Random Ponderings

CO and I leave begin our vacation tomorrow, so posting will be nil this next week. Before I leave, I thought I'd jot down a few random thoughts.

1) My husband is awesome. Seriously. Now and then with the flow of one day after another and all of life's little messy details, well, it's not that I forget this fact, but it sometimes gets obscured...side-stepped...taken for granted.

But then CO will do something so completely wonderful that the day-to-day bullshit becomes obscured, and all I can see is the tremendous amount of awesome that is my CO. It is usually not some grand gesture, but some teeny-tiny little thing that just reminds me of who he is, and why I love him.

I am doing a bad job of explaining this, but I wanted to at least write it down for myself, so that I might never forget what a lucky girl I am.

2) Melvin, my beloved middle son, is waxing political lately. It is so odd to be having these adult conversations with him. I know he is a father, but sometimes in my mind he is still a boy.

But what is even more shocking than having the conversations, is the thread of them. His political views are vastly different from mine...and even more extreme than his father's (who's are also pretty different from mine). I truly appreciate him learning and growing and developing his own opinions. I think more people should educate themselves on the issues, rather than just doing what their parents did. But at the same time, it is bizarre to think I helped raise this child. How could I have had such little impact on him? Who is this...man? I am all at once proud of him, and confounded by him.

Yet another reason I will be glad when this election is over!

3) CO and I went to a Halloween party Saturday night. Pictures to come...maybe. Our costumes were hideous...frightening beyond all measure. The flat baby accompanied us, and spent the night with us all by herself for the first time. She slept between us, and cuddled her tiny little body right next to me all night. In the morning she rubbed her big brown eyes and greeted us with "Hi Papa. Hi Comma." It was the very best thing ever. I never knew Grand-parenthood would be so flippin' great. It makes every single thing we went through with those boys worth it.

4) I spent Sunday with my in-laws, and still I am grateful for their forgiveness. I shouldn't continue to harp on this subject, but I cannot help it. When I was last visiting my parents, my mom told me I wasn't a very forgiving person. She is right. Traditionally, I have not been very good at this. But I am trying to learn something from my in-laws...people I once thought were my cross to bear. I was wrong. I think they were a gift instead. They were meant to teach me to be a better person in this way. I hope this is a lesson I can learn.

5) Speaking of forgiveness, tonight I have a board meeting that will prove to be difficult. Several of the board members are calling for the executive director's resignation. I am pretty new to this board, and don't quite know what to think. The man has served as E.D. for 23 years. 23 years!! This year, he made a mistake...a BIG one. Really big. Huge. TWO mistakes, actually...mistakes that could potentially cost the organization its very existence, and more than one person their job.

But should these two mistakes negate 23 years of dedicated service?

I find myself thinking of my dad, who served his employer faithfully for 12 years, only to be hung out to dry after a single mistake (albeit one much less huge that the E.D. in question, but...). Now he is in what should be the twilight of his career, and he can't find employment. He has been off work for over 6 months, and my parents are in grave danger of losing what they worked a lifetime to achieve. Is this fair?

Am I confusing two completely unrelated issues? What IS the right answer?

Thanks for putting up with my pondering. If you have any insight, especially on issue number 5 here, please share. Otherwise, I'll see you next week...on election day, after what is hopefully a restful, and much needed vacation. I'm going to need it just to deal with election day!