Well, the plague didn't get me this time. I spent the last week trying to be sick. I emphasize trying because Chris decided he was sicker than me. Totally stole my thunder...if you got thunder for being sick. Maybe not thunder, maybe that's the wrong metaphor. All I know I was perfectly happy being sick and babied, and he went and ruined it by getting a case of the plague. Dick. Yeah, speaking of Dick (which is totally my new name for Chris), last night, I'm thinking, ok, he's surely feeling better by now. He's been milking this for like a week. It's totally my turn. Merritt-time! So we're watching tv, and I was like, we don't have to watch tv, we could talk or something. And he goes, eh, no. No thinking, no considering, nothing. Just "no". So I was like, fine. Dick. He freaking LAUGHED at me. I was like, yeah, laugh it up, DICK. No apology, no sad face, nothing, he just keeps laughing. So I go, what's so damn funny? He goes, heh, dick. Just the way you said it, all serious-like. I was like, yeah. Shut up. Dick.
In other annoying news, I hate my ipod. Or, to be more specific, I hate itunes...I think. I plugged my ipod into the computer to charge it, no problems, all is good. I'm sitting at my desk this morning, and all of a sudden I hear friggin Hannah Montana. I was like, oh hell no. So I went onto the next song...which was from High School Musical. SIGH. Now, I don't know who to blame here. My ipod, itunes, or maybe there's some big brother Apple conspiracy going on. Maybe they're trying to brain wash me with their peppy, up-beat preteen anthems about being preteen and fabulous even thought you're not even old enough to know what fabulous really is because you're not even allowed to watch an R-rated movied by yourself. All I know is Kat's music has invaded my ipod and I'm stuck listening to Rob Zombie and Hannah Montana, which just sucks. If I show any signs of regressing into preteen hell, please send help. k? kewl. c u l8r.
Meh, I feel like crap.
I'd like to say I've been so busy that I didn't have time to blog, but I'd be lying. Actually, being busy would've been better. In fact, I've had the plague. Or maybe it's typhoid fever. It's hard to tell. All I know is my chest hurts, my head hurts, my body aches, my nose is stuffy, and I feel like a large pile of crap. Now the simpleton may say, hello? Sounds like the flu. I say, psh. It's clearly rheumatic fever. I also could just have the flu and am picking random illnesses to garner sympathy, but that's unlikely. Anyway, I'm sick.
It's not too surprising I'm sick. Davey had a cold all last week and kept germing me the way little kids do. You know how you say cover your mouth! 30 seconds after they spray you with sneeze or even better when they do cover their mouth, cough like crazy then wipe their hands on their shirt. You know those germs are just waiting to find a new home, most often of course on Mommy.
And mommies don't have time to be sick when there's cleaning to do. Saturday I spent the WHOLE day cleaning. Whole day, as in 8 am to 5 pm. I cleaned the house top to bottom, vacuumed, washed, dusted, the whole shebang. By the end of the day, I was like, meh, I feel like crap. Too bad for you, cheering in the morning! Kat had a competition Sunday morning. Chris and I had to "volunteer", which really means we had to work at it but be happy about it because it was "voluntary". I got Kat up at 5 am to do her hair and makeup, and we were still almost late. I swear I'm going to be late for my own funeral. We had over an hour and half to get ready, still couldn't make it on time, and I didn't even do my own hair, I wore a damn hat. I can't figure out why we can't get out the door on time. I think there's some kind of weird space-time continuum in my bathroom or something. Time just moves slower...or faster...I dunno whichever makes it so I'm always late. Anyway, but the time we were done on Sunday, I was like meh, I feel like crap.
So then Monday I usually work from home. But this Monday I was like meh, I feel like crap (see a pattern emerging here?). So I had Chris take Kat to cheering and I stayed home and watched t.v. I went to bed at fucking 8:00. I told Chris I was deathly ill, he said I was fine and that I was just over-tired. I was like, it's yellow fever damnit! He didn't believe me. I spend all night being either too hot or too cold. NyQuil did NOT help. Tuesday morning I woke up and dragged myself out of bed, took some DayQuil and waited patiently for it to work. After it took my 30 minutes to make the kids' lunches, and after almost passing out twice because I was so ridiculously hot, I called in sick to work. By the way, I'm still patiently waiting for DayQuil to work. DayQuil sucks. Today I'm trying Theraflu. Which tastes like ass, but seems to work ok. I think it's because I bought the special "nasal and sinus congestion, cough, body ache, sore throat pain, headache, and fever" kind. Here's hoping that "fever" means "treats rheumatic, typhoid and yellow fevers", otherwise I'm gonna have to break down and go to the doctor's.
It's not too surprising I'm sick. Davey had a cold all last week and kept germing me the way little kids do. You know how you say cover your mouth! 30 seconds after they spray you with sneeze or even better when they do cover their mouth, cough like crazy then wipe their hands on their shirt. You know those germs are just waiting to find a new home, most often of course on Mommy.
And mommies don't have time to be sick when there's cleaning to do. Saturday I spent the WHOLE day cleaning. Whole day, as in 8 am to 5 pm. I cleaned the house top to bottom, vacuumed, washed, dusted, the whole shebang. By the end of the day, I was like, meh, I feel like crap. Too bad for you, cheering in the morning! Kat had a competition Sunday morning. Chris and I had to "volunteer", which really means we had to work at it but be happy about it because it was "voluntary". I got Kat up at 5 am to do her hair and makeup, and we were still almost late. I swear I'm going to be late for my own funeral. We had over an hour and half to get ready, still couldn't make it on time, and I didn't even do my own hair, I wore a damn hat. I can't figure out why we can't get out the door on time. I think there's some kind of weird space-time continuum in my bathroom or something. Time just moves slower...or faster...I dunno whichever makes it so I'm always late. Anyway, but the time we were done on Sunday, I was like meh, I feel like crap.
So then Monday I usually work from home. But this Monday I was like meh, I feel like crap (see a pattern emerging here?). So I had Chris take Kat to cheering and I stayed home and watched t.v. I went to bed at fucking 8:00. I told Chris I was deathly ill, he said I was fine and that I was just over-tired. I was like, it's yellow fever damnit! He didn't believe me. I spend all night being either too hot or too cold. NyQuil did NOT help. Tuesday morning I woke up and dragged myself out of bed, took some DayQuil and waited patiently for it to work. After it took my 30 minutes to make the kids' lunches, and after almost passing out twice because I was so ridiculously hot, I called in sick to work. By the way, I'm still patiently waiting for DayQuil to work. DayQuil sucks. Today I'm trying Theraflu. Which tastes like ass, but seems to work ok. I think it's because I bought the special "nasal and sinus congestion, cough, body ache, sore throat pain, headache, and fever" kind. Here's hoping that "fever" means "treats rheumatic, typhoid and yellow fevers", otherwise I'm gonna have to break down and go to the doctor's.
Juvenile deliquents and Kip Winger
I just thought I’d do a quick post today, updating the status of the up and coming juvenile delinquents as well as give a little insight into why Chris and I were meant for each other.
Considering a run for the Blue Collar Comedy Tour: I was putting David’s headgear on last night (it’s new this week. My mom says it makes him look a little like Hannibal Lecter, but I think that’s just her grandmotherly love showing), and I grabbed 3 elastics for one side and was like, oh man, that would suck, huh? And David goes, shyeah, I’d yell my aaa… and he trailed off. I was like, were you going to say ass? He starts laughing hysterically and was like, hahahaha, yeah I was! No apology, no guilty look, nothing. If he wasn’t so funny I’d consider punishing him.
Doing time: So last night I asked Kat how it went in the Assistant Principal's office and she goes, ugh. Mom, this one kid had his head on the table, like drooling, and this other kid just kept starring at me with a huge booger hanging out of his nose, it really sucked. I was like, well baby, welcome to juvenile delinquency. I think that the booger kid may be causing her to rethink her life of crime…
A match made in heaven: We were going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s and there was a Chevy Beretta in front of us:
Me: isn’t Beretta a kind of gun?
Chris: Yeah, and a television show with a parrot and guy who killed his wife.
Me: Wasn’t that like Night Ranger?
Chris: Night Knight RIDER. Night Ranger was a band.
Me: I thought that was about Kip?
Chris: Kip?
Me: Yeah, Kip? The car?
Chris: It's KITT. You're thinking of Kip Winger, you tool.
Me: Oh. Well I like Kip better. We’re naming our car Kip.
Chris: No, we’re not. That’s gay.
Me: And a car named KITT isn’t?
Chris: Shut up.
Edit: Apparently it's Knight, not Night. Chris took great issue with this...yeah he's a dork.
Considering a run for the Blue Collar Comedy Tour: I was putting David’s headgear on last night (it’s new this week. My mom says it makes him look a little like Hannibal Lecter, but I think that’s just her grandmotherly love showing), and I grabbed 3 elastics for one side and was like, oh man, that would suck, huh? And David goes, shyeah, I’d yell my aaa… and he trailed off. I was like, were you going to say ass? He starts laughing hysterically and was like, hahahaha, yeah I was! No apology, no guilty look, nothing. If he wasn’t so funny I’d consider punishing him.
Doing time: So last night I asked Kat how it went in the Assistant Principal's office and she goes, ugh. Mom, this one kid had his head on the table, like drooling, and this other kid just kept starring at me with a huge booger hanging out of his nose, it really sucked. I was like, well baby, welcome to juvenile delinquency. I think that the booger kid may be causing her to rethink her life of crime…
A match made in heaven: We were going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s and there was a Chevy Beretta in front of us:
Me: isn’t Beretta a kind of gun?
Chris: Yeah, and a television show with a parrot and guy who killed his wife.
Me: Wasn’t that like Night Ranger?
Chris: Night Knight RIDER. Night Ranger was a band.
Me: I thought that was about Kip?
Chris: Kip?
Me: Yeah, Kip? The car?
Chris: It's KITT. You're thinking of Kip Winger, you tool.
Me: Oh. Well I like Kip better. We’re naming our car Kip.
Chris: No, we’re not. That’s gay.
Me: And a car named KITT isn’t?
Chris: Shut up.
Edit: Apparently it's Knight, not Night. Chris took great issue with this...yeah he's a dork.
My daughter the bully
Ok first, how freaking cool is this. Check the address, that's right, MERRITTocracyblog. Meaning, it's all about ME, ME, ME! Totally vain and self important, but honestly, it's never bothered me up to now, why let it start? This is actually a test run, so I can't get too excited. It's only like $5 a month, and I signed up for 3 months. This was a huge undertaking though, because as much as I like to think I'm tech savvy, I'm totally not. I switched to wordpress, which is cool, but I'm still on the learning curve. We'll see what happens with all this.
Ok so, Kat. Bully. Apparently, some little prick picked a fight with Kat on the playground. They were playing in the snow and she "asked" him to move (meaning she told him to get out of the way), he said no, she tried to walk over him and fell into him. So this kid starts pushing Kat, and she's like, oh HELL no. So she pushes him back, right before he punches her in the throat. She pushes him again, but this time a teacher is actually doing her job and paying attention, and starts yelling at them both. The little monster who started the whole thing flipped out and ran off the playground. Not ran inside, not ran away, like ran home. Loser. The teacher like dropped all of her stuff and ran after him screaming.
So a total of 5 kids (including David) saw the whole thing, and they all get pulled into the Assistant Principal's office, and they're all like, yeah, he started it, but Kat pushed him back. At this time, Kat and David are swearing up and down that Kat never touched him. The Assistant Principal is grilling her for like 20 minutes, and finally she goes, well, I MIGHT have pushed him. Apparently I need to teach her about the finer points of lying to teachers, because you never volunteer information! Sheesh. Anyway, the Assistant Principal tells me that Kat is going to be spending recess in her office for 2 days.
Chris and I said next time, make it count. If you're going to get in trouble for defending yourself against a little heathen, might as well make it count. Punch the shit out of him. I don't think that's the message the Assistant Principal wanted me to convey, but c'mon. Who wouldn't be proud of their daughter, the bully.
Ok so, Kat. Bully. Apparently, some little prick picked a fight with Kat on the playground. They were playing in the snow and she "asked" him to move (meaning she told him to get out of the way), he said no, she tried to walk over him and fell into him. So this kid starts pushing Kat, and she's like, oh HELL no. So she pushes him back, right before he punches her in the throat. She pushes him again, but this time a teacher is actually doing her job and paying attention, and starts yelling at them both. The little monster who started the whole thing flipped out and ran off the playground. Not ran inside, not ran away, like ran home. Loser. The teacher like dropped all of her stuff and ran after him screaming.
So a total of 5 kids (including David) saw the whole thing, and they all get pulled into the Assistant Principal's office, and they're all like, yeah, he started it, but Kat pushed him back. At this time, Kat and David are swearing up and down that Kat never touched him. The Assistant Principal is grilling her for like 20 minutes, and finally she goes, well, I MIGHT have pushed him. Apparently I need to teach her about the finer points of lying to teachers, because you never volunteer information! Sheesh. Anyway, the Assistant Principal tells me that Kat is going to be spending recess in her office for 2 days.
Chris and I said next time, make it count. If you're going to get in trouble for defending yourself against a little heathen, might as well make it count. Punch the shit out of him. I don't think that's the message the Assistant Principal wanted me to convey, but c'mon. Who wouldn't be proud of their daughter, the bully.
Writer's block and inappropriate text messages
I've been sitting here looking at a blank screen for no less than 10 minutes. Mind is a total blank. I texted Chris and told him I was drawing a blank on the blog. His response? Write about me! I'm full of material! See, that's just not helpful. Our conversations today were about things like, why being a drug addict isn't all bad as long as you don't die, how good drugs are as good if not better than sex, and fisting (don't ask, I'm not telling. But for the record I TOTALLY didn't know what that was.) All were hilarious conversations via text message, but grossly inappropriate for...well, for just about anyone. So I told him that he's no help. So he texts back, unless you want to write about the four horsemen of the apocalypse and the seven seals! My response: lol, no. His response: meh.
Anyway, since Chris was zero help, I looked for inspiration online. I found this blog, called The One-Minute Writer, it's pretty cool. Every day it gives you a topic to write about, encourages you to spend a minute everyday writing, etc. So I think I'm going to try it. It certainly can't hurt, and maybe if I get used to writing every day I won't get so stuck for ideas. And maybe by the time I'm 60 I'll have the guts to submit something for publication.
Anyway, since Chris was zero help, I looked for inspiration online. I found this blog, called The One-Minute Writer, it's pretty cool. Every day it gives you a topic to write about, encourages you to spend a minute everyday writing, etc. So I think I'm going to try it. It certainly can't hurt, and maybe if I get used to writing every day I won't get so stuck for ideas. And maybe by the time I'm 60 I'll have the guts to submit something for publication.
A trophy, a lei and a spirit shark
Got back from our first competition tonight. Win? Shyeah. Fucking FIRST place and a bid to Nationals. I'm a little deaf from all the screaming and cowbells (it's apparently our thing...loud obnoxious cowbells ringing to cheer the girls on, along with of course the deafening screaming and clapping by the entire gym parents). My ears are still ringing (no pun intended) and I have a pretty killer headache, so I'm off to bed early tonight.
They had this shark, which was like a "spirit shark"...which sounds way dumber now than it did at the time, but I digress...this shark was like dancing around the arena, and our team was like stalking it, dancing with it, etc. Then they had this girl going around throwing leis and t-shirts into the crowd. She threw a lei into the crowd of cheerleaders, and I look over and there's Kat and 3 other girls practically clawing each others eyes out to get this lei. And the winner is...
They had this shark, which was like a "spirit shark"...which sounds way dumber now than it did at the time, but I digress...this shark was like dancing around the arena, and our team was like stalking it, dancing with it, etc. Then they had this girl going around throwing leis and t-shirts into the crowd. She threw a lei into the crowd of cheerleaders, and I look over and there's Kat and 3 other girls practically clawing each others eyes out to get this lei. And the winner is...
I miss Barney...
I came home early today to get ready for this weekend (big competition and all), and I'm just just doing my own thing and the phone rings. Since I'm normally not here in the afternoon, I checked the caller id, expecting it to be a bill collector or something. No such luck, it's the kids' school. I'm like, crap. Normally when the kids' school calls during the day it's for one of three reasons. 1, they're sick and need to be picked up, 2, they've been hurt/maimed/broken some body part, or 3, they're in trouble. In my experience, it's almost always number 3. The kids both know that they need to be REALLY sick for me to come get them at school, and that kind of sick doesn't usually happen in the span between when the get on the bus and lunchtime. So I'm going, it's finally happened. One of them has fallen and broken something. Nope, wrong again.
Assistant Principal: Hi. Um...there was an...umm...incident at school today involving Katherine.
Me: (completely freaking out now) Ok...
Assistant Principal: Well, there was this boy...and you see...well...
Me: (TOTALLY flipping out now)
Assistant Principal: Well, he said he wanted to have sex with Katherine.
silence
Me: Uh, what?
Yeah, apparently some little 9 year old punk told my daughter that he wants to have sex with her. Ok, 1. Nice parenting by that kid's parents 2. What the fuck? I never professed to be some uber great parent, but I can sure as hell teach my kids what's appropriate and what's not. Kids, boys especially, push the boundaries and often push too far (Davey is a perfect example of this, he just acts like a 9 year old, not a 16 year old). It's not that I'm concerned Kat will be scarred forever, I'm just concerned about someone who obviously doesn't get that you don't just walk up to people and tell them you want to have sex with them. I mean not that they really get it, but still. A kid last year told Kat the same kind of thing, about how they should have sex (it's apparently shockingly common at this age). Chris was like, oh hell no. He told her to punch them in the face, kick them in the balls, essentially beat the hell out of them. I was like, OR...you could tell the teacher. Once on the playground when I was like 8 or 9, Mark, this boy that I went to daycare with, was like, kiss me! I was like, ehh... but before I knew it he was sticking his tongue in my mouth. I threw up on him and told the teacher.
She took my advice, not the throwing up part, the telling the teacher part. The Assistant Principal assured me that she took care of it. She said the boy's mother was horrified. Can you even imagine that? I mean, yeah, it's bad that some kid said it to my daughter, but can you imagine if it was your son that said it to someone else's daughter? Horrified wouldn't begin to describe my emotions. Me thinks it's time to revisit the "what's appropriate to say to people" conversation just in case. Man, I miss the days of Blue's Clues and Barney.
Assistant Principal: Hi. Um...there was an...umm...incident at school today involving Katherine.
Me: (completely freaking out now) Ok...
Assistant Principal: Well, there was this boy...and you see...well...
Me: (TOTALLY flipping out now)
Assistant Principal: Well, he said he wanted to have sex with Katherine.
silence
Me: Uh, what?
Yeah, apparently some little 9 year old punk told my daughter that he wants to have sex with her. Ok, 1. Nice parenting by that kid's parents 2. What the fuck? I never professed to be some uber great parent, but I can sure as hell teach my kids what's appropriate and what's not. Kids, boys especially, push the boundaries and often push too far (Davey is a perfect example of this, he just acts like a 9 year old, not a 16 year old). It's not that I'm concerned Kat will be scarred forever, I'm just concerned about someone who obviously doesn't get that you don't just walk up to people and tell them you want to have sex with them. I mean not that they really get it, but still. A kid last year told Kat the same kind of thing, about how they should have sex (it's apparently shockingly common at this age). Chris was like, oh hell no. He told her to punch them in the face, kick them in the balls, essentially beat the hell out of them. I was like, OR...you could tell the teacher. Once on the playground when I was like 8 or 9, Mark, this boy that I went to daycare with, was like, kiss me! I was like, ehh... but before I knew it he was sticking his tongue in my mouth. I threw up on him and told the teacher.
She took my advice, not the throwing up part, the telling the teacher part. The Assistant Principal assured me that she took care of it. She said the boy's mother was horrified. Can you even imagine that? I mean, yeah, it's bad that some kid said it to my daughter, but can you imagine if it was your son that said it to someone else's daughter? Horrified wouldn't begin to describe my emotions. Me thinks it's time to revisit the "what's appropriate to say to people" conversation just in case. Man, I miss the days of Blue's Clues and Barney.
Defending my personal space
So it's no secret that I have a personal space issue. It's like on Dirty Dancing, when Johnny says, this is my dance space (waves arms around the space between his arms), this is your dance space (waves arms around the space in Baby's arms). People have this annoying habit of trying to hug me, and I'm like, dude. Back the hell off. I get the they're (usually) family, that's how normal people show affection, blah, blah, blah. I'm not normal, so get the hell out of my dance space.
Anyway, I've found the perfect solution to my problem. I've watched this instructional video several times, and am prepared to use the techniques demonstrated should the situation arise. Just a fair warning.
Anyway, I've found the perfect solution to my problem. I've watched this instructional video several times, and am prepared to use the techniques demonstrated should the situation arise. Just a fair warning.
This is what you get when the DayQuil wears off.
Today is day 5 of this cold that is seriously starting to kick my ass. I broke down and took some DayQuil this morning, but I think it's wearing off. At first this was just a chest cold, but now my whole body aches, my sinuses hurt, blah, blah, blah. You'd think that this combined with the ridiculously cold weather would inspire me to quit smoking, but no such luck. Sunday night after our death-defying trip to cheering. Fucking blizzard out and Kat has a mandatory cheering practice...yes, I could've decided she should just miss it, but I value her dedication and want her to know I'm dedicated too...that and I TOTALLY underestimated the severity of the weather until it was too late. Anyway I could hardly move after being so tense for almost 3 hours on the drive home. The windshield wipers were half broken and completely iced up. The snow was piling up so fast, the plow trucks either couldn't keep up or just gave up trying. Either way, I was trying to peer out the windshield to guide Chris enough to keep on the road. I was like, right, a little more, that's good, stay straight...slight curve coming up... it was crazy. We figured between his 10% visibility and my 10% visibility we'd get home in one piece, which we did.
So the other night I'm coughing and coughing and Chris starts giggling. I'm like, what the hell is so funny? He's like, you sound like a goose honking when you cough. I was like, thanks, jackass. I'm fucking suffering from some kind of typhoid fever and you're making FUN of me?! I gave him a good night kiss and rolled over into my fever induced coma. The next morning he was all coughing and rubbing his chest. I was like, are you sick? He goes, yeah, my chest hurts, I think I'm coming down with something. I was like, heh. That's what you get for making fun of your sick wife. Karma baby. Although, since then, I've been feeling a lot worse. Perhaps karma is coming back for me for laughing at Chris being sick...sigh.
So the other night I'm coughing and coughing and Chris starts giggling. I'm like, what the hell is so funny? He's like, you sound like a goose honking when you cough. I was like, thanks, jackass. I'm fucking suffering from some kind of typhoid fever and you're making FUN of me?! I gave him a good night kiss and rolled over into my fever induced coma. The next morning he was all coughing and rubbing his chest. I was like, are you sick? He goes, yeah, my chest hurts, I think I'm coming down with something. I was like, heh. That's what you get for making fun of your sick wife. Karma baby. Although, since then, I've been feeling a lot worse. Perhaps karma is coming back for me for laughing at Chris being sick...sigh.
44
It's hard to put into words what I was feeling when I was watching Barack Obama being sworn in as the 44th president. A couple of years ago, Chris read his book, "The Audacity of Hope", and said, this is guy is amazing, he should be president. I didn't pay any attention to him, because this is of course the guy who declares, screw them. I'm suing them every time someone pisses him off. I saw Obama deliver his 2004 speech at the DNC, and was in awe. I started thinking maybe Chris was on to something. 2 years ago when this whole election really got going, Barack Obama was a loooooong shot. Hillary Clinton has been anointed the next president, and no one ever thought that Obama had a chance. Last year, when the voting started, there was something stirring, people who supported Obama heard it and had seen it. And then there was Iowa. Chris and I watched and cheered, completely blown away that he'd won, and that Hillary was a distant third. We started to think that this might actually happen.
Last February, he came to the Bangor Auditorium. Chris and I waited outside in bitterly cold weather for hours and hours, with thousands and thousands of people to hear him speak. The line to get in the building stretched a mile around the block. 5000 people were let in, we were fortunate enough to be 2 of them. At least another 5000 were turned away. The air in the auditorium was electric, and absolutely amazing. Obama spoke and Chris and I were in stunned silence. This guy MUST be elected. It would be the dawning of a new era, a better tomorrow for our children, a better America. The hope that filled us made us feel like singing. Our souls were stirred, our spirits soaring.
The election went on and on and on. We had to suffer through 23847239874 debates, the "will she or won't she" drama of Hillary Clinton, moose hunters and crusty old men. (My favorite quote of today, "A well-placed Republican operative emails: "As I watched Biden take the oath of office, I thanked God that it was not Sarah Palin up there.""--I couldn't agree more). And then finally, November 4th, Barack Obama won.
So here we are, Barack Obama has now been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. After a history tarnished with slavery, and firehouses being turned on black people in the streets, segregation and civil war, burning crosses and dreams of a promised land, we, the American people, with one act, with one hope, and with one purpose chose a different path. Today re-writes history for our children, and while it doesn't erase the pain of yesterday, it gives us great hope for tomorrow.
Last February, he came to the Bangor Auditorium. Chris and I waited outside in bitterly cold weather for hours and hours, with thousands and thousands of people to hear him speak. The line to get in the building stretched a mile around the block. 5000 people were let in, we were fortunate enough to be 2 of them. At least another 5000 were turned away. The air in the auditorium was electric, and absolutely amazing. Obama spoke and Chris and I were in stunned silence. This guy MUST be elected. It would be the dawning of a new era, a better tomorrow for our children, a better America. The hope that filled us made us feel like singing. Our souls were stirred, our spirits soaring.
The election went on and on and on. We had to suffer through 23847239874 debates, the "will she or won't she" drama of Hillary Clinton, moose hunters and crusty old men. (My favorite quote of today, "A well-placed Republican operative emails: "As I watched Biden take the oath of office, I thanked God that it was not Sarah Palin up there.""--I couldn't agree more). And then finally, November 4th, Barack Obama won.
So here we are, Barack Obama has now been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. After a history tarnished with slavery, and firehouses being turned on black people in the streets, segregation and civil war, burning crosses and dreams of a promised land, we, the American people, with one act, with one hope, and with one purpose chose a different path. Today re-writes history for our children, and while it doesn't erase the pain of yesterday, it gives us great hope for tomorrow.
