January 20

the weekend does have a way of derailing me

1965

Happy Inauguration Day, Lyndon Johnson! I don't think he was the best man, but he was the better man. Scranton and Romney are good, too. I'll be looking for them in 1968. Gee, I'll be 19 then! I can vote in the 1972 elections. I wonder who will be running then? Ted or Robert Kennedy? Someone new, or an old man? Whoever is running, I will vote for him who best satisfies my needs in a President.

Comment 2023

Was I awakening to politics, or just pretending? In my bipartisan household (Republican Mom, Democratic Dad), I had been the one parroting the “Kennedy will take orders from the Pope” line in 1960. Clearly I was no fan of LBJ, though I can’t recall why. William Scranton and George Romney are interesting choices; both were moderate or even liberal Republicans. Scranton was a freshman congressman during the Kennedy administration, where his support of civil rights and the Peace Corps earned him the label “Kennedy Republican”. Romney was not quite as liberal as Scranton, but neither would find a home in today’s GOP. Neither ran for elective office after the mid-1960s. By the time I was old enough to vote, the rightward shift of the Republican Party was clear enough to convince me to register as a Democrat, and I have seen nothing to change mind mind since.

As for that last sentence: remember that I was very, very young.

1976

It’s the first day of classes, my third semester teaching. There are 20 people in my class, and 8 on a waiting list. Thank God there weren’t 20 last spring! I think I finally have my act together. At least I do when I sit here at home. Will I walk into class and fall apart? Only time will tell! I am nervous, still, about the first day of class. I want a second chance; last semester was so bad! I wonder how the students felt? They were so sullen all the time. I felt like I was struggle upstream and losing. Time to leave.

1983

The last week has gone fairly well. We went to NYC, saw Connie and Jack for an extremely nice visit, and even managed to go into Manhattan for a day without Kiddo. (They are always very happy to stay with her!)

I need to get as organized at home as I am at work. Otherwise I spend too much time worrying about what I have to do and when to do it. Usually, I end up being reminded of things to do when I can’t do them. (On my way out the door, when I’m going to bed, in the morning when I am rushing around.)

So I got 7 files (one for each day of the week) and put them on my dresser. I don’t need the jewelry and cosmetics and old tissues to be taking up the entire dresser top. Tonight and tomorrow I get ORGANIZED.

p.m.-

At home, by myself (!). I came home early and se up my files and tidied a bit. Now for a “to do” list for home. There’s so much to do, and I need to set priorities, or I’ll just bounce around the list. It’s harder at home, because many tasks have no deadline.

Every once in a while I think about having more children (one more, actually). Am I nuts? It’s hard enough now! It’s so different from the “one or none” decision. Somehow this seems much more about practicalities. Can we afford it? Can my career afford it? Where would we put another child in this four-room house? The first time it was an emotional decision, I think.

1987 (Kiddo 2 arrived two months earlier, November 1986)

I am exhausted. Suddenly the idea of going back to work seems horrible. It’s not about the work itself; I’ve been getting plenty done at home. It’s being away from Kiddo 2. I feel like I hardly know him. He still sleeps so much that I see very little of him. It’s frustrating and heart-wrenching sometimes to be a working mother. Even though I know it will all work out ok, part of me really hates it. I’m going to keep maytime away from home to a minimum this semester. He’s so little, and for such a short time.

1989

What a day! The school system, in its wisdom, cancelled school for the presidential inauguration. Kiddo 1 went to ’s house for the night and morning. Kiddo 2 was up at 6 am. He was pretty good for a while, then started getting real funny about Kiddo 1 being gone. I set out with him to get her, just as Mom arrived for a visit (much guilt laid on for taking Kiddo 2 away from her, etc.)He proceeded to not have much of a nap, while I got more and more tired myself. Luckily, I managed a 10- or 15-minute snooze, which seemed to revive me.

1998

The best part of our museum trip was watching Kiddo 1 on the Metro. She was being completely separate and herself, and I felt absolutely content with the separation. The time is coming when she will be on her own, and I will miss her very much. But it’s such a pleasure to see her as a young adult, so competent and self-assured.

2004

I find that the weekend does have a way of derailing me. Even a good weekend can do it, if fact better than a bad weekend.

2005

Inauguration Day. Poop.

Otherwise, things are going well on some fronts (research), shaky on others (course prep). Time marches on. But we did get 2 inches of lovely, lovely snow.

2025

Inauguration Day. Piles and piles of poop.