Baby Girl's First Election

And why I am thinking about elections differently

Elections are clarifying events. So, let’s talk about Anisa’s first election. (Settle down -- she didn’t actually vote.) And a recipe request.

Two dinosaurs celebrating Halloween 2024

Unless you are 22 months old (plus or minus) and still learning your ABC’s, you are aware there is an election around the corner. And regardless of your candidate of choice, you probably feel like it is the most important election of your lifetime. This is the world we live in.

So, as I listen to Anisa tell me all about dinosaurs (see above), excavators and Bluey (see below), it makes me think about this election a little bit differently. Not whether or not it is important; it most certainly is. Rather, is it the most important election of Anisa’s lifetime?

This election – Baby Girl’s first – is a collision of my sense of mortality with my perception of her immortality.

I am not a person who thinks about their mortality. I have lived a fortunate life. I have done decent things, good things, not-so-good things. When my time comes, I expect people will say, “Meh. He wasn’t terrible. And every now and then he cooked a decent meal.” An assessment I can live (or die) with.

As a late-to-the-game father, elections have become clarifying events because I realize I only have so many of them left. Baby Girl has a lifetime of them ahead. So, this year, I ask myself, “Are elections about the world the way it was, the way it is, or the way we want it to be?”

In the BBG times, my thoughts about elections were very present: What needs to be changed now, who is in the best position to effect those changes. At most, the time horizon stretched from the last election cycle to the next. A mindset shaped by a life lived within the policy/political debates of the moment. 

Anisa has stretched my points of reference in ways I did not expect. I have become more interested in perspectives from further back in history so I can better understand what the future may (or may not) hold. I think more about how we relate to each other, and how that will change in the generations to come.

I still flinch when someone says we have to do x, y or z for “my kids.”  Because you don’t have to have children to care about the world around you. And while my world is now defined in large part by the needs and aspirations of our daughter, I firmly believe fulfilling her needs and aspirations should not come at the expense of others. Which is harder than we expect when we are told resources are zero sum, that our children are unlikely to do better than us and that the present is the only thing that matters.

So, as I plod down the backstretch (hoping it’s not the homestretch) of opportunities to mark my vote, I’m thinking about elections the way I hope Anisa will see the world: learn from the past, live in the present and be hopeful about the future.

Halloween Costume #2 (courtesy of Aziza)

Thanksgiving Prep

We are hosting nearly everyone for Thanksgiving. From both sides. It is going to be fantastic.

Toya is busy scheduling activities. Visits to the zoo. Turkey trots. (This turkey does not trot.) Rearranging furniture.

I am fixated on menu prep. Thinking a couple of paellas, grilled veggies, Greek lemon potatoes and a turkey on the grill. There will be a healthy debate above my pay grade about mac ‘n cheese. Toya’s mom is doing biscuits and the gravy. (And probably more.) My mom and nieces are on dessert duty, as well as the famous Noorani cranberry salad.

Two questions. Any advice on grilling a turkey on a charcoal grill? Any other good Thanksgiving items that can feed a brigade of family?  

Watching

If you are looking for something mindless and fun, click over to Detroiters. Has an Arrested Development meets Veep meets Parks & Rec vibe to it.  

Reading

I continue to be really interested in how AI is going to change the way we – kids in particular – relate to each other. More in Common is out with a new report, “Between Hesitation and Hope,” looking at American’s perception of AI.

The result that jumped out to me: “Women, rural Americans, and those with a low sense of belonging are generally more skeptical and fearful about GenAI’s impact compared to men, urban residents, and those with a strong sense of community.”