orichalcum

This morning, I was praising Eowyn because, unlike the past three mornings, she didn't start barking wildly while waiting for Mac and I to breakfast and shower before her morning walk. Mac heard me, got a big smile, ran over to his sheet of stickers, pulled one off, and stuck it proudly to Eowyn's rump, shouting "Good Girl!"

Eowyn was not amused. I need to figure out some way of explaining that sticker currency is species-dependent.

***
In the shower, I was trying to teach Mac to lean his head back so he wouldn't get shampoo in his eyes. I modeled the correct pose for him as I held him in my arms. He grinned, took his cup, held it under the shower, and then poured a full cup of water down my nose.

***
On the down side, every time Mac and I have a disagreement, he starts crying and begging, "Daddy coming soon? I want Daddy."
Two more days. I can handle two more days of solo parenting, right?

I haven't done a political post in a while (all right, a week). Two moments today really struck me emotionally, though.

One was this Newsweek interview with Joe Biden. Now, I'd been a bit skeptical about his emotional tears during the debate, when he remembered his first wife's car accident and the critical condition his sons were left in. Partially, that's because I have a bizarre defensive reaction towards Jill Biden, who I feel like always gets characterized as the second (lesser) wife, even though they've been married for over thirty years and she raised his sons.

But in the interview, Biden mentions that emotional moment and notes something I had forgotten. Beau, the son who nearly died as a three-year-old in the hospital, was set to leave for Iraq two days after the debate. When Biden's fatherhood was challenged, at a time when his thoughts were full of current worry about his son, his mind went back to the last time his son was in danger of dying and yeah, he lost it. Realizing that makes so much more sense - and makes me feel a bit sheepish.

The second moment comes from a new emotional Obama speech about the need for full-coverage, universal health care. Oddly, for the first time this fight struck me personally. I'm lucky; my whole life I've had university health benefits, which are pretty darn good by American standards.
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That's my family's situation, with one of the best health plans in the country. How much worse is it for the unemployed, the self-employed, or people at small companies, who can't afford basic preventative care, or prenatal, or cancer treatments? How many people in America have to make the wrong choice for their health because it's the only choice for their wallet?

America is better off if I can get my root canals when I need them, if 16-year-olds can get pacemakers, if the elderly can focus on passing on their love and wisdom to their children and grandchildren, not their medical bills.

I can barely hope to imagine a country where I can simply walk into a doctor or dentist's office, give them my National Health Card, and say "do whatever is necessary so I can be healthy."