Amazing Times

Well, the hoopla of conventions is over--now comes the campaign. It's hard to know what to believe and what not to, as we are beseiged on all sides with contradictory stories. McCain says Obama will raise taxes; Obama says McCain's tax program will only help the rich, and he Obama, will lower taxes for everyday citizens. McCain says how proud he is to have chosen the first woman to be nominated for vice-president by the Republican Party (hey, the Democrats did it quite a while back, even if she lost!) and we are told we must not raise gender issues--but then Governor Palin talks about being a soccer mom. McCain tells us he knows people are worried about jobs, gas prices, everyday living, and Joe Biden tells us McCain did not mention one concrete way of helping the ordinary citizen.
A friend of mine is setting off on a month-long trip driving through the American West. She says they'll stay in cabins and national park lodges, where there is no TV. They'll not take a computer. And she's delighted that when they come back, it will be almost over and she won't have to hear another word about it. But then at breakfast yesterday another friend said, "It's so exciting. No matter who wins, these are incredible times to be living. I'm loving it." I asked if she wanted it to be over, and she said, "No way. I'm fascinated."
I went to the grocery today--not ordinarily a big deal, but it had become a really big deal for me. Could I get in without crossing an open parking lot? Would I panic? Today I parked in a handicapped spot, breezed right it, and didn't cling to the cart on the way out (that always worries the sack boys a bit). I am feeling much better.
And I'm working away on my novel, realizing I need to get more serious about marketing the first one since I'm now halfway through the second one and feeling much much better about it.
The world seems in its place--as much as it can be in troubling times--and the only family complication I can think of at the moment is that Jacob has pink eye. Life can't be too bad if that's the worst of it. And I'd hate to say with assurance we've seen the last of summer, but the days are bearable and the early mornings downright pleasant. It makes everyone happier.