Respect

Finally the election is over. I wish I could say that I was thrilled, or surprised for that matter, with the results. I fell asleep early and missed most of the coverage including McCain's speech. I heard it was completely gracious. I DID however see Obama's. Was I in awe? Yes. Who couldn't be? We were watching history unfold. And I wished in my heart of hearts that I could be more optimistic about an Obama presidency, but I can't. I am what you would consider a social moderate, but a fiscal conservative. However, there are MANY social issues of his that I 110% am opposed to, but I won't even get into that. I will however cover two of my biggest issues with Obama...and then this will be the last you hear of the politics from me. One is the war. I think it should go without saying given some of my former posts, we are military people. Hubby is no longer enlisted, but my brother in law is. My baby sister was in tears last night. Worried. Worried about the funding. Worried about the support. Worried that her Husband was going to be sent into another Somalia type situation. If you don't see my point of view on this, please refrain from leaving a comment, because quite frankly to me there is no compromise on it and we will just have to agree to disagree.

My second issue is the financial redistribution. To understand me completely would take far too much time, but I will give a short back ground. I am the daughter of a man who is a high school drop out in addition to a recovering alcoholic. The cards were stacked against him early on. His parents divorced when he was only 4 and in that time it was unheard of. I hate to even type this, but my grandfather abandoned them. They were poor to say the least. He HAD to get a job. He HAD to contribute. My mother had a completely different background. She came from what was considered an upperclass family. Her mother (my grandmother) was given a life of leisure. My mother was also extremely intelligent and could have done whatever she wanted after high school. But being the rebel that she was (and still is) she eloped with her high school sweetheart from the other side of the tracks. As crazy as they are, their love is undying. Her parents weren't about to give a hand out. They made their bed, now they could lie in it. My grandfather after all, vividly remembers the Depression. My father's parents didn't have any money to give. They relocated to a small town and rented a single wide trailer, where they got the surprise of their life...they were pregnant with me. My mother being all of 18 and my father 19 when they found out. Nine months later they had moved back to their hometown and began the daily grind that would become their lives. One trailer, another trailer, and then they had enough saved to actually buy a double wide. They felt rich. All the while they were doing it FOR THEMSELVES. When I was in 7th grade my mother, myself and my grandfather (her father) were at a beloved Clemson football game. And I still remember this like it was yesterday, my grandfather looked at her in a moment of cheering and said, "if you will go to school here I will pay for it". I will never forget that moment. My mother was speechless and I was shocked. But even at the age of 12 I knew what this meant for us. And for my grandfather, it was the opportunity to watch his extremely (like, crazy!) smart daughter get a college education. The next fall my mother was enrolled in dear old Clemson and my sister and I were left to pick up a LOT of the slack around our home. Remember, my father was an alcoholic and they aren't big on change. Those four years were probably the worst of my entire life. We were poorer than we had ever been seeing how my mother had to quit her job to become a full time student. My father was always agitated and my mother took it out on us, but someway, somehow we persevered. While this was going on, somehow my father, while working in a plant, was socking money away for his retirement, for a rainy day, and for my and my sister's college educations. He didn't have one single credit card. He never took a government hand out. Part of his agitation in those days came from feeling as if he couldn't provide for his family and he was my grandfather's charity case (which the ONLY money my grandfather gave was for tuition and books). Years later I still am in awe of what my father and mother have accomplished...ON THEIR OWN. I could continue on with the story of Hubby and myself and how our story goes, but I think I've laid out enough for you to see where I am coming from.

I respect the position of the President of the United States and for that he will have my respect. However, I am still worried about what lies ahead.

Moving on to a new day...