Usually we spend most of our Mitchell Messenger posts updating everyone on the comings and going and doings and sayings of our kids. That’s good, and that’s what The Mitchell Messenger is for.
But this is a pretty important time in the history of our country, and I’d like to spend a few words in behalf of my candidate for president: Barack Obama.
Barack Obama caught my attention about the same time he caught the attention of many others. As Aaron and I watched the 2004 Democratic Convention, utterly disgusted with the haphazard, corrupt governance of George W. Bush (for the record, I registered as a Republican in 2000 and voted for John McCain—yes, John McCain—in the 2000 Republican primaries, then, impelled by the wisdom and integrity of Al Gore against the backdrop of George W. Bush’s profound lack of intellectual curiosity, I voted wholeheartedly for Gore in the general election).
As we watched the young senator from Illinois take the stage for the keynote address, we heard something that we didn’t even know we had been listening for. Senator Barack Obama didn’t use the opportunity to rail on Republicans or to pronounce to the world the fundamental superiority of the Democratic party. Instead, he talked about what it means to be American. He talked about the power of individuals, regardless of the minutiae of their differences. He reminded all of us who were listening that a leader leads. Leadership is more than “deciding.” It’s more than walking and expecting others to follow. Leadership comes from those who inspire, who listen, and who seek to find common ground with all people who seek truth and right.
At risk of sounding like an infomercial, I want to share how I have changed my own life under the influence of Mr. Obama. After September 11, we lived in Connecticut, only hours away from New York City. My heart was filled with a desire to do something, anything, to help those whose lives had been changed by the disaster that occurred that day. I watched our president anxiously (and supportively) to know what we as Americans would be asked to do. And the answer was: nothing. Just go spend your money. We didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but we actually tried to do our part, no joke. Except it was a bit of a joke, as were the remaining three years of Bush’s first term in office.
After listening to Mr. Obama in 2004, I felt something much different. Although nothing had really changed, I felt a new sense of responsibility for my country and for the people in my community. In the weeks afterward, I tried harder to do my part to make a difference, even a small one, in the lives of my neighbors, friends, and community members. And it felt really good. It wasn’t that I didn’t know I had a patriotic responsibility before, and it wasn’t that I didn’t know how to serve others. But it was a little like I had forgotten about how important and transformative those experiences could be.
When Obama declared he would be running for president in 2008, my heart leapt a little. But I didn’t hold out much hope for him. Obviously he was young, inexperienced. But I went ahead and voted for him anyway. I even donated some money—that’s right, while all my Mormon friends were sending checks off to Romney, I knew Barack Obama was a person who could and would work to make America a better, kinder, more compassionate country.
Our country is in trouble. There are all sorts of problems, and not all of them have easy solutions. I happen to like John McCain quite a lot. He’s done good things in his life, and while he’s run his campaign rather shoddily, if he were up against George W. Bush tomorrow, my pen wouldn’t even hesitate before placing an X beside McCain’s name. But this time I can do better than that. I can vote (already did actually) for someone who will make me proud. Someone who will inspire me tomorrow just as he did in 2004 to reach out and do for others.
Finally, I want to leave a concrete example of how Barack Obama has inspired me. This holiday season, our family is collecting used books and raising money to buy additional books for underprivileged children in our city. We’re doing it because we are more aware of our personal responsibility to do something and help someone. We’re doing it because Barack Obama reminded us that YES WE CAN!
Okay, so in other news, Aaron’s article on Misa Criolla made the cover of the Choral Journal this month, and Britt’s book manuscript was requested by four very awesome literary agents. Our kids, of course, are still cute. There are (will be) pictures of Addy’s super-awesome birthday party below.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
East-side Mario's
Reading together
Nature walk at Wascana Park
Such a perfect fall day
Three little pumpkins Delicious Autumn
warning: this post is a bit disorganized!
After an overfilled summer (not that we’re complaining), September gave us a chance to relax a bit. The kids settled in to school and their activities, and I got a routine. Ah, how I love routines!
Of course, as we launched in to the month there were a couple of annoyances to go with all the fun. I planned out all these activities for the kids to be involved in, including a cooking class, dance classes, and a group violin class, but all the ones I wanted (no joke—all of them) ended up getting cancelled! We wound up with just swimming lessons and piano (nobody can cancel that one since I’m the teacher!), but it’s given the kids time to play together, so I guess that’s good? I’m hoping to get some other stuff going in January when the weather chases us inside. On the plus side, the kids are all making more progress in swimming lessons than they ever have before (Theo: listens to the teacher and tries things! Addy: she’s such a fish it’s ridiculous. Emer: actually stays in the water the whole time!). Piano practice has been really regular, and I’ve been delighted at how excited Theo and Addy have been about plunging in and learning new things. I’m all for summers off!
Three days into kindergarten, Addy got to celebrate her fifth birthday. We decided to procrastinate her friends’ party for a few weeks so she could get to know the children in her class first, but in the mean time we had a fun family celebration, and she got to be the first kid to take birthday treats to school. She decided on a cookie theme for her birthday this year, so we made chocolate chip sandwich cookies for her class and her birthday cake looked like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with Hershey kisses as the chips. She chose East Side Mario’s for her birthday dinner, and got her very own Hawaiian pizza along with a super-yum Italian birthday custard with a sparkler in it. They also brought out little mini ice-cream cones for the rest of the family, and ended up giving us a whole extra pizza when they got our order wrong the first time. Yeah, we love that place.
After three straight years of Joy School, I decided to take this year off. We enrolled Emerson in a little pre-school just up the street, and my favorite part of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays is walking him up there. He’s so enthusiastic and observant about the world around him. As I dropped him off that first day, it was so fun to watch him give me a quick kiss and then just jump right in. Lots of parents had to stick around the first couple of days, but Emerson only needed about 30 seconds to adjust. He’s so friendly and outgoing and loves talking about his friends at school and planning what to play with at each class. Meanwhile I’ve had a little time to devote to writing. Sera takes two naps on those days, and I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish during that time.
Theo has made the jump to grade two, and after I nearly drove the principal crazy in the days before school started as we tried to make sure he had a good match with a teacher, it seems we got it right. Most of his close friends are in his class with him, and because the class is a grade 2/3 split, there are only 22 kids. His French is sounding rather impressive (at least to me), and he seems to love his teacher. Although his behavior at home has taken a bit of a hit since he started back to school, I’m trying to make enough time to really connect with him for a while each day, and help him make some goals each week.
Although Addy had looked forward to kindergarten all summer, her first couple of weeks were a bit rocky. For her, it just seemed like so long to be away from home. Her teacher and classroom are both great, but the transition was a little harder than either she or I expected. We spent some extra time talking over cookies and brainstorming about how to make new friends. Although it took courage, she really tried and she’s met some cute new friends. Now that she has gotten settled in she’s really enjoying it. And her French is coming right along too.
The other fun thing we got going this month is a Friday playgroup. Although I am glad for the break from Joy School, I discovered that I missed that special time planning and hanging out with preschoolers. Although Sunbeams absorbs some of that energy, I missed spending that time with my kid. So we’ve made the playgroup a sort of themed event. One week we went on a nature walk at the gorgeous, sprawling Wascana park that goes through the south end of our city, and the next we made a stop at a hay maze they’ve set up at a garden shop nearby. It’s always good to get together with moms to chat and have fun, especially when it doesn’t even mess up my house!
So, that’s it for September. I’m loving the apple crisps and the leaves and the daily conversations about Halloween. Sometimes I wish it could be autumn always.
After an overfilled summer (not that we’re complaining), September gave us a chance to relax a bit. The kids settled in to school and their activities, and I got a routine. Ah, how I love routines!
Of course, as we launched in to the month there were a couple of annoyances to go with all the fun. I planned out all these activities for the kids to be involved in, including a cooking class, dance classes, and a group violin class, but all the ones I wanted (no joke—all of them) ended up getting cancelled! We wound up with just swimming lessons and piano (nobody can cancel that one since I’m the teacher!), but it’s given the kids time to play together, so I guess that’s good? I’m hoping to get some other stuff going in January when the weather chases us inside. On the plus side, the kids are all making more progress in swimming lessons than they ever have before (Theo: listens to the teacher and tries things! Addy: she’s such a fish it’s ridiculous. Emer: actually stays in the water the whole time!). Piano practice has been really regular, and I’ve been delighted at how excited Theo and Addy have been about plunging in and learning new things. I’m all for summers off!
Three days into kindergarten, Addy got to celebrate her fifth birthday. We decided to procrastinate her friends’ party for a few weeks so she could get to know the children in her class first, but in the mean time we had a fun family celebration, and she got to be the first kid to take birthday treats to school. She decided on a cookie theme for her birthday this year, so we made chocolate chip sandwich cookies for her class and her birthday cake looked like a gigantic chocolate chip cookie with Hershey kisses as the chips. She chose East Side Mario’s for her birthday dinner, and got her very own Hawaiian pizza along with a super-yum Italian birthday custard with a sparkler in it. They also brought out little mini ice-cream cones for the rest of the family, and ended up giving us a whole extra pizza when they got our order wrong the first time. Yeah, we love that place.
After three straight years of Joy School, I decided to take this year off. We enrolled Emerson in a little pre-school just up the street, and my favorite part of the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays is walking him up there. He’s so enthusiastic and observant about the world around him. As I dropped him off that first day, it was so fun to watch him give me a quick kiss and then just jump right in. Lots of parents had to stick around the first couple of days, but Emerson only needed about 30 seconds to adjust. He’s so friendly and outgoing and loves talking about his friends at school and planning what to play with at each class. Meanwhile I’ve had a little time to devote to writing. Sera takes two naps on those days, and I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish during that time.
Theo has made the jump to grade two, and after I nearly drove the principal crazy in the days before school started as we tried to make sure he had a good match with a teacher, it seems we got it right. Most of his close friends are in his class with him, and because the class is a grade 2/3 split, there are only 22 kids. His French is sounding rather impressive (at least to me), and he seems to love his teacher. Although his behavior at home has taken a bit of a hit since he started back to school, I’m trying to make enough time to really connect with him for a while each day, and help him make some goals each week.
Although Addy had looked forward to kindergarten all summer, her first couple of weeks were a bit rocky. For her, it just seemed like so long to be away from home. Her teacher and classroom are both great, but the transition was a little harder than either she or I expected. We spent some extra time talking over cookies and brainstorming about how to make new friends. Although it took courage, she really tried and she’s met some cute new friends. Now that she has gotten settled in she’s really enjoying it. And her French is coming right along too.
The other fun thing we got going this month is a Friday playgroup. Although I am glad for the break from Joy School, I discovered that I missed that special time planning and hanging out with preschoolers. Although Sunbeams absorbs some of that energy, I missed spending that time with my kid. So we’ve made the playgroup a sort of themed event. One week we went on a nature walk at the gorgeous, sprawling Wascana park that goes through the south end of our city, and the next we made a stop at a hay maze they’ve set up at a garden shop nearby. It’s always good to get together with moms to chat and have fun, especially when it doesn’t even mess up my house!
So, that’s it for September. I’m loving the apple crisps and the leaves and the daily conversations about Halloween. Sometimes I wish it could be autumn always.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Homemade donuts
Okay, I know this goes against my usual policy of posting once a month, but as a preview of sorts for September, I wanted to share this new, super-easy donut recipe I found. They are so awesome on a brisk fall day with some fresh apple cider.
HOMEMADE DONUTS
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 box cake mix (we used spice last time--mmm)
4 c flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the water, then add the cake mix and flour. Knead together until stretchy, then let rise for an hour (or pop into a warm oven with the door open for 20 minutes--I'm all about shortcuts). Roll the dough out to about 3/4-1 inch thick, cut into circles with a large cup, and make holes with a bottle lid. Then fry them up in oil over medium heat. They are delish!
HOMEMADE DONUTS
2 c warm water
1 T yeast
1 box cake mix (we used spice last time--mmm)
4 c flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the water, then add the cake mix and flour. Knead together until stretchy, then let rise for an hour (or pop into a warm oven with the door open for 20 minutes--I'm all about shortcuts). Roll the dough out to about 3/4-1 inch thick, cut into circles with a large cup, and make holes with a bottle lid. Then fry them up in oil over medium heat. They are delish!
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