Babies and Politics

We took D1 to a political meeting on Saturday. It was supposed to be about 90 minutes--instead, it stretched to four hours. D1 was, fortunately, quite calm about the whole thing, sitting and listening with big eyes as she gnawed on her toys, happy to find there were several people handy who were more willing to play catch-the-falling-toy than Mama and Papa usually are.

Nonetheless, the experience reinforced our decision to back off from politics for awhile, so that we are not quite so obligated to make it to meetings, or quite so obligated to be present and attentive for the entire meeting. At one critical moment of heated debate, I as secretary was taking notes, DOB was chairing the meeting because the two chief officers both wanted to participate in the debate, and I noticed D1 getting the look of concentration in her eyes that every mother sees with dread. There was nothing for it but to let her wait.

We were visited by people running for national club office, seeking our endorsement. One of the ladies had a nine-year-old daughter; the other one had a six-month-old son. They both assured us they had been able to find a good work-life balance. I voted to endorse the lady with the six-month-old; she seemed well-qualified to do the work. And I'm sure if she doesn't get it, she'll have plenty of other political activity to keep her up into the small hours of the morning, after she gets home late from her demanding administration job. But I couldn't help feeling a little sad for a very small boy whose mommy tries to get home in time to tuck him into bed.

We also chatted with a friend who got married recently. Since he asked us the "When are you going to have another one?" question, he was fair game for DOB to ask, "Do you guys have plans for any time soon?" He didn't. There were too many other things he wanted to do right now, and he didn't want to give up all that yet. Maybe someday, but not yet.

It seems like a wise approach. Although if we looked at readiness, we're still not ready to have kids. We probably never will be.

But we took home with us a little person who thinks we're the two greatest people in the whole world.