Chicken Duty

Numbers Game

Number of times, before 11 a.m., I thought about calling it a day and crawling back into bed: 8

Minutes spent perusing other people's blogs: 28

Number of words I need to write to successfully complete NaNoWriMo: 10,000 (see why I want to go back to bed?)

Number of times I've reminded myself to call the refrigerator/dishwasher/water filter repair guy: 4

Number of times Ruby kissed me goodbye at preschool drop-off: 6 (so delicious!)

Number of times Ella kissed me goodbye before jumping in the car: 0 (we're in a bit of a mother-daughter rough spot)

Hours I've been moping about the no-kiss-goodbye: 4 1/2

Loads of laundry waiting to be run: 3

Loads of laundry I'll do today: 0 (the laundry can kiss my ass)

Number of words I'll try to write today: 10,000

Keep On Barackin' Me Baby

On our way to the polls, Ruby and I were listening to our regular classic rock station when Steve Miller's "Keep on A Rockin' Me Baby" came on and I kid you not, my almost 4-year-old changed the lyrics to sing "Keep on Barackin' Me Baby" and I gladly rocked out with her. We were psyched! I offered to let her draw the black line for me on the ballot, but she was more interested in her I Voted sticker and getting it to stay on her fleece. I felt a heightened surge of pride leaving the classroom of the neighborhood school, our polling place. I haven't missed an election, national for sure and most local ones, since I voted for Dukakis a few months after my 18th birthday. I'm a sap for democracy. 

What a relief. That really just sums it all up, Obama's victory. I huddled on my couch watching the returns flipping from CNN to MSNBC, knowing that my home state of California would be the one to put Obama over the 270 mark. Josh was out of town and the kids had already gone to bed so I was on my own and I just cried and cried. I realize now that I was crying with relief. 

I still had that choky feeling in my throat most of the day today, not ready to turn in my tears for pure elation. I sort of like that vulnerable feeling, that I'm-about-to-cry-again feeling. It reminds me that there's so much more going on than just the carpool and the grocery shopping.

I am so proud to be an American at this moment, so grateful to be part of this history.