What holiday?

Well I'm back. I got my grant in, and then went through the usual cliched existential crisis. You know the one---our protagonist is going through a particularly challenging and busy time. She is working herself to the bone and missing out on what she perceives to be all kinds of fun. She dreams wistfully of said challenge finally coming to an end, upon which the world will erupt in rainbows and butterflies and life will be amazing. The challenge ends. No rainbows. No butterflies. Certainly no "amazing". Just the usual mix of mundane and suck. She wallows briefly wailing "what's the point !" but then moves on to find beauty in the mundane and joy in the suck. And life goes on.

Until the next challenge comes up. Which for me was last week's marathon 7 days of consults and Total Thanksgiving Coverage. For the 4 days of the long-weekend I left the house at 7:30 and returned between 2:30-4pm, after rounding on 20+ patients per day (and the myriad extended family that was able to come visit for the holidays and all needed full updates & their list of questions answered!) and writing 30+  notes per day in our spanking new EMR.

Those keeping track may realize that, yes, I was away for the majority of my childrens' waking hours. So G had his own marathon. It is finally over. Cue the rainbows and butterflies....

Choice

Four years ago, on an unseasonably warm November Tuesday, G & I walked over bright and early to the polling place near our apartment and quickly and easily cast our vote for hope and change. Today, it was bitter cold. Voting was less quick and certainly less easy as we brought both boys with us, one of whom heard "voting" and "president" as "boating" and "presents" and was sorely disappointed in the experience. Our hope is a bit bruised and battered and change, we've learned, comes quite slowly. But we cast our votes and now we continue to wait. Anxiously.


I've shied away from posting anything political on this blog because I haven't been able to write anything even-handed. I've got many half-written rants in my "Drafts" but really, what's the point? If anyone reading agrees with me, I'm not saying anything new. If they don't, well, I'm unlikely to change their minds.


When B finally got the vague sense of what were doing, that there were two men running for president and we picked one, he predictably asked "why?". I gave him a quick age-appropriate answer, but realized I've never actually articulated the reasons behind my vote.


So here are a few reasons, briefly stated (and heavily edited to remove most rage and rantiness).

 I believe...

• that the measure of a society is how it treats its weakest citizens...not its strongest.
• in equal rights for all, straight or gay, rich or poor, male or female...
• that basic healthcare is a right for all humans, including reproductive healthcare for women. 
• in science. and the teaching of it to our children, and the use of it to improve our health.  
• and finally, that the most critical aspect of our leaders is character and integrity. Yes, policies about specific issues are important, but life is full of the unexpected. We may know how a candidate will deal with A and B, but what about the X, Y, Z we never anticipated? I want someone honest, compassionate, and fair in charge.

 Back to waiting. I'll remember this day as B and L's first presidential election. B even got to push the "VOTE" button for me as we made our choice in support of our President.