Last fall I attended an event sponsored by my children’s pre-school, and the guest speaker was an accomplished child therapist.  In part due to the increasing rate of teen suicide, she recommended that we create an open daily dialogue with our young children, so they become comfortable sharing things that may be bothering them.  To do this she suggests having this conversation:  ”Is there anything that made you sad today? “What made you mad today?” … and finally “What made you glad today?”  I did start doing this with my 4 and 5 year old, although not regularly, and while it is sometimes hard to get them to respond, I think it is an interesting way to try to get children to discuss their feelings. 

So anyhow, I thought I’d use my wise women community to share my current thoughts on being sad, mad and glad….

I’m SAD:

1.  The headlines in our local paper on Sunday was “Stamford Theater Works Closes its Doors.”  Stamford Theater Works is a local high quality theater that puts on 4-5 plays annually.  My husband and I have been subscribers for probably 16 or 17 years.  The productions are in a rustic barn – and we are always impressed by the set creativity and the productions themselves.  It is so sad that something that has been such a fixture in our town for so many years can no longer support itself.  In light of the economy, state, corporate and private donations are waning.  This is probably just the beginning.

2.  My company, Pepsi-Cola, just had a massive lay-off.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many of my friends lost their jobs – people who had been at Pepsi for 10, 20, 30 years.  People who were talented and passionate employees, and only lost their jobs, again, because of tough economic times.  I am even further touched by the high road these folks are taking – trying to put bitterness aside, and remember that Pepsi probably gave them one of the best work experiences they will ever have plus a dynamic group of fellow co-workers/friends.

3.  I’m sad that people’s political views have disrupted long time personal friendships, relationships between parents and children, relationships between priests and parishioners.  I just hope that when we come out of this election, that whomever wins, that we can be a nation united again, and move things forward.  We can’t afford not to.

I’m MAD:  

1.  Every time McCain is questioned about Palin’s qualifications to be Vice President, he ends up talking about “How Proud” he is of her.  Does this strike anyone else as weird?  Most of the time when you talk about being proud of someone, you are referring to your children.  I dare say that he would not be using this language if his running mate was a man.  I find it very patronizing.  

2.  The fact that Wall Street is holding billions of dollars (of our taxpayer money I might add) in reserve to pay out end of year bonuses just blows me away.  Enough said.

I’m GLAD:

1.  The good news is, with the election less than a week away, and in light of Elaine’s blog on Monday, I don’t think this country has ever been as electrified and passionate about an election – ever.  People who have never really engaged or bothered to follow the issues – have for the first time.  More and more people have registered to vote than ever before – and hopefully there will be more voters than ever before going to the polls, understanding the issues.  

2.  I’m so glad the election will be over next week.  This has probably been the longest campaign in history. And President George Bush?  Who’s he?  He has totally slipped away and what appearances he has made have been so insignificant.  It’s time to get started…I’m not sure we can even afford to wait until the Inauguration.

Ok, thanks for the venting session!  Feel free to reciprocate.