My single vote

The presidential election is here.  As Americans we have the right to vote our leadership of this country.  There are many around the world who do not.  I have voted in every election since I was old enough to do so.  Why...because I can.  I can have a say on what my future holds. 

I remember when I was in high school.  I ran for Student Body President.  Representatives from each class were sent to the gym to hear our platforms and then vote for those who would go on to the general election.  We had to have a certain amount of votes to continue on. Guess what happened.  A certain group of kids from the school had decided that they would volunteer as class representatives and vote their own friends in as candidates instead of voting for those running for the office on official terms.  They showed up and elected a new set of candidates.  The rest of us were left wondering what happened.  It was effective and strategic planning on their part.  This set of new candidates however, were not wanted by the rest of the student body.  Those of us who did not make the primary, banded together and started a write in campaign.  Our write in candidate won.   I wasn't an SBO, but at a young age I learned a very important lesson about the power of my single vote.  Your single vote.  Others single vote.  They add up and they make change happen.

I have heard many say they are sick of politics, campaign ads, and everything else associated with this election.  Me too. But I will vote.  Its time.  Go vote. 

Debate take away...

I fell asleep during the debate.  Bunch of Malarkey and CNN's undecided voter comment about Biden acting like a Buffoon in General are what linger in my head.  Personally neither did it for me tonight but Biden was really annoying in his behavior.  So I guess I give style points to Ryan. 

Not Enough

The other day I was driving down the road with my two girls in the back.  As we came up on an intersection I noticed a young woman with a sign.  It said something like "help me leave your city".  My 8 yr old read it outloud as we waited for the light to turn green.  I noticed that she had on a very full backpack.  She had on layers of worn clothes. On the ground next to her was another small bag and a violin.  It was the violin that made me read the sign then look at the girl holding it.  So young.  She was so young, maybe 18 or so.  The light turned and we started to drive and then that discontent that makes your heart ache.  I looked for a place to turn around.  I drove around the block.  Not sure what I was going to do.  I had two kids in the car.  She was on an island away from the sidewalk.  I prayed for a stop light.  I got it.  I stopped.  Then started to wave at her to come over...I grabbed my wallet and pulled out a dollar. No.  A five and rolled down the window.  She came over, I told her I noticed her violin.  She said she wished she could play me a song.  I said it was okay, and wished her luck.   She thanked me and I started to drive away as the light had turned and there was a line of cars behind me waiting to move. 

I drove away, and wished I could have asked her name, how and why she was there.  Where she was going, who she was.  Instead I connected because she played the violin.  She was going somewhere and her music was probably her solace.  The one posession she valued most. When I passed back through the intersection awhile later. She was gone.  We did something, but it feels like it was not enough.

Home-Fall

 

Today we took a ride to visit family and passed through a canyon with beautiful Fall leaves. The sun was just setting when we pulled into home. I love seeing the mountain behind our home full of Fall color.

 

One Year Older

I uploaded some pictures from the camera and these 1st day of school pictures were in the mix. This year I look at my kids and just cannot believe how much they have changed over the past year.

 

Boys and Boats

About a year ago Matthew and Peter came home from scouts and told me about a high adventure trip the Teachers group were planning.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun.  They were building their boats from scratch.  Its a cross between a canoe and a kayak.  Its called a Canack or Kanak or something like that.  They got their instructions and over the past year they worked on their boats.  The cut and sanded the wood, glued and nailed, painted the frame, stretched the canvas, sealed and painted the canvas, installed seats and cup holders, and finally tested them to see if they were float worthy.  In August all of the boys, most of the fathers, leaders, and some adventure seekers, loaded up the boats and headed out.  They ended up floating 30 miles down the river over two days.  The caught raccoons at night and got sunburned during the day.  They ate good food and had a lot of fun.  I was so proud to see the end result.  There were times when we tired of working on boats all the time, but in the end, it was worth it.

The next level

My girls have taken dance for several years.  This past year the company they dance with did several competitions.  I ended up buying 5 costumes, paying for several competition fees, and being quite stressed with the unexpected expenses and time it took.  I voiced that maybe the dance company should create some Competition teams so that those who want to do them can, and those that don't can do a regular class.  With the expansion of dancers and a new studio this is exactly what the company ended up doing.  I thought great, my girls can still dance and have fun and not feel the financial and time stress we had felt that year.

So audition time came around.   The teacher gave the impression that she wanted my girls to be on the comp teams.  I didn't have them audition.  I signed them up for regular dance.  For my younger girl it was fine.  There were several other new girls in her new class.  She had a good time.  For my older girl its a different story.  I dropped her off at dance.  She was a minute or two early and the only one there.  She wasn't new so I left.  When I came to pick her up she was dancing with the comp team 2 years younger.  They practice at the same time.  There had only been a couple of people in her class so they had them join the other class.  The new teacher asked the owner why she hadn't made the comp team.  All of the girls she has danced with the past few years make up the comp team for her age.  All except her. The owner then started to tell me that she was so much better than the others in her regular class that day.  Then asked me if I would reconsider our decision.  Was it the money, was it the time?  I told her both, which is true. 

I had felt good about the direction we were going.  My daughter wanted to try violin this year and she is already in piano.  A regular dance class was already a lot.  I still have 3 other kids in activities too. I told her that she would have to choose dance or violin.  We both sat in the car and cried in the parking lot.  She comforted me as I apologized to her that she could not do all of the things she wanted to.  I feel like such a louse.  Am I holding her back?  Is it just pressure?  Does she really love it that much or is it about being with her friends?  I told her to take some time and think about what she wanted to do.  She is already telling me that she wants to do regular dance, but my gut tells me she is saying that because she is trying to show restraint.  This is good (she is maturing), but I feel so bad.  If she had had a full group of girls in her regular class I don't think this would have been an issue today.  But she doesn't want to dance with the little girls.  I may ask if there is an older regular class she can attend instead.  I don't know.  Does anyone else go through this stuff?  How do you handle it?