Three Cheers for Josie

We are still recovering from the primary results, commiserating with other Obama supporters, trying to remain upbeat, and getting on with daily life. The last of the volunteers left today, so we have our house to ourselves once again.

This is a picture of Carmen and Jasper. Jasper is wearing the ski helmet he found on Tuesday and insisted on wearing the entire day. So for most of our visibility at the poles on Tuesday evening, he was helmeted and an eye catcher. Carmen, at age 8, was the next youngest canvaser in our cohort. She and her mom took a week off of school to come up from Brooklyn and volunteer with the campaign. They are playing on the futon in our living room, ready to receive the next wayward volunteer.

The night before the election I had the interesting experience of knocking on all my neighbor's doors to see if anyone needed a ride to the polls or had any questions. My secret alterior motives were to convince people to vote for Barack, and to see what my nieghbors were doing at 6:00 on a Monday. Just about everyone was home. Most were watching TV. Most said they were voting, knew who for, and had a plan for getting there. Several people however said that they "don't vote." When I asked why, most replied, "I don't really understand the issues." Or, "I don't care who gets it." A couple expressed cynicism, including Mr. Bartlett who is 88, has never voted and declared, "The way I see it, the poor people will always be poor, and the rich will always be rich." Next election I would like to focus on educating low income communities about the candidates and issues. It was hard enough for us over educated professionals to make sense of this whole race, so I am not surprised folks feel too confused to make a choice. I did end up giving one mom (single mother with two small kids) a ride to the polls. I think she voted for Hillary.

We went to Josie's two month well check-up yesterday (one month late). She is officially 75th percentile in weight and height, and 95th percentile for head size. The doctor had to measure her head three times. I was not impressed (for the fifth time) with our visit (the doctor didn't ask us how we were, share her charts with me, or explain why he was measuring her head for the third time until I asked). I then posted a request for a pediatrician recommendation on a mom's online group I just started. Hours after posting, and mentioning this doctor by name, I realized that his WIFE is a member of the group. One of these days I will have to wise up to the reality that I live in a small town and watch my big mouth. I hope to find a doctor who cares about us as people and not just conditions. In any case, Josie is doing well, has found her thumb, and shows no interest in moving that big head of hers to role over or commit other such attrocities.