Getting Political About Politics

I am not political, by any stretch of the imagination (patriotic, yes; political, no) - and debating politics is not exactly my idea of a fun night, no matter how engaging. Maybe part of it is that I'm pretty ignorant about politics and the political parties and each political candidate's stance. But that's because I choose to be ignorant, in a way. I know the difference between right and wrong and I know where I stand on issues - but are they always right wing? Probably not. I'd like to think they're a mixture of both political parties. When people ask me my political affiliation, I usually scoff and say, 'On the fence.'

At the age of 32, and living in the midst of a big political showdown, on the democratic side, I figured it might be time to educate myself on some things. I headed over to Wikipedia and typed in 'Republican.' Just what does it mean to be a republican?

According to Wikipedia: Advocates of a republic, a form of government based on the rule of laws, not a monarchy or dictatorship. (I thought that definitions weren't supposed to include forms of the word being defined.) Needless to say, that definition didn't really help me so I was able to drill down a bit (go figure, on the democrat page) on republicanism and I got a better definition for what it means to be a republican: Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule of law, popular sovereignty and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. Republicanism always stands in opposition to aristocracy, oligarchy, and dictatorship. More broadly, it refers to a political system that protects liberty, especially by incorporating a rule of law that cannot be arbitrarily ignored by the government.

When I look up democrat, it gives me this: A proponent of democracy, rule of the people.
Typing in 'democracy,' I got: In political theory, democracy describes a small number of related forms of government and also a political philosophy. A common feature of democracy as currently understood and practiced is competitive elections.

Okay - so does that make things a little clearer for me as to which political party I would like to belong to? No. Of course it has to come down to more than just definitions and ideals. I believe this is why we have candidates representing each major party and promising the world of how they'll carry out their grand plans and ideas.

I'm not going to continue on with the political talk - it kind of makes my head hurt. I just know that politics is not my forte. And just because I'm 'on the fence' about whom I support is not a green light for severe right wingers and left wingers to come after me to get me to come over to their 'side.' No way. The more you come after me, the less inclined I am to join you and the more inclined I am to think you're a loon.

Let's just leave it at this - perhaps I am nonpartisan. In nonpartisan elections, each candidate is eligible for office on her or his own merits. I don't look at the candidates and their views of issues, necessarily. I am more interested in the person. I have a lot to say about certain candidates but I'm not going to share those thoughts and feelings - because, I'm not a professional political correspondent. I already admitted that I am ignorant when it comes to politics. A lot of my political views, however, come down to the person, their characteristic and their merits.

If you want to listen to my views, sure, I wouldn't mind sharing them....but only if someone asks because I know this isn't exactly my strong point. That's why it ticked me off when the Dixie Chicks made comments, during one of their concerts, about how they were ashamed the President was from their same state. Hey, if I were a Dixie Chick fan or even a country music fan for that matter, I'm sure I would be at the concert to hear the music - not listen to their political rantings. This is when I think public figures (ie - celebrities) should just keep their opinions to themselves when in a public forum like that. I don't care who they support - more power to them for being so decisive in their vote. But just because you're in front of a mic doesn't mean you need to share. Okay - off the political soap box.

In closing, you won't ever see me writing again about politics - not until I watch those 'School House Rocks' programs again at least.

Say Yes

When I first moved to D.C., I reconnected with a law school classmate, Staci. We had mutual friends in law school, but we were really more acquaintances in those days. I really couldn't have told you much about her, other than that she was a smarty pants because she made the Indiana Law Journal (I was not so lucky; then again, I didn't even try because my brother's wedding fell on the weekend before our entries were due).

I first hung out with Staci when I was visiting D.C. to look for apartments. It was the night of our friend Nancy's bachelorette party. Staci had a pre-party at her townhouse. I still remember what she was wearing. It was a cute light blue "shimmy shirt," which she immediately admitted was purchased from Wet Seal. I thought it was really funny because I knew she was making serious bank at her big law firm job. That part of the evening was the best, because I really got to know Staci, find out how friendly she was, and scored an invite to her next dinner party (whenever that would be).

The real dinner party invitation came after I was settled in D.C. I can't even recall how it arrived (via e-mail or phone). But I do recall one important fact: I said yes. And I said yes to everything Staci invited me to after that. I said yes when I was tired. I said yes when I was feeling a little under the weather. I said yes when I had a pile of laundry at home calling my name. "Yes" was the way to Staci's "A" list. It was the way we became not just friends, but good friends - "go to" friends.

Since becoming friends with Staci, saying yes has become somewhat of a mantra for me. Part of it is selfish: saying yes will get you more invites. Saying yes is also fun. I think about all of the times that I have been on the fence about doing something. Sometimes, staying home seems so much easier. But when I'm on the fence, I still say yes. And I would say 95% of the time, it ends up being a great decision. I have a good time, and I am so glad I went.

But there's more to saying yes than that. I appreciate when people throw parties and organize events. And I think they are putting themselves out there when they do it. I know that's how I feel when I host something. And when we host something like that, the worst thing that could happen is for no one to show up.

So don't worry. You've got my yes.

A Driven Volunteer with No Drive

What does it mean to be a driven volunteer with no drive? Well, in short, I believe that it is a person that loves to volunteer but lacks the ability to actually go out there and find the opportunities that are available to them. Case in point: me.

I am a driven volunteer - I like to help where I can...whether it's for a good, public cause or a personal cause. I understand that there are many people out there that are less fortunate than myself and my family and those friends that may be in unfavorable positions when I am not. Of course I'm not talking about people that are totally down on their luck and downtrodden. For example, one of my friends is having 'minor' surgery and without a thought, I wanted to make him some homemade soup and bring it over when he got back from the hospital. When someone asks for a volunteer for something, I usually never hesitate to raise my hand. It is what I can do to give back or help those that cannot help themselves.

My parents, in their retirement, also find time to volunteer with the community - making food for the needy, especially in the winter, and I think I get a lot of my 'helping hand' characteristics from my mother - as she never hesitates to volunteer her time to help a friend in need. But they also tend to make more monetary donations than physical donations. Rather than give monetary donations (which I do each year to various organizations), I prefer to be a physical presence when I can. And that leads me to this issue - no drive.

I will be the first person to volunteer my time when it's something I can control - like helping my friends or sending in a check or lending myself to a friend's volunteer event. But when it comes to going out there and finding a worthy cause to donate my time to, on my own, forget it. I guess I'm more of a leech in that way. When I hear about other friends volunteering their time to worthy causes, I am envious because some of them volunteer their time each week/month for the same cause while others are not afraid to go out there and find worthwhile charities to help out with. When they tell me about all the wonderful things they've volunteered for, a thought goes through my mind (EVERY TIME) that I really should go out there and donate to something I really believe in.

I really enjoy all the events that I volunteer for but I guess maybe, in some way, I'm afraid of commitment - I'm afraid of committing to something and for some reason, not being able to follow through. And if I don't follow through, I will be looked poorly upon and will be letting other people down. I think I also am afraid to go it alone - I would rather have a friend there as a security blanket than sign up for an event on my own and go out there cold turkey. But I think those are my own personal demons to battle.

So since I'm not that big into personal change, I think I will continue to be a driven volunteer when things are presented to me and in my control....maybe one day I'll change....more likely, I will not. Is this bad?

Tra-la-la-la-la in the Garden

So you have heard about my previous concerns about keeping up the gardens at my home because I have no green thumb. It was more evident when my mother came out to visit and took charge of weeding out the garden...apparently something I was supposed to do before the first frost, back in November. I had every intention of weeding the garden - but I was going to do it at the first sign of spring...preferably when there was no rain. According to my mother, this was wrong. Well, now I know (and knowing is half the battle).

A trip to the nursery was in order. I took stock of the things that needed to be purchased - three pink azaleas, four-deck boxes worth of annuals, two shovels (one specific for gardening, one for digging up the three dead azaleas) and two hanging plants. Yes, people - aside from the shovels, this is the inventory of dead plants and flowers surrounding my house. We had such a drought last summer that all the flowers in the deck boxes were beyond dead - and to me, hanging plants were something you get every year but apparently, if you take care of them in the right manner, they CAN grow back every year...and the azaleas? Well, that's not my fault. When we moved in, the previous owners had five new azalea plants put into the front yard. I watered those suckers throughout the summer and only two managed to make it to spring - the other three were beyond help - my mother thinks it's because they didn't plant them deep enough into the ground.

So off to Betty's Azalea Ranch I went. The only reason why I went to this place was because they were the ones that did all the landscaping and gardening for the previous owners and I was originally going to just replace the three azalea plants that died - so it seemed only natural that I went to the place that planted them in the first place. While driving there, I passed a ton of other nurseries but I knew I needed to go to Betty's. When I got there, it was so daunting - it wasn't huge but there was so much going on - hand painted arrows pointing in every direction if you wanted statues, azaleas, annuals, trees, etc. I had one of those moments where I knew I needed a cart but the only carts that were available didn't look like the flat bed ones everyone else was using...so I went for the green double-decker cart that looked like something out of a John Deere catalog. I knew there would be a lot of purchases filling it. Going through this nursery and pushing this cart around was more of a workout than I originally anticipated.

My first stop: azaleas. Each section was marked off by bloom color. I headed straight for the pinks. Little did I know, nor was I prepared for, what was about to greet me. Not only were there so many different types of pink azaleas, but the specific breed of azalea I needed was called Autumn Twist and all of the azaleas in the pink section started with the word, 'Autumn.' There was Autumn Princess, Autumn Monarch, Autumn Twist, Autumn Carnation, Autumn Carnival, Autumn etc.....craziness! I finally found Autumn Twist and was all set to put three on my double decker cart but thought about something...this is my chance to put my stamp into my front yard. Since moving into the house, we have made little to no changes to what the previous owners had done (cause they did such a great job) - so I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to branch out and pick my own. So I went with two Autumn Monarchs and one Autumn Princess.

Next stop: hanging plants. It had been a hot couple of days before I hit 'the ranch' and I'm sure the people at Betty's did a great job taking care of their inventory but even hanging plants can look tired and weary in the hot sun. So not all of the hanging plants were looking their best. Because I had already went with the pink family for the azaleas, I decided to branch away from the red and pink that the previous owners had and go with purples. I found these two baskets of (what I'm hoping are) geraniums - in a light purple and a darker purple. They were beautiful. I had to have them....with a $20/basket price tag, I didn't care. I came into this nursery trip half prepared - I did no price comparison work because this is all new to me and it just had to be done.

Next stop: annuals and perennials. This section was basically made up of flats and this section was the most fun for me because it transported me back to my elementary school days when they would have 'flower sales' and we could go in and buy little pots of geraniums or pansies or whatever else looked pretty. Of course, when you're in 3rd grade, you don't know what the difference between annuals and perennials are. You're only out to have the box with the most or the prettiest flowers in them. Do I remember what I did with those flowers when I got home? No. All I know is that I really enjoyed 'flower sale' day and that's how I felt when I was walking through all the beds of flowers. I did have one concern and I actually thought it was an amateur question, on my part, since I seemed to be surrounded by older, more experienced gardening ladies. I pulled aside one of the 'ranchers' and I told her my situation, "I have four deck boxes that I have to fill but I need flowers that won't get eaten by deer and squirrel." She repeated with a laugh, "Flowers that won't get eaten by deer and squirrel...ha." I felt myself turning red, damning her for her booming voice...why did she have to repeat what I just said? She was very helpful in that 'the ranch' already had a whole "newsletter" about it - so it's not such a dumb question on my part. As she was going to get my copy of the "newsletter," THREE other ladies in the area asked for copies as well. I picked out four varieties of deer-repellent flowers for two of my deck boxes in burgundies and purples. And even though pansies were not on the list as deer-repellent, all the different colored pansies were yelling for me to come snatch them up - so I did. I bought a whole flat for my two remaining deck boxes...while I was planting, it became evident that it was going to be a tight squeeze but I managed to get them all in!

Final stop: two, stained-glass butterflies to stake my claim into MY garden. The previous owners had a thing for flamingos. They were *nice enough* to leave two, pink, plastic, flamingos in the side garden for us. I probably should have brought the flamingos in during the winter but I didn't and *unfortunately* they did not make it to the spring. One "died" and since I believe that one flamingo shouldn't go on without the other, they both got pulled from the ground and they are now awaiting their trip to the dump.

So it turns out that the double-decker cart was just the thing that I needed. Sure it was awkwardly large and sure I got a great arm workout just by trying to maneuver this thing, with all my plants and flowers adding to the awkwardness. But all of that was forgotten when I finally got home (had to make a pit-stop at Home Depot for the shovels) and planted the new azaleas and hung my plants and prepared my deck boxes. It was all beautiful and I was really proud of myself!

I am now jonesing to get to another nursery to find some cute garden decorations - I know gnomes probably wouldn't survive the deer and other animals that roam around but I would like to see what's out there. This is a whole new area for me to explore. Who knows, maybe I will become Ms. Green Thumbs! (Take that, Mother!) For now, I have six months to figure out what I'm supposed to do with this garden by the time the first frost comes around!