So, our firstborn is graduating from college this weekend.
It doesn’t seem that long ago we were dropping off a freshman at Drake University in Des Moines. She got her COVID test, brought a laptop to take her remote classes and we had a two-hour prescheduled window to move her into a dorm. We wore our masks and kept the hand sanitizer at hand.
So, yeah, it was just a typical start to her college career in 2020. She graduated from Linn-Mar in groups of five rotating through a ceremony that, in small groups, took days. No prom, no graduation party, no last day at school.
But she rolled with it and thrived in college. Sure, there were ups and downs. But she made friends, excelled at her classes and is more prepared for what’s next than I was when I graduated from Drake 30 years ago. Go dogs!
The infant with the heart defect, the kid whose prescription I picked up and learned it was for “heart failure,” made it to the real world. We’re proud of her, of course, and relieved we didn’t screw anything up too badly,
Well, unless you count her major. Strategic political communications.
Yeah, she’s going to work in politics. Doesn’t anybody in my family want to be wealthy and comfortable?
We should have thrown up the barricades, turned on the flashing red lights and cued the sirens. But you’ve got to let talented young people find their own way, even if the path leads to the cesspool that is our current political era.
She’s a progressive Democrat, and she’s sticking around to fight for her home state. No, she was not indoctrinated by her columnist father. She formed her views on her own. Coming of age in the time of Trump and the chaos that’s followed left her with little choice but to join the loyal opposition. You know, the ones who don’t want to take her reproductive freedom and won’t encourage her to be a trad wife.
I hesitate to use her name for fear she’ll become a target of my online trolls. I’d rather not make it easy for them. Eventually, even their tiny brains will likely figure it out.
But her idealism is tempered by experience. She’s knocked doors and made campaign calls. She’s clerked in the Iowa House for two sessions, giving her a front-row seat to witness what passes for governing under the current regime. She’s been inspired by the strong women who lead the Democratic caucus.
One of them told her that because she can leave Iowa, she should stay to fight for people who can’t leave. She’s sticking around to join the good fight to stop the madness.
This summer and fall, she’ll be managing a couple of Des Moines area legislative campaigns. It’s a big responsibility, given to her by pros who believe she can handle it. No doubt, win or lose, she will learn stuff that can’t be taught in a classroom.
For a graying scribbler who contemplates resignation at least three times each week, it’s inspiring. If she can endure what’s happened to Iowa and still has hope, maybe I can stick around for a while longer. I’m exhausted but she’s ready to work in the trenches. Now, I want to see how this all turns out.
We’re moving her into a real-world apartment this weekend. Knowing how campaigns go she’ll probably lose sleep there.
But we can’t help but be excited about what she might do. Those candidates are lucky to have her. The kid who once shunned the spotlight has become a leader. Respected, competent and sharp. What more could you want?
Well, she could come home once in a while, pour a glass of wine and talk politics with the graying scribbler and her mother. She can probably teach me some things. We’re looking forward to it.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette. com
www.thegazette.com
It doesn’t seem that long ago we were dropping off a freshman at Drake University in Des Moines. She got her COVID test, brought a laptop to take her remote classes and we had a two-hour prescheduled window to move her into a dorm. We wore our masks and kept the hand sanitizer at hand.
So, yeah, it was just a typical start to her college career in 2020. She graduated from Linn-Mar in groups of five rotating through a ceremony that, in small groups, took days. No prom, no graduation party, no last day at school.
But she rolled with it and thrived in college. Sure, there were ups and downs. But she made friends, excelled at her classes and is more prepared for what’s next than I was when I graduated from Drake 30 years ago. Go dogs!
The infant with the heart defect, the kid whose prescription I picked up and learned it was for “heart failure,” made it to the real world. We’re proud of her, of course, and relieved we didn’t screw anything up too badly,
Well, unless you count her major. Strategic political communications.
Yeah, she’s going to work in politics. Doesn’t anybody in my family want to be wealthy and comfortable?
We should have thrown up the barricades, turned on the flashing red lights and cued the sirens. But you’ve got to let talented young people find their own way, even if the path leads to the cesspool that is our current political era.
She’s a progressive Democrat, and she’s sticking around to fight for her home state. No, she was not indoctrinated by her columnist father. She formed her views on her own. Coming of age in the time of Trump and the chaos that’s followed left her with little choice but to join the loyal opposition. You know, the ones who don’t want to take her reproductive freedom and won’t encourage her to be a trad wife.
I hesitate to use her name for fear she’ll become a target of my online trolls. I’d rather not make it easy for them. Eventually, even their tiny brains will likely figure it out.
But her idealism is tempered by experience. She’s knocked doors and made campaign calls. She’s clerked in the Iowa House for two sessions, giving her a front-row seat to witness what passes for governing under the current regime. She’s been inspired by the strong women who lead the Democratic caucus.
One of them told her that because she can leave Iowa, she should stay to fight for people who can’t leave. She’s sticking around to join the good fight to stop the madness.
This summer and fall, she’ll be managing a couple of Des Moines area legislative campaigns. It’s a big responsibility, given to her by pros who believe she can handle it. No doubt, win or lose, she will learn stuff that can’t be taught in a classroom.
For a graying scribbler who contemplates resignation at least three times each week, it’s inspiring. If she can endure what’s happened to Iowa and still has hope, maybe I can stick around for a while longer. I’m exhausted but she’s ready to work in the trenches. Now, I want to see how this all turns out.
We’re moving her into a real-world apartment this weekend. Knowing how campaigns go she’ll probably lose sleep there.
But we can’t help but be excited about what she might do. Those candidates are lucky to have her. The kid who once shunned the spotlight has become a leader. Respected, competent and sharp. What more could you want?
Well, she could come home once in a while, pour a glass of wine and talk politics with the graying scribbler and her mother. She can probably teach me some things. We’re looking forward to it.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette. com
Opinion: Old scribbler inspired by daughter staying in Iowa to fight
Yeah, she’s going to work in politics
www.thegazette.com
