Snow and Bread

Butterflies, Fairies, and Peaceful Protests

There is so much excitement in the air with this upcoming inauguration. Andrew was just saying today that if John McCain had been elected this inauguration would not be half as publicized or festive. It would have just been another rich, white guy in the white house. People are excited because Obama represents the hopes of many of us who felt underrepresented in the past. And that's great. But he can't do it alone. On that note...

For those of you with a yearning to get out of your house and shake things up...there is a massive peaceful protest being planned in March in DC to put the word out about the nasty effects of coal mining. This includes such major issues as global warming and mountain top removal. Andrew and I just might do it...let us know if you're going, too. I've included a link in the post below to the Capitol Climate Action website for more info.

Here in our lives the kids could care less about politics. Crafting and dancing have been all the rave. We worked on a large butterfly mobile today and collected supplies for making little flower fairies. Ramona has become quite the prima ballerina and was doing some lovely ballet performances to the new (and wonderful) Bob Dylan album "Tell Tale Signs" tonight...she's very postmodern! She called her performances "the butterfly dance" and "the fairy dance". We've also managed to spend fun times outdoors, despite the cold front. Today we were walking through the neighborhood and stopped to watch the street maintenance crew. They dumped a load of gravel into a huge hole with a dumptruck and scraped it neatly into place with a bulldozer. Ramona loved it and said that she would bring her cousins and some of her Asheville friends to come and watch next time.

Capitol Climate Action

Homelife, Career, and ..... more?

It feels good to be home. Today felt like our first "normal"day in weeks. Andrew had class, the girls and I stayed home baking and reading books, then some friends came for dinner...ah, the good life. We did enjoy the holidays. The week before Christmas was busy with preparations for travels, visits with my family, and work. We spent most of Christmas week in Pennsylvania with Andrew's family where Ramona and Astrid had a great time playing with their six cousins. We were home long enough for me to work a couple of days and then off to Athens to stay with my parents for a few days. Then a couple of more days of work and that brings us back to the present...just where I want to be.

I was talking with a friend tonight about how difficult it is to find a balance between cultivating a meaningful lifestyle (which for me includes much baking, cooking, gardening, active time with my family, reading, and exploring the outdoors), working for a living, and maintaining an active involvement in community and civic action. Since becoming a parent I find myself reading and thinking about the changes I would like to see in my community and the world, but I just don't have as much free time to volunteer, or be part of a protest, or organize a community group. I had planned to volunteer at a non-profit health clinic, only to come to the obvious realization that I would need to pay for daycare for my children in order to go volunteer. So, I have been trying to incorporate my visions and hopes for my community and the world into my everyday life and work. Instead of driving to work in a rush and just going through the ropes, I walk there. The moon and stars are out these winter days as I leave for work at 630am and they remind me of all those reasons I wanted to be involved in women's health, the changes I hoped to make, and the support I hoped to provide. I arrive to work ready to do my basic job and hopefully a little more. One of my friends that came for dinner tonight is very involved in educating others and organizing against mountain top removal for coal mining. I am inspired by her energy and courage. She is presenting to a Yale law conference, creating school age curriculms, and planning to be part of the organized civil disobediance (protest) in DC this march. At the same time she is a mom, a full-time graduate student, and has just moved to a new city. It feels good to find a friend that inspires me to not stand back and hope, but to actively work with others to create a change. On that note, I feel very hopeful about our next years as a country under the new guidance of our President Elect, Barack Obama!