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Hi all of you blog readers – all 10 or so of you!

I have had a long summer and fall. I’m not sure how much I want to share. Or rather write. Call me, and I’ll tell you most all of the details. I am more of a talker than writer. But I love to read. And I love to read blogs and find myself disappointed when the posts are few and far between (or not at ALL Faith Carol!). Also, writing on my blog was/is a good discipline for me. I am not good with follow through and starting a post, generally means, finishing a post. I do get some satisfaction out of that.

I keep trying to divide the last few months into good and bad categories but life is far too complicated for that. So, I think I am going to use interesting/exciting and boring/tiresome.

Interesting/Exciting

• I was on the radio three times during the election season representing the League of Women Voters of which I am the current local President. I had never been on the radio before. Here is a link to the first of the shows if you feel so compelled. You have to use the box on the right to get to the show. I am on September 15^th, the first link I think. I really enjoyed this and think I might enjoy being a radio personality.
  
• I have seen a counselor/therapist off and on for the last seven years and I saw him more times this past summer and fall than all of years previous. (He’s leaving this practice and so I won’t see him again. In any case, I was starting to sound boring even to myself. See under Boring.)
  
• The LWV helped pass a sales tax initiative to support our local public transportation system ~ 70-30%! (LWV is generally VERY opposed to sales tax because it is regressive. We have a long history of supporting public transportation and were instrumental in getting a local system in place to begin with and didn’t want to see it defunded.) There are very few elections that have a 70-30% victory spread. It was a nice mandate after a lot of hard work by the LWV and another local grassroots group. I moderated a very informative forum on this issue that I wish we would have had recorded. It related a lot of great information on many aspects of city government and public transportation.
  
• I moderated a forum for the Students of Liberty at KU. They are Libertarians. It was great fun and very interesting. My daughter and Moritz –see next item- submitted a question regarding Zombies. It was accidentally submitted but entertaining none-the-less.
  
• Our family, that being Anna & I for the most part, hosted a German exchange student for about 5 weeks. Moritz was a delight to have in our home and it made me realize how much I miss having boys around.
  
• Anna spent six weeks in Germany early in June. I really missed her and it was a good insight into what life will be like when she is gone. That will go under boring.
  
• I broke up and then got back together with my husband. This is still a touchy part of my life. In fact, we are together at the moment but it feels very delicate. This should also be posted under boring and tiresome. I used to say that Mark and I had been together off and on for 25 years. Now I say Mark and I have been breaking up off and on for 25 years. It is hard to determine if we are in a successful relationship or a failing relationship. I have my own culpability in the situation and in fact one of the previous break-ups came three plus years ago when I told Mark I wanted a divorce. We did not get divorced. This time around the split has been more of something he wants. I want to be married. My motives are sometimes entirely selfish and not about being in love. But after 25 years, a relationship becomes so much more than just about being in love. This summer has been emotionally tumultuous for me. No doubt for Mark as well. Some of the things sent me swimming in waters that I have carefully spent my entire adult life avoiding. I went without a lifejacket and remembered what I’ve always known: that no matter what, I’ll be ok. There are about 10 sentences in the above paragraph that I would like to expand on but that is for another day.
  
• I got to go to California and visit my friend Mary Beth and her family. They kept me sane and grounded during one of the worst moments of the last 6 months. I will be forever grateful to MB, her family and especially her parents who helped make the trip possible with 24 hours notice. And to Mastercard. See below.
  
• Nathan coached 8^th grade football at one of the local junior highs and had a winning season. Congratulations Coach. He also took the LSAT. Mom’s proud!
  
• Anna’s the Co-Director of the school musical, Guys and Dolls. Mom’s proud! For more on Anna –see below.
  
• A new member of my family entered the world. Welcome Jamison Harlan.
  
• And last, a new member of my family will enter the world in late May. Welcome to you baby.

Boring/Tiresome

• No matter what the situation, you can only talk it through so many times. It starts to sound really boring and you never get any closer to understanding what happened or why. Sometimes, stuff just happens.
• I hired and fired one Administrative Assistant.
• I don’t always like being the boss.
• One should not max out a brand new credit card in less than 45 days no matter what is going on in ones life. But see above.
• Anna’s grades continue to go down and up. And up and down.

I am finding my Christmas cheer. I miss having Mary Beth to plan with. The children are older, and planning isn’t really as necessary. So, it is hard for me to get started. This year it is hard for me to get into it at all. I feel pretty lonely. The kids are busy, Mark is in Virginia and also busy. I am really, really looking forward to having this past year be over. And who knows what’s in store for 2009. Whatever, I’ll be ok.