Barack Went Straight to College

Tomorrow morning I'll be attending my four year-old's Pre-K graduation. "T" is super excited about the ceremony, especially since he thinks college comes next. You see, although he really likes school, he positively loathes homework.

So why the excitement about college? Well, "T" somehow remembered that I told him that you don't get homework everyday at college. So he's decided he's going there next. Forget about K-12!

I tried to be rational with his stubborn, "artistic" temperament. "No, honey, next you go to kindergarten like all the other big boys."

His response? "Nooo! Barack Obama went to college when he was four, so I can too!"

"Uh, no, he didn't."

"Yes he did! He DID go to college when he was four!"

We went back-and-forth before we agreed to play paper-rock-scissors to settle the debate. Fortunately I've noticed that my son always puts the scissors first, so I put out the rock to break them. He was SO mad that he fell out in the floor and started having a fit! Whatever. I ignored him till he shook his fist in defiance.

"Fine then! But I'm still going to college like Barack Obama!"

"OK, that's good. Of course you're going to college."

Our little "argument" was over but it got me thinking about how, for my sons, these days, everything is about Barack Obama.

Do you think Barack Obama ever had pet silkworms?
Is Barack Obama an omnivore, carnivore or herbivore?
Does Barack Obama play with Legos?

Last night my eldest was checking himself out in the bathroom mirror. As I walked by, I heard him say to his reflection, "What do you command, President Obama?"

He was totally pretending he was Obama!

I don't know if all of us who are parents fully realize how potentially having a black President is going to impact our children. I don't think I ever saw even a TV black president as a child, but gosh, my kids might have the real thing. It matters to see a face that looks like theirs up there. It definitely does.

I know for every person that says that Obama can help instill a sense of confidence and pride in black children, there's someone that says that none of that matters if black folks as individuals don't get their acts together and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I'd say people of all colors need to get themselves together and we can't do it in isolation. We need each other.

I don't think Obama's going to be an instant panacea for anything, and he shouldn't have to be. If he gets elected, America still has a tough road ahead as far as true racial unity, let alone gas prices, war, healthcare and education. But gosh, it does something special to my heart to see my sons admiring him and developing this whole superhero-like mythology about him. It's especially nice because most of the popular culture heroes that are put in front of them are not black males. Ironman, Batman, Indiana Jones, The Hulk --none of them look like my sons. They play with Batman action figures but I'll never see them look in the mirror and say, "Gee, I look just like Bruce Wayne!"

It's not just black kids either. Obama also does something for children of all colors. He challenges some of the subconscious, less overt stereotypes that our children, regardless of background, have learned about black men. His wife, Michelle Obama likewise challenges beliefs about who black women are and what we're about.

Tomorrow when my son walks across that stage to get his little Pre-K diploma, I know he's still going to be thinking that Obama went straight to college. And really, knowing I have a child who believes a black man can go from Pre-K to college is alright with me.

A Sunset For Resolutions

I don't usually make new year's resolutions.

No, I've never been one to officially decide on January 1st that, for example, I'm going to try to eat less sugar, learn how to be a better cook, learn how to swim, and write every day. Instead, these are the things I think about year-round.

I've figured it's better to keep generating things I want to accomplish as the year goes on instead of just waiting for New Year's Day. I try to bring myself to account and think about what I need to do differently in my life every day.

Sometimes I am successful at this endeavor of bringing myself to account. Often, I am not.

Yesterday, something happened that made me change my mind about New Year's Resolutions.

I took this photo in Griffith Park, home of the Hollywood Sign. I'd been in the park with my sons and my husband for most of the afternoon, first at the pony rides, then at the zoo where, thankfully, we didn't see any animals trying to escape and kill someone.

We left the park around 5 PM and were driving west on Los Feliz Boulevard when suddenly we rounded a curve and the most beautiful sunset was blazing through the sky.

On impulse, I immediately made a right turn on Vermont Avenue and followed the twisting road to the top of the mountain at the Griffith Park Observatory. It was too crowded to park at the Observatory and watch the sun dip below the horizon, so I kept driving west along the winding Mount Lee road, finally stopping when I saw the view in the picture.

The image doesn't fully capture what I saw, but was the kind of sunset that makes lovers kiss, makes even the hardest hearted among us momentarily thaw. And I decided right then, on New Year's Day, that I resolve to see more sunsets like this. This year, I resolve to take the time to stop what I'm doing and notice the beauty that's all around me and thank God for it. I don't want to take it for granted anymore.

So I don't know how your first day of 2008 was but I am sharing this wish, this resolution, whatever you want to call it, with you. This year, I hope we all see and give thanks for the beauty around us.

Gratitude

Oh, Thanksgiving! You're almost here! There's too many things I'm thankful for but here's a short list in no particular order. I'm thankful that:

1) Depeche Mode exists. The other day, I was trying to picture a life without Depeche Mode...and I failed. Plus, they're a good barometer for whether someone is truly a friend. Other people don't have to like them but I have nothing to say to you if you try to ridicule me for liking them.

2) I don't have the job I used to have. I enjoyed what I did and know I made a difference for lots of teachers and kids but...

3) I got my first freelance writing job. Some of you all know what it is. Some of you don't. No, it has nothing to do with anything illegal or pornish so if you went there, get your mind out of the gutter! -- Okay, I'll tell you all what it is.

4) I get to spend more time with my kids. Today I got to watch my youngest re-enacting scenes from the Wizard of Oz. And then I realized that the lady who watched him for the past couple of years used to get to see that fun stuff instead of me.

5) Barack Obama is running for president. I've liked him since I heard him speak at the Democratic convention four years ago. He inspires me pretty much every time he opens his mouth. Will he get the nomination? Will he be president? Who knows, but he adds something. And his wife is the bomb! If he gets elected, she can take his Senate seat in Illinois and then run for president in another eight years.

6) My neighborhood is so fabulous for walking. It's got enough hills to give my rear a workout and there are tons of flowers growing all over the place so it smells wonderful. Will housing prices ever come down enough for me to buy a home here? I don't know, but in the meantime, it's fun to walk by homes with creative front yards like this! I took this photo last weekend. Is that a pumpkin nest?

7) I have connected with so many wonderful bloggers. I appreciate all of you but I particularly appreciate all my fellow intelligent ladies! You all are amazing. I love reading what you write and I love reading your comments here. When I first started blogging, it seemed like the blogosphere was really dominated by guys who thought this was the aggressive, testosterone remix version of "Meet The Press". Ugh! So ladies, keep it coming. Okay, I'll stop gushing.

8) I have friends who encourage my writing. It's so nice to get emails from a couple people in particular that are so encouraging because I need them! They always seem like I get them when I'm most down.

9) I have a creative muse. Every artist has things or people that inspires them and I do too. So to my muse, thank you for inspiring me. You're unflinchingly honest and you've pushed me a whole lot to just keep saying what I need to say. I'm not fully there yet, but, I'm closer, thanks to you.

9) VH1 Classic exists. Where else on TV can I watch videos that don't make me feel like I just stepped into a strip club?

10) Project Runway is back on. Make it work. And vote off the art school brat with the crazy haircut. Please!

11) Fedde Le Grand keeps making great records. From "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit" to "The Creeps" to his latest with Ida Corr, "Let Me Think About" -- if he stops making records, what will I run to?

12) Everyone in my family is healthy. Knock on wood that they stay that way. But I will say, some of you folks I'm related to just need to stop smoking the cancer sticks. For real. Like yesterday.

And, I could go on and on. But I won't because I'm going to go pop a pumpkin pie in the oven.

Tomorrow, I'll be very grateful for the pie, I'm sure! I wish I could share it with each of you.