WHOO-HOOO!

I am so darn excited today I can almost trick myself into forgetting that I have to attend parent-teacher conferences later. Within 24 four short hours the election will be done. DONE. I cannot wait. I must admit that I am dying to see what happens in grant park tonight- as the votes roll in and no less than 500,000 calm, cool, and collected folks hang idly at the Obama headquarters under circus tents. Bring on the riot gear. Win or lose, I predict it will be total chaos.
Being a special education US History teacher during an election has not made any of this easier. Kids spouting off at the mouth in an UN-educated fashion mimicking parents.
Kids trying to understand the issues and really only caring about the drinking age and abortion rights. Neither of which have any real bearing on my presidential choice.
Kids arguing the merits of having a first black president and what that will mean.
Don't get me wrong, as I recognize my roll is to educate. And I really do try to lead discussions that are thought provoking and two-sided and unbiased.
But it will be pure bliss when I step into my little ballot booth and punch in those choices which are completley mine. Without explanation.
Because sometimes regardless of my efforts, students come from where they come from and no amount of class discussion or eye-opening video or enthusiastic mock election can change attitudes instilled in children since they were born.
During the last election I actually had one of my students say, "Our governemnt sucks, my uncle had to weight EIGHT YEARS to get his section 8."
Yep. Shore did! He did say that! My response? "It only take four to get a degree, so that seemed like a collossal waste of time!"
Either way, I cannot wait to get back to my regular scheduled programming. Because even the SNL skits are starting to get boring.

What Exactly Does Struggle Mean?

We watched the debates. Kind of. I feel asleep halfway through and my husband was antsing around like a four year old on crack. I think because he knew Ultimate Fighter was on. But since I am usually not interested in what is blaring out of our TV set, it was hard for him to deny me this one request.

And at one point I heard one of the two yahoos mention "struggling"... financially. After it sank in a bit my husband said, "Are we struggling?"... I answered with a resounding, "NO!".

It's true- we need to be careful with our money, or lack of it. We would never make it if someone around here lost thier job. We DO live paycheck to paycheck. We owe more on our condo than it is actually worth. We don't eat out and we "go camping" for vacation because we refuse to go places where we wish we could partake in the "cool" stuff. It's not really a vacation if all you can afford is the hotel, and you sit around and watch other excited folks go on helicopter rides, eat fat steaks and watch broadway shows. While we hone in on our vending machine chips and the TV.

But we can buy clothes we need, I mean want, I mean need, ( gotta be careful with the verbiage on that one ). We have enough money to buy the food we want, and then cook it at home. We have money for gas and to pay all of our bills. We have cable and internet and gym memberships. We have two cars and allow ourselves entertainment, ( like Netflix and US Weekly ) with restraint.

To me that is not struggling. That catapults us into the "making it" category.

I hate election year. It's like when someone else shows up with a fresh manicure and you look down at your own chipped, bitten and cuticle garbled nails, that were okay by you ten minutes ago, and decide right then and there that you ALSO need a manicure...and STAT!

I don't think the new president is going to change all that much for me. I will still be middle class and making it regardless of what the puppet heads say up there.

RE: The Republican National Convention

Where do the ladies buy those suits?
And please, oh PLEASE stop showing those old guys dancing to "rock" music.
And while I am on the subject of politics, I might as well say...
The amount I care about the Vice-presidential candidates daughter's pregnancy could be measured on a speck of dirt. Because that is what it is... dirt.
And I know some AWESOME ladies who have had kids in thier teens and they are GREAT moms and so are the kids. Because they have great moms.
And I think if you know people in Iraq then you have every right to brag about it.
End of story.