My beloved and I were out attending an event when our sitter sent me this picture.  It just made my evening.  I knew our little one was loved and being well taken care of.  You can see the happiness on her face.  We were at a function benefiting the Boys and Girls Club.  They had some of the children there directing the way from the valet through the hotel and up to the ballroom.  In groups of three, proudly wearing their shirts, they eagerly provided answers with the sweetness of kids who were just good.  I wanted to hug them but figured I’d scare them.  Instead I just complimented them for being so polite, thanked them for their help, and watched them beam.  A wealthy white man was honored with a lifetime achievement award.  One could tell from his speech it was very dear to his heart.  All the kids I saw were black.  Just as I have written about not vilifying the poor; neither should the rich all be painted with the same brush.  I believe those kids are going to go places and achieve great things.  This is why my father taught me never to envy; rather to aspire.  James Allen, the British author of “As a Man Thinketh,” wrote, “To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve.”

I can remember going to vote with Mama and Daddy in the early ’70’s and they had these horrid avocado green sliding curtains to protect your privacy when you went to cast your ballot.  I was so proud I got to go and a bit scared as I stood in the tiny booth with my mother.  My parents, who loved each other deeply, used to joke they had to go to the poles to cancel each other out.  Mama grew up in a long line of Southern Democrats and Daddy was a hardshell Republican.  They showed me that people can disagree but still respect each other AND have civil dialogues about ideological differences.  It goes without saying they always voted.  As with everything else in my life, they influenced me greatly.  I can promise you, no matter what you may think, you will never be able to determine my political affiliation.  That is because I am not married at all costs to one particular side of the aisle.  I vote my conscience and I can never be sorry for that.  We are all entitled to have a voice.  And if we do not exercise our right it will be exercised for us by someone else.  I love this quote by the American former president of the University of Notre Dame, Reverend Theodore Hesburgh, who said, “Voting is a civic sacrament.”

My little one recently saw an old picture of me and said how much she liked my hair.  It was the 1980’s and I had my beloved spiral perm.  She asked if I could get one again and I explained I could not color my hair and perm it, too.  (I choose to have less gray.)  So now I have to settle for curling my hair with a curling iron and then watching it go out in the rain.  Or heat.  Or wind.  Meanwhile, my baby went from peach fuzz, to straight hair for a split second, to her fabulous spiral curls that crown her head now.  The more horrible the weather, the better her hair gets.  It doesn’t frizz and becomes more ethereal as she nears the beach.  There is almost not a person whom she has encountered who does not remark upon her beautiful hair.  The Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem said, “I always had long hair.  When you lose it, you realise just how important it is to your identity.”  I would have to agree.  My junior year in high school I made the drill team and I was so happy until I realized they actually required girls to cut their hair into a short bob.  I never had short hair and I was miserable until it finally grew out after my senior year.  If women want to wear short hair that’s great; but I will be one of those ladies who keep my hair longer despite getting older; it’s hair to stay.

What we do in our leisure time is a reflection of who we are.  I think our hobbies say a lot about us.  When I saw this poster at a French school I begged to have it.  There is so much subtlety going on in the details I just love it.  He lives in my office now safely nestled with other wolves of all varying kinds while he continues to read up on Little Red Riding Hood.  (So we have discovered his hobby.)  I adore a man in cufflinks (my husband can rock them like no one) and he is even drinking my favorite libation!  You know what?  Upon closer inspection I realize they may not be whiskey stones but perhaps just ice cubes.  Huh.  Funny how we see what we want to, isn’t it?  I find people’s hobbies fascinating.  I would say I read for pleasure and collect as a hobby.  I love Edward S. Curtis photographs, anything with a wolf on it, and fossils, particularly ammonites.  The American actor George Takei said:

“My grandmother lived to 104 years old, and part of her success was she woke up every morning to a brand new day.  She said every morning is a new gift.  Her favorite hobby was collecting birthdays.”

Out of all the hobbies I have heard of I thought this was the loveliest:  living life to the fullest and collecting birthdays.