So I was lying in bed, trying to help my body recover from this cold, but all my mind could think of was this particular issue, which I want to now blog about.
Aspirations and Adjustment
This is life. For me, my life has always been a series of aspirations and plans and watching them not really work out the way I forsaw, and then adjusting to it. This isn't meant to sound depressing, because I think I've had a good life so far. But it is a common theme that I've noticed, and it's not just in my own life. I think everyone can attest to this. For example:
Me, last year when we were planning on living in Arizona, before I had Will:
"When I'm a stay at home mom and we're living in a warm place, we're going to do so much fun stuff! We're going to do constant activities and hang out with all these other new moms and it's going to be awesome!"
And then we moved, and I very quickly learned three things:
1) It was incredibly hot and I rarely wanted to be outside.
2) I had a 3-month-old baby who would rather stick to a strict schedule of eating and sleeping and could care less about doing 'fun' activities.
3) We just so happened to move to a place where there are very few couples with one small baby.
Was I disappointed? A little, maybe. But I found my rhythm, and I really don't do that many activities like I thought I would, but yet I am okay. Taking care of a baby is tiring, and when I get a little free time that doesn't include errands, chores, or housecleaning, the thought of shlepping baby, stuff, and me to some place that probably wouldn't be that great is sometimes not always what I want to do. And so I am fine with my daily routine, which rarely includes activities or hangouts with other new moms. Actually, I have found that when I do make plans like that, they sometimes become a burden because I have to work them into our schedule and it gets tricky.
My reason for discussing this is because I have made my peace with Obama. I realize that it is inevitable that once he has been the President for a little while, he will learn why Bush's 2004 platform was "Being President is hard work." Obama has some crazy ideas for change, but I'm sure that once he's actually in office, some of those plans won't work out the way he forsaw it, and some other plans might only work if they are tweaked a little bit. That is life.
And we Americans, who had such hopes and aspirations for a better future, will continue to be disappointed time and time again, and Obama is going to disappoint many people as well. So we will reach a level of compromise, in which the President realizes that not all his grand schemes can come to pass and we realize that not all our dreams can come true. We will continue to be whiny and sulky and that seems to make us happy, if only because it's so familiar.
Yes, I hope that our new Prez can fix some of the problems we are having, but I'm pretty sure he won't fix all of them. At least we can take comfort in the fact that we don't have to put all our trust and faith in the government, but we can put it in God, because He does not make mistakes. And at least we have a little more control over what goes on within our own daily lives and we can choose whether or not to try and be optimistic about our future.
That's all. I'll get off my box now.
10 comments:
I totally understand what you mean. Whenever I build up in my head how great something will be, (especially relating to children) I always find myself adjusting to a different, but not necessarily bad, situation.
As far as Obama goes, I'm sure you've heard the quote from one of his supporters, "I never thought that day would ever happen when I wouldn't have to worry about putting gas in my car, I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage, you know; if I help him, he's going to help me." How do you not get disappointed when that is your plan?
with babies it's hard to really schedule "playdates". it really takes a few years before you feel like what you are doing really matters to your kid. before then, it's pretty much about keeping yourself entertained. so i can understand the staying home. also, about the new pres., i'm just glad it's not a dictatorship and all things still have to go through a lot of people before they really pass.
Good thoughts. I am cautiously optimistic that Obama might improve some things, though the potential for catastrophic policies is great.
hey- could you email me your address? thanks!
allysunnie@yahoo.com
That was well spoken. Kai and I have been pretty sad the last couple of days and then my mom told me this: because of Obama the black community in Cali that doesn't normally vote went out and voted in unpresidented numbers. Their religious advisors told them to vote for two things:
1. The first black president
2. Religion- meaning defining marriage as a man and woman. (yes on Prop 8)
Because of this community that came out to vote for Obama, prop 8 passed, keeping marriage between a man and woman.
So, there is one thing to thank him for. Also I listened to his acceptance speech and he made a point to let the people know that the things he had promised were going to be hard things to deliver. I wonder if he is starting to realize that the war and the economy won't be as easy to fix as he thought. It was like he got his first dose of reality.
Now all we can do is pray and hope for the best.
Obama has made a few promises that intrigue me, nothing you would expect from a typical liberal. So hopefully it pans out.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I have come to the conclusion that McCain lost on purpose. I mean, the stock market started really tanking and then he picked Palin as his running mate. Coincidence? Banks crashed, he started running out of money for his campaign and Palin spent a lot on clothes. Coincidence? :) This is just a theory. But honestly, I would not want to be president right now...
Poor Obama. He's got a lot of crap ahead of him. It's likely that most of what he'll be doing is diplomacy and economy for the next four years. I have a feeling that health care won't be the highest priority, which means we're putting off becoming as France and the UK for at least another little while.
This was a great post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Funny how everyone seems to know just how to do the job until they're there. He's not my favorite politician but I'm sure he will do some good things.
I liked that blog - yes I liked it a lot. Thanks for making me think.
So you wrote that you do chores and housecleaning. What are your chores? I mean if they're two different things...ANYWAYZ I am glad you wrote about that. I feel the same way about Obama and everything else for that matter. I say "bring it" let's just see what happens and make the best of it. Love you Heidi.
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