Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving morning, and so of course I am sitting on the couch watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

One of the posts that blogger destroyed last week was about the parade, and my grandpa.

There is a big Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit, and, several times when I was growing up, my mom and step-dad took my siblings and I to watch the parade in person.

I recall those mornings as being cold and crowded, although, as a child I was much less wary of large crowds than I am today. (I hate being in large crowds. It's not fear so much as I really just hate being crowded and jostled. I cannot describe the feeling precisely - it makes me extremely tense.)

As we would leave to go to the Parade, my grandpa would shake his head and say, "You know, it's a lot more comfortable to watch the parade from the LaZBoy with a cup of coffee."

And on the Thanksgiving mornings that my parents did not take us downtown, I would sit in the family room with my grandpa, with a cup of cocoa, and we would watch coverage of both Parades - New York and Detroit.

I have very fond memories of those mornings, and it doesn't really feel like Thanksgiving to me, those times when I don't watch the Parade.

My grandpa died on the Sunday after Thanksgiving seven years ago. I did not watch the Parade with him that last Thanksgiving, which I regret to this day. But, since he's been gone, I watch the Parade, and I imagine that grandpa is sitting in his LaZBoy, with his coffee, watching it with me. It's one of the things that I do at the Holidays that reminds me of my childhood.

(As much as I would like my children to watch the Parade with me, they are 100% disinterested. Evidently, they don't love a parade.)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

LM

Grrrr....

Blogger has eaten four of my posts in the past several days. Very, very frustrating.

None of them was particularly good, but, still.

A person puts time and effort into writing a post, and then, BANG, goes to publish, and BAM, the post is not there. Clicking backwards on my Internet explorer tab does not bring the posts back.

The result is sad and annoyed Lawmommy and no blog posts.

One of my real life girlfriends actually emailed me yesterday to ask if I was okay - because of the lack of posts.

It makes me happy to know my peeps are checking up on me. :-)

The problem is that I finally caved and created a google reader account for easier blog reading. (Would you believe that until recently I was actually just clicking through the blog links on my own blog and checking to see if you guys had posted anything new? Not very efficient.)

Anyway, I created a google reader account using a different log in name than the one I use for blogger. (Which makes commenting harder because I keep having to log in and log out and I'm kind of really frustrated with it.)

I tend to write my blog posts over the course of several hours when I am at work. In between bouts of actual...working. I will take a a few minutes and write, and then work, etc., etc., - sometimes it takes a whole work day to write a post. (I mean, that's clearly not what I'm spending my whole day doing, it's just that I will keep the blogger window open and type and work and work and answer the phone and type and throw things at my wall because people are idiots and type and walk to the kitchen because of course all the Christmas goodies started arriving last week and work and type...you get the picture.)

Problematically, if I have looked at google reader account at any point in the midst of the typing and the working and the eating of Christmas treats...it has logged me out of blogger and logged back in with the user name I created for my google reader, WITHOUT TELLING ME, and when I go to hit publish, MY POST IS GONE. Because the user name I have for my google reader account doesn't have a blog.

And then I'm too ticked to write it again.

And it took FOUR TIMES before I realized why this was happening.

Which is why you should not, clearly, ever call on me to answer questions about technology because clearly I am a moron. In that area. (Not generally.) (I don't think.)

The kids and I are off today. I have to go find them and feed them, otherwise they will decide that they can eat Garfield fruit snacks and Reese's Pieces and feel they have had breakfast. And that's just not acceptable.

LM

Random

I've had the bass line from this song stuck in my head for three days. I couldn't figure out what the song was, because I didn't have the lyrics stuck in my head, just the back beat. It was driving me crazy.

On my way into work this morning it finally came on the radio and I was able to figure out what song it was. I don't usually like Kanye West, but, I think this is almost hypnotic. I like it. A lot. And hence I have been listening to it all day. (Also, this video was put up Universal Music Group, so, I don't even feel guilty linking to it, since I think the content is all legally and officially posted by the label.)



*******************************************



A few months ago, Elaine was in my neck of the woods, and I had the pleasure of meeting her for lunch. Since we had seven children between us, we went to Wendy's. (Wendy's is a pretty safe bet for seven kids until 10.) Because there were seven children. someone from Wendy's came out and gave all our kids balloons.

Last night, I took Gabe and Lana to Wendy's while Husband was at a board meeting. While we were eating, Lana said, "How come nobody gave us any balloons?"

And Gabe answered, somewhat wistfully "Well, I bet if mommy's friend was here, her friend with all those kids...probably they would bring us balloons if SHE were here."

And I, not remembering specifically about the balloons from that day, said, "What friend with all the kids?" (Although, aside from my sister (mom of 5) I don't have that many friends who have more than 2 kids, and if Gabe was talking about my sister, he just would have said, "Aunt S~".

So, Gabe answered, "You know, she had all those girls and that baby who looks like Lana." (I don't think that Lana and Elaine's baby look much alike, but, that's just me.)

And I said, "Oh. Elaine," and both Gabe and Lana said, "yeah, if 'Laine was here, we would get balloons for sure!"

Apparently, she is not just Elaine, she is Magical Procurer of Balloons. Just so she knows, she has a lot to live up to, if she comes to town again...

***********************

I had a glitch in my child support calculation program this morning, and it told me that the father was going to have to pay NEGATIVE THIRTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS in child support to the mother. Per month.

NEGATIVE. THIRTEEN THOUSAND. DOLLARS.

How do you suppose one pays negative thirteen thousand dollars a month?

The glitch got fixed. (Evidently, my program had decided that the guy was paying 225% of his income in local income taxes.) (That's quite a tax burden.)

Doncha love technology?

LM

Let's Talk About Sex (And My Head Exploding) (And Not in a Good Way)

I am totally appalled by the results of this survey http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27706917/?GT1=43001.

I want to believe that perhaps the data is skewed by the sample that was selected. I want to know if the girls who were surveyed were randomly chosen by a legitimate research company (like the one I used to work for), or were they selected from the universe of girls who watch that particular show? ("Universe" in the social research sense, not in the Star Trek sense.) (As a side note, though, I have to say that I suspect that girls who WATCH Star Trek are probably not having as much sex as the girls who answered this survey.) (Sigh.)

Look, I have nothing against sex. (Quite the opposite in fact.) (And as divorce attorney, I tend to think that most people (adult people) should be having MORE sex. Not less. So, really, I have nothing, at all, against sex.)

Neither am I proponent of not having sex until marriage. (What if you married someone whose needs and tastes were entirely not compatible with your own? What would happen?) (Wait, I know what might happen because a very close relative of mine gave me WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION about the collapse of her first marriage.) (And also last year I did a divorce for some very unhappy 19-year-olds.) (I'm not saying it happens all the time. I'm sure there are lots of people this works out for.)

(I am, however, quite a strict proponent of "if you are married, don't have sex with anyone you aren't married to".) (Just to clarify.) (Because, seriously, I have people crying in my office on a weekly basis. And MUCH OF THE TIME, that is why.)

One of the things I find most disturbing about this article is the girl who said that that she didn't want to insist on using condoms because then the boys (plural, multiple) wouldn't "want to be friends with her."

WHAT??? (Picture my head exploding. Right here. Pieces of my head. Exploded.)

Two questions: What, precisely, are we teaching our SONS about sex? And where the f**k ever did they get the idea that sex is something that FRIENDS have with each other? Sex is not something people do at casual get togethers or Bunko night*! Sex is serious. And it can kill you!

I'm not sure how to fix this problem. (And I think it's a huge problem if it's true that 14% (FOURTEEN PERCENT!!!) of girls are having sex AT SCHOOL. AT!!!! SCHOOL!!!) And what are these girls getting out of these in-school-trysts? Because I find it extremely difficult to believe that they are having sexually satisfying experiences (by which, yes, I mean, climactic experiences) IN THE BATHROOM BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND PERIOD. (And seriously? If you aren't having a satisfying experience, why the heck are you having sex?) (Unless of course it is to get pregnant. ON PURPOSE. WHEN THEY ARE 15.) (See, there, my head just exploded again.)

But, I do think we sure as hell need to tell our children that:

A. sex is very powerful emotionally and is not something to be done casually
B. you should LOVE the person you are having sex with (THE. PERSON. NOT "the people".)
C. you don't have sex with your FRIENDS
D. sex is for adults
E. it is NOT okay for our sons to be having sex with multiple partners, or for attention, and it sure as hell isn't okay to be having sex without a condom EVER

I'm going to go lock both my children in the basement now.

LM

*That would be SOME kind of Bunko night. And please don't invite me if that's the kind of Bunko night you are having.

Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderly Again...

Oh, how I wish I had only dreamt of a Gothic Victorian mansion haunted by the memory of Maxim De Winter's first wife....

(Those of you who never read Rebecca are scratching your heads right now. But GO. Read it. It's du Maurier's masterpiece. And then go watch the 1941 Hitchcock film of the same name. Yes, I know it's in black and white. It's still awesome.)

What I did dream was that Lana cut her hand off in an airplane propeller accident, and the doctor at the ER refused to put her hand back on UNTIL I COULD PROVIDE PROOF THAT OUR LANDSCAPING MET THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR HOME OWNER'S ASSOCIATION.

It was a horrible dream. Bureaucracy with an added side of gore. I was actually quite happy that Husband's alarm went off and woke me from yelling that the state of our yard had no bearing on the urgency of reattaching our daughter's hand.

Never mind the fact that my dream daughter evidently plays with airplane propellers.

I realize that I have pretty much fallen on my face in failure on the Nablopomo month...if I post three times today will it make up for not posting at all over the weekend?

LM

Question

I missed posting yesterday. So, I'll post twice today.

I'm afraid this whole "post every day in November" is going to lead to more posting about television than normal.

Anybody else watch Grey's Anatomy last night?

Is anybody else completely in love with the last song that played in the episode?

(You can hear it here: Lenka - Trouble is a Friend) (Even though I want to beat the Grey's writers with a stick, I think whoever is choosing music for the show is doing a pretty good job.) (I have thought this from the beginning.) (I realize half the planet thinks the same thing. I didn't say this was an ORIGINAL post. I've already admitted it's about television.)

3. (This one contains spoilers for last night's episode. Just so you know.)



What the heck is going on with the Izzy/Denny story line?

Is Izzy hallucinating?

Is Izzy really being haunted by Denny?

Is Izzy hallucinating Denny's physical being when the person who is really there is Alex?

Is Denny inhabiting Alex's body a la Whoppi Goldberg and Patrick Swayze in Ghost?

WHAT IS GOING ON?

(Can I just say how much I loved Denny and how much I hated the writers for KILLING HIM OFF IN THE FIRST PLACE?)

Could the actors who play Denny and Alex BE more ADORABLE? (I think not.)

Do you know the actor who plays Alex has, like, FIVE children?

(Yeah, I know that this is a lot more than one question.)

Anyway, thoughts on last night's episode? Fire away.

Oh, I can of thought the introduction of the new intern (played by the same actress who played EVIL!WRETCHED!HOMEWRECKER!LAUREN on Alias) was funny. The way she came in, and had all this history and her own nickname for Meredith...I loved the interaction between Derek and Christina over the coffee pot, after they were kicked out of Meredith's room. It worked for me. (Although clearly the new intern is kind of a whack-job. Who slices into their own shoulder with a scalpel???)

That's Why I'm Turning Japanese*

(In which a white girl waxes inappropriately about race and ethnicity.)

"Do you think I look kind of Japanese, mommy?" Lana asked me yesterday.

We were sitting in a Lebanese restaurant, and she was eating hummus and chicken schwarma at the time.

Which kind of made the whole thing feel that much more surreal.

(I do suspect I am raising the only Vietnamese-Episcopalian-Schwarma-Addicted six-year-old in the Midwest. I could be wrong, though.)

I didn't know what to say.

The truth is, I don't think she looks Japanese AT ALL.

I've been told (repeatedly) by people who are Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean, that she does not "look Vietnamese". (Vietnamese and Chinese people tell me she looks Chinese. Korean people tell me she looks, "a little bit Korean." Is there any appropriate way to respond to this? Anyone? Please? The worst was a Vietnamese guy who looked at her and said, flat out, "She's NOT Vietnamese!") (Dude! She TOTALLY is. I swear.)

But, I do know that I lived in Japan, and, to me, my child doesn't look Japanese. (In fact, last summer, when we were at the water park with our Japanese exchange student, and the life guard asked Miho to keep a hold of her sister's hand, my first thought was, "they look nothing like sisters!" (Which is ridiculous, when I let myself think about it, because she doesn't look like her brother either. Obviously). (Photographic evidence of the two of them not looking anything alike below.) (Although, admittedly they ARE both wearing horizontal stripes. It IS amazing no one asked if they were twins...)

But, back to Lana's question.

Ultimately, I took a bite of hummus and I said, "Why?"

And Lana said, "Sadie** says I look kind-of Japanese." (I find this very interesting, because Sadie's parents are from Hong Kong and Thailand. Well, actually they are from Vancouver, but, via Hong Kong and Thailand.)

So, I said, "Well, I don't think you look Japanese. I think you look Vietnamese." (This is a lie on my part, because I don't really feel like I have enough knowledge to say that I think she looks Vietnamese or not. But, it IS where she is from, and I feel like she should feel secure in her identity.)

"Do YOU think you look Japanese?" I asked her a few minutes later.

"No. I think I look like Lana."

Well...that much is absolutely true.

LM

* The Vapors, Turning Japanese

**Sadie is not her real name

But I Kind of Hate the Way It Smells

Last week I was in the pharmacy aisle at Kr0ger. I was looking for some Mederma or a similar product, because Lana has a small scar above her eye from where she ran into a shelf back in August. It healed badly, and when her school pictures arrived, it bothered me how noticeable the mark above her eye was.

At any rate, I stood in the pharmacy aisle, debating what product to try (and thinking that probably none of them would work), when I saw a bottle marked BIO-OIL. The packaging seemed odd and a little old-fashioned, but, it pulled me in with the mention that it could reduce the appearance of both scars and STRETCH MARKS. (If I haven't blogged before about the wretched stretch marks that pregnancy brought me, take my word for it. My abdomen, even almost 9 years later, looks like somebody poured hot boiling oil over it. It's bothered me for years, and I swear I have tried every product in the known universe, except for that strivectin cream that costs $190.)

So, I thought, 'well, I can try this on me AND Lana. It's worth a try. And $11.99.' So, I took it home and I tried it.

I have to say, it really seems to be working on Lana's scar, and also on a small scar I have on my cheek. (It is really small. I am probably the only one who would notice it, but, I do notice it, and it bothers me.) But, I am surprised about how well it does seem to work. I haven't noticed any improvement in my stretch marks yet, but, the bottle does say to use it twice a day for 3 months and these scars on my stomach are WICKED and DEEP.) (Makes me sound so attractive in a bikini, doesn't it?) (Not. ever. happening. Anywhere. I love the beach. I love the pool. And my pregnancy scars have driven me into a one-piece forever.)

I also like the way it makes my skin feel, I don't know how to describe it exactly, except that my skin feels nice. Really nice. The only drawback seems to be the smell. It has a distinct scent of...old, stale perfume. Which isn't a great feature.

But, for as nice as it's making my face look, I think I can put up with the scent.

(This is totally honest and no one paid me to do this review. I just think it's a pretty good product, and I have nothing else to blog about today!)

It's Just the Name of a Sled, Discarded In the Snow, Right? RIGHT?

For reasons that I do not entirely understand, the secret service has revealed the code names for the new first family.

Secret Service Code Names for First Family

Two things:

1. Does it strike anyone else as A LITTLE BIT DANGEROUS to reveal to everyone in the free world what the new President's secret service code name is? Just a tiny little bit? I'm thinking that this is one part of the SECRET SERVICE that is MAYBE supposed to be, oh, I don't know, SECRET?
2. And...Sasha's codename is ROSEBUD? ROSEBUD? Really? Does anyone else think that this JUST A LITTLE BIT INAPPROPRIATE FOR A SEVEN YEAR OLD GIRL? Has no one in the secret service seen Citizen Kane?

LM

Stuck in Bed with the Flu

So, I thought I had escaped the communal family sick-fest, and yet, at 6:00 AM this morning, I discovered that was not the case.

I was supposed to be in divorce court at 8:30 AM and in housing court at 1:30 PM.

One of the other attorneys in my office was able to handle housing court, but, I'm the only person in my office who will even set foot in divorce court.

I got a continuance over the phone. I must have sounded like death warmed over.

There is a LOT of crap TV on during the day.

A LOT.

However, there are also re-runs of Law and Order and Without A Trace. Thank goodness for TNT.

I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.

LM

Why does family togetherness always = vomit?

When I was a little girl, my mother always said, "Well, it's not Christmas until somebody throws up."

I don't know why, but, it always happened that way. It was the one time of year when my siblings and cousins and I were all at my grandparents at the same time, and, inevitably, somebody had a bug and gave it to everyone else, and, voila, the family that pukes together...well...maybe they SHOULDN'T stay together?

Anyway, with my brother-in-law visiting from Seattle, we were with family for the weekend, and, of course, now there is stomach flu.

Last night, I finally got my kids in bed at 10:00. Gabe was still up at 11:00 when he came out and asked his dad and grandpa and uncles to stop making so much noise playing cards.

I finally fell asleep at 12:30 after listening to my husband, brothers-in-law and father-in-law gruesomely discussing "Most Disgusting Ways to Assassinate Someone" over Euchre.

(Boys are weird, by the way.)

At 1:05 Lana woke up crying, and she cried on and off for 45 minutes until I gave up and put her in bed with Husband. I got in bed with Gabe, who proceeded to treat his mother like a kick-boxing bag for several hours, until waking up at 7:00 AM, telling me his head hurt, and rushing for the bathroom, where vomit ensued.

Then Husband started in with feeling queasy.

I drove us home with plastic emergency bags next to everyone, which were, thank goodness, not needed.

Husband is now in bed with a fever and shakes, and, all together, it looks like the family togetherness is going to put a damper, health wise, on the coming week, which is not helpful, since there was also illness last week...

Nothing says "family" like "shared stomach virus" I guess.

LM

I think I want to beat Shonda Rhimes with a stick

Warning: Spoilers for Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy.


I just finished watching this week's Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy.

And I'm scratching my head and thinking what kind of deep, dark past does their creator, Shonda Rhimes, harbor that makes her so full of hate of healthy, mutually beneficial relationships???

What?

Why?

I mean, seriously, it finally looks like she is going to bring Sam and Naomi back together, and, without warning, these two people, who CLEARLY have a satisfying sex life together ,who are able to WORK TOGETHER and raise a daughter together, but, WTF?? They have to LET GO so they can find some kind of elusive happiness in a world where the continue to work together and raise a daughter together, but, being a couple is not doable?

Newsflash to Sam and Naomi (and Shonda): if you are able to work together and raise a child together AND have mind-blowing orgasms together - YOU SHOULD BE TOGETHER. You have so much more going for your relationship than the average bear.

So 'splain to me why these people need to "let go" of each other?

Yeah, they don't. Because life is short and often cruel, and if you have somebody by your side who meets the above criteria? Who can be your lover and your friend and your co-worker and your co-parent? IT DOESN'T GET MUCH FRAPPING BETTER THAN THAT. So, hold on to that person and be eachother' s calm in the storm, because, in the end, that person who stood by your side is the one of the few things in life that really mattered.

And Grey's?

Oy, the old man with the "Rosie don't leave me" - did Shonda set out to BREAK MY HEART this week, or was that, just, a little bonus?

And Callie and Erica? I will admit that I don't buy them as a couple, but, the actress who plays Erica Hahn knocked that whole "you are glasses" monologue OUT OF THE PARK last week, and what does she get for her trouble?

FIRED.

Riddle me that one, batman.

Again comes Shonda, hater of the burgeoning mutually beneficial and emotional mature relationship. Wielding her relationship killing sword of destruction.

Oy.

I give up.

I'm going to bed.

LM

Six Years

Six years ago, today, Gabriel and I flew from Los Angeles to Detroit, after spending a week in California, visiting family and friends and attending my cousin's wedding.

It was the first time Gabe had ever been on an airplane.

It was otherwise an uneventful day, as far as we knew then.

But...

Six years ago today, in a city on the South China Sea, a woman whose name means "Jade Lotus" gave birth to a baby girl and she gave that baby girl a name that means "Jade Orchid". She stayed with her for one week, before taking her to an orphanage and asking them to care for her, because she did not have the means to do so herself.

I think the fact that she gave her baby a name so close in meaning to her own meant something of tremendous importance to her. I have to believe she chose that name with a great deal of care.

My feelings about this woman, Jade Lotus, have often been conflicted. And I think the reason for my conflict stemmed not from the actions of Jade Lotus, but rather from the difficulty I had in becoming the mother of Jade Orchid.

Becoming the mother of Jade Orchid was not easy for me. It was a road filled with potholes and switchbacks and, many times, as I began walking on that road, I stumbled and I did not think I could get up again and keep walking ~ because it was so hard. And in its difficulty, I did not have kind feelings about Jade Lotus.

But, that bumpy and difficult part of the road is far behind me, I am no longer becoming Jade Orchid's mother. I am her mother. She is no longer becoming my daughter. She is my daughter.

And in the transforming from the becoming to the being, I have come to feel something towards Jade Lotus that is not conflicted, but, merely simple.

I am grateful.

I am grateful for this little girl, who came into our family in such an unusual way, who, by all rights should have joined another family years earlier. I am grateful for this child who smothers me with kisses and sings me songs and tells me funny stories.

I am grateful, that six years ago, Jade Lotus made a choice to bring this child to the world. I am grateful that she gave me the opportunity to become this child's mother.

And if I could say anything to her today, it would be, thank you. Thank you for this beautiful child, and her beautiful name.

Jade Lotus, where ever you are today, I hope you know that Jade Orchid is safe, and loved, and that she is, above all things, joyful.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful, beautiful Lana, who woke up this morning with a smile on her face, and a blissful announcement that "Today is my BIRTHDAY!" It sure is, baby girl, it sure is.

LM

I've Been Sitting, Waiting, Wishing*

So, just for fun...how about a poll?

1. Did you vote?
2. How long did you wait to vote?
3. What did you do to pass the time whilst waiting to vote?

I'll go first. (See, yeah, it's my blog, so, I get to do that.)

1. Yes, I voted.
2. 45 minutes. (Husband waited an hour when the polls first opened at 6:30.)
3. At MAM's suggestion, I have been reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and I tried to read that, but, I find that it takes more concentration than I was able to give it while waiting in line listening to all the conversation around me. Luckily I also brought along my trust pink Nintendo DS, so, I played MahJong Match for half an hour. I can't say I minded the wait. (I almost never get 30 uninterrupted minutes of Nintendo playing!)

*Jack Johnson, Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Go. Now. Vote.

Well I've Been Looking, Looking for An Answer*

We recently had to complete a school project for Gabriel that involved creating a time-line of the first year of his life. (I don't even want to start on how much I am dreading the time when that assignment comes home with Lana.)

I pulled out the baby book I kept for Gabe's first year, and I was somewhat surprised at how much detail I poured into that book, which was in calendar form. (I don't remember writing so much, but, it seems I did.)

On November 6, 2000, which was a Monday, I wrote, "tomorrow we will have a new president."

And the next day, Tuesday, November 7, 2000, I wrote "it looks like Gore will win" and, then, clearly, I went to bed.

On Wednesday, November 8, 2000, I wrote, "we don't know who won". Which is what I continued to write, every couple of days, until December 9, 2000, when the US Supreme Court decided Bush v. Gore, which resulted in George W. Bush being sworn in as the President of the United States.

I can tell from my entries in the baby book, and as I clearly recall, those weeks were extremely stressful for me (and the rest of the nation.) It was a time of great anxiety. I was a first year law student. (If you've never known a first year law student, take my word for it that they are not the calmest, most rational individuals.) Take the anxiety and stress of 1L, mix that in with the anxiety and stress of mothering a sleepless infant, and add in the insanity of not knowing who the President of the United States was...I am pretty sure I needed Xanax just to get through those days.

I was taking Constitutional Law at the time. (In retrospect it was kind of fascinating to be studying Con Law while one of the most important Supreme Court cases was being argued.) And I distinctly remember something that my Con Law professor said, one of those mornings, when everything seemed so terrifyingly unknown.

He said, "It is a testament to the strength of our democracy that we are not rioting in the streets right now."

And he was right. It was a testament to the strength of our democracy, at the time, that the uncertainty did not cause us to descend into anarchy.

I hope that our democracy is still strong, but, I do feel like our democracy has taken some pretty hard knocks in the last 8 years. I sense that people on both sides are angry, frustrated, and scared. I'm not sure that, if we don't have an answer tomorrow, that we won't riot in the streets if we don't have any answer.

So, what I am hoping for, what I am praying for, is that, tomorrow night, before I go to bed. I have an answer.

I don't want another November like the one we experienced eight years ago.

LM

*Melissa Etheridge, 2001

He Just Keeps Calling

I believe I have mentioned in the past how much Lana likes the answer the phone. If I haven't, take my word for it, the girl loves to answer the phone.

We have been getting a LOT of telephone calls these days, considering the "battleground" state we live in.

Yesterday evening, the phone rang, and Lana lunged for it gleefully, as usual.

"Hello," she said, hopefully. (Hoping it was a friend or a relative who would want to talk to her for a few minutes before asking to talk to Husband or I.)

She listened for a minute and then sighed, heavily.

She handed me the phone in a very blase fashion.

"Mom," she said with annoyance. "John McCain is calling for you AGAIN. He keep calling all the time."

I had to laugh.

I cannot wait for Wednesday, when all these pre-recorded campaign calls will come to an end!

LM

(photo courtesy of my Girlfriend H~, who took amazing photos of Lana that I just have to share)

NaBloPoMo

Laura/ has inspired me to try to participate in National Blog Posting Month. The challenge being to try to write a post to one's blog every day.

So, I'm in. I'll try.

My post for today is short. I just want to say, that sometimes the people we love disappoint us. And right now, I'm feeling disappointed in someone who is important to me. And I'm stewing about it, and it's not healthy. So, I'm just going to say, here in my private, personal space, that I am angry and hurt. And I'm going to try to just forgive and move on. Family is complicated, sibling relationships are complicated, life...well, it's complicated. But, right now, right this second...I'm angry and hurt. Which is not to say, that in my life, I have not done things, many, many things, that caused others to feel angry and hurt. But right now...yeah, I'm angry and hurt.

LM