Tracey Childs

So much has happened over the last two weeks. Katelyn was ill for about a week. During that same week, I backed the car into the garage and watched as Katelyn dropped my cell phone, on purpose, into the bath tub. Did I say that all happened in one week? It was actually a day.

Then last week came and went. It’s true that time really flies when you’re having fun. Part of the fun was going to see La Traviata. I’m not quite sure why, but I had never been to the opera before. It’s odd because I love the theatre, and I like to listen to music. I, unlike a small percentage of my students, really enjoyed the performance. I thought the orchestra played especially well, and the costumes and sets were beautiful! I felt that Violetta’s costumes were the most interesting, as they changed based on what was going on her life. Her hostess ball gown was full and regal, and the sassy, black number she wore after her party was…well, sassy. I loved her “wholesome” frock; the white dress with aqua accents was worn when she was happy in love and living in the country with Alfredo. It was followed by her black, ornate ball gown worn when she accompanied Baron to a party  while still in love with Alfredo. And as exepected, she wore an off-white gown before her death, showing her transformation from party girl to God-fearing woman.

All of the talk of costumes leads me to tonight. It’s Halloween! And though I enjoyed trick-or-treating as a child with my neighbors and little brother, I think I had more fun today as a mom of a first time trick-or-treater. We began prepping Katelyn for today’s festivities by teaching her to hold her pumpkin container out while saying, “Trick or treat.” It is the cutest thing ever. EVER! This morning we started celebrating by taking pictures on the front porch in front of the  pumpkin, mums and aluminum jack-o-lantern. Katelyn wore her “Boo” t-shirt, and she knew that something special was happening today. The Mom’s Day Out program had a “Halloween party” on the playground before the sweetie pies went home for the day. Katelyn dressed up as a lavendar butterfly while her friends wore Tigger, fairy, football player, and cheerleader costumes. She and her cousin Sydney licked icing off of cupcakes before throwing them away. And both girls resisted naptime later. They are obviously not used to a lot of sugar. After Katelyn finally napped for about an hour, her godmother came to see her. Shayla is pregnant with Katelyn’s first little godbrother or sister. I teased her and told her she should put her belly in costume. To end the fun, Katelyn trick-or-treated at three houses and passed out candy. Of course she didn’t share with others that she knew a new phrase, but after we closed the door to the last group of tweens in short shorts and cow girl boots (I’m still not sure who they were supposed to be), she repeated her new phrase several times in front of the video camera for Daddy. I will always remember today. Too bad she won’t!

Last week I ranted to my students about Bush’s latest veto. In case you’ve had your head in the clouds for the past ten days or so, I’ll give you a brief update. Currently in America, there are nearly 9 million children who do not have health insurance. In most cases, these children’s parents don’t make a lot of money, and so they either can’t pay for the insurance that their jobs offer, or their jobs don’t offer any sort of plan for them to purchase. There has been an ongoing debate about healthcare in America, and it’s going to be and should be a hot topic for those candidates seeking the top position in our country.

Last week, the House and the Senate worked together to decide on a bill that would help to insure 3 million of those 9 million uninsured children. They proposed to increase the cigarette tax and use the additional monies from the tax to pay for the insurance. It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s a start. President Bush, who has only exercised his power to veto four times in two terms (the fewest of any president), decided to exercise his right last week. He said that the bill simply asked for too much money.

I am fortunate enough to have had jobs where health insurance was free or of little cost to me. My husband is also fortunate enough to have a job that offers good benefits, and since Katelyn has been around, we’ve found out just how great the healthcare benefits are at his job. So when I began to hear about children who died from common illnesses simply because their families couldn’t afford to take them to the doctor, I couldn’t relate. I was confused to say the least. But now, I am angry. I am angry because some lawmakers in the country tried to make a change in the system, and their top leader said that their concerns weren’t valid. And I am angry because members of Congress and Senate from this great state of Alabama also failed to sympathize with the millions who simply can’t afford, as hard as they try, to give their children the very best start. Finally, I am angry because when I wrote to an elected official and voiced concern for his actions and asked him to reconsider his position, I received an automated email response, telling me that he appreciated my note. I do not expect that these men will ever understand where the lower middle class and poor of this country come from, but because this is America, I did expect that they would stop for a few minutes and realize that sometimes taking care of the folks at home is important too.