ELECTION HANGOVER

I'll have to admit that Wednesday morning was a weird one. After a long day on Tuesday of getting out the vote and being glued to the television late into the evening waiting for results, I still sprang out of bed early that next morning to see if what we thought had really come to pass. And it had. Well we knew it-- it just took a while for everyone else to agree. Our hard work had paid off. Proposition 8 passed in California, amending the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. It passed by 4-5 points.

After that was confirmed, I looked at my clock and around my house. It was still early--Calli wouldn't be up for a while. "I should take advantage and get some things done." I was too wired (even though exhausted) to go back to bed. I looked out the window to check on our Yes on 8 yard sign (an event now well established into my morning routine), but it was gone. We'd put it in the night before in anticipation of victory. Our yard looked kind of empty now. All of the sudden I realized I wasn't really sure what do with myself. It kind of felt like the day or two after Christmas--After all the labor, anticipation, stress, anxiety, excitement, parties, worry, more labor, the big day, the gift opening, the surprises, the celebrations--It was over just like that. Work on Prop. 8 had kind of taken over around here, especially in the last few days before the election. Don't get me wrong, I had tons to do-- a laundry basket that needing folding, bills on the desk to be paid, a huge pile of clothes to be ironed, winterizing and cleaning up the outside of our house and of course deep cleaning the inside, just to get started on a few. But somehow tackling my very neglected bathrooms just didn't seem or feel as heroic.

I want to thank all of you who helped and supported us in the passage of Prop. 8. Even though we have a long way to go, I am glad to say that we did it and made our moral statement. It feels great to know that across California many others across party, racial and religious lines believe in and support traditional marriage. It felt great to know that on a night last Tuesday when it seemed to be a liberal sweep across the nation, moral values still matter in the United States, as similar measures were passed in Florida and in Arizona.

For those of you who are concerned about my election hangover, don't be. I am coming to. I am getting out of it and getting back to normal life. You know, like making dinner and blogging. I am now going to play catch up, because in October we did do something else besides get wrapped up in that whole election thing.

Pumpkin Farm With Grandma:
Dan's mom came to visit us one weekend and while she was here, we took Calli to a pumpkin farm to look at those orange things she calls "momos" and to watch a goat swallow an entire plastic bag of food taken from the small hands trying to feed it. I think she liked the sheep best.















The weekend was great, even though we felt bad that Grandma had spent her birthday with us at a stinky, pumpkin farm. While she was here Dan and I realized why people hire nannys. It was amazing, as soon as we were done eating dinner, Tammy would take Calli and bathe her and get her all ready for bed. While she did that, Dan and I were tag teaming the kitchen. So what usually takes the two of us two hours it seems, only took the three of us twenty minutes! Wow. Anyone know where I can hire a live in Grandma?


Halloween:

We had a proud parent moment when our "ladybird beetle" won the award for Cutest Costume at our Ward Trunk or Treat. I didn't even know that they did awards at these functions. I suppose her being able to work a red and black polka dot dress with wings makes up for her sassiness. After an afternoon of inspiration, we decided to attend the event also in costume. Lest you think that we dressed up as fantastical versions of ourselves, a hunter and schoolmarm, we actually went as the Palins. I was shocked Dan agreed to do it. But being the election year that it has been, I knew this was the Halloween to be her (Sarah that is). I was longing for my long locks though-- up dos are difficult with layered short hair. I have no idea how many bobby pins were jammed into the back of my head that evening. Don't be deceived by the picture, we did put a little into it. Dan was complete with "First Dude" stickers and penciled in goatee, while I had snazzy red pumps and a sparkling, homemade ALASKA lapel pin. Not bad to be thrown together in an hour or two and without making any trips to the store for flags, flag pins, square frames and what not.


As for the actual holiday, it seemed to go okay other than our YES on 8 sign getting vandalized and our little girl's vocabulary growing through osmosis. Prior to the day, Calli had no idea what candy was or how to say the word and as we took her around to a few neighbors for candy, she acted like, "What are these strange people doing and why are they giving me stuff?" But by nightfall and bedtime, she was very ready to NOT let go of her candy basket. Tired of the struggle, I let her fall asleep with it in her crib and later when she was snoozing away, I took it out of her bed and set it on her dresser. The next morning, she woke up, screamed for our attention, had fingers pointing to the basket and out came the word "CANDY". She still hasn't eaten any of it (though her parents have) . She just likes carrying it around, sorting it and taking it in and out of her basket. Here she is on that shining morning (while rainy, I think), November 1st, along with her "kitty pumpkin" the night before.



Finally, the Introduction of Pigtails:


Despite a few tears, I managed to wrestle Calli down long enough to get some pigtails in. Honestly, as soon as I did, I wanted to rip them out, because my baby girl looked like a bona fide toddler and I was realizing how fast she is growing up. She (and I) managed to keep them in until nap time, though I have been unsuccessful since then to do the same. One of these days it will happen again.





There is one more event worth writing about, but I think it deserves an entry all of its own. Now that the election is over, I might have more time to blog, but the holiday and travel season is upon us-- so excuses are already mounting. At least you ladies and gents are caught up for now!