Good Job Hillary

Today Hillary Clinton gave her full support to Barack Obama. She made a great speech and didn’t waste a minute changing her website to show her support for Obama. I’ve not been a big Hillary Clinton fan (even when she was First Lady and I actually liked Bill) but I have to give her a gold star today. She suspended her campaign with great dignity.

And then there were 2. . .

Don’t Let the Smooth Taste Fool You

The Internet is all abuzz with excitement over the Barack Obama nomination. Black radio is calling this a victory for “us” and proof that we have finally “arrived”. I’ve received tons of celebratory emails from friends and family over the past couple days. I suppose I should be happy about this history making event. Hmmm,ok.

Forgive my negativism (and my stretch of an analogy) but I have the same feeling about this that I had when OJ Simpson was found not-guilty of murdering Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. I’m not at all calling Obama a murderer but it’s that whole idea of retribution. Black folks believed Simpson was guilty but it was sweet revenge for all the wrongs that we as a people had suffered at the hands of White folks. He was guilty. We felt in our hearts that he was guilty -- but we were happy that he was found not-guilty. An eye for an eye. White folks owed us that one.

Now, so what if Obama is least qualified to be our next president? Does anyone even know who he is -- or do we even care? It’s the Black man’s turn. It’s about “justice” and finally being able to do what White folks have been doing forever. It's history. It's time. I get it – but I don’t get it.

Maybe everyone else knows something that’s been kept secret from me but I have not heard anything even remotely impressive about Obama’s experience or qualifications nor have I heard what “change” really means. He is indeed charismatic but when the rubber meets the road that means very little.

"Don’t let the smooth taste fool you". Come on people -- we’re talking about the most important job in the land.

The Right Change

Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination. So now we know that either McCain or Obama will be the next President of the United States. But how do we decide? Everyone keeps talking about change but that could really mean little or a lot. It could mean anything -- or nothing at all. Change. That word is overused and way too ambiguous.

Although he didn't provide his definition, I liked what John McCain said about change yesterday. ". . . the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward," What is right change?

Voting for President is more than deciding on the best man for the job. It is deciding on the best man for doing the job of making the right change. I realize that is not a black and white, "no-brainer" (like I think I used to believe) but rather a very individual decision. Proper change for you may be completely improper for me.

So, as an individual, I will vote for the best man to do the job of:
1. handling the delicate situation of sensibly bringing our troops home.
2. turning our economy around.
3. appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court.

These aren't my only issues but they are important ones. Although John McCain was not my choice among Republicans nominees, against Barack Obama – he gets my vote without much question.

Of course others will vote for the best man for the job of doing just the opposite of what I’ve listed because those are the issues most important to them. And that’s fine with me. That's the way democracy is supposed to work.

Because of this historic race in which for the first time, a Black man is the Democratic nominee, there will be those who vote strictly along color lines. Some will vote for Barack Obama simply because he is Black and others will vote for John McCain simply because he is not. We can't ignore that race will be the primary issue for many.

As we move toward November each of us should be honest with ourselves as we determine to whom our votes should go. Will we vote based on race, issues, tradition or something else? What does "right change" mean to you?

This May Be My Next Car

General Motors announced that it is closing 4 truck plants and will begin to produce smaller, more fuel efficient cars. American Airlines recently announced a plan to impose a $15 fee for the first checked bag. Many employers are considering 4 day/10 hour work weeks for employees. Gas prices are causing change all across the country.

I continue to think of ways that I personally should and/or can adjust. As an update to my previous post -- I haven't been to Starbucks in over a month. That's big for me since I used to stop there at least 3 times per week. With gas prices what they are -- that still doesn't equal a tank of gas but every little bit helps.

I took the photo above in Rome. I thought that itsy-bitsy car was so small and cute I had to take a picture of it. The novelty has quickly worn off. I see a Smart Car in my future.

More Birthday Stuff

It’s tradition in our family for the people celebrating their “un-birthday” (remember that from Alice in Wonderland?) to wake early on the morning of the birthday person’s birthday, tiptoe into his/her room and sing Happy Birthday. So, knowing my early morning schedule, my kids set their alarms for 6 this morning and came into my room singing and bearing gifts. B gave me a big basket from Bath and Body works. L gave me a yellow sun dress. My morning is definitely off to a nice start.

Traditionally on their birthdays I tell them the story of their birth. I tell them about labor and what I thought when I first held them. This morning, they returned the tradition (kind of) by telling me a funny childhood story.

We had some, “Mom, remember the time . .?” moments. L told the story about putting the smooth, pretty rock in her mouth for safe keeping – and swallowing it. I had to take her to emergency and then check her poop for several days afterward looking for that darned rock. There are no limits to the disgusting things a mother will do for her child.

B told the story about the fast little girl who wrote him a love note in elementary school. He showed me the note and I was outraged. My child was only in 4th grade and this little girl was asking about ”getting with him”. I took the note to the principal and the girl was suspended. I had to protect my child from that little Jezebel.

They really made me happy this morning. Because it was so early on a Saturday morning, I fully expected them to sing, drop the gifts and run back to bed. But not only did they spend some time with me this morning (much earlier than they would have liked) L is in the kitchen now making breakfast for me. And, later today we are all going golfing. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Thank God for birthdays! Tomorrow -- back to reality.

45 is Cool!

I’ll be 45 years old tomorrow. That’s absolutely amazing to me. I certainly don’t feel like I thought I’d feel reaching 45. My friends and I often talk about the fact that we still feel like we’re in our 20’s. I’d like to think that I don’t look 45 either.

Of course I must admit that my body constantly reminds me that I am indeed aging. My hair is thinning a little and I can no longer ignore the gray. I have to wear glasses to read when I used to have 20/20 vision. I gain weight much more easily when I used to be a little stick. I have high cholesterol when I used to be able to eat all the ice cream I wanted. It takes a few steps each morning for my legs to “warm up” and not hurt when I walk. I have acid reflux when – well wait a minute -- actually I’ve had that for a while. I have restless leg syndrome but hmmm, well I think I’ve always had that too. They just finally put a name to it. (I guess I can't blame everything on aging.) Anyway, my point is that some things are not working as well as they used to work.

In spite of my body’s little reminders, I have no complaints. Some people dread getting older but each year I seem to get a bit more excited. I feel like I am at a new beginning.

I have one grown child and one almost grown. The thought of my children being grown and gone used to make me sad. I so enjoyed every aspect of raising them and spending time with them that I just felt that my life would be empty without them in the home. But now although I love them more than anything and still enjoy spending time with them, I am looking forward to the “me” time. I often tell them that when they leave my mantra will be “catch me if you can” because I plan to travel like crazy.

Being single and the ultimate introvert, my other concern about getting older used to be that I’d be lonely. But now I think about it and recall that I’ve always been able to be ok all by myself. Even now, armed with a good book, I’d actually prefer being alone.

A friend asked me where I’d like to live if I could live anywhere in the world. I couldn’t narrow it down to one place. I would love to either live abroad or on a sprawling ranch someplace. Either adventure would ensure that I wouldn’t have time to be lonely. These aren’t faraway dreams but definite plans for my future.

In talking about my birthday, my daughter asked me how long I’d like to live. My answer was that I’d like to live long enough to see the success of my children’s children. I did some quick math and determined that would put me right around 85 years old.

But I want to be a spunky, self-sufficient 85 year old. I saw a 100 year old woman celebrating her birthday on the news the other day. People gathered around her to sing and were looking at her and treating her like she was a little girl. And then they added insult to injury by putting a party hat on her head. At some point you seem to get so old that people start treating you like you are a child again. I don’t want to be that kind of old.

This point in my life is exciting indeed. I’m 45 with many accomplishments and wonderful memories behind me but they don’t begin to equal all that I see in my future. I’m not sure what 45 is supposed to feel like but I feel really good. 45 is cool!

Matthew 11:28

For most of her young life, my 16 year old daughter has had frequent nightmares. When she was younger she would wake me whenever she had a nightmare. I would go into her room and sing praise songs with her until she calmed down enough to fall asleep.

I just knew that even though I cannot sing at all, (not even a little bit – I know my limitations) singing praise to God would make satan flee. Of course it could be that he fled because he couldn’t stand my singing. Either way – my singing provided peace for my child. I bought her a ring that said, “Fear Not” at that time too. It was to remind her not to be fearful of anything because God was always with her.

I used to have nightmares fairly often myself but I could always link them to either something that happened during the day or some movie that I had no business watching. I can remember that the movie Jagged Edge (1985 -- Glen Close and Jeff Bridges) was one such movie. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that means it doesn’t take much for me to have nightmares.

Several months ago I noticed that I was having nightmares much more frequently. Some weeks I’d have three or four. It was driving me crazy. I’d wake with a racing heart, a headache and a very tired body.

Last week after having a nightmare several nights in a row I mentioned it to my daughter. I told her that I was getting to the point where I was dreading sleep because the nightmares were always so vivid and lasting.

My daughter told me that a few months prior she had successive nightmares and was so frightened that after having one at about 3AM one morning she got up, went downstairs to get her Bible and took it back to her room with her. She said she read a little, prayed and then put the Bible on her nightstand. She said she purposely put it on her nightstand believing that having the Word close would make a difference. She said she wanted her weapon near. According to my daughter, that was her last nightmare.

She reminded me of what should have been obvious -- I should have talked to God about my nightmares. I think I often feel that some of my issues are too small and that I would be bothering God. It’s really amazing how long it sometimes takes to remember to take all of our burdens, all of our cares and even our nightmares to God.

Scripture says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Thank you Lord for the rest!!