding laundry during Jack's naptime.

This is usually all done by the end of August, but I haven't done my line up yet this year, and I've missed a few shows. Fringe? Is it any good? I don't think I want to add new shows this year, because I'm already addicted to enough.

Now, with every good confession comes . . .

Part 2: Justification

It may sound like the television is on all the time at my house, but it actually isn't. While Jack's awake, it's rarely on. And even after he's in bed, we usually have so much to do that Kyle might have a game on in the background, but we usually don't have time. We usually catch up with shows on weekends. I think I actually watch less television than I used to because I can fast forward through commercials and watch shows at my convenience rather than just watching whatever happens to be on whenever I have some free time.

I just like my tv-watching to be organized.

And yes, we have three tivos, but we got them on ebay and got in on the lifetime service before tivo stopped doing that. Which means we don't have to pay all of the monthly fees! I'm so glad for that because we probably wouldn't even have one tivo if it weren't for that.

I need a vacation.

We're in Chicago visiting my sister.

The only thing more hellish than trying to corral your 15-month-old to your sister's non-childproof apartment full of small trinkets and breakable items, is trying to push him in a stroller through the narrow passages in a Crate and Barrel or a Pottery Barn without his arms reaching out and knocking something over.

It's been quite a day.

I would say that this stage of parenting, thus far, is the hardest. Yep. Even in the first few weeks when I was working full-time and bringing a newborn with me. Harder than that.

I fought back tears today thinking about how I will never make it through the terrible twos if I'm having this much trouble now. And the kicker is that Jack is a pretty good natured kid. I realize that I actually have it pretty easy. What would I do if I had a more challenging kid? A few weeks ago I made a comment about how incredibly easy he is. I feel like I'm eating those words. I know that he's testing his boundaries. And in some ways we've setting him up for failure, because there are different expectations depending on where he is (i.e. home, camp, grandparents' houses, etc.) and we need to do something to help him out there. He's such a stinker sometimes.

Today's woes, however, were compounded even more by our collective lack of sleep last night . . . we didn't get into Chicago until after midnight. Jack didn't sleep well in the car, and there's nothing like getting dropped off on a busy, downtown Chicago street and taking an elevator up 5 floors to wake your toddler up enough that he doesn't want to go back to sleep.

I think the single most frustrating part of this stage we're going through with Jack is diaper changing. I've always said that I wanted to put potty training off as long as possible. My rationale for this is that it's a lot easier to change a diaper at our earliest convenience than it is to find a bathroom NOW! But I've changed my mind on that. You see, 15-month-old toddlers who have been laid down to have their diaper changed develop a super-human strength that often requires at least two people to overcome. No matter how stern we are with him, he thinks it's a game. Ugh.

My sister was able to check a pass to the aquarium out from the library so we're going to head there tomorrow . . . hopefully he'll really enjoy that. Especially since one of the words he knows is "fish."

On a different note, I was looking forward to seeing Annie while I was here this weekend, but she went ahead and had her baby a little early . . . congratulations to Steve, Annie & Alex and welcome baby Elijah! Hopefully we'll get together when we're in town next!

In five minutes or less . . .

• At one of the showers I had when I was pregnant with Jack, everyone brought a children's book in lieu of a card. I received no less than five books about belly buttons. Where is Baby's Belly Button . . . The Belly Button Book . . . I Have a Belly Button . . .you get the picture. I distincly remember someone commenting that "this kid will definitely know where his belly button is." Truer words have not been spoken.
  
  Jack is now obsessed with his belly button and walks around with one hand holding up his shirt and with the thumb of his other hand in his belly button. It's all fun and games until he heads to preschool and is still doing it. It's almost become a comfort thing. I've had him in a onesie since Sunday afternoon to hopefully curtail the habit. Someone please tell me this is normal.
  
  
• Jack also has developed this laugh that we call his "evil professor" laugh. I was beginning to wonder if this was his real laugh, but I caught him laughing normally tonight. I think he just does the evil professor laugh because he knows it cracks us up. I will post video tomorrow.
  
  
• Last week was a really bad week in which I was dealing with severe, unexplained dizziness and a mini-episode of mild depression. Also unexpected and unexplained. Thank you, Kyle, for taking care of me and putting up with me. Things are looking up for this week.
  
  
• I think I forgot to mention that Jack had his 15 month check-up last week. He had only gained 4 oz putting him at 27 lbs, 9 oz (I think) and 33 1/2 inches. Hmm . . .I'm pretty sure. Maybe it was 33 3/4". You get the basic idea.
  
  
• I took some pictures of Emma on Saturday . . . I can't believe she's almost one! I admit that as her aunt, I might be biased, but she is one of the cutest little girls I've ever seen. Of course, she always has been.
  
  
• I started watching the VMA's last night and have never felt so old in my life. I had no idea Ashlee Simpson was married and pregnant. To Pete Wentz. When did this happen? I had to google about every other person who walked down the red carpet to find out who they were. Is this a sign that I'm too old to be watching the VMA's? Possibly.
  
  I only got about 15 minutes into the show because I was so offended by it. Well, by a lot of things, but mainly by Russell Brand. I feel a little bit sorry for Barack Obama, because I'm sure he wasn't looking for this obscene British guy's endorsement. If I were a part of Obama's campaign I would be so embarrassed.
  
  It was all pretty bad. Is this a sign that I shouldn't be be watching the VMA's no matter how old I am? Yep. Lesson learned. Am I still allowed to watch The Hills, though? No?
  
  
• Last night, I asked Kyle which parts of parenting are harder than he expected. Jack interrupted us and he never got a chance to answer.
  

Shoot. My five minutes were up a minute ago.

On politics . . . sort of.

'Tis the season for this kind of post, I suppose. I've been writing this over the course of two weeks, and I just deleted a LOT that I didn't necessarily want to put on a blog. But here are a few thoughts in no particular order.

• I won't talk about who I will or won't vote for in November. I do my best to remain aggressively non-partisan. But I will talk about how I decide who to vote for.
  
  I think that one thing that we rarely think about in an election year is that every candidate interested in the presidency wants what is best for our country and the people living here. I don't think any candidate running for president has ever run with intention to "take down America." Can we all agree on that? The dissension comes from disagreeing on what is best for our country and how to bring about what is best.
  
  So my job, as a voter, is to examine the plans presented by each of the candidates and decide which of them best represents my values and what I believe are the important issues facing our country, along with evaluating whether or not he or she has what it takes to carry out their plan (and let's face it . . . no one will do everything he promises). I do this not only by researching myself, but also by considering the opinions of those who know a lot more than I do . . . those with whom I agree and disagree. To vote responsibly takes a bit of effort. Moving on . . .
  
  

• To insist that I, as a woman, must be insulted that McCain chose Palin is just ignorant. I won't pretend to know whether or not choosing Palin was a political game on McCain's part or not. I would concede that it's a possibility. And I won't say whether or not I agree with her views. That's not what this is about.
  
  I've done some research . . . the fact is that she is worthy of a spot in this race. You can agree with her or disagree with her . . . but either way, she has experience. Maybe not as much as Biden or McCain, but enough to make a great candidate for VP. On top of that she's smart and she has a whole lot of charisma. So, give her credit where credit is due. I really think that those who say she doesn't have enough experience are basically saying that she hasn't been in the spotlight long enough. Joe Biden said today that her experience as governor "warrants respect" and that she will be a "formidable opponent." I am fascinated by those who are effectively setting the women's movement back 20 - 30 years by labeling her as just another pretty face.
  
  And the whole "can a mother of five handle the vice presidency" thing? Ugh . . . don't even get me started on that . . .
  
  


• The founder and president of a Christian organization has weighed in on Palin's daughter's pregnancy and said that Christians make mistakes and Christian parents have kids that make mistakes and concluded by offering his support. Yep. Thanks for clearing that up.
  
  I just wonder why he can't show that kind of grace toward people from any party. Why instead, does he take out full page ads in the Washington Post to make attacks? Don't make me pull out my WWJD bracelet . . .
  
  
  
• Along the same lines, I recently heard a Christian woman make hateful remarks about Hillary Clinton. Not just disagreeing with her, but hating her through words. It made me cringe. I think this kind of thing happens a lot during these times and it's easy to justify because, well, sometimes politicians don't seem real.
  
  And, I know that people in politics, and Hollywood, etc. need to know and accept that they'll be in the public spotlight. I know that it's something they've chosen. But I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about those of us who have decided to follow Christ.
  
  I think sometimes we forget that politicians are people too. People whom God loves as much as he loves us. People who have as much value to him as we do. How we love politicians we disagree with is how we love God.
  
  
  
• In conclusion, I don't really have a WWJD bracelet (or WWJD jewelry of any kind). Just wanted to put that out there . . .
  

Life, post-thesis.

I did very little today.

My parents came last night to stay with us (my dad ran in the half marathon at camp today). My mom and I relaxed with Jack while my dad was running (and Kyle was working at the race). We went out to eat for lunch, and later took Jack to the park to let him burn off some energy.

Pretty boring day, right?

It occurred to me that last year at this time, I was starting back into my school work. I know it's been three months since I finished my thesis, but we were so busy with camp stuff, that I haven't really been able to enjoy it until now. I HAVE FREE TIME! Maybe I should find a way to put that master's degree to work. Or maybe I should catch up on all of the television I missed over the last three years (yes, I realize the irony).

Anyway, I'm ok with the boring days. For now, at least.

On marriage

Last year around this time, the marriages of about 4 different couples that we know seemed to be crumbling. We felt like our friends were living in war zones they way their relationships were taking hits. This year, again, it's a second wave of this kind of thing. It always leaves me stunned and asking the question, "How does this happen?"

The more I think about it, the more I realize that there's a naive danger in thinking "that could never happen to us." I think that too often, married couples can develop this false sense of security that keeps us from putting work into our marriages and protecting them from the things that seek to tear them apart.

As dumb as it may sound, sometimes I forget that marriage takes work. Loving someone . . . I mean loving them really well, takes a lot of effort.

I wasn't able to attend Bud's funeral a few weeks ago. When Kyle got home, he told me about some of the tributes people had written.

Bud's first wife died probably close to 20 years ago. I'm not sure, but I don't think Bud would say that his marriage was perfect or that they never had problems. I don't think Bud was a Christian when he married her, and he said himself that he was a little rough around the edges back then.

During Bud's funeral, his son said that when his mom died, the doctor said that she lived 4 - 5 years longer than she should have simply because of how well Bud took care of her. His son told of the sacrifices Bud made to love her and to be there with her. I want to be that kind of spouse.

Floating

We took our staff on our annual end-of-the-summer, Warren Dunes day trip on Friday and had a great time. It was a hard choice, but we opted to leave Jack with grandma for the day. We knew he would have fun if he came along, but it was nice to get away without a baby in tow. It was a nice change to just pack a bag and towel for myself.

Some of our staff wanted to bring something to float on, so they brought our slip and slide rafts:



I, on the other hand, made Kyle bring this:


We spent a good portion of the afternoon floating around in that and jumping in to cool off when we needed to. Unfortunately, I ended up with a sunburn in very uncomfortable places. I'm pretty sure the sunscreen I was using is expired because it was splotchy and uneven. And painful.

The portion of the day that was not spent in the water, was spent on the beach relaxing. The sun was so intense, but we were comfortable under our umbrella. The group sitting next to us included a grandma, her daughters and their scantily clad daughters sitting and reading the tabloids with, um, explicit commentary about what they were reading. On the other side of us, we had an amish family . . . complete with long sleeves, skirts, pants, hats and 142 children. It was an interesting contrast, to say the least.

We enjoyed the relaxation and the company and commented on the way home that we need to do that more often. But we probably won't do it again until next year.

A dying wish

My brother was able to fulfill a man's dying wish last week.

Seven years ago, one of our retired volunteers was hospitalized for serious heart issues and wasn't expected to live very long.

Then back in March, he was told that he had a week or two left to live. Bud was older and his heart was weak, but it was still sad for all of us to hear. He kept saying, "I think they're wrong. I feel fine." He lived longer than the doctor's expected, but this time it was the beginning of a slow decline.

When April came and he was still alive, he and his wife started talking about how they might actually have time to do the things that he wanted to do before he died. He got back on the tractor at camp again, he saw all of his kids . . . but he really wanted to fly. He started taking flying lessons when he was a teenager, but never had a chance to finish. His dream was to fly again.

Is it a coincidence that one of our lifeguards is also a licensed pilot?

Last week, in a most fragile state, Bud was granted his wish. Kyle and my brother drove to Willow Run, picked up a plane and flew to Hillsdale. Jeff picked Bud up at the airport there and flew him to Coldwater, over camp and all around. There wasn't a dry eye on the ground as we watched the plane circle over the camp.


About two months ago, he was using his walker to make his way over to the Trading Post. As I passed him I jokingly said, "Hey Bud . . . are you trying to make a getaway?" He responded by saying, "For over a month now!"

Bud went to be with Jesus on Thursday . . . having taken advantage of every last minute life on earth that God gave him.