Last week, I spent many hours at the polls. Given the low turnout, those of us hanging out relieved our boredom by making friends (mostly) with our fellow campaign volunteers.
One volunteer, an admittedly conservative Republican, engaged me in discussion about immigration and the crisis of migrant children coming in droves during the recent months. He believes that the Obama administration has conspired to accomplish this. Really? The hard right believes this is the way for Democrats to pad their voter rolls by bringing in illegal aliens & not requiring ID to vote.
Sorry - this doesn't pass the smell test. But this is just like the anti-vaccination movement - just because it's not been proven doesn't mean that it couldn't be true.
Which leads me to the Inner Arbor conspiracy theories. Those who are against it & favor the boring blah Cy Paumier plan (which some are on record as not favoring it at the time) believe there MUST have been detailed discussions about it from October 2012 to January 2013. Rather than believing that staff was working with Michael McCall on the plan, they seem to believe that the CA board was acting illegally & unethically.
Because the CA Board can't prove a negative, they are able to create suspicion.
hocoblogs@@@
Luckily, some of us know the truth, which I will give due homage to A Few Good Men with this:
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Saturday, June 28, 2014
The Fullness of Life
Ugh - I can't believe it's been 19 days since I last sat down to gather my thoughts. I have had so much going on, good, bad, crazy & time-consuming. Julia at Village Green, Town Squared challenged to at least do weekly posts & that is my goal now that some excitement has died down.
But I can take a break & have some me-time. To Derby, Beckham & Disney, of course, that involves them. So right now, I have a 15 pound cat keeping me warm on a hot summer day that I periodically push off the couch, but then he returns. With the persistence of the feline species, I inevitably tire of the battle & sweat it out. (I will be going to the pool later, so I am trying to keep my mind's eye on refreshing cool water.)
With all that said, I have had such an awesome two weeks despite what some may perceive. Lil had TEN teeth removed last Friday - that was the ONLY day I could fit in between Early Voting & Primary Election Day. So I pulled her out of school on the last day. Note: she missed a couple of weeks of school in the final quarter for our trip to Europe. Still straight A's.
When she woke up from surgery, she was very scared as she'd never had her mouth numbed. Her panic was driving her blood pressure up to 145/110. I was scared too but I had to be careful to keep that in check. Finally, she calmed down enough for us to return home. I had to beg her to eat a Go-gurt because she doesn't like milkshakes or ice cream and she couldn't take meds on an empty stomach. About two hours after waking up, she was holding ice packs to her jaw, reading a book and she gave me the thumbs-up. With that, I knew we were past the crisis.
In the artistry of poor planning, she had gymnastics camp starting Monday. I waited for the phone call Monday for "Mrs. C, your daughter needs to be picked up." Nope. At 4 PM, she wanted to have some Motrin but was otherwise perky. I'm so proud of her strength - although she is sad about no popcorn for 2 months. :(
How have I spent the last two weeks otherwise? Meeting, calling and emailing supporters of Tom Coale's campaign for the House of Delegates. I have been standing at polling sites smiling, waving and calling out "Please consider Tom Coale for Delegate." If you had told me last year I would hop out of bed at 6 AM to go stand outside for 13 hours, I would have told you that you were crazy. Although I do feel guilty - I stopped at Checkers for a chicken sandwich as I was checking on volunteers. (Don't tell Tom or TJ, ok?)
I have made new friends, learned more about other candidates and gained lots of experience. Experience that I will need - because Tom won. We won. Ellicott City won. But we have to win in November.
So there's no resting - we have to regroup & focus on a long summer of campaigning. But I wanted to say THANK YOU to my mom and papa and my friends who volunteered on the campaign trail and took care of Lil (Tom's wife drove her to ballet).
And most importantly, the biggest thank you goes to Luke & Lil. Without their support & their efforts at home & campaigning, I could not have given Tom my time & effort. Also without Luke, I could not have gotten to Iron Bridge to check results & celebrate because I ran my car battery down. Our family has had such a great time doing this and we look forward to having that checkmark next to Tom's name on the TV screen in November. (Because that is SUPER exciting!)
But I can take a break & have some me-time. To Derby, Beckham & Disney, of course, that involves them. So right now, I have a 15 pound cat keeping me warm on a hot summer day that I periodically push off the couch, but then he returns. With the persistence of the feline species, I inevitably tire of the battle & sweat it out. (I will be going to the pool later, so I am trying to keep my mind's eye on refreshing cool water.)
With all that said, I have had such an awesome two weeks despite what some may perceive. Lil had TEN teeth removed last Friday - that was the ONLY day I could fit in between Early Voting & Primary Election Day. So I pulled her out of school on the last day. Note: she missed a couple of weeks of school in the final quarter for our trip to Europe. Still straight A's.
When she woke up from surgery, she was very scared as she'd never had her mouth numbed. Her panic was driving her blood pressure up to 145/110. I was scared too but I had to be careful to keep that in check. Finally, she calmed down enough for us to return home. I had to beg her to eat a Go-gurt because she doesn't like milkshakes or ice cream and she couldn't take meds on an empty stomach. About two hours after waking up, she was holding ice packs to her jaw, reading a book and she gave me the thumbs-up. With that, I knew we were past the crisis.
In the artistry of poor planning, she had gymnastics camp starting Monday. I waited for the phone call Monday for "Mrs. C, your daughter needs to be picked up." Nope. At 4 PM, she wanted to have some Motrin but was otherwise perky. I'm so proud of her strength - although she is sad about no popcorn for 2 months. :(
How have I spent the last two weeks otherwise? Meeting, calling and emailing supporters of Tom Coale's campaign for the House of Delegates. I have been standing at polling sites smiling, waving and calling out "Please consider Tom Coale for Delegate." If you had told me last year I would hop out of bed at 6 AM to go stand outside for 13 hours, I would have told you that you were crazy. Although I do feel guilty - I stopped at Checkers for a chicken sandwich as I was checking on volunteers. (Don't tell Tom or TJ, ok?)
I have made new friends, learned more about other candidates and gained lots of experience. Experience that I will need - because Tom won. We won. Ellicott City won. But we have to win in November.
So there's no resting - we have to regroup & focus on a long summer of campaigning. But I wanted to say THANK YOU to my mom and papa and my friends who volunteered on the campaign trail and took care of Lil (Tom's wife drove her to ballet).
And most importantly, the biggest thank you goes to Luke & Lil. Without their support & their efforts at home & campaigning, I could not have given Tom my time & effort. Also without Luke, I could not have gotten to Iron Bridge to check results & celebrate because I ran my car battery down. Our family has had such a great time doing this and we look forward to having that checkmark next to Tom's name on the TV screen in November. (Because that is SUPER exciting!)
Monday, June 9, 2014
Jumping Junebugs
The first or two weeks of June are my least favorite. Every year, there are too many things going on. Ballet recitals, school concerts, spring fairs & other wrap-up events are crammed into a space too small to fit. This year has thrown me another curveball, learning how to be, I mean being, Field Director for Tom Coale.
But I'm managing through it pretty well. I hit my head pretty severely Thursday morning, while I was testing the structural integrity of the soap holder in the bathtub. Good news - it's on there REALLY securely. Bad news - I have 6 stitches on the back of my head and a couple goose eggs around & thought I bruised my ribs.
When I was in college, I would make lists to keep organized & just think to myself in the shower, in two hours, that exam will be over. Knowing that time would pass helped me calm down & ease my anxiety over said upcoming trial. I did that a little this weekend. I could not wait until Saturday was over. With my head wound, I didn't do that much...Luke took Lil to the spring fair at school & helped out, he worked on installing a yard sign for the campaign (the best one yet methinks) & he cleaned up the kitchen. Although that's not completely true, I did do voter analysis & remembered how to use Excel. But I needed 9 PM to roll around.
We ate crappy Tex-Mex at my favorite crappy Tex-Mex place - On the Border - and worked on Washington Post Sunday crossword puzzles that have been piling up in my car. And I felt a lot of stress roll off my back. Sunday was a lazy day too, although I should remember I am accomplishing a lot even though I'm not at my full 100%. Some of what I'm accomplishing involves telling Luke what to do though...
Update on my fall: The pain in my side has decreased, so I went to the gym today despite Lil telling me last night, "I wouldn't advise going to the gym, Mama." Right now, I'm a little woozy. I didn't eat much until 3:15, so I'm chalking it up to that a wee bit. While I was eating my leftover chili, however, I seemed to have a heat flash. An icepack from D'Artagnan Gourmet Meats is currently resting on my neck. No idea where it came from, but it is proving useful.
And today, a day where I've struggled to remember it's Monday, I found something amazing... He's not a replacement, but might fit the requirements for addressing our felines to people ratio.
But I'm managing through it pretty well. I hit my head pretty severely Thursday morning, while I was testing the structural integrity of the soap holder in the bathtub. Good news - it's on there REALLY securely. Bad news - I have 6 stitches on the back of my head and a couple goose eggs around & thought I bruised my ribs.
When I was in college, I would make lists to keep organized & just think to myself in the shower, in two hours, that exam will be over. Knowing that time would pass helped me calm down & ease my anxiety over said upcoming trial. I did that a little this weekend. I could not wait until Saturday was over. With my head wound, I didn't do that much...Luke took Lil to the spring fair at school & helped out, he worked on installing a yard sign for the campaign (the best one yet methinks) & he cleaned up the kitchen. Although that's not completely true, I did do voter analysis & remembered how to use Excel. But I needed 9 PM to roll around.
We ate crappy Tex-Mex at my favorite crappy Tex-Mex place - On the Border - and worked on Washington Post Sunday crossword puzzles that have been piling up in my car. And I felt a lot of stress roll off my back. Sunday was a lazy day too, although I should remember I am accomplishing a lot even though I'm not at my full 100%. Some of what I'm accomplishing involves telling Luke what to do though...
Update on my fall: The pain in my side has decreased, so I went to the gym today despite Lil telling me last night, "I wouldn't advise going to the gym, Mama." Right now, I'm a little woozy. I didn't eat much until 3:15, so I'm chalking it up to that a wee bit. While I was eating my leftover chili, however, I seemed to have a heat flash. An icepack from D'Artagnan Gourmet Meats is currently resting on my neck. No idea where it came from, but it is proving useful.
And today, a day where I've struggled to remember it's Monday, I found something amazing... He's not a replacement, but might fit the requirements for addressing our felines to people ratio.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)