I’ve had the exact same conversation multiple times lately. It goes something like this:
“Wow! How long are you going to be in Australia?”
“I dunno.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?! Seriously, how long are you going to be there?”
“I mean I really don’t know. It all depends on how much we like it there. I might very well never leave or we might come back. I’ll be able to answer the question in three years.”
“Three years? That’s a long time!”
But it’s not. I don’t care what your political views are, but think for a minute where you were when Obama got elected. I came home from work around 6. I usually try not to have the TV on around the kids, but I thought the election merited a special exception.
I flipped on the TV and prepared dinner. My daughter, who is now talking in complete sentences and very capable of beating me in verbal debates, was an infant. She was strapped in a baby seat that vibrated and made soothing noises. She was fascinated with the mobile that hung a few inches from her face.
My son was all about Thomas the Train and dinosaurs. He was not happy with the election results and was adamant that we should be watching a kid’s show instead. Carson was doing his best to wear me down and get me to put something on that he would find more entertaining. The pundits were talking away and saying that Obama needed 270 electoral votes to win. That’s when I noticed that if you took Obama’s existing votes and added in Washington, Oregon, and California; then Obama won the election.
I told Julie it was over and that Obama had won. She asked how could I be so sure and I said there is no way he was not going to win those states. A few moments later, the pundits started saying the exact same thing and the election was called for Obama. We celebrated by watching an episode of Thomas the Train narrated by George Carlin. Carson was much happier with Thomas on.
I can still remember the conversation and the arguments back and forth with both Carson and Julie like it was yesterday, yet it was two and a half years ago. It seems like three years can pass in the blink of an eye and I have a feeling that when three years have come and gone my answer will be, “Give me another three years and then I’ll know.”
“Wow! How long are you going to be in Australia?”
“I dunno.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?! Seriously, how long are you going to be there?”
“I mean I really don’t know. It all depends on how much we like it there. I might very well never leave or we might come back. I’ll be able to answer the question in three years.”
“Three years? That’s a long time!”
But it’s not. I don’t care what your political views are, but think for a minute where you were when Obama got elected. I came home from work around 6. I usually try not to have the TV on around the kids, but I thought the election merited a special exception.
I flipped on the TV and prepared dinner. My daughter, who is now talking in complete sentences and very capable of beating me in verbal debates, was an infant. She was strapped in a baby seat that vibrated and made soothing noises. She was fascinated with the mobile that hung a few inches from her face.
My son was all about Thomas the Train and dinosaurs. He was not happy with the election results and was adamant that we should be watching a kid’s show instead. Carson was doing his best to wear me down and get me to put something on that he would find more entertaining. The pundits were talking away and saying that Obama needed 270 electoral votes to win. That’s when I noticed that if you took Obama’s existing votes and added in Washington, Oregon, and California; then Obama won the election.
I told Julie it was over and that Obama had won. She asked how could I be so sure and I said there is no way he was not going to win those states. A few moments later, the pundits started saying the exact same thing and the election was called for Obama. We celebrated by watching an episode of Thomas the Train narrated by George Carlin. Carson was much happier with Thomas on.
I can still remember the conversation and the arguments back and forth with both Carson and Julie like it was yesterday, yet it was two and a half years ago. It seems like three years can pass in the blink of an eye and I have a feeling that when three years have come and gone my answer will be, “Give me another three years and then I’ll know.”
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