Hail To The Chief

Okay...so I've been working on this entry for a few days now, and I keep on deleting it!  It seems like nothing that I write can reflect the magnitude of President-Elect Obama's election.  He has ignited pride, passion, and love of county in many people that have felt ignored for years.  Those of you that know me know that I did not vote for him...however, he will be my president.  I respect him, and I admire already the sense of pride and hope that he has brought to our country.  

I felt great pride in being most importantly, an American, on election night.  Both of our candidates are great men, and I know that there is room for all of our beliefs here.  

Thanks to Greg for these photos that the Obamas posted.  Tim Russert couldn't say it on election night, so I will:  "WHAT A COUNTRY!"  Put on a song that you like, and enjoy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/show/

I'm Voting for HER

November 3, 2008

Today, when I woke up, the first thought in my head was about a lady who has made history, and who has inspired me. Okay. So she's a little goofy. She's chatty. Although she's dressed to the nines, people usually don't take her too seriously. I woke up with a feeling of promise, and I noted that distant glimmer of hope that although the prospects were dim, maybe, just maybe...

I might get to talk to my busy, busy mother today and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

It's November 3rd! Screw the election! The headlines today should read "Christy Osborne is 45 and has a 99% approval rating!" (Yes, my dad is still peeved that she refuses to make him Liver and Onions...can't please 'em all, Mom!)

What can I say about my mother without cracking open my heart on the counter and spilling out every feeling that I've ever had? Quietly, my mom has taught me to laugh. To take it all with a grain of salt. To believe in myself. To forgive. To hold on to what is right. To reject the opinions of many, and to be true to what one believes in. To do it with spirit! To share. To relax. To keep good friends for a long time. To make new friends. To hurt, to help and to remember. To learn! To have faith. To be grateful. To love deeply, unconditionally, and eternally.

Mom is the oil to my vinegar. She's the towel to my flame. She covers me with love - she calms me...in her quiet, small way, she reminds me of the goodness of life in everything that she does. She's not afraid, still, to remind me to back down, reflect, take a minute, or a cup of tea, and make things right, or change my mind. I like it when my mom advises me. I've always thought that she was always right. I hope that I can find a gentle way to guide my children, as she has done to me.

Hindsight eases the memory of times of turmoil, and now I love to remember the first semester of my junior year at BC. It was right before exams. I was taking four literature classes, and one class on Teaching English as a Second Language (which should have been called Noam Chomsky and Grammar From Hell.) All I did was read. Read, read, read. And then write, write, write...then diagram sentences. It was snowy and cold, and I was done. I remember sitting in the hallway in our second floor walk-up on Gerald Road in Brighton. It was the afternoon, and I was on the phone with Mom. I remember twisting the phone cord in my fingers as I cried about my exhaustion. I told my mom that my eyes were going to fall out of my face, and that I didn't know how I was going to survive the next week and get everything done. She said, "Jennie. Stand up. Take a hot shower. Make a cup of tea. Get some fresh air, then go and study and do your very best." I got a fat set of A's that semester. I thought I was doomed for failure, and because my mother believed in me, I made it through. I was inspired to do my very best, and I did!

I could share many more stories like that, where Mom encouraged me just to try...and that I might make it. And that it would be okay if I didn't.

Also - my mom is a total nut. She's crazy. I could write five posts this week about all of the things that I promised I wouldn't repeat in my life. REALLY!!! And that too is an inspiration. For all of the good that she brings to the world, she brings a whole lot of bad-assedness too. I love her, and I want to be just like her when I grow up! And since she is refusing to grow up, I don't know that that will be like, but I do know that it will be a whole lot of fun, and that I will have a whole lot of love.

Happy Birthday to The Queen Of The Universe!!!

And...for the record...you'd make the best president EVER. VOTE CHRISTY, YALL!!!

Here's Mom with some of the brood on the back porch in Easton.  Life is so good when we are just hanging out together!
This is one of our favorite dinners.  We love eating BLTs together.  Here's mom with her honey. I think they've been married for a million  years.  Or 39.

Mom is a Goucher Girl.  Go GOPHERS!

In the Pink.  Mom and Dad show us how to love.

That love carries us.

 

"God Blessed The Broken Road...

...that Led Me Straight to You."

Or...another title:  "Jennie, How Do You Meet These People?"

My Dad asked me that one day in his kitchen, when I was talking about my wonderful friend, Haley DeMaria. His question has become somewhat of a theme for my life, and I hear his question in my head often when I am hanging out with the people that I love.

The Gibsons came to visit us this weekend. That might not seem like much of a trip - from Jacksonville to Baltimore - but Ron and Jennifer have never left their children before. I can't believe that they came to see us, but they DID! When I think of Ron and Jen, two words come to mind to describe them: grace and humility. Can you believe that we have friends that are full of grace and are humble? I CAN'T!

We met Ron in 1998, I guess...ten years ago? He and Mike worked side by side in VP-8, and our families were good friends. We enjoyed Ron's company so much. In a squadron full of swagger, he was a refreshing change. He was quiet and thoughtful, smiley and loving. He liked to wear cowboy boots, listen to country music, and kick back with a cold one to watch the parade of lunatics that were (and are) his friends. He was a devout Catholic, and he practiced faith in every corner of his life: from his country, to his family, to his religion. He was always so nice to us girls. We all thought he was such a doll, and we loved to be around him.

We were all shocked and pained for him when he suffered a divorce from his young wife, just as the rest of us were beginning our families, and celebrating our good fortune in having these wonderful navy careers, these wonderful friends, and this wonderful life. Each of us, the dudes and the ladies, took Ron's sorrow very personally. The guys would try to fill Ron up with beer and take him around to some of the gentlemanly clubs in town. He would always quietly refuse and say, "You know guys, I'd just like to go home." We girls would try to set him up. "Oh, Ron! I have this cute teacher friend at school! You should meet her!" He's grin a little and sheepishly say, "Oh, I'll wait for one of you ladies when your guys mess up one day." We all knew that his sweet smile was hiding loneliness and pain. Then he'd give us a hug. He was simply humble. Quiet. He went to work, he went to church, and he would praise us, his friends, in his own special way. My guess is that his prayers were answered in Miss Jennifer.

Jennifer Mattingly is our friend Craig's sister. So, she and Ron had crossed paths many times. They were in the same place, at the same time at Craig and Cindy's wedding at the Academy (Ron and Craig were friends and classmates). They would see one another on Jennifer's visits to Maine. I don't know when or where Jennifer and Ron fell in love, but certainly I know some of the why. Like Ron, Jennifer is a person that has broken the mold. Jennifer grew up on a dairy farm in Glasgow, Kentucky. When she was 17, she became pregnant. What a lonely and terrifying place for her. With the love and support of her parents, Jen was able to quietly endure the pain attending high school while bring pregnant. In September, at the beginning of her senior year, she delivered a daughter, Tara.

Jen shared many of her life stories with me this weekend about that time in her life, and about her experiences raising a daughter, finishing high school (she graduated on time), putting herself through college, becoming an RN, and working in an ER to support her daughter. Really, the stories that she told me are some of the most beautiful that I could ever imagine hearing in a lifetime. I can't write about them, because I couldn't do them justice - but Jen, hearing your stories was a gift. You are such a beautiful soul, and I'll never forget what an honor it was just to sit and listen to you at the counter while you were here. THANK YOU.

Jen's daughter, Tara, now 17, is lovely in every way. Any parent would be proud to have such a smart, beautiful, responsible, empathetic, happy, daughter. Jen and Ron have raised a beautiful woman together.

Like Ron, Jen is a devout Catholic. One of the many things that I like about our faith, is how we are taught to admire and even pray to certain figures in the bible. When I think of Jennifer, and the courage with which she has faced her hardships, and the love that she had in her heart at 17, when she was scared and alone, I am reminded of the grace and peace of Mary. Jen told me that when she held her daughter for the first time, she knew that she would have the strength that she needed to conquer anything in her life. Jen is a mother to three children now, with a 4 year old daughter, Tara, and a 18 month old son - a behemoth named Aaron. Jennifer really is a mother for all seasons - she is a true woman of love, sacrifice and compassion.  And did I mention that her courage is veiled behind a personality of gentle kindness?

Ron and Jen have been married for almost 5 years. To Mike and me, they have the most perfect, beautiful, all-American family. We really admire them, and we look forward to their advice and support as we raise our own young brood. Where there is love, and where there are friends - there are riches. Friends like Jen and Ron remind us of the true royalty that each one of us has inherited.

Is there a one of us that has not walked the broken road? Don't think so. The setbacks and the sorrows are often the things that make life even more beautiful and joyous. As I continue on my journey with Mike, and as we raise children who we know will experience disappointments, I try to think of my friends and my family: the people that I know that walk the road with grace and humility. I know that I can hold their hands and follow their lead.

Happy Days In Annapolis:  Pesuts, Burkes, Gibsons (The Gibsons are also called The Big Dads)
Oh, I am so lucky!!!  Here's Jenny-Jen Pesut, Jennie Burke (me!), and Jennifer Gibson.  We share many traits - one is that our parents chose very unusual names for us.
Big Dad, Mike Burke and Passsoooooottttt! Don't know who the half-face guy is on the left.  Note that the glasses are empty and the smiles are big.  I LOVE GUYS THAT SMILE!  Especially the Irish dude in the middle.