Inauguration Day

 It's been a wonderful day! Congratulations, President Biden and Madam Vice President Harris! 

I love both of these new families coming into the White House. The Bidens have endured so much loss, and yet they're a beautiful example of a family (not without their flaws) that love each other fiercely and unconditionally. They're all exceptionally close. And have you seen the way the new, first Second Gentleman looks at his wife? They, too, have a lovely, devoted, decent family. How refreshing.

On a related note, did you see the lone soldier kneeling by Beau Biden's grave at the moment his father was sworn in this morning? In his speech today President Biden said this about his son:

“Ladies and gentlemen, I only have one regret. He’s not here, because we should be introducing him as president.”

That made me cry, as did so many other moments today. As the swearing-in started, I poured myself a tiny little half glass of champagne to celebrate, even though technically I was working from home until 4:30. I had to wait until now to have a full glass! And as soon as Gregg gets home from work (late on Wednesdays) we'll have dinner and then I'm going to have a few drinks to celebrate!  It's the perfect occasion to get a little tipsy!

I'm so grateful that everything went off without a hitch today, that leaders of both parties (including the outgoing Vice President) behaved with dignity and decency towards our new President, and that we now have hope of healing and reconciliation. Onward and upward!

At long last, only one more day!

 It's been a long exhausting four years, but as of noon tomorrow we will finally have a new president! I can't tell you how happy I am to see the Trump years draw to a close. Of course I know it won't be all sunshine and rainbows, and that the cult 45 people are still out there and causing trouble, and the pandemic is raging, and there are still many, many, evil and corrupt politicians who enabled Trump and his ilk who will do it again as soon as they see half a chance. I know all too well how much trouble this country is in at the moment no matter who the president is. 

But damn, it still feels good to know that this dark chapter in our history is finally about to be over. I wanted to do a little dance when I saw footage of the moving trucks being packed at the White House. What a relief after the fear and stress of the past four years.

It's sad to see the military presence required for tomorrow's inauguration, but unlike my husband, I don't think Biden and  Harris should be quietly sworn in in a room somewhere and all public events canceled. F*** that. To me, any concession to lunatics and rioters and insurrectionists is a mistake. Period. I don't care how much military and National Guard protection it takes to make the event safe, this is America and damn it, our newest President and Vice President deserve all the same pomp and ceremony as any other! Mind you, if it were just a matter of being safe during a pandemic, I would be all for a scaled down ceremony. But to appease domestic terrorists? No.

I'm glad I'll be working from home tomorrow and can watch the coverage of the inauguration! I plan to pick up a bottle of champagne to open as soon as I sign off work at 4:30. I'm going to make two desserts tomorrow night as a further celebration: apple pie for America, and peach cobbler for the great state of Georgia that helped us win the presidency and take back control of the Senate! Although nothing will magically change overnight when 45 leaves office, I hope we're turning a corner and headed for better days in this country. 

The children are watching.

 Yesterday afternoon my little friend P. came by my desk with his mom as they were leaving for the day. While his mom stepped into the principal's office to chat with him for a minute, P. and I talked. I asked him about his day at school while I half listened, as I was finishing up sending some emails and such. At some point I realized P. had gone quiet and when I looked up at him, he came close and leaned against my side and put his head on my shoulder. Then he said, quietly, "Mrs. Barlow.........who is the President?"

Slightly taken aback, I replied, "Of the United States...?"

"Yes" he said.

"Well, right now Donald Trump is the President. But starting in January we'll have a new President, Mr. Joe Biden, because he won the election we just had."

P. just looked at me for a few seconds, and he seemed troubled. Then he said this:

"But I heard that Mr. Joe Biden is supposed to be President now. And I heard that Donald Trump won't give him the money he needs to become President!"

I was surprised and only had a moment to try to explain that No, what you've heard isn't so. President Trump is just unhappy that he didn't win, but he has to leave in January. That's how elections work here, the vote is taken in November but the winner doesn't become the President until January. He still looked doubtful as his mom emerged from the principal's office ready to leave. This got me thinking.

What a damn shame it is that our current President can't ever be a role model in any way, shape, or form for the kids in this country! Even an 8 year old child is noticing the stress he's putting the country under by acting like the sore loser thwarted bully that he's always been. The man can't even summon the grace or decency to concede and is refusing to give the incoming Biden administration the daily intelligence briefings they're entitled to (that's what my little friend was referring to when he thought it was "money" they were withholding). It's a danger to national security, how he's acting, and more than that, what kind of example does he set? 

I know that as for my friends' children, that I love like nieces and nephews, I would be so disappointed in them if they acted the way our President is because they lost something they had hoped for! I know that their parents either are or will be teaching them to lose with grace and to win with humility. Too bad our Commander in Chief never had anyone to teach him those lessons! This country should have never allowed that man to become President. I hope the parents out there that voted for him (especially this second time) are enjoying the example he's setting for their kids.

The children are watching, folks. 

Random tidbits on a rainy Thursday evening

 This week is flying by. After the relief of the election being called for Biden last Saturday I've found myself feeling a good bit lighter in general. I know the toddler-in-chief is throwing temper tantrums and making threats, but all of my worries about what he might do to steal the election, which kept me awake at night for months, seemed to evaporate all at once when I got the news, like a pin popping a balloon. I burst into tears from sheer relief, and ever since I've just felt like no matter what Trump tries to do over the next two months, it just doesn't matter anymore. He's pathetic and I can't wait to see him gone! 

My buddy Little P. continues to be a joy. I got Gregg a new pair of binoculars for his birthday, and he suggested that P. might want his old ones. They're not very good, but I knew that a little kid wouldn't care about that, so I took them to the office with me the next day. I told his mom about them that morning before I saw him and she said, "Has he been talking to you about binoculars?!" with a funny tone of voice. I said, "No, why?" and she told me that he had been talking about wanting binoculars off and on for a while! She said it was almost eerie how in tune with him I seem to be! Of course, I told her it was Gregg's idea, and it was, but the coincidence was perfect. You should have seen his face when I gave them to him that afternoon! He was so happy. The day after that his beloved uncle, visiting from Atlanta, came to pick him up from our school, and despite being thrilled to see his "Uncle JJ" he came to my desk to give me a hug first thing. He said, "Mrs. Barlow, my uncle JJ has four motorcycles!" and I looked up at the uncle, laughed, and said, "P., everyone should have an uncle with four motorcycles!" They left together after that, with the uncle teasing his sister, "See ya later....I'm going to buy this boy a cheeseburger" because P. and his mom are vegetarians. Mom just rolled her eyes at her brother and laughed. They're such a nice family. Uncle works for the CDC in Atlanta and was quite handsome and all the office ladies had to come out and meet him and talk to him. You can tell P. worships him! A close relationship with a "cool uncle" is something to cherish.

The remnants of Hurricane Eta have been blowing over us for two days now, flooding the area with rain and making for the kind of afternoons that you just long to be at home curled up with a good book. Speaking of books, I had some drama with my Barnes and Noble Nook account. Apparently a bunch of servers went down and there was a mass erasure of libraries for a whole bunch of customers, me included. I nearly had a heart attack; I've had a Nook for years and years now and my digital library is up to about 200 books. That's a lot of money invested even though I shop the "$2.99 and under" deals a lot. I ended up calling Customer Service a couple of times, and now I'm glad to say that my whole library appears to be back after two or three weeks. Such a relief!

I'll wrap up this random post with some pictures I took over the last couple of weeks. As usual, I'll try to catch up on my blog reading and commenting over the weekend. 

Homemade empanadas the Spanish teacher at our school brought to me for lunch the other day! 

She's such a sweetheart. She's forever making or buying food for her classes to add to their Spanish learning experience, and she always surprises me with lunch when she does. These were absolutely delicious! 

The Marcoman.

I snapped a picture of my vote last week......

......and then this is my friend Marian and I raising a glass of champagne last Saturday after the Biden/Harris win was announced!

Last, the view from the front doors of our school on Monday morning right as the first class of the day was starting. It felt like a good omen, the beautiful rainbow with our flag in front! May it be so.

Have a great weekend!

Sunday Supper--Birthday Edition

 

 

A friend of Gregg's gave him some duck eggs last week. They said they're good to eat and even better to bake with, but we both felt a little strange about it. Neither of us have ever eaten duck eggs, but there's a first time for everything!

Tomorrow being his birthday, I asked G. what he wanted for a special meal. His immediate answer was "Meatloaf!" Yes, out of all the things he could have picked, my husband chose good old fashioned meatloaf with real mashed potatoes for his birthday supper. I'll steam some broccoli for a side dish. So that's how I'm using two of the duck eggs, in the meatloaf, and three more will go into the cake I'm getting ready to pop in the oven. It's going to be pineapple upside down cake, and I'll post pictures of it tomorrow if it turns out pretty.

It's been a beautiful day here. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds, autumn colors in the trees, warm sunshine.....and we have a new President! I didn't realize just how stressed out I've been lately about the election and I feel so much lighter and freer today than I have in a very, very long time. Gregg says it's the best birthday gift he could have asked for! 

Well, here we are. Still waiting.

What a day. I've had a pint bottle of Corona Extra beer (an impulse buy at the convenience store the other day when I knew I was running low on wine--this is no time to be without alcohol) so I'm feeling a little extra....vehement....in what I want to say. Rather than type out the expletive laden rant expounding on what this election has been like in general and the shittiness of today in particular, I'll try to restrain myself and not write something here that will embarrass me tomorrow.  

But damn, y'all. It's after 6pm the day after this horrid election and we still don't know for sure who the winner will be. That just seems unfair. Insult added to injury.

It's looking more and more likely that Biden may eke out a victory, but that's bringing me very little joy or hope at the moment. It's undeniable that Trump still has way, way, more support than I thought was even possible. It's so disappointing. And even if Biden wins, if the Senate remains a Republican majority then the loathsome Mitch McConnell will make sure that he's not able to accomplish one single damn thing for at least the next two years. I'm disgusted that Mitch McC. and equally loathsome Lindsey Graham weren't given their walking papers. 

I just checked the latest electoral college numbers and it looks like Biden is at 264....only 6 more to go. What a ridiculous system. 

I'll check back in tomorrow morning. Let's hope we have an answer for sure by then. I'm ready for this election to be over!

How are you holding up?

A plea

To my American friends, please, please, please get out and VOTE today!

Vote for our democracy.

Vote for decency.

Vote for our Black, Brown, and LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

Vote for the kids in cages, separated from their families.

Vote for the Dreamers.

Vote for the downtrodden and disenfranchised.

Vote for the rights of women.

Vote for American values and for what is Good and Right.

Vote for Ruth. 

Vote for the women and men who made it possible for us ALL to vote: the suffragists, the civil rights leaders, the people who fought and died and sacrificed for our country.

And remember, no matter the outcome of this election:

We still have to find a way to coexist. Let's be better, America. Okay?