Quick roundup

I am sorry for my absence of late; this is a guilt-motivated post to catch you all up just so that I can drop out of sight again for a while. My kids will be home from school in approximately 10 minutes (can I just say I hate early-dismissal days?) so here goes:

Election Night

Wow. Oh my goodness. Incredible. I was at home for a bit when they called Pennsylvania for Obama. I knew that was a very good sign and we all left for the big DFL party in high spirits. Rob and Spence hung out for a bit and went home, leaving Garrett, Evan and I to party on. Just after 10 pm, I was watching local returns and they cut in with a black and white slide with a photo of Sen. Obama and the words, "44th President" and I promptly burst into tears. There was a ton of shouting, cheering, hugging, high-fiving, and general celebration. I have been interested in politics since I was a child, and I was an enthusiastic Bill Clinton supporter in 1992, but I can honestly say that I have NEVER felt that way before. The overwhelming pride in the small part I played in the victory, the sense of hope in my nation's new leader, the sincere wish that this man I believe in will make good on his promise to work with Republicans, to serve even those who did not vote for him, to inspire all of us to work for the good of this country ... well, it was astonishing.

We took a cab home (the highlight of the night for Garrett and Evan) and I watched Obama's speech in my bedroom with my family, and I cried again at the sheer awesomeness of the moment and at the joy of having had a part in it.
It was a very good day.

Wednesday of that week was spent absorbing the enormity of the victory and wondering about the Minnesota Senate race, as well as preparing my house for my folks to come for a visit.

Highlight of the news that day for me? Well, it turns out that Olmsted County, my county, which has not voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, well, we voted for Barack Obama. This county has been viewed as a Republican stronghold for 40 years, and in 2008 we re-elected 3 Democrats to the state legislature, a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives, and a Democrat to the highest office in the land. In 2000 I worked on a little campaign. We lost to an 18 year Republican incumbent, but we only lost by 4%. I like to think that the hard work on that campaign and the continuing work of the people I met that year (most of whom were still volunteering with me this year) started the ball rolling in this county. And this year, we could REALLY see the difference we've made.

My parents arrived Thursday and we spent time relaxing, cooking, Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, and on Tuesday (Veterans' Day) my dad and I spoke in 3 classrooms at the boys' school. Good times. They left Wednesday morning and I took a bubble bath, put on my feety pajamas, and went to bed as soon as the boys left for school. I slept and watched TV all day and felt refreshed Thursday morning.

Thursday was back to the school volunteer gig and a surprise invitation to lunch with a group of women at India Garden. It was nice but I'm not convinced they'll invite me again. A couple of those girls are pretty conservative Republican types and a friend of mine got me started on political analysis. Oops. LOL

Rob is in school today and tomorrow. I spent this morning putting together a book at Snapfish.com (got a free one because I watched Oprah on Wednesday) and so I have another Christmas gift out of the way (and I only had to pay shipping!). The boys and I will hang out and I will try to get more household chores done, since once again they are suffering, and we'll try to relax and spend some family time on Sunday before I start the next big adventure:

Volunteering for Al Franken in the recount

Yep, you got it. LOL I can't stay away. They asked me to help out, so I will go to training on Sunday evening and spend Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as an observer (or something) while they do the hand recount. So my volunteering continues.

I need to bake a couple of pans of bars for the fundraising auction at church this weekend and I have several projects in varying stages around my craft room so will try to tackle those as well.

Sorry this is so scattered but my back is killing me (no idea why) and the kids are home from school so I need to run.

Thank you for all of your calls, notes and emails of thanks and encouragement the last few months. I do appreciate you all.

It isn't over, though -- the hard work is just beginning. I will keep you up to date on what you can do as we move toward the day that Barack Obama is inaugurated 44th President of the United States. That day will be the first day we roll up our sleeves to do the hard work that needs to be done. We all need to be a part of it.

Yes we can.