Pencils? Notebooks? Lunch Money?

Check, check, and check. Today marks the first day of school for the Fix Family. YAY! While Mr. Fix and Daughters #1 & #2 make their way into their (not really) new daily routines, I am spending the day in airports. Yep, off to Denver for a conference.

Do you remember your very first day of school? I remember a few details: St. Patrick's Catholic School in LaSalle, IL; the kindergarten classroom was on the lower level of the building, with easy access to the playground; I remember asking my mom why some of the other kids were crying; the rest is a blur. I've always loved school. What's not to love about learning something new? Sure, you have to learn to take the good (art class, reading) with the bad (U.S. History, math concepts like "negative infinity"), but ultimately you learn something new every day.

I went from St. Pat's to Visitation School in Kewanee, IL, where not only was the location and scenery new, but so was the fact that we had to wear uniforms. And they were ugly, too. Royal blue, black and white plaid jumpers (or skirts, once you reached junior high). White, light blue, or even pale yellow blouses were allowed, and eventually we were allowed polo shirts instead. No pants for girls, except in Winter, and even then they had to be under our skirts. So ugly, such a horrible exercise in removing the individuality of youth. Did I hate wearing a uniform? YES. Would I ever consider sending my child to a school with uniforms? NEVER. Can I see the logic and convenience of uniforms? Kind of- I get the "convenient" part, and I get the whole "part of a group" thing. I just don't buy into it. If the message of the group is strong enough, it should survive and thrive while in cute clothes, no?

But I digress from the whole "first day" thing. No butterflies. A sense of excitement, maybe, but it has to do with the return to a routine, the sense of familiarity, a homecoming of sorts. I'm one of those people who advocate for year-round schooling. As a person in the education field, sometimes I find myself the outcast with that line of thinking. "How can you want to give up your Summers off?" Well, I don't have Summers off, and since research shows that kids do better with shorter breaks (say, three weeks) throughout the calendar year in terms of academic achievement, I don't see why our school system insists on keeping the status quo. Unions? Perhaps. But I know plenty of parents who would pitch a fit, too.

And speaking of pitching a fit, can you believe the baloney over President Obama's speech to the nation's school children? Really? You're going to keep your kids home from school because the President is addressing them? Maybe its time for you to go back to school and learn some manners.

So there. Have a great week!

I'm Not Much of a Jesus Freak, But...

...you can't deny the truth behind the words of Bishop V. Gene Robinson. For those of you who don't know, Bishop Robinson is an openly gay Episcopalian chosen to speak at one of the pre-inaugural events. This concert was being broadcast live by HBO, and quelle surprise!- the opening prayer given by Bishop Robinson was not part of the broadcast. It is a shame, too, because his words are eloquent and timely and not too preachy for even me.

Read it through, and enjoy your Inauguration Day 2009.

A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama

(By Bishop V. Gene Robinson, courtesy of the New Hampshire Episcopal Church Web site.)

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

I'm So Happy I Don't Have To Move To Canada

What a surreal night last night. I found myself wanting to be transported to Grant Park with all those people I used to curse at during the Taste of Chicago. And then to wake up this morning and realize I wasn't dreaming and Senator Obama had become President Obama...bliss with my morning coffee.

I planned ahead, though. I took the rest of this week off and left instructions with the rest of the staff at work: Do NOT call me. We'll see if they remember. I thought that I might have to start packing for my new life in Toronto, but since the election came out the way I had hoped, I'll be staying put here in Southern Canada.

What else? Well, Mr. Fix and I are going to a wine tasting with Fast Jessica and the Fast Doctor tonight. The food is being done by a woman who used to cater in Napa, CA and our hopes are high for a tasty evening.

Tomorrow I'll be attending the opening for the Northern Exposures exhibit . Both Mr. Fix and I had pieces selected for this juried show (me= "Glance (David)" and him="Media Generated Viruscape"). Mr. Fix will not be attending, just me and Tha Doctah (not Fast Doctor) and some of our "hippy-dippy-post-menopausal" friends (that's what Mr. Fix likes to call the staff at the arts center). Cash and prizes are handed out at this shindig, so maybe I'll have something more to report on Friday.

The rest of today will look like this for me: eat Greek yogurt with strawberries; drink more coffee (good, hot coffee- not the reheated stuff. Mr. Fix left his thermos here this morning...); paint the trim in the kitchen (my way of "helping" with the renovation); go to the YMCA and workout a little; finish knitting my sweater (see picture below); get dolled up for my date night; have Mr. Fix drive me home and put me to bed (because I'm a lightweight).


For all of you knitters out there, I couldn't afford to buy enough Noro yarn for the entire sweater when I started this project (um...about 18 months ago!), so instead I bought Lopi Lite wool in a heathered plum color (its actually got a bit of red undertones to it) for the body and sleeves, and bought Noro's "Kureyon" in color 148, which is a variegated yarn with the same plum as the Lopi, but with some purple, maroon, magenta, olive green, and black. I'm using that for the ruffled edge trim on the front of the cardigan, plus edging on the sleeves. I'll for sure post pics when its complete.

And now, I'm off! Its a beautiful day today- again, temps in the upper 50's/low 60's- and the sun is shining. Have a fantastic day!

Time For a Change

Do your civic duty and VOTE today! Smile while waiting in those lines at your polling place- it keeps people wondering!

Good Deed for the Day

How are your vocabulary skills? Do you have a LARGE selection of words you choose from every day? Do you always have the exactly right words for any situation? Can you decipher the meaning of a word by breaking it down to its root words?

I love words. I introduce a "Word of the Day" to the youth I work with (plus we introduce a "Potawatomi Word of the Week"), and I'm pretty sure its helping increase their word bank accounts. And now, thanks to my Aunt Susie, I have a website where I can practice my word skills AND do something for the Greater Good. A new addiction!

What could be more fulfilling than helping people eat? Do your part to help, and boost your brain power, too.

Go HERE . Have a great start to your week!

Politics

So how does everyone feel about the political landscape these days? Big changes after the Florida primary races, and now just two Democrats, really, and two and a half Republicans.

Here's what I want to see: I want Barack Obama to stop the preaching and get down to the meat and potatoes of the meal. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: what bothers me most about him is that he seems to be the personification or embodiment of what I like to call the "Oprahfication of America." I'm all for hope and a new way of doing things and all that jazz, but I'm too practical-minded to go on faith alone. And I get the feeling that I'm not really welcome by his campaign if I can't believe he's going to make a change with this idealistic message of "hope."

And now Senator Clinton: Isn't it sad that the media and others are portraying her as the "Old Guard"? I like that she has experience, I like that she's direct about her goals, I like that she's unapologetic about her past. Why is it that strong, smart, independent women who are driven to succeed are labeled as "bitch" or some other unfeminizing name? It's happened before (hello, Martha Stewart!), and it'll keep on happening.

That being said, I'm still undecided at this point. So serious today! Maybe I'll have some fun to share later.