The Past Eight Years

I watched Obama tonight.

Not so I could be swayed or to discount the misleading things he said or the fact that the Democrats prey on the less fortunate. I mean, seriously, how many of the poor without boots, or even boostraps, do you think were in the audience tonight? They certainly didn't show any of them on TV.

And I kept listening as Obama went on and on and on about how bad the last eight years have been. And you know, I have to say I just don't agree.

Here's a snapshot of what the last eight years have been like for me.

The night Bush was elected, I was as big as a house. November 7, 2000. Exactly two days before Abbie was born. Although we were in Austin, I watched the celebration on TV. When you're that big, who wants to go to a party anyway? But that's where my eight years ago starts.

Since then....

Abbie was born.
We skiied Tahoe with the Depners and Pins.
Grandma Lolly passed away.
We bought our first house, 2108 Germantown Court, Plano, Texas.
Biggs graduated UT MBA.
We bought the Honda (which we still have).
We moved to Plano.
Biggs started working for Deloitte.
We joined Pitman Creek C of C.
We did all the things young families do.
We were glued to the TV on September 11 and for days afterwards.
We got Jake. (I'll spare you all the Jake got out of the yard, dug a hole, barked all night stuff.)
Kaitlyn was born.
Mom married Milton.
We traded a few vehicles around and ended up with an Expedition -- Aggie Maroon.
Biggs lost his job when Deloitte closed his division. He worked as hard at finding a new job as he'd ever worked at anything and started working at Dresser about two weeks later.
My Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.
We kept doing all the things young families do.
We moved to Farmer's Branch Church of Christ.
Biggs bought me an IPod.
I began doing the Breast Cancer 3-Day -- something that has truly changed my life.
Hurricane Katrina hit and God orchestrated a series of events in our lives that still blows me away.
We built a house in McKinney.
We moved four times that summer, eventually landing in our new home on October 30, 2007.
Dad gave the girls a huge playhouse for Christmas.
We bought a flat-screen TV the day before the Superbowl.
Sara Beckett came to live with us that spring.
We had a birds-eye view for watching Farmers Branch fight illegal immigration.
Biggs got transferred to Houston.
We bought a house in Houston.
We moved, my Mom got sick, and she went to be with Jesus.... all in the span of four weeks.
We replaced some of our hand-me-down furniture with new furniture.
Our new neighborhood has six community pools.
Five of the eight houses on our street have pools in their backyards.
We reconnected with old friends.
We've enjoyed LOTS of great times at the Creek.
Our kids go to an Exemplary-rated elementary school.
We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a trip to Vail.
Suzi Bruin and I were flown to LA to shoot the TV, radio and print publicity for the 3-Day.
Biggsy bought me a bike.
My Dad took us all on a cruise for Christmas.
We went to Costa Rica with Biggs' work.
We traded for a new Expedition.
Grandpa Jack passed away.
The girls and I travelled all over this summer.

That's pretty much the last eight years. In no way is it an exhaustive list. But my point is, things haven't been so bad. True, we've been through some really rough stuff -- but that can't be blamed on the Republicans. In fact, the healthcare that my mother received in the last few years was second-to-none and her final hospital bills were almost entirely covered by insurance. Our family has been blessed financially and spiritually. We've added two beautiful daughters and one dog to our household. (I got it!!! If we have to blame something on the Republicans, let's blame Jake's lack of training!) I'm just thinking that "eight more years" doesn't look all that bad to me.

I watched that scene tonight, and truth be told, if they really thought about it, I'm guessing the majority of the people in that stadium tonight would have to admit the same thing!