Today was Elias's first full session at toddler school– 8:45 a.m. to 11:45. Indeed I went back to get him at 11:00 just by force of habit, but he didn't see me and I was able to sneak away and enjoy some more of the bounty: I filled the tank and RAN IN and RAN OUT of a grocery store just to get a few items. Took me about ten minutes!! Those of you who have not been trying to shop while also trying to chase a small person up and down the aisles, or restrain a small person from standing up in the cart and leaping to his death, or plying such a small person with raisins, cookies, WHATEVER such that three items can actually be found and purchased will not perceive the MAGNITUDE of these simple freedoms.
On top of that I spent over and hour and a half in the library today, idly reading about Sarah Palin. AND — that's not all– NOW HE'S ASLEEP.
I'm eating lunch and blogging interruption-free!!! I'm almost feeling guilty to delight in it so much. It's as if I don't love my child, to rejoice so fully at being shut of him. But no, the intense swoon I felt when I saw him walk– nay, STRIDE– in with his cronies from playing outside precludes any lack of love. (his little hooded sweater zipped up tight, his shortness and stoutness and the fresh pink of his cheeks! And I'm so proud of him!) It's just… it's been such a long, long haul to get to this point, long and sans much in the way of respite care.
If there were a candidate, any candidate, who would stump on the topic of respite care for affluent stay-at-home moms with two mortgages, that person would surely get my vote!
SPeaking of candidates, the Sarah Palin situation has me all upset. I was for her (for a few hours) before I was against her, as they say. What did I like about her? Well, at first it was just that I like Alaska. It's like Minnesota (my home state), only more so. I liked the moose dressing and the hunting and fishing aspect of her, which smacks of that frontier, pioneering spirit dear to my heart. I liked it that she's not a sissy. I liked it that she brought all her children to work, and that her hubby took time off from his job to help out when she was governor, and still is home dad for all those kids.
Then came water-break-gate. As a mother of three high risk pregnancies, two surviving, I was appalled that she would let her machismo and her job take precedence over the health of her baby. Flying while leaking amniotic fluid??? No way. Then, of course, the speech. I HATED that speech. How snide she was, how sneering! She was playing to the worst, most low and base aspects of the crowd. Making fun of community organizing! Encourages chants of drill baby drill!
I don't even mind the petty scandals about hiring and firing people based on grudges, or the business with the stupid bridge she campaigned to get and now claims she said no thanks to. What REALLY is scaring me is the religious fundamentalism. Even the raped twelve-year-old must bear her rapist's child. Creationism should be taught in public schools. Does she really believe, as Maureen Dowd puts it today in the NYT, that Adam and Eve and Satan were running around with the dinosaurs five thousand years ago? If so, should she really be in the second-highest office in the land? Ben tried to make the case to me today that the vice president doesn't really do anything anyway! But after eight years of evil Dick Cheney destroying the world, this is hard to accept. Also, McCain could always die, and then we'd really be in trouble.
No. I supported Obama in the first place, and now I'm scared… really scared… I'm scared that the bigots out there will say, "At least she's white" and the homophobes out there will say "she's even against domestic partnership" and the crazy fundamentalist nutcases out there will say, "Finally! A leader we can really get behind!" And most of all I'm scared that there are enough of these dark elements in our society that McCain/Palin can actually WIN.
I was encouraged however to read this today on Wonkette. And in closing, this cracks me up. Thank you and GOD BLESS AMERICA.