Destination Discipline

I grew up knowing America is a wonderful place to live, maybe even the best place to live on God’s green earth. But I never really considered myself overly patriotic. I vote, because men died and women fought for me to have that right. I have a fairly conservative world view but I respect and even seek out the perspectives of others who feel differently. I like to debate with people thought I rarely do, only because most people nowadays are too politically correct. Tsk, tsk, tsk(as my Grandma Allen would say).

I picked up “Going Rogue” recently at the thrift store because frankly, I am fascinated with Sarah Palin. Since she emerged on the national scene in 2008 I respected her fearless nature. Think what you will about her politics, she bravely entered the male dominated political scene with gusto. She debated Senator Biden and allowed her family to be thrust into the glaring media spotlight. She did all of this because she believed she could help America. I was curious to read about her journey from her point of view, not someone else’s.

Not only is Sarah Palin smart and witty, she loves this country. If I forget every quote, every funny sentence and every no nonsense idea she presented, I will never lose the fire she ignited in me for America. Sarah loves America as much as she loves her family and that’s saying a lot. She gave me an armchair view of Alaska that had me re-reading pages to soak it all in. Her desire to serve her local government was palpable and even gave me a hunger for local politics. In short, she inspired me. But this blog post is not about how awesome Sarah Palin is. I really just wanted to share how her book changed my view of America from something black, white and grainy into Technicolor.

“Our land is everything to us…I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it–with their lives.” John Wooden

When July 4th rolled around this year I decided to tell everyone I met, “Happy Independence Day!” Every year we celebrate with barbecue, corn on the cob and other various comfort foods(and beer for those who like that sort of thing). And many of us forget the men who died to give us the freedom to roast marshmallows on land we own. When I hear the lyric, “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,” I envision cold, hungry and tired men searching the smoke filled night to see if the battle was lost. Francis Scott Key wrote those words back in 1814 and they came from a heart that screamed for freedom from oppression. So to my dismay, every person I greeted on the day we celebrate our nation’s independence looked at me like I was a little off my rocker when I said, “Happy Independence Day.” I still don’t get it. We have national cemeteries lined with the bodies of our fathers and grandfathers. They died to preserve our freedoms and we don’t have the courage to acknowledge their sacrifice? Everyone I met said, “Happy Fourth of July!” as if it were just another excuse to overindulge.

So when I read “Going Rouge” I was instantly refreshed. Sarah gets it. She is an American. Every day I open up Facebook and read her posts. She shines a spotlight on modern day soldiers and their families. She points out things going on in government that don’t make national headlines. And she does all of this at great personal cost. I don’t think a lot of people like Sarah. I personally want to be just like her when I grow up, fearless and beholden to no one.

I love America. I love my freedoms. Thank you, Sarah Palin, for teaching me not to be ashamed of my country. Thank you for “taking it in the gut” from the political system. You could have settled with being a hockey mom but instead chose to speak your truth. I may not agree with everything you say, but I am thankful we both have the right to express our opinions. God have mercy on us! I pray we never lose our freedom.

Sometimes I am a real idiot. There, I’ve said it. I might have the best intentions in the world but my mouth runs away and I trip over my words and before I know it, people are crying. And I think, “That is not what I meant to say” and “Can I have a do-over?” And my only real option is to crawl back under the rock I crawled out from under in the first place.

Mistakes make us human. If we’re lucky, we recognize our mistakes and learn from them. Making a mistake doesn’t make us stupid. We’re only stupid if we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Today I am experiencing a terrible case of regret and all I can do is move forward. In one case I used poor judgment. In the other, I didn’t measure my words well. And I feel low enough to eat a gallon of ice cream. But ice cream will not fix my problems. So I ate cookies instead.

And if that doesn’t make me stupid, I don’t know what does!

There are so many things in this world that are bad for you, and plenty of people eager to lecture you about them. From GMO’s to CFO’s, it seems we can’t escape the madness. The only way to truly be safe is to build a bunker, line it with asbestos free insulation, and live there with no outside contact with the world. With my luck, however, it would probably leak and I would contract foot fungus.

There are times in life when you have to chuck logic out the window and just indulge in your guilty pleasure. Last night I was feeling a little sorry for myself. It’s one thing I truly excel at. My cranky hip is giving me grief so I was forced(oh the horror) to stop what I was doing and take a 20 minute Epsom Salt bath to relieve the pain. I realize this sounds like a luxury to a lot of women but stopping my evening routines to sit still is torturous to perpetual movers like me.

I picked out about 20 minutes worth of music on my Samsung Galaxy III phone(shameless plus) and leaned back to let the relief begin. I climbed from the tub about 25 minutes later and my husband said, “Juice Newton? Really?” You see, I had been caterwauling ‘Queen of Hearts’ about 10 minutes too long for him.

Juice Newton? Why not. I mean, she’s corny, catchy, and fills me with nostalgia. She wrote one of the greatest love/pain songs of all time back in the 80’s and it has stuck with me ever since. In fact, I cannot play a game of cards without singing that song every single time I see a queen of hearts, much to the chagrin of my middle son, who is completely addicted to all things cards. As far as guilty pleasures go, she has fewer calories than a bag of M&Ms, won’t fry my brain, like a narcotic, and she’s a “natural” mood enhancer that won’t cause caffeine withdrawals. In fact, now that I think about it, the only guilt I experience when rockin’ out to her grooves is the erroneous objections of my family. Juice Newton = BLISS!

So, my inspirational advice for today is, if you have been eating too much ice cream(don’t scream at your son when he asks for it just because you know you can’t give him some and not eat it yourself) and want a good alternative, find your favorite jam and jam to your heart’s content. (Side effects may include eye rolling from spouse and children and endless teasing from friends but these effects are temporary and will subside within a few days)