Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Get out and VOTE!

Today is a very important day.  It's about getting out and voting.  Tonight this country - well divided I might add - got to vote for the next President of The United States. As we sat around the dinner table tonight and the TV played in the background we talked about the local elections as well. However, this countries most important job, Commander in Chief is what I was really interested in.

Now I'm sitting here watching the acceptance speech.  It doesn't matter anymore if you voted for President Obama  or if you voted for Governor Romney. It's been decided the people have spoken.  President Obama has been reelected.

It doesn't matter how I voted. In fact I don't share how I voted with people. That is one of the beautiful things about America... the secret ballot. You don't have to advertise who you voted for. I'm proud I voted. I did it. My voice made a difference!

I do wish Oregon still went to the voting booths like other states.  Here, everyone votes by mail. I voted weeks ago. Even if you have to wait in line 3 hours to get your voice heard or, like me, you got your voice heard 3 weeks in advance... it's worth it. It's important. It's your civic duty.

How did the local folks do? Peter DeFazio was reelected. Kate Brown remains our Secretary of State. Looks like Betty Taylor got reelected as Eugene city councilor.
Local measures? Bethel School District got their money. Springfield Public Safety got their money. Oregonians said no to a Private Casino in Portland.  See I paid attention to more then just the Presidential election. Voting is about more then just the CEO of the country. It's about the little city councilors too.

After dinner we were sitting on the couch watching the results come in and I called K over to me. I felt so blessed to be able to talk to him about what was going on. How important this evening was in American history. We elected the 44th President of The United States. To be honest, I don't think he got it... he's only 4. But it's never to early to talk about how voting is an essential American right. He looked at me like I was crazy, but he asked questions and said it was cool.

And you know what, he's right. It IS cool! I voted. I hope you did too. It's downright American! This is the Greatest Nation on Earth. God Bless these United States!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Older then dirt... ok, not really but come on...

Today is my birthday. Am I happy about it? No, not really. Frankly, I'm a bit indifferent. It seems as we age things seem to matter less. You know, like aging. Of course I know I'm not old. I'm only 35, but I feel older then dirt. My kids are 4 and 2 and that makes me feel older then my years.

I think about celebrating my birthday and all I want to do is curl up in bed and not get out. Sleep all day, drink a mocha and watch movies. I, frankly, don't like celebrating my birthday. I would rather the day go by without notice. Maybe that's because my brother (younger by 18 months) teases me that I'm older then dirt. I just would rather not even recognize it.

For my 30th birthday my parents and husband wanted to throw me a huge party. I however, just wanted to ignore it. Seems no one would let me do that - and they still don't. So I told my mother NO PARTIES! I didn't want some big who ha. If they had a party for me I was leaving. I wouldn't be staying around for anything like that. In fact I was hoping to go to go to Las Vegas with my husband and some friends. Just hang out and have some grown up time. Of course this was before I had kids. My mother told me if I was pregnant she wouldn't throw me a 30th birthday party. I just laughed at her. I shouldn't have. Turns out I was 8 months pregnant for my 30th birthday. No party and No Vegas. But it was low key at home instead. It wasn't too shabby.

But if no one noticed my birthday and if no one said "Happy Birthday" that would make me sad. I woke up this morning and had half a dozen texts wishing me happy birthday and got another half dozen before the night was out. I also spent an hour reading Facebook messages that my friends and family had left for me on my timeline. Gotta be honest, other then the spaghetti dinner, those were the highlight of my day.

I know I'm a contradiction in terms. In one breath saying I'd rather it go unnoticed and in the next saying how much I enjoyed being acknowledged. It just goes to show how important birthdays really are. I guess if I'm going to leave a message about birthdays to my kids it's this:

You may feel older then dirt, but when the dust settles, the family and friends around you who celebrate with you are what keep you young. So celebrate, enjoy the day and know age is only a number. How you choose to live your life is a lot more telling then how many years you've been on this earth!