Vote

Standing in line today to vote I got emotionally overwhelmed and a little teary eyed. Not that it takes much these days, being 8 months pregnant and having crazy hormones. I just felt so lucky and blessed to live in a country where I have the right to help decide who I want to run my country. I think of all those countries where the people don't have the right to vote. Those countries that going to vote is literally risking your life. Since I turned 18 and was able to vote, I have voted in every presidential election, state election, and some city elections. My parents raised me to value my right to vote and never waste it by not going. I will teach my children the same. We took Rocco with us today, not that he is old enough to know what is going on. We kept telling him to say "vote." He did , it just sounded more like "boat." My parents also taught me that who and what you vote for is you business, not anyone elses. I believe this is true. Nick always says the two things you never talk about with friends is politics and religion. In some cases, you shouldn't talk about them with family either. There have been many fights at the LaCaprara extended family gatherings due to politics and religion discussions. So three cheers to all the men and women who fought for what they believed in and helped earn Americans the right to cast their ballots. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Michigan Pride

This morning on 89x they were talking about a subject I have been thinking a lot about lately. The question was..."Detroit as an awful city to live in"...Do you disagree with that statement or are you starting to believe the hype? I listened to a few callers' responses before having to go inside and go to bed. The responses I heard reflected Detroit pride and I was proud.

I do not agree with the hype and I think Detroit is not as bad as it is always portrayed. We hear about all of the negative but very little of the postitive. What if there is no postivie, you ask? Then why would the brand new high rise condos they are building downtown almost all be sold? Why would people continually go downtown to go the the bars, restaurants, casinos, and music venues? What about the auto show, the winterfest, and the fireworks? Surely if Detroit was such a city full of evil and danger lurking around every corner, people would not take their families to these events, not risk their kids' lives to go to Tigers' games and take them on the people mover.

Detroit has had a bad rap for a long time and no one has every really put forth enough effort to try to change that. They just make it look worse through movies like 8 mile and Four Brothers. The statistics that came out about Detroit being the most dangerous city was also twisted. The Detroit Police Department documents each crime individually while other cities document them together. For example, if someone breaks into a house, robs the victim at gunpoint, then steals the car, that is considered three crimes for Detroit statistics, while it would be considered one crime for other cities. That is definitely going to make the numbers go higher.
Detroit is the scapegoat for dangerous cities in the US. What about all of the violence in Washington DC and New Orleans? I would name others, but I want to have the statistical evidence before I go bad mouthing other cities, I'm not a city basher! My point is, unless you live here, leave us Detroiters and Metro-Detroiters alone! So we have a corrupt Mayor...there are many, many corrupt political figures out there!

Now, on to Michigan pride...I love my state and am proud to live here! Yes, this winter is dragging out way to long and I am ready for some Spring weather. But I know it is literally right around the corner and then into a glorious summer and beautiful fall and then I will be ready for snow and sledding and a white Christmas. If we didn't have winter, we would not appreciate the spring so much...and get excited for 40 degree weather! Yes, we are in a one state recession...but you know what? When the rest of the country finally slides into the recession that majority of economists are predicting, we won't care because we are already there! (does that sound like crazy talk? I majored in economics in college, and we learned you can only go so low before things start to go back up) Yes, there are many many foreclosed homes and home values have dropped...but hello, that is in the whole country!

The number one reason I love living in Michigan? My friends and family are all here! When I even think about leaving I immediately think of them and there is no way I could do it. I want my son to grow up with both sets of his grandparents within walking or driving distance. I want him to be best friends with his cousins, to have close bonds with his Aunts and Uncles, to be best friends with our best friends' kids. I want to be able to call up my friends and say "Hey, lets go to Target or the mall or out to dinner, or just come over to hang out for a few hours" At Rocco's first birthday party, surrounded by all of our friends and family, I was so thankful that we have all of those people in our life and I don't think anything would drag me away from that. I am by no means criticizing my friends who have left Michigan, I miss them so much and love when they come to visit...I just know it would not be the right choice for me.

Michigan is a beautiful state with so much to offer. She will bounce back from her economic woes (yes, Michigan is a she...it is a beautiful and nature filled state, so must be a girl). Here is my whole point of this blog...unless you live in my state or in Detroit, NO bashing it. Kind of like I can say what I want about my family, but Nick is not allowed to say anything negative about them. If you live in Michigan and want to complain about this long crappy winter, or bouncing in and out of all the potholes, or the teeth clenching death grip on the steering wheel driving in the snow, that is fine. But why waste your thoughts and words on that? Concentrate on the fact that we have some more 40 degree weather coming and soon it will be summer and time to head back to Michigan's beautiful up north!

My first time

So this is my first blogging attempt. I thought I already picked a title for this blog but it just asked me for another one. Do blogs have two titles normally? So as I am reading my friends' blogs, I really feel like I am opening up their heads and crawling inside their brains. I don't know if I am ready to bear my soul in that way for everyone to peer into. I do battle some demons, but I tend to keep them pretty much to myself. I don't know why that is, because normally I am a pretty open person. Guess in my old age of 28.5 I am becoming less reliable on others to solve problems that I should figure out on my own. Or maybe I am realizing the demons have won and I should just give up. That doesn't sound good, I am a proud Catholic and God is a huge part of my everyday life. Okay, this blog is not going in the direction I had hoped...so let me write what I was really thinking about writing.
My life is pretty great right now...I have an amazing one year old son, a husband that I am very much in love with, wonderful family and friends. We are financially stable, have a solid roof over our heads and food on our table every night...and I am even getting to quit my full time job on March 1st! The only problem is, I keep waiting for something bad to happen. I know that sounds awful, but I think to myself...why me? What did I do to deserve such happiness? I am truly thankful every single day and am very well aware of what I have. I take many moments out of every day to thank God for all he has given me and pray for those who are not as fortunate. But I think, why am I able to quit working full time when some of my other friends can't? Why am I safe and secure when there is so much horror in the middle eastern and african countries? Why am I blessed with a healthy and beautiful child when other people suffer the tragic loss of a child? Maybe all these thoughts that run through my head everyday are good, I am not so caught up in my perfect world, blind to all that is sad in the rest of it. Well, there you go, you got inside my head and were able to crawl right up there in my brain full of never resting thoughts. Now can anyone out there tell me if they feel the same way?
Until next time, pray for peace and God Bless!