Where Did January Go????

As I write this, January has basically come and gone. At one time, it seemed as though January and February just dragged on and on and on. No more!!!!! I have always enjoyed the Holidays and always miss the busyness of the season and it seemed to make the next couple of months longer. Now, it just feels as though the busyness of the holiday season is replaced by the busyness of other activities (I still enjoy the holidays more though!!!!)

This past week, I had the pleasure of spending a few days in Richmond for our yearly Legislative meeting of our Social Services directors. We got to visit the General Assembly and drop by the offices of our representatives. As always, they were busy, though we did have a nice conversation with Del. Bud Phillips. He had a nice long conversation with us, which is always nice to have a long conversation with any of them at this time of year.

I am attending the Rural Caucaus in Richmond this week. This will be my first time attending, so it ought to be an interesting experience. I enjoy the political activities and believe they have significant benefit. However, I do have to say that I was extremely disappointed with our Federal government and the ongoing bi-partisanship displayed when voting on the stimulus package. The original stimulus package developed by Pres Bush and pushed through by the Republicans had significant bi-partisan support. But now, when Pres. Obama pushes forward with a new stimulus package largely developed by the Bush administration and the new administration, there was not a single republican who voted in favor of this package. It would be wonderful if the people who we elect to office would take the time to actually represent our interests instead of playing partisan politics. Do what is right and work together. Spend some of your energy building relationships and partnerships instead of building walls between each other.