2012 Election

Don't worry this isn't yet another political post.  I'm not a fan of discussing and debating politics with people.  My friends are too diverse and so are my views so they don't fit into anyone's preconceived box and this doesn't bother me.  I have found that it does bother some people a whole lot.  So I refrain from entering a debate nobody is going to win.  I delete the hysterical emails I get trashing either party without reading them.  I record most anything I'm going to watch on TV so I skip the political ads too.  Facebook has proved to be a bit more problematic, but I just scroll on by ignoring whatever political views my friends decide to post.

I am, however, a HUGE fan of voting.  You are entitled to your opinion, as I am mine.  Let your voice be heard.  It's important.

Of course, I couldn't have been brought up in the family I was without some part of me conceding that it's very possible that it's all an illusion.  That our votes don't actually count and it has all been predetermined by the powerful, moneyed few who actually run our country.  That our elections, elected officials etc. are all kept in place to keep the masses happy and in line.  I don't know.  I don't think I'll ever know for sure.

So I vote.  And so should you.

~S

P.S.  Do you watch the election coverage?  Make a party of the evening?  We do.  What are you serving and drinking?  I have no idea what I'm doing because I have a cold and everything tastes weird.  But I know there will be something to nosh on while we sit on our sofa and watch the states go blue and red.

A Case of Wine

This afternoon I bought a case of wine and was reminded that I am my grandfather's granddaughter.  My appreciation for classical music is to his credit as well.  We lost him a year ago and I miss him all the time.  (The fact that I purchased the case at Bev Mo! during their 5 cent sale reminds me I am my grandmother's granddaughter.  She was very smart with their finances and it paid off in world travel and a life next to the shore.  She's been gone 15 years and I miss her every single day.)

In the last 4 weeks my husband and I have both lost fathers.  My biological dad, Joe, is not a man I knew much at all, but his biggest wish, I've learned, was that his 3 children would be close.  In his death, we 3 have drawn together and gotten to know each other a little more. It was precious time I got to spend with them and their spouses and I think we all look forward to more.

My father in law, Ron, was quite a man.  The minute you laid eyes on him you knew he was his own man and played by his own code of ethics and rules.  He loved his home among the woods, his children and his grandchildren.  Even from afar he won the hearts of my 3 kids and we will all miss him dearly.  Of the many things he gave my husband one was a love of country music, and I must admit that it has been passed along to me too.  Without Ron there would be no melodious twang on my kitchen radio.

We miss the ones who go before us, but in each of us a bit of them lives on.  It's that which becomes their legacy.

Striving to make them proud,
~S