not so zen momma

My Pa passed away this Saturday morning. From bribing me to get good grades ($5 an A, which equals $30 every six weeks!) to attending every holiday and special celebration, Pa was the one who was always there for me and my family. We miss you Pa...

This past weekend, we went on a "babymoon" with our friends Liz and Nate to catch a Kansas City Chiefs/Tennessee Titans football game. (Liz is expecting a baby girl in January). After checking out the Crown Center and the College Basketball Experience, we were navigating downtown Kansas City to get to our hotel. We noticed droves of people lining up to get into Liberty Park, and after staring at them for some time, we realized they were all wearing Barack Obama gear. We quickly figured out Barack Obama was having a rally.

We continued on to the hotel, only to almost get run over by speeding police cars. Why? We soon realized that it was Obama's motorcade whizzing around the city. So we pulled up to our hotel, and the valet was nowhere to be found. And then we notice a crowd gathered at the neighboring hotel, and suddenly they started cheering. Then it all clicked, Barack Obama was getting in to his vehicle.

So I immediately bail out of the car, and walk up to the corner, just trying to figure out what was happening. I'm standing there with about 2 or 3 hotel workers when Obama's car pulls out and goes withing a few feet of our corner. Then, Barack Obama waves directly at us as his car slowly goes by. Needless to say, I just wasn't expecting him to be so close to us. It was really neat.

Despite all your differing political views, you can't deny that Barack Obama is a monumental candidate for president and it is pretty cool to see him up close and personal. What made it so exhilarating was the sheer coincidence of the encounter; it was a completely impromptu experience.

So, I'm still excited that I got to wave at Barack Obama, and I'll admit it was merely a celebrity encounter. I didn't get to talk energy policy or international relations, but I do feel like I had a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the man that could be our next president.

For more reporting from the football game, check out Liz's blog, which should be updated shortly with pics.

I wrote this blog post yesterday, but Wi-Fi at the St. Louis airport was $7.95! So here you go:

Don’t you love how sometimes you hear the right thing at the right time? Perhaps it’s an encouraging word from another mom in the supermarket, or a nice thank you from your husband after not-so-easy-to-cook meal? And sometimes, the message comes from a book or article. (However, I’m still waiting for those Shape articles to provide some much-needed mental motivation.)

Right before I left for a not-so-easy business meeting in Florida, I picked up our book club book, How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill. I wasn’t so eager to read it. Why? On first glance, the riches to rags story just didn’t seem so original to me. And, it also is a little convenient to piggyback on the Starbucks brand to promote your book.

However, when I started reading I didn’t stop. I had the whole book devoured by the time I touched down in Tampa. It just had the right message at the right time. I’ll save my numerous personal reflections for the gal’s in my book club (shout out to Liz, Jessica, Emily, and Aubrey), but I just wanted to share a couple of passages that helped me through a difficult couple of days:

"The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. -a quote from Anne Morriss, a Starbucks Guest from New York City, published on the side of a Grande Caramel Macchiato”

“I realized I had spent most of my life trying not to fail. Trying to meet my parents’ high expectations. Terrified of letting my family down. It had all been, I felt now, a terrible burden for me. And so stupid of me!"

And lastly, as a continued shout out to Emily who “tagged me” several days ago, here are your requested 6 random things:

1. As much as I love the spirit of blogging, I’m not going to tag other people. Blame it on my laziness to link to more people and jump around to various blogs to see who else has been tagged.
   
2. I’m currently typing away from a Chili’s Too in the St. Louis airport. There are four other people clicking away their loneliness via their little black boxes (computers).
3. I prefer the aisle seat, rather than a window. I do like the view, but I would rather just be able to lean away from all the people in my row. Sorry other Southwest peeps, but I have space issues.
4. As much as I tell myself it won’t happen, when faced with disappointment or anger, I cry like a baby. Then, I get more angry, which I (in a logical state) acknowledge as counter-productive to the “no crying” rule.
5. I believe just about any food item can be improved by dipping it in full-fat ranch. However—ahem, people at the table next to me—I do not understand tainting delicious chips and salsa with double-dipping into ranch. I’m must be a Tex Mex purist.
6. I have been wanting to write a short story or screen play about this guy who walks around our neighborhood. He wears seventies-era shorts, a cut off muscle shirt, eighties-era FM headphones, hand weights and an eye-patch. He also is remarkably out of shape for such a routine exerciser. As someone who writes every day, not many things inspire me. But this guy, he must have a story…