Checking in.

Well, Book Fair is rolling like a freight train, and Kirsten and I are pacing ourselves to last all week. She had an especially rough day yesterday because her alarm went off at 3:30 a.m., and she didn't realize it until an hour later, after breakfast! We both went home pooped, but I had enough energy to go back to school to watch Molly's team WIN her volleyball game.

Karen and the kids were shocked when I went to bed last night at 7:45 instead of the usual 8:45. They think I'm crazy for turning in so early every night and getting up so early every morning; I think they're crazy for not enjoying all the rituals of bedtime...snapping on the tv while I pick out tomorrow's clothes, flossing, brushing May Bee's teeth (and mine, too!), slipping into snuggly pajamas, and enjoying some Serious Book Time as the stress and frenzy of the day slips away.

Side note...I don't remember when I started reading the blog of an Austin mom; it's been in my Google Reader for ages. The blog name "One Block from Jollyville," is appealing because one time I stayed in a motel "one-HALF block from Jollyville" in Austin and learned that Jollyville was a fast way to get where I wanted to go without getting on the highway. The Indian restaurant, the grocery store, the back entrance to Dunk'n Donuts, the gas station, the post office...just so handy and pretty, too.

Recently, this mom posted a blog that really caught my attention. She summed up how a lot of us feel; we like and respect Senator Obama, but we also feel passionately that abortion ends the life of a baby. Not an animal, not a fish, not a group of platelets...but a baby. (The scene in Juno when the young lady decides not to go through with an abortion after learning her fetus has fingernails moved me. When I had an unplanned pregnancy as a 19 year-old college freshman, abortion would have been an easy option...an easy option we NEVER considered.)

So get out there and VOTE, no matter which candidate you support. CNN reports that early voting is at an all-time high, and there's already long lines at early voting locations. (Karen waited for nearly 45 minutes before giving up on Hastings.) It's estimated that A QUARTER of Florida voters will vote early! (There are at least TWO punch lines to that prediction; can you think of more?)