Sports and Election

Three of our four kids are back in organized activities. Several months ago, we learned of a good dance studio that teaches acro. Kara is very interested in acro, so I e-mailed and asked them to let us know when classes restarted. Fast forward several months and Kara is now officially a student. The studio has a policy that requires ballet after age six when taking acrobatic classes. The owner promises it will make a big difference in building strength and improving skills. Kara is a total beginner in ballet, but she has been doing flexibility and acro on her own for quite a while (and did a class when she was in the 3rd grade). So, after 3 weeks of classes, the teacher e-mailed me and said that Kara should move up a level in the acro class, but that to get her caught up in ballet, she recommends doing two ballet classes a week. I talked to Kara and she is on board. She loves the acrobatics and likes the ballet and if ballet will help her improve her other skills, she will do it. That will start in December when they move into their new studio.

Her teacher sent me this one

After enrolling Kara, we decided maybe Luke should get to do a sport. He's been asking for a while. And, since we were signing Luke up, we asked Jack and Anna if there was anything they wanted to try. Anna was interested in basketball. Soccer and basketball are at the YMCA, within walking distance of our house, so it was an easy request.  More importantly (see previous posts about quitters) both sports required a pretty short commitment, the season only runs about 6 weeks. So, here we are, we now have dance on Wednesdays, soccer and basketball on Thursday and games on Saturdays and the the occasional Friday (for basketball). Luke and Anna had their first games yesterday. 

Anna is a complete beginner and her team was way outmatched. But, she is just learning and having fun and she enjoyed it. Luke loved playing soccer, he played goalie and stopped three goals! Of course, they weren't hit with much force, but he still did it. He also did a good job in the field and he loves it. 

The excitement of the "blue" player didn't last. Luke blocked that goal!

And, in other news--Biden won! I am so relieved. I am really hoping he will live up to his reputation as a uniter and bring the country together. It is going to be a tough task. I am so tired of the vitriol. And of course, President Trump is not going to go easy. He is making a lot of baseless claims, which is frustrating. I 100% agree that all votes should be verified and counted. But, some of the stuff he is saying is just wrong, for example, he keeps talking about a big legal victory in Pennsylvania, and saying how the Republican observers weren't allowed to actually observe. That was not true. His lawyers admitted it wasn't true. The "big victory" was that the observers were moved from a distance of 13 feet to 6 feet. I feel like those types of arguments hurt his credibility. And, his team likes to talk about how he was up in all these battleground states, but then President-Elect Biden miraculously pulled ahead. However, all of the experts said that the majority of mail-in ballots were requested by Democrats, so of course they would favor Biden. And, Pennsylvania, which has been largely contested, was blocked from counting votes until election day. According to some experts, this was done for the express purpose of making something look questionable when it really wasn't. Now, he is also complaining about losing in the big cities in the battleground states, but again, the statistics showed that those city populations favored Biden. I am not sure what I am missing, but he has said time and again that he wants to bring this to the Supreme Court, where he has three appointees, and I can't help but feel all the rest is pretext. 

There are much more articulate explanations, but the bottom line is that most of the statements President Trump is currently making are false. I am not saying he shouldn't verify that the counts are legitimate, but I am saying he should stop spreading false information and temper his remarks. But, that has never been his strong suit (which, a lot of people love). I am glad the election is over and I hope there is a peaceful transfer of power. I am terrified by what would happen if the election results were reversed and called in Trump's favor. I also hope that Biden repairs relationships with our allies and is strong against our adversaries. And, things with the election right now are not helping on that front. I am sure Iran, China and North Korea are very excited about all of the infighting. We all know that a house divided against itself cannot stand. 

I am not worried about President Elect Biden's domestic policies, I am firmly in the camp that reform is needed on that front, which I believe he will bring. I am also not concerned about the US becoming a socialist society, but I know a lot of others are. We shall see. I am writing this out so that in four years, I can see how things are going compared to how I thought they would be. I am hoping for a more united country that is fairer to all people. I don't mind paying more in taxes, particularly if it brings down our national debt and relieves some of our dependency on China. I hope the poor get greater wealth, but that we don't disincentivize the rich, or would be rich, from being bold and working hard. I hope the US has a strong democracy and that faith is restored in a Government that works for, and not against, the American people. I hope the fears on the right are unfounded and that we are safe.