Random Things on my Mind

1.  Growing dismay and dread over the direction the U.S. is taking, witness:
(a) the contraception hearings, Susan Fluke, and the growing erosion by MEN of women's reproductive rights and freedoms;
(b) Trayvon Martin and the mindboggling "stand your ground law";
(c) the Republican nomination race: Romney's etch-a-sketchiness, Santorum's fanatacism, Limbaugh's lunacy;
(d) 17% or nearly 50 million Americans do not have health insurance.  That number is 27% in Texas;
(e) The acceptance by so many that this is all good.

2.  Finished Season 1 of Homeland - loved it...love Claire Danes...have always loved Damian Lewis

3.  Gratitude for the health of my son

4.  Missing old friends

5. Rediscovering my 30-something self with full-on, gnarly, exhausting yet exhilerating mountain-biking outside of Melbourne with my husband and son.  The only wild things we see are Kangaroos and Echidnas where my 30-something self was always on the lookout for Bears or Cougars.

6. Gratitude for the health of my mother who has just made her second trip in seven months to visit with us in  Australia.  Melbourne is a long way from her happy home in Calgary.

7.  Gratitude for all the laundry my mother does while she's visiting

8. Gratitude for the love my son has for all of his family near and far

9.  Horror at Mohamed Merah, Robert Bales, and George Zimmerman

10. Delight at our new The Atlantic digital and paper subscriptions

11. Wishing my son's hardwriting looked a little less like a caveman's random scrawls

12. Wishing my son's French teacher hadn't sent home a note admonishing said son for farting repeatedly in class.  Wishing I could somehow explain to the teacher the impact of large bowls of home-made lentil soup.

Spread the Word to Stop the Word

March 7 is "Spread the Word to End the Word" observance day.  The word is "retard" and it makes my skin crawl every time I hear it.

Don't show mean-spirited ignorance, respect yourself and others.  Pause for a minute and think about the vocabulary you use and that which you model to your children. 

Thanks.