Marjorie Writes…

I Voted Today – Did You?

I voted today.  Sigh. I voted because although I believe it is a privilege and a right that we are lucky to have, I also believe it is our civic duty to vote. So I did my civic duty and cast my ballot.

I remember clearly the first time I ever voted. I was living in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a senior in high school, and I was only 17. Virginia allowed those who would be of legal age during the general election to vote in the primary election, even if they weren’t yet 18.

Back then, I was very politically active. So politically active that I would drag my teenage butt out of bed way too early on Saturday mornings to attend the Democratic breakfasts every week. I would have breakfast, socialize and talk with other democrats, and have way too much coffee. Then I would often go home and want to take a nap. But I went every week, and I loved it.

Back then, I volunteered on political campaigns, too. And I LOVED it.

But I digress. My point was, back then I believed in our political system, believed that the people we were electing (or working to elect) made a difference, stood up for our best interests, etc. I believed that we could make a difference, that our votes counted, that our voices counted.

I believed in the America so many people around the world admired and respected. (And yes, I believed that they felt that way.)

That fall, of 1988, having mailed in my absentee ballot the month before, I sat eagerly glued to my tv, watching the returns of the elections. Those of you who are still political junkies (as I was back then) know it’s like watching the super bowl on television, it is that riveting.

One year, after voting in the primaries at the end of the day, and finding out I had been 1 of less than 100 people voting in my precinct, I went back to the newspaper office (in college – The Houston Cougar) and writing an editorial thanking those who had not voted for making my vote count, and telling them they had no right to complain now.

This year, after casting my ballot, I experienced none of that excitement or pride that I had always loved. I felt disgusted. And frustrated. And depressed. Yes, depressed, because that ballot symbolizes freedom to so much of the world, it symbolizes a political system that works. And I no longer believe that system does work.

I have little faith in either the incumbents or the candidates. Whereas once I believed those who served, served us, I now believe they serve their own interests and those of the lobbyists and big industries who supported their campaigns. Even when I was deeply involved in politics, after college when I was worked for a political consulting company and then working on campaigns as staff, I still believed that at least when people started out in politics or those in lower offices still had our best interests at heart. And I guess part of me still believes that to an extent, or at least desperately wants to believe, that is true. But for the most part, watching what is going on in our great nation makes me sad because I no longer see this country as the country I once kept my faith in and trusted.

The America I see on the news, the political system in Washington that has become more of a joke than a system that works, is barely visible to me anymore. And yet I see more small people making big differences, I see chains of small actions making big impacts on people, and that gives me faith. Maybe one day the people will get involved and the powers that be will be composed of the people who care and want to make a difference, and then this country and this world will be a better place.

I still have a lot of years ahead of me – I can’t give up faith yet.

Boys Will Be Boys and Dogs Will Be Dogs

You know how a lot of people bury their deceased pets in their backyards? Yea, well that will never happen in my backyard again.

Earlier this summer, Broney, my son’s hamster, died. He insisted on a burial rather than my preference of a disposal of the body. So I wrapped it in a store bag, put it in an empty cell phone box, and dug a hole. We said a few words and put the box in the hole, covered it with dirt, and put a big rock on top of it to mark its spot. Oh, and to keep our dogs, who like to dig, from digging it up. My son got a Sharpie marker and wrote Broney the hamster RIP on top of the rock.

So today my son had one of his friends over. They’re generally inside and out and I don’t worry about them much – they’re good kids. Anyhow, they came in, everyone ate dinner, and I went into my room to use my laptop. A little while later my daughter comes in holding her nose. She says there is a really bad smell in the living room. Now, I have sinus issues and can never smell anything, good or bad. So I go out there to find 3 kids holding their noses. I ask what happened, since a smell that bad in the living room wouldn’t just come from nowhere out of the blue when it was fine all day.

Since I’m at a loss to find the source of the smell, I have the 3 kids “following their noses” to find the source of the stench. Meanwhile, I’m moving things around, looking under and behind everything, half afraid of what I’ll find. The kids are going around with air freshener spraying everywhere. We couldn’t find anything. They went outside to play for a little while and get some fresh air.

When they came back in, they told me it’s the dogs that stink. They had gone into the backyard and were playing with them and determined they were the cause. Apparently the living room no longer had the offending odor, thanks to their liberal use of the air sprays.

So then it comes out that my son had dug up his hamster to show his friend. Apparently he wasn’t very efficient at re-burying it, just basically putting the plastic bag on the dirt and putting the rock on top. Which, of course, allowed the dogs to get the hamster. While we couldn’t find the hamster at that point, the dogs needed to be bathed. I tried the little one first. With the hose outside set on shower, and baby shampoo (not having any dog shampoo in the house). She got away 3 times.

Finally, I carried her into my bathroom, turned on the shower, put her in the shower stall and shut the door. A moment later I stepped in, still wearing a tank top and yoga pants. I kept her calm and thoroughly washed her. Twice. Then came the fun part rinsing her. Acrobatics (on her part) ensued.  Finally, I dried her off and let her out.

Since my kids had said it was just the little one that stunk, I changed into dry clothes. About half hour later, shortly before I was going to take his friend home, they said the momma dog stunk too. So that had to wait until we got home. At which point, I lathered, rinsed and repeated with momma dog.  Then we gave them both dentastix to freshen their breath.

And then I got back into the shower, wanting to make sure that I didn’t smell like decomposing hamster dirty dog. And then I got the kids to bed, and finally got to sit back down. Ahhh.

Tomorrow we have a busy day of putting the house back together since we did such a good job of tearing it apart looking for the offensive stench. I’m sure that will be another story.

Moral of this story: next pet we have that dies will not be buried in our backyard. However, I feel pretty confident that my son did learn his lesson about not digging up animal remains.

Live, laugh, love….it makes it all worthwhile.

Seriously?!

When I left the post office today, I thought I was going to be writing a very different blog post than what I’m going to be writing.

After procrastinating over half of the day, I finally went out to run errands this afternoon, my last day of “freedom” before my kids come home.  I didn’t feel like running mundane errands like going to the bank and the post office and the grocery store. I wanted to either chill and do nothing at home but read and/or watch tv and relax, or go to the beach (not such a great weather day for the beach) but I had to get certain things done before my kids get home tomorrow. So to the post office (etc) I went.

When I went into the post office, I waited in line to buy a stamped envelope (I know, lazy, but I didn’t have any envelopes at home and I use them so rarely I didn’t feel like buying a box). I got my letter ready and then mailed it. Somewhere in there, before I left, the few of us in there were all talking. A man in there asked me what business I used to have (he said I looked familiar) so I told him. He said that was why I looked familiar. So the clerk asked what I was doing now. I replied that I was doing freelance work while looking for a “real” job.  He asked what I did, and said I should work there. Further conversation ensued. He asked for my card, which I didn’t have on me (not having my purse with me), so I wrote down my name and numbers for him, and at his request, a list of my computer and other skills. Thankfully, I forgot to write down this blog address, which he had been interested in.

I left the post office feeling great. I thought, ah, there was a reason I was procrastinating. I was meant to be there then, to get into that group conversation and find the possibility of employment.  I went about the rest of my errands with a spring in my step, thinking about how often chance intercedes and changes the course of our lives. I was thinking about the uplifting blog post I’d be writing when I got home.

After running all of my other errands, I stopped in to see a good friend while she was working. After we caught up, I was about to tell her about what happened at the post office, when I got a text notification on my phone. So I opened it. I think my mouth fell open when I read it.

“Hi Marjorie this is MICHAEL from the post office. If you like give me a call, I enjoyed talking with you.”

OMG I said to my friend, and quickly told her the story, ending with the text message. I was pretty annoyed that he had texted me. This was over an hour after the post office had closed. It was not professional, obviously had nothing to do with a job. She told me that she had been in there last week and the guy basically hit on her too. He hadn’t overtly hit on me while I was in there, I hadn’t been flirting with him in any way. It was just friendly conversation, I thought.

I came home, still seriously annoyed and posted about it on Facebook. One friend suggested in a message that I go to another post office. I said no, I’m not driving off the island just to go to a post office because of some idiot. And I’m not letting him control my actions. He’s a blip on the overall landscape of my life, unimportant.

Needless to say, I didn’t respond to his text. THREE HOURS LATER, I got another text:

“Guess u didn’t want to talk”

Ya think? Seriously? Even if they had a job there that they would hire me for, I couldn’t take it at this point – I will not go into a work environment where sexual harassment is a very real possibility. As much as I need and want a “real” job, I couldn’t work with him, not in a tiny little post office with a handful of employees.

To think when I left the post office, I thought this would have a happy ending (to borrow a friend’s comment from Facebook on the situation).

Live, love, laugh…it makes it all worthwhile!

Feeling Validated as a Mom

My kids have been gone for over 3 weeks now – they’ll be home in less than 2 days. When I talked to them this weekend (I’ve been talking to them everyday) they both indicated they were ready to come home. That made me feel really good, as they have been having fun with their father, but they still miss me and want to be with me, despite being with me 11+ months a year.

I should really be asleep – it’s very late and I have a LOT to do before picking them up at the airport Saturday morning (their flight comes in about 30 minutes before noon, but I’ll have to leave my house probably by 8:30 so I can get to the airport and get through security and wait at the gate for them.

However, tonight is the last night I can stay up as late as I want and sleep late the next day.  Hopefully my kids will sleep late when they come home, as I know they have been staying up very late. But I can’t count on it. And I want to spend time with them once they’re home, thus I want to get as many chores out of the way as possible. So, of course, I’m up late tonight, watching tv and playing games on Facebook, etc. You know, the important stuff.

I’m looking forward to the return of my kids – please remind me of that next week when they’re driving me nuts. But when they told me they were ready to come home the other day, it made my heard swell so much I thought it would pop out of my chest. Seriously, that’s mommy validation – even though they’re getting older and much more independent, and even though they’re with their father whom they only see for a few weeks every summer, they’ve been ready to get home to mom. Yay for me! (channeling whatshername from The Suite Life of Zach and Cody)

I have a long list of things I have to get done tomorrow, so wish me luck in that. But I know I’ll go to sleep with a smile on my face tomorrow night, knowing I’ll have my babies safe at home with me again the next day!

Live, love, laugh….it makes it all worthwhile!