Hope for change

The last eight years has been one rough ride for our family, starting with the events of 9/11. From there it all went downhill for us - the Vegas economy taking a turn for the worse resulting in job losses and decreased income, more job losses and decreased income that followed us to Portland resulting in my not being able to pursue my grad school aspirations, more job losses after moving to Colorado, complete with being involved in the failing housing market and being affected by the broken health care system. Every issue that has been a hot topic in this election has directly affected our family. We are the middle class family that has worried about paying the bills, worried about our credit and selling a house, worried about the price of gas and groceries, worried about lack of affordable health insurance and worried about fighting for coverage once we've paid for a health insurance plan.

After the historic events of last night's election, I sincerely hope the next four to eight years will be different. I hope that our country will be able to turn around and the middle class will become stronger. I hope we will find a solution to our energy, health care and financial crises. I hope for the change that has been promised. I believe in that hope, the positive look for our future and the change that brought about goosebumps and a lump in my throat last night.

I don't hold people to a higher standard, like idolizing celebrities. People are just people and nobody is really that more special than anyone else. However, I do feel like Obama is heroic for his efforts in his attempt to change our Nation. He has his work cut out for him and it will most likely take much longer than four years to change all that has been done by the Bush administration. Not only is it going to take a lot of work to change, he's putting his life on the line for it. Unfortunately, there is no doubt in my mind that there will be some kind of harmful chaos that will follow this election. There are some crazy whackjobs out there who spew nothing but garbage and hatred. A hope for change isn't exactly what they were asking for and I think Obama is pretty brave to face that for our Country.

I haven't posted anything about my opinions regarding this monumental election until now, but I have been reading, studying and paying very close attention to all that had been going on, on both the National and local levels. I'm sure Bill is relieved that he won't have to listen to my political rantings anymore. I'm relieved that a choice has been made and from here on out, we can stop talking about change and actually start doing something about it. Because we can.

Double the pleasure, double the fun
It's official. We're speaking to an attorney to proceed with another lawsuit, this one against Bill's current (soon to be former) employer. What. The. Hell.

He met with the owner of this gym this morning (let's call this one "small town gym" & the other one "Big City Gym" just to cut down on the confusion). They told him that he's causing too much trouble & stirring the pot & tried to fire him on the spot. They compromised with letting him finish the sales leads he currently has & they will part ways on the 15th.

In the meantime, Bill got a call from the techie-kind of job he interviewed for yesterday & was offered the job. He goes in tomorrow morning to shadow & officially "accept" the position (& find out the actual pay structure). So, the situation could be a whole lot worse. We're confident that everything is going to be A-OK.

The attorney that we met with for the Big City Gym case is out of town until Tuesday. We'll try & meet up with him again to see what we can do in the small town gym suit, be it a dispute solely on the commission or possibly that & a wrongful termination case. At the very least, we can file this with the State Labor Board & go through a mediation process.

It's at this point that I can see why I went through all of that crap trying to find an attorney for the Big City Gym suit. Now I know exactly who to call, what to say, what employment lawyers in our town offer free consultations & what to do in situations like this. We actually "have" an employment attorney that we've met with & have a connection with. Proceeding with the small town gym lawsuit will be very easy & virtually stress free. Imagine that! I still can't believe I'm saying "stress free" & "lawsuit" in the same sentence.

It's just strange to realize how life events eventually fit together like puzzle pieces. We knew Bill's time at the small town gym was coming to an end. Last week we had a "money versus morals" discussion at dinner, where Bill was telling me some underground news about the fitness industry here in town. We've known for a few years that the Big City Gym had purchased land to build their first club here in our small town. Since we've worked with the Big City Gym, we know the world domination that happens when they first develop in a town. It's oddly similar to the movie Dodgeball. The Big City Gym is definitely Globo Gym.

Bill learned that the Big City Gym is breaking ground in 4 months. They will set up their sales trailer until the building is completed by late spring/early summer. When the Big City Gym opens, all of the average Joe gyms will go under. Only the boutique gyms will stay in business. The small town gym? It's an average Joe gym & we know they won't make it.

Before all of th developments this morning, Bill was talking about possibly going back to the Big City Gym, even though we are currently proceeding with a lawsuit. His mentality was "if you can't beat em', join em". Financially, I can see his point. Emotionally, it was like a kick in the gut. I started to cry in my salad thinking about dealing with them again. I mean, they fired me for being pregnant, they screwed up our insurance paperwork & refused to fix it so now we're in this legal mess & overall, I just want them to burn to the ground. The Big city Gym is a multi-billion dollar gym, so that's never going to happen. They're just going to spread all over the world like the plague.

So, this change of career is prefect timing. It's kind of funny how all of this is feeling more like a nuisance rather than a huge, stressful upheaval. All I have to figure out is where I'm going to train my friends. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get into the small town gym after the 15th. I'm getting my thinking cap on...

This is just ridiculous
So ridiculous that I had to post about it. What is going on in this world??? Why is breast feeding so offensive? It just blows my mind that something so natural, healthy & beneficial; something that has nourished human kind since the BEGINNING OF TIME is "offensive".

I knew that I wanted to breast feed Logan from the start. Fortunately, it came easy for us & we've been going strong. I hope to continue until he's between 12 & 18 months old.

In our months of nursing, I've had some "comments" about breast feeding (mostly from family). I'm relieved we haven't been humiliated in public. But then again, I actually go out of my way to find a private spot to breast feed Logan. Not because I'm ashamed, but because if anyone said something negative to me about it, I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut.

When we're out & Logan needs to nurse, I hang out in the car or find a "mother's room" if there is one. We've been to the zoo & I nursed him under a blanket by the monkeys. When we went on vacation this summer, I nursed him on the plane. So far, so good. No comments from the public & no glaring looks either.

Logan & I will be flying out to Portland to see my sisters & meet Baby M for Thanksgiving in a couple of days. The flight times are crazy (so we could maximize our time there) & Logan will have to nurse on the flight & in the airport. I'm a little nervous because Bill won't be able to come with us. He starts his new job the day we fly out. I hope our successful nursing in public streak continues.

However, that fact that this is even a concern is stupid. Why do Mother's have to think about what may happen if they need to feed their babies in public? The rest of the world thinks the US is insane because it's an issue. Mother's in Norway don't have to think twice about it.

I just don't get it. I really don't.

There is a petition from Moms Rising to help support Mother's rights to breast feed in public. I signed it & I hope all of the other blogging Moms will sign it too.

I'm not voting today
This is the first year that I won't vote. I'm usually proud to vote, especially as a woman. Many women before me made it possible for me to put in my two cents. When I turned 18, I was excited to be a part of the election process. The novelty has worn off.

I'm not voting this year because I don't like any of the candidates. It's like I'm voting for dumb or dumber. We've been bombarded by negative add campaigns that just make me roll my eyes. There are very important issues that I feel need to be addressed; stem cell research, immigration, abortion laws, taxes, support of our libraries...the list goes on. Both parties are too busy bashing each other to really be proactive about anything. I don't feel like anyone has our State or our county in their best interest. I feel like it's all about money & power to them. That's the impression I get from their campaigns anyway.

What's happened in our government since the last couple of elections has totally turned me off. I voted. Who's in office now, I didn't vote for & I don't think highly of them. We're often told that "every vote counts". I don't feel that way. At least not any more. This is the year that I've become jaded.

Hopefully by the next election we'll have people worthwhile running for office. People who will get to the issues rather than each others throats.