The Politics of Dancing

Lately I've been humming The Politics of Dancing in my head. (Those of you who were around in the '80s will probably remember it. . .those who are too young to remember, look it up.  It was a moderately successful 1983 British New Wave song by Re-Flex.)  The irony of the title has struck a chord with me during this most heated of election seasons -- Dancing With The Stars!

Anyone who remotely knows me knows what my opinions are about the voting controversy surrounding this season of DWTS.  Bristol Palin has benefited from the celebrity of her mother and her rabid fans by progressing to the finals without merit.  More qualified dancers (Brandy and Rick Fox) should have been there in her place.  But instead, the attractive but vapid, Palin may walk away with the mirror ball tonight.  We'll know in a few hours.

Why do I care so much -- and why should you?  To me, this season has become a microcosm of business and politics in America. It's not what you know, it's who you know.  It's not whether you're the most qualified candidate, it's whether you have the best connections. I guess you can argue that it's always been like that and that I'm just super-sensitive to it because the candidates who have recently won many elected offices are not the ones I support. Perhaps. . . but, when you look closely at this situation, what is it teaching our children?  

Trying to make lemonade out of this lemon, I have been using this season of DWTS as a life lesson for my daughter Emily.  She's seeing first-hand that the best candidate doesn't always win.  I surely hope and pray that this is the last time she or my sons see such a blatant example of this . . . but it won't be.

So all I can do now is wait for the final tally to be tolled and see if the best dancer wins this dancing (not popularity) competition. (Go Jennifer!)  No matter what, the sun will rise again and our lives will go on.  But ABC-TV will lose credibility and a great many viewers if this doesn't happen.  Their loss -- not mine.

Decisions, decisions

This week our country got it right.  We expressed our passions, opinions and dreams for a better life via poll booths in schools, churches and homes across this wonderful country of ours.  And while we seem to be a nation divided right now, we did it in a peaceful, orderly fashion.  No one got shot, killed or even slapped.  We showed the world how it's done. . .again. Congratulations us! (Or should I have said U.S.?)

The older I get the more I cherish the privilege of voting every two years. . . something I hope I pass on to my kids. And as a liberal-leaning moderate, I found it even more important to express my opinions in the voting booth this election for fear that the country may be going in a direction that I feel is wrong.  And although only some of the candidates I voted for won, I hope and pray that ALL of the electorate remembers that they represent everyone -- not just those that voted them in office.  They represent me.  (And I am not a witch, either! Although I often play one at home.)

While I'm not a religious person, I am praying that all the election BS is over and that Congress comes together to create truly beneficial, bi-partisan legislation that is good for the economy, environment, and our moral well-being.  We need to move forward, not back; we need to make life better for us all, not just the lucky few.  We need to make the world a better place for my children and yours.  Divisiveness won't do that -- only compromise.

So, since I have this blog as my personal soapbox, I may use it in the future to express my opinions on the state of the nation and world. . .and welcome you to argue with or against me.  Why? Because we can.

Act Your "Middle" Age

What is "middle age" and how are you supposed to act when you're in it?

According to Webster's II New College Dictionary, middle age is defined as "the time in human life from about 40 to 60."  So, I guess with those given terms I qualify. . .chronologically speaking. (Just ask my Pilates teacher!)  But mentally, psychologically and emotionally I often feel no different than I did when I was 20 or 25 years old.

Case in point -- last weekend I celebrated what I affectionately call GGW3 (Girls Gone Wild 3) with two of my buddies from college. Note: It was suggested that we change it to GGN -- Girls Gone Napping -- to be more accurate, but no.  GGW is something I want to aspire to every year.  And this year we truly succeeded, relatively speaking of course.

As with all BFFS, it took less than a second to regress to the infantile behavior of our IU days.  All the old jokes were just as funny as they were back then . . .the memories just as fresh.  It's as if no time has passed and we're young and 20 all over again.  We were giggling and snorting all weekend.

We had a great time dining, shopping, drinking, bowling and even kareoke-ing.  I seriously felt 20 years younger and know that my friends did too.  It was a weekend worth savoring until February when seven of us Briscoe 8-A alum decend upon Key West to celebrate turning the "F" word..  This was a great rehearsal for the big event.  Here are the photos to prove it!

Work and famly responsibilities often take us away from these important people in our lives.  Although it was difficult to arrange for these get togethers when the kdis were younger, I'm looking at the "F" years as a time to make up for all the missed birthdays, break-ups, and bottles of wine.  And most of all -- I have no intentions of growing up.  I like behaving like a goofball every now and then!

The "Goal" Post

OK, I stuck my neck out and advertised to the (Facebook) world that I was creating this blog, so now I've gotta follow through with it.  :-)

To ensure that I don't fall back into my old habits and truly do evolve this year, I am posting the goals I will strive to reach before I hit the "F" word -- 50.

• Be a better wife/daughter/mother/sister/friend by letting go of old baggage and starting fresh (and pray that they do the same for me).
• Be less judgemental and more tolerant of others and their actions/thoughts/beliefs (even though I'm probably right anyway).
• Keep negative people with their negative vibes as far away as possible.  (Life's too short to allow yourself to get sucked into someone else's morass.)
• Find a serene place in my mind so I can escape to it when needed (and trust me, I typically need to on a daily basis).
• Keep in better contact with old friends and people who have been important throughout my life. (Key West here we come!)
• Lose some weight. (I'm old enough to know to not put down a specifics number that won't be achieved, so allow me some vagary here, please.)
• Exercise more -- and more consistently.  (Consistency is the issue for sure.  I'm talking at least 3 times a week -- every week.)
• Take at least 3 classes in something fun/new/exciting. (Raise your hand if you've neglected your own personal growth while raising your children -- or significant other!)
• Give back to the community by volunteering  to help with at least 2 new programs this year. (We can never overpay the gifts we've received by working and helping others.)
• Finally, have more fun!

OK -- so what do you think?  I'd be interested in hearing what you're personal goals are and how you plan to achieve them. Who knows - maybe we can work on them together.

The year of "Me"

Last Friday was the first day of my last year to be considered remotely "young."  Yes, it was my 49th birthday and soon, I will have to begin using the "F" word to describe my age. (Fifty!) I'm still in denial that I can be this old (chronologically) while still mentally/emotionally immature at times.  However, instead of moping about it, I've decided to make this a life-transforming year.  Not a "last" hurrah, but a "first of many" hurrahs, so to speak.

What does that mean?  Good question.  Step one: Keep a chronicle of this year via this blog . . . and I hope you'll share my journey (and participate in it as well).  Step two: Create a list of self-improvement goals to achieve in full or at least partially this year.  Step three:  Accomplish all the above without losing my mind, signature sarcastic wit or sense of humor.

So thank you for indulging me on my quest to rediscover/redifine myself. Being the social creature I am, I hate doing things by myself.  So I hope many of my buddies who are on the same mailing list for AARP will join with me.  We'll have fun and hopefully not break any hips in the process.  Thanks