Moving Letter from One Set of Presidential Daughters to Another

Earlier this week, the staff of the Today show (after similar stories by outlets like CNN) was made aware of a letter written to Malia and Sasha Obama by Barbara and Jenna Bush, who talked about life in the White House and the relationship with their father and gave advice on adjusting to their new life as part of an exclusive club. As the father of two small daughtesr of my own, it moved me to tears (probably the only time that Meredith Vieira and I will get emotional about the same thing).

I wanted to share it with you here; the letter is entitled, "Playing House in the White House."

An Order of Good News With a Side of a Parable

Our family was thankfully the recipient of some really good news today, as A. received a job offer from a company with whom she had recently had a series of interviews. They were very impressed with her background and education, and she was equally impressed with the quality of the employees and management at the company -- and especially with the fact that it was the first company she had seen in a while (as either an employee or an applicant) where everyone genuinely seemed happy to be there and actually enjoyed their work. Obviously, we don't know what the future holds for us, particularly with my ongoing search, but this is great news and a great move in the right direction. Now she gets to enjoy just a few more weeks of vacation before she heads back to work -- and two more weeks before our youngest begins her foray into the world of daycare.
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I also had one of those parable moments today, where an incident that I witness suddenly hits me with a different, deeper meaning. MB has been going through an extremely trying phase lately -- trying for her parents. I'm convinced that she skipped over the terrible twos and held out until recently, and we've been feeling the full effect of her tantrums, mood swings, and preschool testiness. Sadly, one of the victims of her mood has been her little stuffed doggy, who has been her closest companion since she was old enough to grab a toy. In the past few days, every time she gets angry about something, doggy is the first one to feel her wrath -- usually being thrown to the floor while MB angrily shouts, "I don't want doggy!"

She did it again today, and not long afterwards her grandmother said, "Well, doggy will still be there when you need him." That was when the parable moment hit: how often do we ignore or throw God aside while we try to do things on our own, or in a way that we shouldn't be doing them, and yet when we get tired, frustrated, or realize that we can't do things on our own, God will still be there when we need Him?

It's a simple message, but one which we often forget. Once again, a little child shall lead them -- even if the "them" is nothing more than our thoughts and our comprehension of the deeper things going on in our lives.

Something for My Daughters

One of the things that I inherited from my family from the moment of my birth was a great love of and appreciation for both my family's own history and the importance of overall world history. Now that I have two daughters of my own, I want to be able to pass something on to them when they're grown that's representative of my personal interests, the period in history into which they were born, and the men and women who were important in the development of that history.

As a part of that, and reflective of my recent reading of Wiesel, I recently wrote him a letter and, among other things, asked for something from him that I could give to MB and E as a remembrance of that part of history which he has passed through and which he has worked tirelessly to keep people from forgetting. As I said in my letter, "As the father of two small daughters ... I am very much looking forward to the day where I can share these books with them and explain that, even in the midst of the tragedy and fear that often grip the modern world, there are men and women of great dignity and honor who continually work to bring about peaceful and positive change."

Today, I received back some bookplates personalized for each of them (pictured here, minus their names). I was very grateful for this small gesture on his part, and it will undoubtedly make the copies of his books that I give them when they're grown that much more special. I can say that Wiesel's responsiveness to my letter overwhelms me; here's someone who mingles and associates with political and religious leaders from around the world, and he answers a letter from some unknown guy in Northern Virginia. Two of the people for whom I have a great deal of admiration: Elie Wiesel and Desmond Tutu, and both took the time to write me back. I think the fact that they not only listen to what the average person says, but take the time to respond and seem to genuinely value and appreciate those words, says just as much about the quality of their character as anything else they've done in their lives.

And the Phone Call Said.....

The phone finally rang today; unfortunately, it was a "we've decided to go in another direction" call. About one hour of disappointment and wondering what my next step will be, and then I was back on an even keel. There are some other jobs that I'm waiting to hear from, and I know that regardless of how things are looking now, there's a reason that my life is playing out in this particular way.

It's nice to have daughters that aren't aware of the stress that A and I are under right now; as a friend told me in an e-mail, the only thing they will remember is that they got to spend some extra fun time with Mommy and Daddy. And despite feeling a bit blue because of the call, it was all okay when I picked up MB at pre-school and she greeted me with a big smile, a beautiful Father's Day painting, and excited shouts to her classmates of, "There's my Daddy!" That was my gift for the day!!

World's Youngest "Seinfeld" Fan?

I couldn't believe my ears: MB, my three-year-old, looked at me just a few minutes ago and said, "I want to watch 'Seinfeld.'" My wife said that she already knows the names of all of the major characters. What a shock -- and what a difference a generation makes; when I was three, I was naming characters from Watergate. My daughter names characters from a sitcom; go figure!

9 Pounds, 10 Ounces of Little Love

Thanks to My Readers

Life has been moving at a slow pace the past few days, but primarily due to the fact that we're not quite sure when daughter number 2 is going to make her appearance. The delivery had been scheduled for the morning of February 6, but some sudden contractions a few days ago led to the "All Hands on Deck!" signal, and the in-laws are here and ready for action. Now we're just monitoring the time between the contractions and waiting for the signal to head for the hospital. The bags are packed, the camera has batteries, and we're ready to go; all I will need (depending on the time of day) is 30 seconds to get my hair put in some sort of acceptable style before we hit the road.

I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read my last post and leave what were most valuable comments; each was of immeasurable help, and I appreciate all of the kind words, the support, and the prayers. The pendulum has indeed begun to swing in the other direction: a new child on the way, several interviews scheduled for the week, and some little side projects to keep me occupied for a while. A new part of life is coming, and I've learned to accept that it's not under my control -- and that I just need to enjoy the ride. The slushy, brown snow that I talked about last time (which seemed so indicative of the way I was feeling and the it seemed my life was going) has melted away, and it looks like (judging from what I see outside the window right now) that it's going to be replaced by some beautiful new white snow.

Things will get better -- I just need to rely on prayers, faith, and the help of family and friends to keep me on that path. So while there's nothing going on today, I look forward to having lots more upbeat posts in the days and weeks ahead, and -- if I can get my head back into the serious reading I have standing by, maybe some intellectually challenging ones!!

This Year's Christmas Photo

Sanctioned Book Buying!!

The location: the National Mall, Washington, D.C.

The event: the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival. 70 of the most well-respected and widely-read authors, poets, illustrators, and historians, all gathered in one confined area for hours of book-signings and readings -- pure nirvana for book lovers like myself.

It's also one of the rare occasions where book buying is an acceptable indulgence (a.k.a. I can buy books and the missus won't really mind; in fact, she bought some today). I can say that there's nothing more interesting that watching the tens of thousands of folks who come out for this event, lugging their briefcases, suitcases, shopping backs, or purses -- just about anything in which to carry one, two, or ten books -- and the authors that they are so intent on meeting and getting a quick scribbling from. At the same time, you meet some really interesting folks while you're waiting in line for your face time with the author of the moment (today, I waited for signatures from Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robert Remini, and Bob Woodward) and learn a little of what drives their love of books and literature.

It was another great event, although I wasn't able to attend any of the lectures for all of my time in line (the schedule was arranged so that no sooner had I gotten one book signed than I dashed off to get into another line). My wife and daughter spent some quality time with Elmo and about 500 of his friends, enjoyed arts and crafts in the PBS tent, and spent time in line waiting to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog -- only to have the little one curl up in a scared little ball when she realized that Clifford wasn't little like on TV, but rather close to 7 feet tall!

I have to say the biggest disappointment was probably Woodward, although I was glad to get a signed book. He arrived 20 minutes late for his hour-long signing, left before even a quarter of the hundreds who had lined up to see him had a chance to get their books signed, and then held court in a 40-minute moderated discussion in which he couldn't talk about his latest book on the Bush Administration (because of an arrangement with "60 Minutes") -- much to the chagrin of the folks who came because of that specific topic. A friend of mine and I who had gone to hear his lecture gave up and left after about 10 minutes because the crowd in the tent was so large, and the speakers were turned in such a bad direction, that no one could hear him. He was surrounded by nearly a dozen private security officers and mounted police officers as he traveled around the Mall, and really never struck me as being happy to be there with folks who appreciated his writing (in fact, I thought he looked bored with the whole thing as I went through the line, and I only saw him smile the first time as he was leaving after his talk).

The whole day was an overall success and a great joy for me, and I would highly recommend that any of you who might be in D.C. at the end of next September pay a visit to this event. It would make the heart of any book-lover skip a beat.

The Wonder of Children

There is nothing in the world so remarkable as a child, and nothing so special as the time you spend with that child. My daughter is really into the phase now where she is learning how to speak, and the words she uses are absolutely wonderful. Truthfully, I wouldn't care if she learned another word, as long as she keeps screaming, "Hi, Daddy!" when I get home from work -- running up to me with arms outstretched for a big hug, and then starting to talk about "Blue's Clues" or her friends from school or wanting to watch "Lazy Town."

Everything is such an amazing experience for her, and I sometimes forget that I'm seeing things that I've experienced my entire life for the very first time through her eyes. Try sometime to explain to a person who doesn't have children how wonderful it is; you can try and explain it until you're blue in the face, and you get the impression they never really quite understand. And then, by contrast, try it again after they've had their first child -- and you'll see that look of, "Oh, yes, I UNDERSTAND!" has crept into their eyes.

Benjamin Franklin once said that beer was God's way of letting us know that he loves us and wants us to be happy. I think that a CHILD is God's way of letting us know he loves us -- and of giving us something wonderful to love.