Long Time No Blog

You may find it odd for a guy who proclaims, "I love blogging" to go 25 days without a post, but don't worry. I've got plenty of excuses.

Before I share some of those excuses with you, I'd like to wrap up some of my political posts. I called the Indiana and North Carolina results well enough though was way off in regard to Senator Clinton's participation in the Democratic Primary contest. At the time it seemed things were getting a bit rough and the eventually nominee's chances against John McCain were being hurt. Senator Clinton has since handled the situation perfectly. Her bowing out would not have helped anything. She no longer bashes and pounds on Senator Obama as in the past. She has stayed in the race through the rules committee meeting tomorrow and the final primaries in early June. Her following will know she did everything in her power to win the nomination. When she stands on a podium this June and tells the nation that Senator Obama has won the nomination followed by a powerful endorsement, the party will be united. Everything will come together and the Democratic Party will be better for it.

Race has also become a major issue in recent weeks. MSNBC has run a series on their website (http://www.msnbc.com/) about being bi or mulit-racial in America. That group only consitutes 5% of the country, but is the fastest growing demographic. It's worth checking out, very well thought out and written. Johanna registered Alethia for kindergarten this week. Under ethnicity, she marked both Alaskan Native and the box for multi-racial. She was only supposed to mark one box, but one box did not fit. Alethia is largely being raced as a young Yupik girl, but is also plenty white. Johanna has the right to mark as many boxes for her daughter as she wishes.

Now a few excuses...We've been busy. Very busy. 7 years ago Johanna and I (with much help from family) built a house, planned a wedding, and began our married life. Also, her Apa (grandfather) took ill with lung cancer. He waited until we were married and died the next day. God rest his soul. It was an intense summer full of highs, lows, elation, dispare, and exhaustion. This summer is shaping up similarly.

Johanna left for Anchorage with the kids two days ago. She's staying with her sister and brother-in-law until the baby comes. July 1st is the due date and I'll be waiting in Dillingham until she goes into labor hoping a flight will get me there in time. Things are in place if I don't make it, but I have to make it. I'll be here building a house. That huge project will require all of my personal leave. Don't want to miss the birth of my child, but we need a home right now. Priorities are set and agreed upon.

For weeks Alethia has been telling me she will miss me when she leaves. Jake cried walking to the plane. I felt my own tears coming at the airport, but held them back. They wouldn't have helped the situation. We're a very close family. Most mornings we all wake up in the same bed. We're not a couple that finds baby sitters to go out by ourselves. We spend almost of our time together as a family. Johanna was pregnant with Alethia on our first aniversary because we wanted her then just as I miss them all now. It's only been 2 days. They won't come home until mid-July.

However, I do have a house to build and won't be around much anyway. It is what it is. Johanna's focus is taking care of herself, the kids, and that little baby inside her. Mine is to build us a house. No, a home.

May has been consumed with preparations for this summer. This will be a big summer for our young family. In time we will look back on it fondly, but right now it seems daunting. Yet we have prayed and put it in God's hands. This family's existence has always been in His hands. No where to go but forward with what we have and what we can do.


Spring is like a perhaps hand

Spring is like a perhaps hand
(which comes carefully
out of Nowhere) arranging
a window,into which people look (while
people stare
arranging and changing placing
carefully there a strange
thing and a known thing here) and

changing everything carefully

spring is like a perhaps
Hand in a window
(carefully to
and fro moving New and
Old things,while
people stare carefully
moving a perhaps
fraction of flower here placing
an inch of air there) and

without breaking anything.

-E. E. Cummings