On Why I'm Not Into Politics

This entry begins with information that in no way relates to my financial woes. Most of you know my dad ran for city council at-large in St. Joseph this year. Today was the election, and the results were disappointing for the good guys (a.k.a. us). Here's what I'll say as briefly as possible

1) I'm incredibly proud of my dad. Watching him work from my position was amazing to see- his heart was truly in the right place, and his desire to do the right thing was inspiring. What's all the more amazing is that over 5,000 people voted for my dad. This time last year there were probably hardly 100 people who knew my dad's name. It is a miracle that we got as much support as we did. It speaks to the quality of my dad's character. More importantly, my dad ran his campaign the right way. He followed the rules, he campaigned positively, and he did absolutely everything he could do make this city a better place to live. I'm happy for his effort, happy that so many people saw what my family sees in him all the time, and happy he is able to have the experience he had.

2) To all of you who told me you voted for him, put a sign in your yard, told your friends/family to vote for him, donated money- THANK YOU. We appreciate your support more than you know, and without you this experience would have never been as big as it was. I am genuinely in awe of your support. Thanks a million times.

3) St. Joseph... ahhhhh it's a unique place. A name can take you awfully far here. It's been that way as long as I remember. It makes me wonder if it's like that every place, or if other towns have voters that consider issues and experience over name recognition. Looking at the results, we were fighting an impossible battle. We did, literally, everything in our power to make my dad's qualifications clear, his experience supreme, and his name out there. With all of our efforts, we still fall short. It's hard not to be disappointed, saddened, and negative about the voting process. Like I mentioned in my last blog entry, sometimes bad times intensify what is good about life, and this situation certainly makes it clear that this win doesn't diminish how great things are for my family generally speaking. Our love is huge, our support is strong, our children are adorable. Hard to beat really.

To shortly address a big issue- I AM KEEPING MY CAR! A loan renewal was approved, and my monthly car payments will soon be HALF of what they were previously. I'll be saving approximately $200 a month, and words cannot explain how much of a difference that makes. I'm still waiting on the letter from Bank of America, but I'm so thankful for this current development.

It's been a long day/week/month/year, and things can, and will, go up from here.