• Being a very small part of it

    A while back I talked about doing a little volunteering for the Obama campaign. You can probably tell from the title I decided to do it. It scared the crap out of me just like I thought it would. I’m not posting this to exaggerate my accomplishments. If you want to know the truth, I think I accomplished very little. I made a couple hours worth of phone calls spread out over a few days – mostly while I was waiting outside Beth’s Tae Kwon Do class… plus a few “get out the vote” calls to voters in Colorado this evening.

    I asked Beth first, naturally (before skipping out on her classes). I didn’t want her to think I didn’t care about her anymore, but she was cool with it.

    You know what’s been cool? Talking to friends about it… sharing my thoughts and my enthusiasm. One guy I talked to went down to the local campaign office the next day to volunteer. No, I don’t think he went down there just because of me, but I wonder if it was a little easier knowing someone else had done it too.

    Now I just hope it’s not all in vain. It’s looking good so far, but I’m nowhere near done worrying. I can tell you this: if you’ve been hearing stories about long lines for early voting in Florida, they’re true (here anyway). An acquaintance went down to vote this afternoon and the wait was two hours. There’s an early voting location next to the old Clearwater courthouse, and when I was in court on Monday the line was out the building and around the corner. My coworkers in St Petersburg say the lines have been even longer near the courthouse there.

    It’s been quite a thing to see. There’s been an excitement in the air I don’t remember from past elections. Dare I say it? I have hope.

  • I get you kid

    Someone asked me the other day if Beth was in junior high. When I said yes, this person went on to share some of their horror stories about that age: boys pulling girl’s hair, the physical awkwardness, etc. I nodded my head, but I was thinking that was just the tip of a very large iceberg. To be fair, this person was just making small talk in passing, not engaging me in a serious, drawn out discussion about the human condition. I guess what I’m trying to say is this post is not meant to pick on this person… just that it stuck in my mind.

    Dressed for Halloween success

    Yesterday Beth was allowed to wear her Halloween costume to school. It was a little small but she really wanted to wear it. She bought it last year but didn’t get to wear it because she got really sick.

    She felt really good about herself until she got to school.

    “What, are you supposed to be dressed as a janitor?”

    Actually, she was dressed as a mission specialist for a shuttle mission. She’s always been fascinated by space, but she doesn’t think she has what it takes to be a pilot. She figured her ticket to space was as a scientist. She’s had it all worked out for some time, this one.

    I tell her it’s not always going to be like this. Kids grow up to be (slightly) more secure adults who don’t feel the need to drag everyone else down to make them feel better. We grow up and grow a little less dependent on acceptance from everyone, learning the acceptance from a relative few we know, love and trust is enough. I tell her kids were mean when I was growing up too but things got better. I tell her there are lots of people who love and accept her: me, Cheryl, her brother (who adores her more than she can stand at times), her grandparents.

    I can see the look in her eyes. She’s not completely convinced. I guess we do what we can and hope it’s enough.

  • Still surprised

    I can still be surprised by things my daughter says, even after eleven years. Here’s a snippet of a conversation between Cheryl and Beth.

    “You know Beth, in another six or seven years you may be living on your own.”

    “Not in this economy. I wouldn’t be able to afford to live on my own.”

    She may be gaining on Cheryl’s height as we watch, but she’s still that little girl with a squeaky voice in my heart and mind.