Miracle on Meadowcrest

Or perhaps more accurately...Miracle over the Phone....My dad and I have seen battle. We are so similar that often it has resulted in months of silence and a strained relationship. But in the past several years, just like ice in Greenland, tension has thawed. Partly because I married a man who is eerily similar to Dad, partly because I have a CNN addiction and can now have intelligent conversations about foreign policy and partly because I no longer view Dad as someone to be feared, but instead someone who doles out extremely helpful advice (although sometimes accompanied by moments where he forgets I'm 30 and flashes back to when I'm 13). Last summer though, it all got a little heated. August 2008 was a complex time, full of presidential debates and sticky topics. On top of sweltering from 95 degree temperatures and 95 percent humidity, we were boiling on the inside, too. Romney or McCain? Obama or Hilary? On this, Dad and I are nothing alike. He fancies himself a fiscal conservative, I lean Democratic simply because I think the government should be involved in some areas, except when it comes to who marries whom and if you do or do not have a baby. I blame part of that on just being a woman. But oversight and aid to small business should all be provided by those folks in Washington. So, imagine the phone conversations that took place in September and October. Fortunately, we were both AT&T customers. That took a little of the sting out. The first Thursday in November came and went and we all know the result. I did a little dance of happy, happy, joy, joy and Dad sulked and announced the begin of Reign of Socialism and sympathy for our kids who were going to be in debt until their kids have kids. We decided we would talk about motorcycles and computers for the next 4 years. Then this morning, I called Dad to tell him a story about how I accidentally won a baseball signed by Jim Bunning - that post is coming as soon as I get the pictures off of the camera, probably when Fareed Zakaria finishes his interview with Karzai. Dad laughed and then said "well, I have to say, Obama did the right thing taking out those terrorists holding the shipping captain." HUH? I was caught so off-guard that I had no response. Nothing witty, nothing clever, not even an "I told you so!" Of course, should the big O decide to write another check to AIG or start playing bridge with the Taliban, he will recant all statements. But for now, this is a small miracle. Dad liked something that a Democrat did. I will light a sparkler in celebration as soon as it stops raining.