Dear Sarah Palin

You came on to the scene like a firecracker! You’ve kicked up dust, stirred the pot, and got people talking. However, now the whirlwind is calming and Americans can contemplate your role as a candidate for vice president.

The republican ticket needed someone young to appeal to the age group that Obama has rocked, and to counter concerns about McCain’s age and health. They needed someone charismatic to inspire and motivate Americans, like Obama has. They needed a minority! Someone who can break boundaries like Obama has and potentially will. They need a woman, because maybe you could grab some of the votes Hillary worked tirelessly for. You filled several gaps in the ticket, but also created gaping holes.  

Please don’t take credit for breaking the glass ceiling. Give credit to Hillary Clinton and the other women of politics, republican or democrat, who have vigilantly fought for health care reform, education, and the middle class at all levels of government for years. Women like Hillary who have lived, breathed, and ate politics since they were in college – about the time you were debating which evening gown to wear and what talent you were going to display that would bring home the crown.

Thank you for inspiring my 30-something brother who has never voted. Not only has he registered, but he has signed up to volunteer and campaign for Obama. Please understand this is a miracle, things must really be looking bad! 

For the last week I’ve been suffering from allergies. Running nose, itchy, watery eyes, moderate headache and body shaking sneezes. It was allergies and nothing more. Friday at work, a coworker asked what I was allergic to since there was nothing in the air due to all the heat. “Its not allergy season,” she reinforced. Well, I’m allergic to something…this is not a cold! By Friday I was struggling through work. I was going through boxs of tissue, quart size bottles of water, and barely made it through baby James’ 6 month appointment (he weighs 16 lbs 12 oz and has 2 bottom teeth). By the time I got home, there was a noticeable change in my allergy attack

My moderate headache turned into the entire right side of my face and head throbbing to some beat right out of STOMP. The swelling in my throat made it difficult to eat my favorite rice pudding I was thinking about all day. My right eye turned from itchy and watery to swollen and shut! My body ached and shivered like Whitney’s probably did without her fix. I think I was catching, I think I caught a cold. I was sick.

Thank goodness baby james was being an angel, he rolled on the floor, just him and his binky so I corraled him with pillows and toys. He ate well and talked to me as I lay pitifully on the couch. I love that kid. Although I was miserable, the time flew by and before I knew it, it was time to put baby james to bed. That was easy enough, although he looked frighted when he saw mommy’s one eye swollen shut and the gangsta lean I walked with since it was to painful to stand straight. After putting him to bed I fell into my bed- in addition to my existing aliments, the room began to spin and one minute I would be burning up on top of the covers, then the next I would be shivering with the chills. A single tear rolled out of my swollen eye and I thought, this is bad, very bad.

I called my husband to inform him of my declining health, I let him know that should something happen to me I think he is a great father and will raise baby james right, I apologize for ruining Friday date night -something we were looking forward to since I hadn’t seen the man all week. I blew him a kiss through the phone, put my head down and passed out.

Who knows how long I was out for – my misery made me lose track of time. Oh-it was just until James got home from work. He brought meds! He brought vitamin c packs and made me a syrupy vitamin c power drink. He brought zinc lozenges, and popped one in my mouth, he brought the best tea EVER and made me a steaming hot mug! He acted with speed and was absolutely great, but still couldn’t stop himself from calling me Right Eye. He tucked me in twice and I passed out, well I fell asleep.

I woke up today feeling better, not 100%, but better. I popped another zinc lozenge, drank a vitamin c enfuzed water, and figured the only way I was going to shake the rest of this cold was to apply my Sweat It Out theory. My remedy for sickness is to put on my running shoes, drink some water and run. Run until I sweat out that virus attacking my immune system. So that is what I did, I walked and jogged this morning in attempt to shake the last bit of my cold. The weather was great, there were a few garage sales on the way and the sun shining on me felt great.

Half way through my walk/jog I began to doubt myself because I felt a slight headache coming on. I quickly drank some water and slowed down my pace. I kept going, staying faithful to my theory. My dad called and said I was crazy, to go back home and rest. I talked to my husband who was just concerned about my scary looking eye and had hoped it could function normally. I plowed through…….walked/jogged for 40 minutes and came home feeling tired, but sweaty! I hope this worked, because if it didn’t, if it backfires, and I experience another night like last night…. I don’t think I’ll make it.

Shout out to big James for taken good care of me

Shout out to baby James for being a good boy

Shout out to People’s Pharmacy for great tasting tea and fast working vitamins

Growing up – my dad would drive us all around New Mexico and southern Colorado. We never visited Carlsbad Caverns, or took a trip to Taos…We took a drive to Carslbad, a drive to Taos. The drive was the part of the excursion my mom and I loved the most. The drive was better than what we drove to. To this day I ask my husband to take me on drives. Where? It doesn’t matter, I just want to go for a drive.

Drives with mom and dad were better than the destination because there were frequent stops for doughnuts, hamburgers, or fancy drinks from bakery’s. We would stop at cool shops - I’d always get some sort of nicknack, we would stop at landmarks and listen to my dads long, partly interesting version of its history. The drives were the best. I would pack a bag with a book, seek-a-word, gameboy, MadLib, things I could entertain myself with in the backseat which I had all to myself since my brother didn’t have the patience for these drives. Everything about these drives annoyed him for some reason. To this day, we fight if we have to drive together.

I would sit quietly, yes, quietly in the back seat and enjoy the whole experience….watching my parents love each other – my mom would shell pistachios for my dad as he drove, or fill his palm with trail mix or pinon to munch on. I would watch my dad flip a u-turn and back track because mom decided she wanted to stop at that store afterall. I would sit in the back seat and think I was cool because we drove all the way to Santa Fe just to have breakfast at our favorite bakery La Fonda. I will cherish those drives with mom and dad, and am taken right back to the backseat of the car every time I hear Tom Jones, ” What’s new pussycat…Woah,Woah”

I think its because my watch hands move faster then yours…No, its because my day has less hours than yours…No, its because your world is stuck in slow motion…..

I could only have one place to go, one task to do and I race through it as if I was going to be standing on the highest podium singing our country’s national athem. I run through Walmart throwing things in my cart as if I was trying to beat a storm and get to low level shelter. I speed through HEB as if I was on Super Market Sweep about to win a years worth of free Spam. I’ve garage saled and frantically chased the “HUGE SALE!” signs as if flea market pros were going to take all the good stuff to resell (wait that really does happen!) I get home from these whirlwind outings astonished, “wow that didn’t take long at all.” Mind you sweat is beading on my forehead.

I move so quickly through stores sometimes that employees point and say, “Ms, the bathroom is in the back left corner.” My husband has pointed out that I look crazy swinging my arms, pumping them as if I was in the last 100 meters of a race walking competition…Am I the only one in a hurry?