What it's all about...

I'm a 39 year old wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt & friend. That should tell you who I'll be writing about most of the time.







Friday, June 6, 2008

Thank you Hillary


I feel a lot of things about the Democratic primary process. Sadness. Pride. Anger. Relief.I am in awe of the history we Democrats have made. I voted for Hillary Clinton in my primary. I will vote for Barack Obama in the general election. That will represent two first in my voting lifetime: my first vote for a legitimate female presidential candidate and my first vote for a legitimate African-American presidential candidate. Thanks to them, American presidential politics looks a little more like America.And while the significance of this moment in our nation’s racial reconciliation will be written about in history books from here until eternity, I can’t help but feel a lingering ache about what the history books will no doubt ignore. And what they will ignore is this. Many, many women in America feel hurt by this primary process. We feel berated. We feel marginalized. We feel – as Hillary mentioned in her final primary speech Tuesday – invisible.And as news of Hillary’s impending concession on Friday makes the rounds, we can’t help but think that many, many men in America are thinking: “Yes, we’re finally rid of that woman!” Or to put their sentiments less charitably (but possibly more accurately): “Thank God, the bitch is gone!”The misogyny that has existed in this campaign is not a question. There is no, “Was there sexism in the primary process?” That is simply a part of a large chunk of the rhetoric and coverage we were bombarded with every day.It was there in the depiction of Hillary to every man’s first wife in probate court. It was there in the oh-so-charming Hillary nutcracker. It was there in the she-devil graphics. It was there in the comparisons to Glenn Close’s psychotic stalker in “Fatal Attraction.” It was there in the insistence, for months and months, that she should quit even while she was still winning.She handled all of that with grace and strength, just as Obama handled the racist attacks against him with grace and strengths. I refuse to play the “my otherness is more important than your otherness”-game. No African-American or woman has ever run as the major party candidate in a presidential election, let alone been elected. Yes, both made mistakes and, at times, played the otherness card. Yes, there was mismanagement and missteps in Hillary’s campaign. But no amount of strategizing can overcome a problem that people simply refuse to admit exists.I feel the media’s coverage and presidential primary became a de facto referendum on the question of whether we still have gender discrimination in this country. And I feel like we lost the argument. It’s not they’re right and we’re wrong. It’s that too many people just didn’t want to hear it. What are you talking about, woman? You’re equal enough, honey. Love the paintsuit, babe.What I mostly feel tonight is exhausted. I feel emotionally drained and I feel a little ashamed at my relief. Yes, I wanted Hillary to win. But after seeing the bruising, relentless, unabashed negation of the very concept that there might still be sexism in our culture, I’m tired of fighting. I know I shouldn’t feel this defeated by the bludgeoning blowhards who insists it’s our problem, not theirs. But I am.While emailing back and forth with friends Tuesday about Obama’s clinching the nomination, one mirrored my feelings perfectly. She said at least they won’t have Hillary to kick around anymore. I’m glad she won’t have to face the assault anymore. I’m glad I won’t have to hear it anymore. But I hope that amid her own disappointment she has the time to feel proud of what she has accomplished. Record-breaking turnout. Unprecedented number of votes. Nearly half of all Democrats. She has earned the right to celebrate her successes and thank her supporters. She has earned our respect.Often, while reading about Hillary’s supporters and successes, I was surprised by my own visceral reaction to each accomplishment. In a way, it felt like Hillary’s success was my success. That her triumph was our triumph. Maybe that highest and hardest glass ceiling she spoke of could finally be shattered. I can’t tell you the number of times I got a lump in my throat thinking both of her supporters born before women even had the chance to vote and the next generation looking to her as an example of the limitless possibilities of our gender. When done right, politics is and will always be deeply personal.What the history books will probably fail to mention is the incredible impact her candidacy has had on women in this country. While I feel disillusioned and worn out today, I hope that ache soon will be filled with a pride and determination that a woman can and will be president in my lifetime. And when she takes the oath of office, if it’s not Hillary herself, I hope she thanks Hillary for blazing the trail and taking the hits.I’m proud I got to vote for her. I am proud of her. Thanks, Hillary.
I couldn't have put this any better.


Thursday, June 5, 2008

Less Than A Week

By this time next week, we will be on the road. The plan is to leave about 4am. It's going to take us approximately 15 hours to get to my sister's house in Indio. It's close to Palm Springs. IN THE DESERT. IN JUNE. I am not a lover of the heat, this should be interesting. We will be there for until early Monday when we will set out for Orange County and my grandma/aunt's house. We will ALL stay there until I leave to go to Eric's on Thursday night and then I fly home on Saturday. And by ALL I mean: me & my 2 kids, my mom, my sister & her 2 kids, my other sister and her 2 kids and then of course my grandma & aunt. It's a 3 bedroom house. It's going to be an adventure. Plus, Eric is going to come stay too from Tuesday night through Thursday. CRAZY! But fun I'm sure. I'm really looking forward to it.

To-Do-List status: The kids have almost all of their laundry done. All they have left to do is their white clothes, which I still do for them. After having them try it and ending up with clothes that either smelled very strongly of bleach or the clothes they were wearing getting ruined when bleach got splashed on them, I decided it would be ok to take that back from them. We went through their dressers and closets last night and pulled out all the fall/winter clothes to go for donation. I did the same with my closet, but mine just go in a box to be pulled out after summer. I vacuumed the family room with my new vacuum and am in love with it. It is a Hoover Self-Propelled Bagged WindTunnel. I haven't had a vacuum with a bag in a long time, but this one uses a Hepa Filtration bag and has filters all over it, so I'm ok with it. I used almost all of the attachments just in the family room and on the stairs leading to to the family room. I LOVE IT. It has so much suction. Did I mention how much I love it? I wanted to get the living room done last night, but by the time we got home from Karate I was ready to climb into bed.
That's all for now. Time to get to work.

Monday, June 2, 2008

One weekend down...

...and one to go before we leave. I feel really good about what I got done this weekend. I mowed the back and side yards and went back over the front yard. I got all of my laundry done and the kids new clothes are done. My girl & I washed out Noel's cage (her chinchilla). We bought a new vacuum cleaner. Ours died a couple of months ago and although I've been taking the one from work home occasionally, my carpets really haven't been vacuumed properly since. I put it together this morning and am going to break it in tonight.
The tickets to Madonna's concert went on sale Saturday morning and I got tickets for Eric & I. I am so excited about seeing her. When I was 13 my mom went to see her in concert. She was going with a group of people and there was one person who ended up not being able to go at the last minute. I begged and begged my mom to let me go, but they ended up taking someone else. I was so upset, I can still remember crying when my mom left for the concert. But now it's my turn! And I get the added bonus of Eric going with me. It's like my birthday and Christmas all wrapped up in one. The show isn't until November. How crazy that the tickets went on sale 5 months ahead of time! Oh well, it's Madonna and I'm going!!!

My remaining To-Do list is not so overwhelming. The kids are out of school now, so they are responsible for the rest of their laundry. I still have to get my boy's fish tank cleaned out. I want to get the house vacuumed - with my new vacuum. Need to get the remaining incidentals for the trip: sunscreen, toiletries, etc. I really should start a list so we don't forget anything. I have 9 days left before we leave. I think this is do-able.