I’ve moved my blog over to blogger to try it out. I guess if it doesn’t work out I’ll be back. So please follow me there, at least for the time being….
UGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WordPress is being completely stupid!!!! I’ve been trying to make Christmas recap post all day and it keeps on jumbling things up. Doesn’t help matters that I’m trying to quit smoking! I will try again tomorrow. I’m goin to play Wii and relieve some stress.
I’m still here
Just wanted to write a lil post and let everyone know I’m still alive. We are on a holiday vacation in Houston with my family. We’re having a great time just being with everyone. We’ve done lots of shopping and playing on the new Wii. Even had a couple of late nights of Rock Band at my Aunt and Uncle’s place. Tomorrow we’re going to some fancy restaraunt and bar for New Years. I promise to write a loooooonnnggg. recap as soon as we get back and get rested up.
A difference of opinion
About a month agoK wrote a post about how she can’t stand Pink. I commented that she is way overrated and all her songs sound the same. Well, I am here today to withdraw my comment. OMG!! I <3 her new album. K said, ” I don’t know the real Pink”. Neither do I, nor do I know much about her public persona. I’ve listened to her music but never been a lover or a hater. But I am officially a fan. I think, perhaps, the reason I like this album is because many of the songs resonate with me. And I’m the type of the person who you can tell exactly how I’m feeling or what I thinking by the songs on my myspace profile or mp3 player. That’s just me. And lately my mood seems to change drastically from day to day. So by tomorrow I may be totally over this new obsession. But for the moment she is my favorite artist (not EVER but just for right now).
I like just about every song that I’ve heard on the album. But here at my fav’s: Check them out.
Please Don’t Leave Me: I really like the lyrics of this one. Reminds me so much of myself.
Mean: I LOVE the bluesy feel to this tune. Also love the lyrics.
Sober: Love the line “ The quiet scares me cause it screams the truth”
Crystal Ball: This one is just pretty to me. Beautifully written.
Glitter in the Air: Again, just a very pretty song.
I Don’t Believe You: This actually reminds me of my husband. I often times shut him out and say things I don’t really mean. This song makes me think of what he might be feeling. (Does that make sense?) Luckily he must somewhat feel that way cause he never turns his back on me.
In case you didn’t notice I like songs like these mostly for their lyrics. Guess that’s why I’m drawn to different songs depending on whats going on in my life. Also guess that’s why I love so many different types of music. That and the fact that I was brought up in a house full of many different genres. My parents listened to a lil of everything, particularly my Dad. I have a huge love for music, but don’t play a single instrument (well, not since piano in like the 4th grade). But on the roughest of days a good song on the radio can put a smile on my face.
So anyways, I love the new Pink album and you should totally check it out. Even if you never liked her before. This album to me is very different than any of her hits that I’ve heard on the radio. I will say So What reminds me of her older stuff. But the rest of the album is fantastic….no matter what K says. 
a lil help please
So I totally hate the way this blog looks. It was fine when I first started cause I was only gonna use it for a lil while. But I still haven’t figured out how to change it to something I like. I don’t like any of the pre-made layouts on wordpress. Any help or suggestions?
My kind of Christmas
Maybe it was my Xmas program at work tonight or reading Jordan’s latest post, but I’m suddenly feeling a little more Christmasy…
I feel like with my kind of Christmas changing so much in the past couple of years, it’s important for me to remember the Christmas’s of my childhood. First of all at my kind of Christmas, gifts from family are opened Christmas Eve evening, after dark. I remember setting the microwave timer for so many minutes (when Mom and Dad thought it would be dark) and ripping into the presents as soon as it beeped. I would literally be sitting there, 1st present in hand waiting on the sound. Presents from Santa and stockings would be under the tree on Christmas morning. All toys would be pre-assembled and ready for play! (That’s how I figured out there wasn’t a Santa, but we’ll discuss that later.) The stockings began being stuffed Christmas Eve after presents once I caught on to the fake Santa thing. At my kind of Christmas you have Ham, Macaroni Salad, Cheeseball and finger foods on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day you have Turkey and all the fixins.
I remember one Christmas, I think I was in Kindergarten or 1st grade, I got a play kitchen and all the extras. My Dad was really sick that year so we weren’t able to go to my grandparents in Illinois and they weren’t able to make the trip down. We filmed the whole Xmas so we could send it to Granny and Paps. My Dad set up the camera in my bedroom and I cooked dinner for them. It’s the cutest thing EVER! I’ll have to see if my Granny still has it so i can post it here. I talked to the camera the whole time. I asked them if they needed Salt or Pepper. It was great!
That video also captured one of the many Christmas traditions, Sara’s Modeling Show. Every year from about the age of 3 until probably 14 0r 15, I would be asked to model all the clothes I got for Christmas. The older I got, the more embarrassing.
Now, about the figuring out the Santa facade. It was 1993 (I think?). There was a TON of family at our house, so I had to sleep on a roll out bed just next to the living room in a hallway. I had a hard time falling asleep because my Uncle Mike was on the couch sawing logs. Honestly, I had on headphones and my pillow over my head and I could still hear him. I just knew that Santa wasn’t gonna come because I wasn’t asleep. While laying there restless, I heard some noise coming from another bedroom. Couldn’t be Santa. He would be coming down the chimney. So I took off the headphones and pillow and listened as hard as I could. Then I heard it. My Dad was fussing trying to put together my Barbie House. I knew from that day on there was no Santa. I didn’t tell my parents until years later.
I’m back!!!!
Okay, so I knows it been awhile and I don’t have anything of real importance to talk about. But I figure I can’t keep my fans waiting any longer. *rolls eyes*
So we’ve got all our Christmas decorating done. Here’s a peek at what we’ve done:
I’m not all that excited for Christmas this year. But I am super excited for the week following. Chuck, Allen and I are heading to Texas to see all my family. It’s been 6 months since I’ve seen them. I am literally counting down the days (21 to go!!). I’ve never been away from my Mom for so long. I think that’s part of the reason for my lack of Christmas cheer. Mom has informed me that she has big plans for us on New Years. Though I’m not quite sure what they are, she’s taking me to buy an evening gown when we get there and Chuck has been instructed to bring his best suit. I’ve been shopping around online but haven’t found anything yet. I’ll keep you guys updated on the search.
Last night we had our Christmas dinner for work. We went to Johnny Carino’s. I had never been there and I have to say I was very much impressed with their Italian Margarita. YUMMM!!!! The New York Stip and calamari wasn’t too bad either. But myself and the rest of the gang were very upset to learn that the waiter who we had ran ragged all night was not even allowed to keep the large tip that we gave him because he was in training. Had we known that, we would have not tipped so well. The other guys were not nearly as tenative. He even took these fantastic photos!
Some of the best teachers you will ever meet!
And yes, we got a lil crazy. But that's what makes us good at what we do!
To whom it may concern
I’m sorry for being a slacker. I really love blogging…just had alot of stuff on my mind lately. And not things I can talk about here. You would think this would be the one place I could express all my thoughts. I guess I have just gotten side tracked by other things in my life. Anyways, sorry for not posting much lately. I promise to be back soon. I’m going to see Twilight tomorrow so maybe that will inspire me.
Jumping on the Bandwagaon
In the past 24 hours I have officially become a twilighter. It easy to see why this book is the #1 New York Times Bestseller and even more obvious to see why it is in the top ten for “Most Reluctant Readers”. I am definitely a “reluctant reader”. Only 1 other author (Nicholas Sparks) has captured me quite like Stephenie Meyer. I’ve never been much of a reader, but when I find something I like. I can’t put it down. I bought the book last night, began reading it about 10:30 and was up until 3 this morning. I would not have stopped then but the pages were becoming a blur as my body was telling me it’s time for bed. Had I not been going to the hospital at 7 this morning to be with a friend giving birth, I would have been right back at it this morning. So after coming home from the hospital, having a bite to eat and taking a well needed nap that I simply could not resist, I dived back into Forks, Washington and lusted over Edward. Now some may argue that I am an immature reader. And maybe I did just jump on the bandwagon, but after seeing previews for the movie, and knowing for certain that I wanted to see it, I had to read the book first. From what I’ve read online, Meyer made sure the movie stuck to the book. So I hope to not be disappointed. And who could resist Robert Pattinson? He can suck my blood any day!! 
I’m gonna choose not to discuss any of the specifics of the book, in hopes that others might read it and that I do not spoil it for them. It truly is a page turner, proven by my numb ass and painful back from not moving off the couch because I was too enthralled to put it down even for a second to move around the house. Feel free to discuss in the comments. I will be off tomorrow to but the next book in the series, New Moon.
Bare with me
Well I’ve wanted to start a blog for awhile know. My biggest problem was coming up with the name. Now I guess that problem will be what to write. Before I started this I had so much I wanted to say. And now I’m kind of at a blank. Let me say first though, this is probably how this blog will always be. Just random thoughts of mine, or recaps of my day. I don’t know why I think anyone would even care to read about my life or thoughts. But sometimes it just makes me feel better to say things out loud. Well in this case write them out loud…to whomever decides to read this. That was my biggest reason for creating a blog. Just to write.
So anyways, today was just another day with the boys. We all slept in today. Then after some coffee and checking my email and such we decided to go out for lunch. We hadn’t had KFC in a long time so thats where we went. I was stoked! I love love love their mashed potatoes and gravy, cole slaw, mac n cheese and of course their crispy chicken. Well i almost had a heart attack when the guy rang us up for 2 adult and 1 child buffet and said “$21.49″. I never remember it being so expensive. Oh well, all you can eat and it all looked fresh and hot. Guess I should have looked a little closer. First bad sign, no mac n cheese! Are you serious??? Whatever! I’ll just load up on mashed potatoes and gravy. Then I get ready to get some chicken and there is no legs. I only eat legs. To answer my husband’s question, “Can’t you eat something else?” NO! I can’t eat something else. I ONLY EAT LEGS! I don’t like wings, thighs, or breast. So I very politely ask the man behind the register for some legs. He first says, “We only have crispy”. Great! I’m in luck! Then he says “uhh…he’s just putting them in”. Okay fine I’ll just come back in a few minutes. I go to the table eat my coleslaw, noodles, and mashed potatoes and gravy, in that order ( note: I eat one thing at a time, nomally in order of least favorite to most favorite). So I go up to the guy and he’s waiting on a customer. I wait and when he’s done he goes back to the fryer. He comes up and tells me it will be 14 more minutes. This is when I explode! 14 minutes!!!! Are you freaking kidding me??? I go back to the table, tell Chuck and Allen I’m f***ing done. I’m going to the car to smoke and will be waiting on them there. I was so pissed. How can you charge someone so much and then not even have ready what they want. If i had went through the drive-thru, are you saying I would have had to waited almost 20 minutes for some freaking chicken legs? The boys finished up and we left. On the way home I called the opinion survey on the back of the receipt. Seriously folks, I was MAD!! I have never and will never eat anything but legs. I just don’t like anything else. Maybe I’m picky. But I went to a fast food restaraunt known for it’s chicken and they don’t even have legs! I will not be back to that KFC (located in North Park on New Circle Rd).
The day ended with a good note though. We went to one of my new fav places, POPS Resale Shop. I got another addition to my halloween costume for only $5.99!!! I’ll post pics in another post. I love it. This is the first time Chuck and I will be dressing up for halloween together. We don’t have any big plans yet. We’ll prolly just go out to a bar or something. But I’m still super excited!
I won something!
Never in my life have I won anything. And today I get a call from Shane at Urban Active Fitness letting me know that I won a VIP Package valued at over $200. My first thought was what’s the catch. But when I talked to him he assured me there is not. I get two weeks VIP membership for free including 2 sessions with a personal trainer (to tell me how lazy and out of shape I am). Sounds good to me. I know that once the 2 weeks are up they will try and convince me to join. And maybe I will. I’ve been wanting to work out, but just can’t seem to have the motivation. If I join a gym at least I’ll have someone to hold me accountable for my progress. So I go tomorrow at 7 to meet with Shane and take a tour of the gym. I’ll let you guys know how things go. And if I decide to stick to it, I’ll keep you guys posted with my progress.
Hairy and Jealous
I’m a loser and a lazy bones. I cancelled my appointment with Shane today. I was not feeling all that great……and I had really hairy legs. I hadn’t shaved in about a week. And I didn’t want to go to the gym and not only be out of shape but have hairy legs. I knew I wouldn’t have time to shave before I went, so I called and re-scheduled for tomorrow. And I just got out of the shower from shaving my legs. So I will go tommorow!!!
In other news, we got all the items we need for Chuck’s Halloween costume yesterday. ( I <3 Goodwill) And I have to admit, I’m quite jealous. His looks so much better than mine. He really looks the part. So I think I’m gonna find something else for myself. I’m found some things I like at www.electriqueboutique.com (thanks K!). But I’m not telling anyone else what we are gonna be. I wanna see if people can guess on Halloween.
Did I shave my legs for this?
Well I went to the gym and met with Shane today. As no surprise, after a tour of the gym, I was asked to sit down so we could “work something out”. And so came the sales pitch. Which was really good by the way. Poor guy, I give him an A for effort, even though he implied I need a tan by offering me free tanning sessions. I politley replied “I need to talk it over with my husband.” Ha Ha Ha!!! (I love being able to say that! ) And I did talk it over with my husband. I called him on the way home and said ” He tried to sell me a membership but I’m not buying” So now my dilema is whether to use my free two weeks and be haggled every day about gettin a membership or should I just forget it. If I really want to get in shape I can work out at home. Probably the latter…
Beans and Cornbread
As I sit her bloated from a good ol’ country meal, it occurs to me that some folks may know nothing about the tasty deliciousness of soup beans and cornbread. I’m not sure of it, but I’m pretty sure that’s a southern/country thang. So for those of you who don’t know anything about it, here’s a recipe for a good ol’ country meal: (Sorry no pics, it’s all gone!)
Soup Beans:
Ingredients:
Bag of Pinto Beans
1 Ham Hock/Bone
Check bag of beans for rocks or bad beans. Rinse beans with water. Soak beans in water over night. In the morning drain the beans. Put beans and ham hock in crock pot and fill with water. Let cook on high for about 8 hrs.
Cornbread:
Ingredients:
2 cups corn meal
1 1/3 cups milk or buttermilk
1/4 cup of oil
1 egg beaten
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour all ingredients into a bowl and mix well (will be lumpy). For best results bake batter in a iron skillet for 25-30 minutes. You may use any other bakeware.
These two pair great with Kraut and weiners and fried potatoes.
So there you go, a good ol’ country meal. Not so great for your health, but sure taste good! Also, I had the best ice cream EVER this weekend. You gotta try Blue Bell Banana Pudding. Mmm Mmm Mmm
I’m lovin it…
Things I’m lovin right now:
* My new boots! Chuck says they look like house shoes, (and they kind of do), but I still <3 them! And they were only $19.99!
* My new Blackberry Pearl. Seriously ya’ll don’t understand. I had been carrying around a Motorola L2 with a broken glass screen that I had to cover with tape to keep from cutting my ear. So the Pearl is definitely an upgrade. Thanks Mom!
* I’m officially addicted to Blue Bell Ice Cream. My new fav flavor, Banana Pudding!!! Taste just like the real thing with Vanilla Wafers. Yummmmmm
*My hubby’s awesome pumpkin he carved last night! Wouldn’t be our kind of pumpkin if it wasn’t skulls and cross bones. We like to think we are so rock and roll!
* I’m also lovin a lot of new music. I love to day dream of being a big music exec. One can always dream…
My fav right now has to be T.I.’s “Whatever You Like”. If it comes on the radio it’s up almost as loud as it will go while I sing and bob my head.
* Lovin this chilly weather. This weeks grocery list included lots of items for soups and warm cassseroles. Next week will be my magnificent chili.
* And last but not least my crazy hubby!!!
Comp on the fritz!!
Just wanted to post and say I haven’t given up on blogging. My comp is on the fritz so its hard for me to blog right now. I don’t know how long it’s gonna be until it’s fixed. I hope not too long but I will try and continue to blog from my husband’s comp as often as possible.
Best Halloween EVA!!! (long post)
Okay, well maybe not EVA. I’m sure I had lots of fun when I was kid. But this year was definately the best Halloween of my adult life. It started on Thursday. We had a Fall Festival at work and I got to dres up and let the kids play games. I was a witch…
I had planned on being a hippie. But one of my kids is obssesed with witches so my co-teacher and I dressed up just for him. He loved it! All the kids were a lil freaked out at first. The gave me some really weird looks until I started talking and they realized it was just Mrs. Sara. And while at the festival I got a visit from my husband Mr. Red Neck…
I would love to show you pics of all the cute lil kiddos. But unfortunately I don’t have their parents permission, and I wouldn’t wanna get fired or sued for posting their pics on the net. 
(L to R: Front: Liona, Aiden, Mikayla, Allen. Back: Aunt Shannon, Johanna (Allen's Mom), Steve (Allen's soon to be Step-Dad), Myself, and Chuck)
Friday night we had lots to do. We took my step son trick or treating with his Mom, Step-Dad, Aunt and cousins. All the adults dressed up with the kids. Allen got a kick out his Dad and I. He told us we looked silly. At the first house we stopped at to trick or treat, the lady just had to have a pic of all of us. Allen was Bumblebee from Transformers.
After trick or treating, Chuck and I made our way downtown to see a reenactment of the famous Thriller scene. There were hundreds of people there. We got there right when it started and couldn’t hardly get a good spot to see. But here is a glimpse of it (there were hundred of zombies on the street):
After downtown we grabbed a quick bite to eat before going to the bar.
Sonny at the drive-thru
We spent the rest of the night at The Moon Night Club. We got so many compliments on our costumes. People were stopping us to take pics. I have to admit, I loved it! I think Chuck enjoyed it too. Although, I’m sad we missed the costume contest. I think we were outside smoking when they did it. In my opinion we definately had the best one there. At least the most original anyways. So I’ll leave you with some pics from the rest of the night.
Cher face again
P.S. Comp is still screwed. Hoping to get it fixed this week.
Just do it!!!
I don’t care who you vote for or why you even vote for them. Just vote!! If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain later on down the road!
I like what Undomestic Diva had to say on this one.
when you’re gone all the colors fade…
Tomorrow evening I’m headed to see one of my fav singers, Amos Lee. I was introduced to his music by my Dad a few years ago. I immediately fell in love with his smooth voice and folk/blues sound. My Dad, who was some what depressed from being away from his children, related many of his songs to his own life. Two songs in particular reminded him of my brother and I, Arms of a Woman and Colors.
Now that my Dad is gone, I find peace and comfort in his music. Listening to him reminds me of many a late night sitting on the back porch with my Dad drinking, catching up on life, and just enjoying each others company.
So tomorrow as I stand and sway to the music, I know my Dad will be right there with me. And my world and life will be full of color.
Heros
When I woke up this morning I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. I also felt a strong sense of my Dad all aorund me. I checked my email this morning and found these to emails from 2 men I admire most, my brother Matt, and Uncle Gary. (hope they don’t mind me sharing) Looks like I wasn’t the only one who thought of Dad during this changing time.
From Matt:
Last night as I sat on my couch deep in the heart of republican texas, I started to smile and remember back to 1983 when dad was in charge of the voting precinctfor the primarys at the mouth of tacket fork. He came home late that night and told me that he had voted for who he thought as being the best man for the job. It was jesse jackson. A week later when the floyd county times came out sure enough jackson had gotten one vote from that precinct. That was a profound moment for me and still is today as I often link that to why most of my good friends a black. I have had three important friend in my life. Murray garvin from the time I was around 4 till I left eastern ky me and murray was good friends. Montu odem, the only black man to come to mcdowell basketball games to watch a friend. Finally rontae bass, a black man that came to eastern ky to help put dad in the ground. Dad would be proud today, but by tomorrow he would be demanding the change. Revel in the day but understand that now we must continue to push for change in the way things are done in this country. Everything is possible and the times they are a changing. 15 years ago there was that one vote last night obama lost floyd county by only around 200 votes. Yes it is a good day even in this deep red state.
From Gary:
To you of my loved ones …
Great day in the morning!
James Rodney, this morning, would have been sleepy, grumpy, would have a headache, his breath would smell bad, and he’d be in a mad rush to get out to work, but …
He’d be a happy man today, and he’d have hope. And yes, Harve would have that big insulated cup of coffee in his hand, already gone cold, but he’d be filled with hope, so proud, and so happy for all of us.
Love you all. Ah, God. Great day in the morning. Gary
Had to re-post
Though I’ll admit I had too look up some of her references, I had to re-post this article by Heather Havrilesky from http://www.salon.com. Hope this explains to some of my family and friends, who don’t understand what myself and other Obama supporters are feeling. Frannie and Uncle Gary, I’m sure you will love this! (Don’t know why this part is so small. Still learning about this blogging stuff)
Dear boomers: We’re sorry for rolling our eyes at you all these years. We apologize for scoffing at your earnestness, your lack of self-deprecation, your tendency to take yourselves a little too seriously. We can go ahead and admit now that we grew tired of hearing about the ’60s and the peace movement, as if you had to live through those times to understand anything at all. It’s true, we didn’t completely partake of your idealism and your notions about community. Frankly, it looked gray and saggy in your hands, these many decades later. Chanting “What do we want? Peace! When do we want it? Now!” at that rally against the Iraq war made us feel self-conscious in spite of ourselves. We felt like clichés. We wondered why someone couldn’t come up with a newer, catchier, pro-peace slogan over the course of 40 years of protests. We knew we shouldn’t care that some of you were wearing socks with sandals and smelled like you’d been on the bus with Wavy Gravy for the last three decades, but we cared anyway. We couldn’t help it. It’s just who we are.
And look, we really did stand for something, underneath all the eye-rolling. We’re feminists, we care about the environment, we want to improve race relations, we volunteer. We’re just low-key about it. We never wanted to do it the way you did it: So unselfconscious, so optimistic, guilelessly throwing yourself behind Team Liberal. We didn’t get that. We aren’t joiners. We don’t like carrying signs. We tend to disagree, if only on principle.
But when we watched Barack Obama’s victory speech on Tuesday night, we looked into the eyes of a real leader, and decades of cynicism about politics and grass-roots movements and community melted away in a single moment. We heard the voice of a man who can inspire with his words, who’s unashamed of his own intelligence, who’s willing to treat the citizens of this country like smart, capable people, worthy of respect. For the first time in some of our lifetimes, we believed.
Suddenly it makes sense, what you’ve been trying to tell us about John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Sure, we knew all about their roles in history, we’d learned about them in a million classes, through countless books and documentaries. Eventually, though, the endless memorials and tributes and TV specials and Oliver Stone films grew a little tedious. We didn’t quite understand why you’ve never let those two go, why you’d speak so relentlessly about a better time.
But how could we have known? We were raised under Ronald Reagan, smiling emptily under a shellacked cap of shiny brown hair like a demon clown, warning us (With a knowing nod! With a wink!) about those evil Russians stockpiling nuclear arms thousands of miles away. We were raised by “The Love Boat” and “Eight Is Enough” and “Charlie’s Angels,” a steady flow of saccharine tales with clunky morals. There were smiling families, hugging and learning important lessons on every channel, while at home, our parents threw dishes at each other’s heads. We went to church and learned about God’s divine plan every Sunday, but all it took was one Dr. Seuss cartoon about an entire world that existed on a speck of dust, and our belief in God was deconstructed in an instant. Our childhoods were one long existential crisis. We ate Happy Meals while watching the space shuttle blow into tiny bits.
You and all your boomer friends read “I’m OK, You’re OK,” and tried desperately to avoid the mistakes of your parents, those stoic alcoholics of the so-called Greatest Generation. But you couldn’t quite put your ideals into motion. As our parents, you told us to tell you anything, to be honest, to come to you with our problems, but when we did, you were uncomfortable and dismissive. You didn’t reallywant to know how we felt. When we were emotional, you flashed back to that time your drunk mother threw the jack-o’-lantern into the street. You loved us, but you were passive-aggressive and avoidant in spite of your best intentions.
You did your best. But we rose out of that murky soup of love and confusion, of stated beliefs without the actions to back them up, and we grew cynical. We doubted even the most heartfelt, genuine statements. We didn’t want to be blind to our own faults, like you were, so we paraded our faults around, exalted in our shortcomings. The worst thing, to us, was to not see ourselves clearly. The worst thing was to not be in on the joke.
So we cast a jaded eye on ourselves and each other. We drank too much and listened to obscure indie rock bands. We dressed badly and communicated in four-letter words and read books like “Infinite Jest” and “The Corrections,” modern-day versions of your precious J.D. Salinger in which everyone is a fake and the high capitalist world is bought and sold and even the purest form of art is a commodity, not to be taken seriously. No one can be trusted, nothing is pure — these are the truths we held to be self-evident.
No, we weren’t always ready to get involved and make the world a better place, because the air we breathed was toxic with absurdity and excess. Consider our head-spinning trajectory: Mister Rogers, Son of Sam, the Iran hostage crisis, Catholic school, the Hite Report, “The Day After,” Edwin Meese, rampant divorce, “Fantasy Island,” “Endless Love,” Jeffrey Dahmer, the Happy Meal, the Lockerbie air disaster, Toyotathons, John Updike, “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?” Do you see how far we had to come? How we were primed to hate our own country, and ourselves along with it?
And then most of us became mature, rational adults at the exact moment that a reckless frat boy boomer became our president. Just when we were starting to understand how to be a part of the larger world outside, Al Gore had the election stolen right out of his hands in Florida, and then the twin towers collapsed before our eyes. At first we felt moved to act for the greater good in the wake of that tragedy. But then the whole country seemed to implode in front of us, from our invasion of two sovereign nations to the rise of celebrity culture to tanning beds to McMansions to Guantánamo Bay to Hummers and a big, faceless herd of humans in low-rider ass pants, chattering about whether or not to get Botox. It was so sad and pathetic that it was funny to us, even if it was only sad and pathetic to you. We urged you to get a sense of humor; we’d lived this way for years, after all. Things were much worse now, worse than ever — but we’d always expected that they would be, eventually. That’s one of the few rewards of being deeply pessimistic, of being trained to lower our expectations, of living in a constant state of distrust and learned helplessness.
But on Tuesday night, that changed. We understood, for the first time in our lives, what it means to be a part of something big, without reservation. We saw the joy in that. We knew that history had been made, and we were happy to have made calls and sent money and knocked on doors for this man. We felt like we were really, truly participants in history, that we had a connection to those people in the crowd at Grant Park and those kids crying and celebrating in Compton on the local news. We were all Americans, together, old and young, black and white and Latino and Asian, and it didn’t feel hokey or overly earnest to admit it for once.
So we apologize to you, for making fun of your earnestness. We never want to go back to our old way of thinking. Sure, we’ll still be our irreverent, self-deprecating, exasperating selves, but we also want to believe. We want to follow this man, and trust him, and give him our full support. The world may not be transformed overnight, the economy may still struggle, Obama will surely make his share of mistakes. But we want to stand behind him, stand behind this country, and show our fellow Americans the same respect that this new leader of ours has shown all of us, in his words, in his manner and in his promises.
On Tuesday night, we could all sense, with open hearts, that this man meant what he said. There’s no shame in seeing that clearly, together. There’s no shame in trusting someone’s words, and allowing those words to move and inspire you. There’s no shame in throwing ourselves into this new future with full hearts, with tears in our eyes, unselfconsciously.
And in 15 years, our kids probably won’t understand it when we talk about the night that Obama was elected president, either. They’ll sigh deeply and roll their eyes and say they’ve heard this story a million times before, so please shut up about it already. They’ll purse their lips and think about how our hair looks stupid and we smell like old cheese.
But maybe, just maybe, we can change the world enough that they’ll get it. Maybe if we dare to hope, eventually hope won’t feel quite so daring.
– By Heather Havrilesky
If you like Heather, you can check out more of her writing at http://www.rabbitblog.com.
It’s Back!!!!
Just a quick note to let everyone know my PC is back in action. HP sent it back to me with XP installed. Not sure if I’m gonna go back to Vista yet. I’m just excited to be able to sit on the couch and be on my PC. And to not have to share with Chuck. Yes, I’m selfish and spoiled. But I hated having to share his computer with him. Anyways, I should be posting alot more. Thanks for reading!
