A Better Place
Quoting nictate from Twitter: "To borrow a phrase from Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets": Obama makes me want to be a better man. Well, woman. Person. Oh, you get it."
I haven't written it down, but that AGAIG quote has come to mind lately, as so many people have felt called to service by Barack Obama. There are people who inspire me just to be "better". My Youth and Government kids. My husband. My stepsons. My daughter. A few teachers. My friends who volunteer for campaigns and charitable organizations to the point where they have no free time. They make we want to learn more. Help more. Believe that change is possible and that I can help bring it about. Basically not be such a lazy fatass. I think about petty crap a lot. I obsess about the division of labor in my house. About what they fed the baby at daycare. I want to think about MORE than that.
I was thinking a few days ago that some of my favorite teachers growing up were then about the same age that I am now. How they have influenced me more than they know. And how I'm a lazy sum'bitch for mostly keeping to myself and associating with few people other than my immediate family. Occasionally, I feel like I do some good in the lives of my Youth and Government kids, but it is such a small percentage of the nurturing and attention that they need.
I like having lots of free time. I like sleeping late on Saturday and not doing a damn thing if I don't feel like it. But I feel like one of these days I'm going to regret not doing more. I'm not going to beat myself up too hard for a few years at least - I mean I have an 8 month old. I don't exactly spend a lot of time pampering myself. I hope to make service a part of Emerson's childhood. She and I can do things together, so I don't have to feel like I'm sacrificing my already limited time with her to give back to the community. I want it to be second nature to her - I don't want her to be like so many kids I see who always have their face in an ipod or cell phone or video game and don't seem to care at all about what is going on around them. I want her to have empathy and some knowledge of the three dimensional world. I want her to have a giving heart but also be able to protect herself.
She makes me want to help her become a better person than I am, and I think that will also help make me a better person in the process.
I haven't written it down, but that AGAIG quote has come to mind lately, as so many people have felt called to service by Barack Obama. There are people who inspire me just to be "better". My Youth and Government kids. My husband. My stepsons. My daughter. A few teachers. My friends who volunteer for campaigns and charitable organizations to the point where they have no free time. They make we want to learn more. Help more. Believe that change is possible and that I can help bring it about. Basically not be such a lazy fatass. I think about petty crap a lot. I obsess about the division of labor in my house. About what they fed the baby at daycare. I want to think about MORE than that.
I was thinking a few days ago that some of my favorite teachers growing up were then about the same age that I am now. How they have influenced me more than they know. And how I'm a lazy sum'bitch for mostly keeping to myself and associating with few people other than my immediate family. Occasionally, I feel like I do some good in the lives of my Youth and Government kids, but it is such a small percentage of the nurturing and attention that they need.
I like having lots of free time. I like sleeping late on Saturday and not doing a damn thing if I don't feel like it. But I feel like one of these days I'm going to regret not doing more. I'm not going to beat myself up too hard for a few years at least - I mean I have an 8 month old. I don't exactly spend a lot of time pampering myself. I hope to make service a part of Emerson's childhood. She and I can do things together, so I don't have to feel like I'm sacrificing my already limited time with her to give back to the community. I want it to be second nature to her - I don't want her to be like so many kids I see who always have their face in an ipod or cell phone or video game and don't seem to care at all about what is going on around them. I want her to have empathy and some knowledge of the three dimensional world. I want her to have a giving heart but also be able to protect herself.
She makes me want to help her become a better person than I am, and I think that will also help make me a better person in the process.
posted by Amanda Shankle-Knowlton | 5:30 PM
1 Comments:
Brilliant post! Very touching. Thanks for quoting me. I'm honored.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home