Today.

I wrote about remembering in last year's 9/11 post. It's a common theme. We remember. Lest we forget. We will never forget. It's everywhere today. And I think most of us would be hard-pressed to forget what happened that day. The image of the plane hitting the building. The worry about our loved ones in New York and D.C.. The lives lost. And, of course, what came after. How could you forget?

But with that being said, I do think we are forgetting something. As we draw nearer to the election and all its related ugliness, I think, if nothing else, 9/11 should serve to remind us how, if only for a short time, we came together in the face of tragedy. There was no Republican. No Democrat. No Conservative. No Liberal. Just Americans, coming together to mourn, to cope and to move forward together.

Today of all days, I wish some of us would remember a little more of that.

It's time to vote!

The nominations are in for this year's Milbloggies Awards. They are:

ArmyWifeToddlerMom;

The Life and Times of a Butterfly Wife;

SpouseBUZZ;

My Crazy Amazing Military Life;

And get this, ME!

For those of you who nominated me, thank you. I've got this whole Sally Field "You-Really-Like-Me" speech going on in my head. It made my day. But now you got to get over to Milblogging.com and vote.

I don't envy your decision. All four of my competitors rock.

Now it's just getting ugly.

I haven't picked my political horse yet.

And I'm desperately reading, talking, doing what I can to learn more about what the candidates plan to actually "do" in office. For whatever reason, the cult of personality seems even more in force for this election. And that is having two second-order effects: (1) making it harder to see what the candidates are actually proposing, and (2) making it so that those who have picked their candidate are very emotionally -- even personally -- involved.

And #2 is becoming fairly hard to bear for a person who just wants to dig a little deeper.

What happened to a free exchange of ideas? What happened to trying to get past the veneer? What happened to the press being allowed to do their jobs so that we the people can make an informed decision? Why can't a person ask questions or even, God forbid, make a small criticism of a candidate without being branded a sheep, an idiot, the reason that America is in the state it is today?

And this is not directed at either party. This is something coming from both sides of the political spectrum. Now more than ever, it seems that when it comes to politics, people think "you are either with me or against me."

And I find that very sad.

Dear White House Spokesperson:

When you release a statement that there will be troop cuts in Iraq, can you do me a favor? Please clearly emphasize that it does not include my husband's unit or any of the others on that last round of 15 month deployments. As soon as the words "troop cuts" float along the bottom of the CNN screen, my phone starts ringing. And after the fourth time in five months that there has been some kind of story about troop cuts, it's really hard to keep breaking spouse's hearts by having to say, "Nope, sorry, doesn't apply to us."

And if I could make a suggestion, what would be really great is if you could maybe butter the soldiers and families up about being one of the last units to endure a 15 month stay in the desert. You know, thank them for taking one for the team, as it were. 'Cause right now, I could use that kind of love myself.

Ooops, gotta go! There goes that phone again. Thanks for listening.

Smooches,
Me

Seriously, what can you say?

A good friend of mine and I spoke on the phone for the first time in months last night. Her first child is due in January. And as we talked about her pregnancy and her motherhood philosophy, she dropped this bomb on me.

She plans to do a Lotus Birth, also known as umbilical nonseverance. And when she mentioned it, I thought she was joking. Really, I did. In fact, I thought that there was no way in hell that this was an actual thing that people do. But they do. And she was not kidding. Totally serious on the Lotus Birth front.

Ummm, what do you say to that? Having lots of friends who have spawned, I know how to be supportive of things like toddler nursing, cloth diapers and homemade, organic baby food. I even managed to sound gung ho about hypnobirthing. But I can't really understand why someone would want to keep a child attached to the placenta after birth. I imagine if there were a proven health benefit, I would have heard about it.

But, there you go. It takes all kinds. And knowing all of the surprises that are in store for my friend after this kid surfs down the birth canal, the next time she mentions this Lotus Birth, I'm going to try to sound as positive as I can about it. After all, she's in for one hell of a ride. And at least now she has some say in how things will go.

Green and dumb.

CPT Dick called home tonight. Another soldier lost.

He was pretty inconsolable. So failing to cheer him up, this song, one of our songs, is on repeat play over here.

A dog on hindered legs?

Read Judith Warner's thought-provoking column this week: The Mirrored Ceiling.

Could there be a more thoroughgoing humiliation for America’s women?

You are not, I think, supposed now to say this. Just as, I am sure, you are certainly not supposed to feel that having Sarah Palin put forth as the Republicans’ first female vice presidential candidate is just about as respectful a gesture toward women as was John McCain’s suggestion, last month, that his wife participate in a topless beauty contest.

Such thoughts, we are told, are sexist. And elitist. After all, via Palin, we now hear without cease, the People are speaking. The “real” “authentic,” small-town “Everyday People,” of Hockey Moms and Blue Collar Dads whom even Rudolph Giuliani now invokes as an antidote to the cosmopolite Obamas and their backers in the liberal media. (Remind me please, once again, what was the name of the small town where Rudy grew up?)

Why does this woman – who to some of us seems as fake as they can come, with her delicate infant son hauled out night after night under the klieg lights and her pregnant teenage daughter shamelessly instrumentalized for political purposes — deserve, to a unique extent among political women, to rank as so “real”?

Today's sentence - 9/7

The Sundays that do not require you to change out of your pajamas always seem to be the best.

Contemplating anonymity.

With a promotion approaching, CPT Dick is soon to be MAJ Dick. With that, he will be out of command and I will step down from FRG leadership.

A friend, who knows my super-secret identity, asked me if I plan to lose the anonymity on this blog once that happens.

It's interesting -- I really hadn't considered the idea until she mentioned it. Now I can't stop thinking about it. Part of me has always cringed a bit at being anonymous. Although it has been smart for this stage in both my and my husband's career, it has always struck me as slightly cowardly.

Most of what I write on this blog is stuff I am perfectly comfortable saying in public. But in the right arena to the right people. I don't tend to tell my mother-in-law she's crazy to her face, nor do I insult the only therapists available over here when I need them to still provide services to my kid. If I did go public, I'd have to revamp the blog a little. I'd have to remove some old postings (mainly the ones pertaining to said crazy mother-in-law) and I probably would avoid drinking and blogging. As much as I say that I have only one face, I have to admit that being anonymous has offered me a unique freedom to purge what's happening in my world without direct consequences.

So I'm turning the question over to you, dear readers. What say you? Do you think there is value in removing the mask at this point (you know, those of you who haven't already figured out who I am)? Or should I just continue the ride I started?

Nominate!

A friend emailed me this morning to let me know she nominated this blog for a Milbloggies award. Why? I don't know. But I was touched, nonetheless. The only thing I could do in response worthy of that nod was to log on and spread the love to some of my favorite military blogs.

I know many of you get the same combination of laughs and solace each day from the postings of our military spouse peers. So log on to milblogging.com and place some nominations to let everyone know how much you appreciate it.

Rules and Instructions

The Milbloggies Award recognizes military bloggers for their contribution to blogging, news and information, and to the military over the past year.

Nomination and Voting Overview

1. A military blog can be nominated ONLY once by the same registered user. However, a user can nominate as many military blogs as they wish.

All nominations must be submitted online through Milblogging.com by 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008.

2. The top five nominees in each branch category will be announced on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 and those nominees will move into the Voting Phase beginning September 11th, 2008.

3. Nomi nees may be military blogs that belong to the following branch categories in the Milblogging.com database:

U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Military (Parent)
U.S. Military (Spouse)
U.S. Military (Veteran)
U.S. Military (Supporter)
U.S. Navy

4. To nominate and/or vote for a military blog, you must be signed in to the website. Registration is quick and free and you will not receive any SPAM. This helps maintain the integrity of voting by reducing possible click fraud. To place your nomination, simply click on the listing in the Milblogging.com database, and click the Nominate button that appears at the top of the military blog profile.

5. To vote for a military blog (once the nomination phase is over), a chart will be published that includes the top nominees in each category, along with the ability to vote.