It’s all about perspective

I met an interesting woman this week. She’s had an internship at the hospital where I work and will receive a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Oklahoma next May. I spoke with her about my field, health care compliance, and we really hit it off. So much so, that during our conversation I learned a lot about her…

Compliance is probably going to be her career choice. She did her undergrad work at OU. She’s not a numbers person. She’s from a small town near Tulsa. Lives in Oklahoma City. Works full time on the OU campus. Her brother, sister-in-law and baby niece/goddaughter live in Tulsa. Her parents live in Houston. She hates Houston. She said “thank you” once to a woman there who looked at her funny and asked, “You’re not from around here, are you?” She loves Oklahoma. Loves being an Okie. Never wants to live anywhere else. Ever.

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She just went on and on (and on) about Oklahoma. My tiny office was quickly shrinking, and there was no escape. My head was spinning, my ears were bleeding, and my brain was on the verge of shutting down.

Then I had an epiphany: She’s the Oklahoma version of me!

Suddenly she was the same charming person I’d met an hour earlier, a kindred spirit, and I was sad to have to hand her off to the risk management people.

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It’s all about perspective, and I’m grateful for the reminder.

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When it comes to elected officials, I’m kind of an if-you-didn’t-vote-then-don’t-gripe girl.

Oklahomans went to the polls this week to vote in state and local races. Well some went to the polls. Most did not. And in a time when it seems that, overall, fewer and fewer Americans care to, or bother to, vote, I think that Oklahoma is hurting itself.

Oklahoma’s presidential primary election was held in early February, and the state and local primary election was this week. The run-off election, required by some of this week’s results is scheduled for late August. And then it will be back to the polls on the first Tuesday in November.

Though deciding who will get your vote may not be easy, voting is. But it takes time and effort. And I think Oklahoma’s system is self-defeating. In my county, Cleveland County, there was record voting in February. Not surprising, when you consider the office. And then voting totals were way down this week. I’m not going to address the run-off, other to say that it’s necessary. And come November, I hope that there is a record turnout. But four elections in one year are a lot, and I think that things like that add to the apathy.

Is it not common sense to have all primary races on the same day so that all of the races benefit from a good turnout?

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My husband and I find ourselves in a quandary regarding our ten-month-old daughter. We do speak English, and I know some Spanish. Our concern is: How do we teach Samantha that Sarcasm is actually our native language when she doesn’t know what that is?

And when I say that sarcasm is our native language, I mean that we are fluent in it and often have difficulty with Sarcasm-to-English translations for non-Sarcasm speakers. And it’s not just my husband and me. I mean, have you met my brother? Of course, being an excellent aunt, I’ve already advised my nephews Jackson and Sutton Hawk that our family members are Sarcastic natives and, as such, speak Sarcasm. I don’t think they fully understand, but I’m sure that they’re learning with each passing day.

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So I guess we’re getting ahead of ourselves (and Samantha) and shouldn’t worry. As Sam’s daycare provider teaches her English, and we teacher her Sarcasm, she also learn about the two cultures and languages. And in the mean time… Hey, my baby will be bilingual!