A Girl Can Dream….

Politics, Not As Usual

Tonight,  I lie on my big comfy bed, fresh from my bath, wearing my hat made from a bath towel that girls are born knowing how to make and wear on their heads. I am in a warm house that keeps me safe from the chill outside, and I am feasting on a private Barack Obama Celebration Snack/100 Days of School Feast made by Allie.  The chocolate chip brownies are perfect, the clementines are peeled and ready to eat and the requisite cup of water she brings me every night is already on my bedside table.

All is right with the world and in my opinion, the way I feel today about our new president and first family has a lot to do with that.

They say you should judge how well a president did in their term by how you are after that term is over. I am not better off than I was eight years ago. But I am optimistic.

Today, while my coworkers either chose to ignore the inauguration or watch it in a conference room, I sat at my desk and listened to the events on my headphones. I bowed my head during the praying parts, I listened to the music and tapped my feet during the singing parts and I thought carefully as I heard our new president speak.  He did not disappoint.

I am optimistic because President Obama and I share many of the same thoughts. We support the troops, but want the war to end. We love and protect our families but want to give them room to grow. We are both patriotic and we base this in our faith. We say what is on our minds.

I know many people who don’t like him not because of his politics, but because of the pigment of his skin. For me, I think it would be hard to grow up in the white world where Barbie is white, Santa is white and until now, our president was white.  The White House looks a little brighter to me today.

Today, tomorrow and for the next four years at least, people who never dreamed this day would come will see a world that looks a little more like them, whether they are African-American or a mother of a young family in Georgia. I can relate to the Obamas and I have all the faith in the world in our new president and the people he has chosen to be around him.

And may God always bless America.

Dr King

 

Mr Obama’s Letter To His Daughters

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you’ve both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn’t make up for all the time we’ve been apart. I know how much I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad          

12 Months of Shampootian – May/Mothers Day Is MyFavorite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REAL LIFE

Read this blog, if you do nothing else.
http://www.mattlogelin.com

Not Me Again, I Hope!

For less pathetic accounts, visit www.mycharmingkids.net

 Things I did NOT do while I was sick over the weekend:

I did NOT team an  orange Halloween T-shirt with, light blue patterned sleep pants, black socks and fuzzy pink flip flops (uncomfortable, yes!)

I did NOT take one sip of my FAVORITE egg drop soup on the planet, then put it back in the fridge in disgust. (Couldn’t taste it!)

I did NOT watch the entire first season of 30 Rock downloaded from Netflix. I did NOT laugh at every episode!

I did NOT steal my dog back from Mac in order to promote the ultimate napping experience.

I did NOT beg my neighbor to take Mac to the mall yesterday so I could keep him and Allie apart for a complete 24 hours of peace.

I did NOT watch Mama Mia! three times.

I did NOT mix three different kinds of pasta when I made Mac’s macaroni and cheese on Saturday just because I felt too crappy to go to the store to get a complete box of matching noodles.

I did NOT take the easy way out on Saturday morning volunteering to make sandwiches for the soup kitchen. I think bagging already bagged sandwiches was a great way to prevent germ spread.

I did NOT make four rapid fire phone calls last night to talk to anybody who would listen about my malaise. I had worn out my welcome at my house!

And I do NOT wish I was still at home convalescing. I was ready for the routine, a matching outfit and a sit up meal.

Dirty Words

 Allie asked me last night, “What is a stud?”

“Well, that is what Sammy will be when he mates with another poodle this spring,” I said.

“Then what will the girl dog be called?”

“A bitch, but that is what they have always been called, even before someone chose to start using that word as a dirty word. Kind of like how people think the word “ass” is a dirty word,” I said.

“Does this mean that I can say those words now and I don’t have to spell them?”

No wonder the lowest grade on her report card today was in VOCABULARY!

That Time I Was On The Boob Toob

Big Hair, I Had Some Big Hair

 

Many thanks to Catherine McManus Bedenbaugh for posting this funky good picture of me on her Facebook page. The lucky man in the middle is Joe Ortaldo, best friend to my brother Lee. The only person I knew who drank cheap beer and liked it that way!