Yesterday when I went to drop my son off at preschool after the long weekend, I was surprised by what I encountered. The little preschool lobby was packed with teachers, administrators and children sitting on the linoleum floor, watching the Presidential Inauguration on a rolled in television. I had my baby daughter in one arm, Shane’s lunchbox in the other, and my plan was to quickly drop him off so I could get Kiana to her doctor’s appointment. Unfortunately, there was no way to maneuver through the sea of people crammed in the lobby to get Shane to his teachers, who were glued to the television. And I don’t have one of those kids that I can easily and readily drop off anywhere.  Certainly,  I knew my chance of dropping him off in this unfamiliar environment without his regular routine would be impossible.

I passive-aggressively stomped onto the patio and was relieved to see my good friend, Beth, sitting out there with her son (another kid who requires familiarity and routine in order to separate). “This is ridiculous” I ranted, knowing she would understand, “They should have told us about this. I have somewhere to go. It is impossible to drop Shane off. I mean, do pre-schoolers really care about the Inauguration?” I was just getting started, “This is clearly for the teachers and the staff- I can hardly get Shane to sit  still for fifteen minutes of SpongeBob!”

“I agree,” She replied evenly “I really need to get home to nurse Zoe.” Her calm response to this situation was unnerving. She had a baby who was going to starve if she didn’t get home! I had to get Kiana to her doctor’s appointment for her check up!  Why wasn’t she up in arms with me? Oh yeah, she has the benefit of the opiate- like, breastfeeding hormones of oxytocin and prolactin, which I, clearly, do not.

I was on a roll, ” And do you really think they would be doing this if McCain was elected?”

Beth yawned, “Probably not.” She had been up every few hours last night nursing her baby.

“This is bullshit!” I said, forgetting there were children on the patio.

Finally, the crowd dispersed and we were able to drop off our kids in their regular classrooms. As I was walking out, I passed one of my favorite people in the world, Tessa, the assistant director of the preschool. I call her my South African Mary Poppins. Tessa has known me for years and is familiar with my meltdowns, and has even pointed out to me that they most often occur the day before my period. I knew she was a safe place to go to vent my frustration because she always forgives me.

“Tessa, I just have one question. If John McCain had been elected, would you have done this?” I demanded, knowing I sounded like a bitter beast, but unable to shut up. As my mom used to say, I can suffer from Acute Verbal Diarrhea.

“Absolutely” Tessa replied, with her syrupy accent. “This is the Presidential Inauguration. It is an historic day.”

“But really, Tessa. Do 3 and 4 year olds really care about this? Or was it for the teachers? Because I had to get Kiana to an appointment and I couldn’t drop Shane off. I wish I had known. I would have appreciated an email so I could have planned accordingly.”

“Jennifer” Tessa was getting stern, which she rarely does, “It was a spur of the moment decision. It is in the spirit of the day.”

“I just want to be clear,” I said, sounding like a lunatic ” that this is a policy of the school. You did this for George Bush 4 years ago?

“Ummm. well…”  Tessa was stalling,  “George Bush was an incumbent so there wasn’t an Inauguration!” she quickly saved herself, but I knew I had scored a point.

As I sat in my car fuming, having missed Kiana’s appointment, filled with righteous indignation, I called my best friend, Heather in New York. I knew she would understand.

Heather listened patiently, as she always does, to every minute detail. I concluded by asking her, “Do you really think they would have done this if McCain was elected?

“Probably not sweetie,” Heather replied, “But maybe you should let it go. Barack is our new President and maybe it is time we accept the fact and join the party.” She is always the voice of reason.

Later that day when I went to pick up Shane, I walked past Tessa’s desk and she came over to me and gave me a big hug. God, I love this woman.

“Tessa” I was almost in tears ” I just don’t want you to think I am an angry Republican.”

I’m really not. First of all, I am a registered Independent, and very liberal socially. I am the only person I know who simultaneously voted “no” on Prop 8 while punching my ballot for McCain and Palin. I respect Barack Obama, and understand why so many people are infatuated with him. I just really believed that McCain was the better choice for our country during this time. As a Jewish American, one of my top priorities is the survival and security of Israel. It is unquestionable that McCain was the better choice for Israel, and I really liked him. Don’t worry, I don’t like “That Woman” aka Sarah Palin, but I don’t demonize her either.

“Jennifer, I don’t even care.” Tessa said, all warmth and unconditional love.

She is who I want to be when I grow up.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 6:19 pm and is filed under 3. Political Angst. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.