....be a lot nicer....

Right now in the midst of an election year, I have friends on both sides of the political fence. I am not going to blog about my own particular thoughts about any of the candidates or issues...not because I don't care or  have opinions, but because I want to be my NICE self. In fact I want everyone TO BE A LOT NICER....

I think I may have mentioned that I have fabulous children. They are each individuals and each challenging from my maternal perspective. I was a bit apprehensive about my qualifications as a mom, so I was not a gal that had my kids TOO close together. I never had 2 in diapers or any of that nonsense. I had my babies ONE at a TIME (for my friends with twins and kids closer together - my respect for you is HUGE).

My first baby, Damek Maxey Izo is in EVERY possible way a drummer with his own beat. From the get go, I was overwhelmed both by the massive responsibility, total lack of sleep and the ensuing inability to function as if my life had not been totally ransacked by this little creature, but also by the complete and total devastating love affair that began for me the early morning he was born. I am not alone here - I have plenty of friends that know what I am talking about. Damek is 22 as the election approaches. This is the second presidential election that he will vote in. As family paintball fest is coming up, I am sure we will have some fun family political debates.

When Damek was 5, Mike was walking him to kindergarten. Mike had moved from California the summer before Damek started school. Sadie was not yet 2 years old. Anyway, Damek told Mike that if he (Mike) was going to be the dad around here, he (Mike) was going to have to be a lot NICER. Mike was 31 at the time. I had had 5 years to adjust to parenthood by then...Mike was just getting started. The point is Damek probably gave Mike the best advice given the challenges of his new role. Damek was just 5, folks, and could see that being a Dad was a difficult job. The stress of the new role and the unrelenting schedule could make anyone cranky....

I was thinking about this concept of BEING NICE as I watched the news. Yes, it is fun to make fun of the candidate you don't like. It is fun to debate the issues. What is the saying?....opinions are like assholes - everybody has one. Being President and Vice President are difficult jobs. I know a presidential election is important and the voting public has the right to know what the candidates stand for. I know that each candidate has a compelling personal story to tell and something unique to bring to the office. At the end of the day, I bet Romney brushes his teeth, puts his reading glasses on his nightstand, kisses Ann's forehead, and turns off the reading lamp - just like me. I bet Barack and Michelle have discussions about their kids - just like I do with Mike. Now, I fully understand MY day to day decisions do not influence MILLIONS OF LIVES. I completely get that if you are the leader of the FREE WORLD you can not always BE NICE. And that conflict arises when folks don't agree. However, we can all agree that these guys are HUMAN BEINGS - just like us. Their supporters are HUMAN BEINGS, too.....not to mention, your fellow Americans and neighbors. Be a lot nicer, people.

So, to all my friends out there on both sides of the fence, hang in there. We live in America, where we are allowed to discuss, bitch, make fun of, criticize and VOTE for our leaders. Let's all do this in the spirit of being NICER to each other even if we disagree. When the dust settles and the ballots are counted, the morning after the election on November 7th, we will know who will have one of the toughest jobs on the planet for the next four years. Who ever wins will  have plenty of staff to help them, plenty of advisors and be plenty stressed out. Just like Damek told Mike to be a lot nicer....WHO EVER WINS...could certainly benefit from that advice.