Ruby’s Run

This Sunday, The Bug will participate in Ruby’s Run, as she has every November since 2006. It’s another “run” to raise money, like you can find going on just about every weekend here in Richmond. But this one is a little different… in Ruby’s Run, the kids do the running and the fundraising. The event raises money for 2nd Presbyterian Child Care Center (The Bug’s daycare for 2.5 years, a place that was filled with people who helped make her the awesome kid she is today) and Theatre IV, a local children’s theater.

The run is fun for the kids, an opportunity for us to see friends and contribute to some great causes. It’s also become an annual meaningful and productive way to deal with something horrible that happened in this town. It’s a way for those who loved Ruby and her family, and those (like us) who didn’t know them but are forever affected by them, to turn pain, fear and anger into something positive and lasting for our kids. A lot of beautiful memorials have been set up, songs written, words spoken to honor this family. But Ruby’s Run is just for the kids, and I think it’s equally, if not more, important to recognize them when tragedy strikes.

So this Sunday, we’ll all get another Ruby’s Run T shirt, The Bug will collect another medal and we’ll enjoy a great Sunday afternoon with friends.

This is Why I Don’t Do This For a Living Anymore

I’m crushed. Not surprised, but so disappointed and sad. And I have to admit, I’m glad I don’t work on campaigns for a living anymore. Without much effort, I could have put myself in a position to be in a bad place tonight. I could have just worked my ass off to try to get someone elected Governor, only to be stomped out of the competition.

This is part of why I don’t do it anymore. The losing is too hard, and we Democrats in VA are all too familiar with the losing. I’m not a sore loser, but I feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach. And I only have a couple hundred dollars, a few hours of volunteer time and friends (staff and candidate) invested in it.

That’s enough wallowing for now. Next I’ll write about the damage that could be done in the Commonwealth over the next 4 years (and you thought the economy was bad!).

(One of) My Bad Habits

In the final day of my non-profit’s Board meeting yesterday, we held the Development Cmte. meeting. Obviously, as the Development Director, this is my meeting. The “committee” in the case of Development is all 30 members of the Board. When we were getting ready to start yesterday, I walked toward the front of the room. The outgoing Board President pulled me aside and said “When you talk to the group, try to keep your hands by your sides. A couple of Directors have said that it is distracting when you move your hands a lot while you speak.”

Wow.

I was totally thrown. I was actually a little insulted, which was probably an over reaction, but it was how I felt. The worst part was that this happened about 2 minutes before the meeting started, and I ended up being totally distracted by trying to keep my hands down. I believe they should just listen, and not worry about my hands. But evidently my enthusiasm and demonstrativeness (is that a word?) is distracting.

The fact is, that I’m always saying the same thing in these meetings… “Raise More Money.” But my hands are evidently distracting from that message.

When I came home and told J. this story, he said I shouldn’t worry about it… because I have much worse and more annoying habits than talking with my hands! It’s always nice to be supported, at work and at home.

Never Go To Bed Angry

I was all ready to crawl into bed tonight, grumpy and not looking forward to the day or week ahead. I got my daily workout wrestling The Bean out of her clothes and into a clean diaper and pajamas (she is such a 2 year old), I made tomorrow night’s dinner (since I get home late on Tuesdays and J. can just put it in the oven), and I listened to one last voice mail from a co-worker, left on her way home from the office. The next week or so is crazy where I work, with a couple of big donor events and a Board meeting, and tensions are running a bit high under the stress of this marathon.

So when my phone rang as I was cleaning up the kitchen and I saw my bosses name pop up, I was not excited. Instead of the nonsense I was expecting about flower arrangements and catering conflicts I got some GREAT news. I can’t say what it is, even on my anonymous blog, but for those of you who know what I do for a living can imagine what might be some of the best news I can get in my position.

This will definitely make the next week, which involves a lot of work and a LOT of time away from my family, a bit more bearable. On that note, I thought this was a very interesting post on one of the first blogs I ever read.

Now that I can go to bed happy, I hope you enjoy and have a good week! I’ll be picking up wine, gathering tree branches, playing croquet, running a LCD projector, singing a Civil War general’s favorite hymn, eating a lot of yummy food, and trying to inspire some people to raise money for our worthy cause.

More Random Stuff

Just so you don’t think I love and am mourning Patrick Swayze too much, I thought I’d throw up a quick post to push him down the page a bit. But I really just have some random things to throw into the post, so bear with me.

1) The VA Governor’s race is tightening up! After being down double digits in the polls, my friend Creigh Deeds is closing the gap with his opponent. Thankfully the news got out about the opponents true colors, and now Senator Deeds can concentrate on the important stuff… Virginia’s economy, schools, roads and our future. I feel bad that I haven’t done more to help, but this job and the rest of my life keeps getting in the way of politics. We’re going to figure out how much we can contribute now, and I’ll talk to some friends about doing the same. If you don’t know much about Creigh, watch this.

 2) Kindergarten – it’s going well. We only “accidentally” missed the bus once, and we purposely missed it yesterday too. The Bug stayed up a little late, so we decided that I would drive her to school so she could sleep late.

3) We’re hosting our “Supper Club” tomorrow night. Our theme is Local Food Tailgate. Obviously, a cobbled together version of what I wanted and what J. wanted. We’ve got about 15 people coming, and I’ll decide what main dish I’m contributing when I see what they have at the farmer’s market tomorrow.

4) Here’s a funny Facebook fact – someone “friended” me when I first signed up. She is from my hometown, a fact made obvious by the mutual friends we have. I had no idea who she was. I asked my best friend from home, she said, “Look at her picture, you’ll recognize her.” Yeah, I don’t. But I felt too bad saying no, so she’s my “friend.” She posts ALL THE TIME, and she’s “chatted” with me several times. It’s bizarre, because I truly have no idea who she is! She’s not stalking me or anything, so there’s no harm done. It’s just bizarre!

Oy, there’s plenty of other craziness going on around here, but I have to go deal w/it instead of sitting at my computer!

R.I.P. Johnny Castle

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner”

And, as Dary in my favorite movie of all time, The Outsiders.

The oldest brother and father figure to The Outsiders

Patrick Swayze died today at 57.

2 Years Ago

2 years ago, I met The Bean. I feel like she’s always been a part of my life, a part of our family. But it’s only been 2 years!

J. said this morning that he didn’t remember her birth as clearly as The Bug’s, so we talked about our different memories. I was scheduled to be induced, but I was nervous that it was bad for her to “rush” her. I was also, as my mom reminded me, worried that they would send me home because they’d have too many people wanting to have babies on Sept. 10 (instead of waiting until Sept. 11). The main thing I remember is that I was up almost the whole night before, and I cried to both J. and my mom before we left for the hospital.

After we were all checked in at the hospital, we were told that they weren’t taking any more elective inductions because they were so full with people who didn’t want to have babies on 9/11. I REALLY didn’t care about that date, I just wanted to have The Bean when my doctor was on duty. Once we were at the hospital, they also told me that I WAS IN LABOR. I just hadn’t realized it. 

The conversation went something like this, “Do you feel those contractions?” Me: “Uh, no.”

Anyway, blah blah, epidural, heart beat dropping, doctor running in and out, and then The Bean! And things have never been the same.

She, like The Bug, has been through a lot (including some similar medical issues), but she’s a very different person. She’s adventurous and smart, sweet and cuddly, helpful and brave. She’s as beautiful as her sister, but in different ways. She wants to be just like her big sister, and they play together wonderfully. Here’s hoping that lasts forever.

Happy Birthday Bean (or Cupcake, as everyone but me calls you!). We love you like crazy every single day!!

First Day

The Bug went off to kindergarten today, barely looking back at me, standing in the rain waving and blowing kisses! No, I didn’t cry, didn’t even really feel sad. Honestly, she and I were both so keyed up that I don’t think we could have cried. J. said that he hasn’t seen me so excited, except for MAYBE the day we got married.

Anyway, it all went off without a hitch, except for the fact that The Bug was not able to be inspired by the democratically elected leader of the free world, and encouraged to work hard and take education seriously. That would be because her school chose not to show the President’s back to school speech. I decided it was too early in her public school career for me to start raising hell with the administration. So I’ll let this one slide. But next time I want my kid indoctrinated by socialist, commie, “stay in school” crap, by God, she better be brainwashed!

When Did This Happen?

The Bug and I are enjoying a “stay-cation” this week, hanging out and relaxing before kindergarten starts next week. I, by the way, may never go to the beach again. I love the vacation at home. I know, I’m a dork!

Anyway, I’m feeling a bit less emotional about kindergarten. I’m thinking I may not totally lose it and bawl when she gets on the bus on Tuesday. I’m stressed about the schedule, how she’ll like it, what friends she’ll make, etc. But I’m not feeling as freaked out about the concept of “school” as much as I was a few weeks ago.

This may be because we went to an event at The Bug’s school and met her principal and teacher. Now that I have names and faces, I’m feeling a bit more relaxed.

Or, it may be because another milestone has replaced kindergarten in our house. The Bug has a loose tooth! I can’t believe it! My first reacation was, “Did something hit you?” But no, I think it’s just a regular old loose tooth. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe that perfect smile is going to have a hole in it!

I don’t know when I became the kind of parent that obsesses over these little things, but here I am. I guess all I can do is enjoy each change and look forward to the next one!

Free Speech Gone Wrong

I received an email last week from Betty and Boo’s Mommy. The point of the email was “shop talk,” comparing fundraising horror stories. But at the very end of the message she wrote that she was waiting for a post about the recent town hall madness that is going on around health care reform in this country. Knowing that I’ve probably organized some town hall meetings in my time, she wanted my thoughts. I’ve finally decided to attempt to organize my thoughts on this matter here.

Yes, I have organized town hall meetings in my time as a political campaign worker/community organizer (Gasp! The Horror! Did I just admit to being a ‘community organizer?’ Like the President used to be? OMG!). And they are always a little scary. See, you never know what people are going to say. And one thing I’ve learned working in political and legislative offices… you have never ’seen it all.’ There is always someone else who is a bit louder, a bit more paranoid, a bit more gullible and scary than the last guy. I’ve seen plenty of yelling and name calling in a town hall format. The difference between those isolated incidents and what we’re seeing on the news every night now, is that what I dealt with was never sanctioned and organized by interest groups. It was just one guy, who spoke out at every public forum (which is his right). I find the idea of explaining to people how to disrupt meetings and shouting down United States Senators, Congressional Representatives and THE PRESIDENT to be above and beyond any action I’ve ever seen in one of my meetings. Not to mention that it’s just RUDE!

So all this made me think about another issue. How come George W. never dealt with this kind of craziness? Well, partly it’s because he would never dare, nor would his people ever allow him to speak in this kind of setting. Disaster. Anyway, when he did have big public events, there was a big difference between his and the ones that the President and members of Congress are holding now. They weren’t public forums. They were by invitation only, and people who did not agree with the President were excluded.

There’s a part of me that believes that all these crazies should be able to speak their minds. This is America. Free speech and all that. But now it’s getting scary.

In 2004, a couple was arrested for wearing anti-Bush T shirts to an event in West Virginia where the President was speaking.

A couple of days ago, this guy was allowed to attend an Obama speech. He didn’t break any laws.

We have crossed the line from rude and ineffective, to insane and dangerous.

But, at least I have Congressman Barney Frank to put my disjointed thoughts into words for me. Check this out from a town hall he held in his district this week.