“We show up the first morning of practice and out skates the newly minted governor.”

There's a really nice article here about Howard Dean as a hockey dad.

“Howard was always there to help out with anything that needed to be done,” Morin adds. “He came to practices, he came to all the games, he was always active with working the penalty boxes. And, of course, it was great having him there as a doctor just in case any of the players got injured.”

While the Religious Right has condemned the former Vermont governor for signing the civil-union bill into law, anyone who accuses Dean of being weak on family values had better make a quick line change. During Dean’s 11 years in office, Montpelier politicos all knew the governor’s calendar was kept open to accommodate his children’s athletic schedules, especially during the playoffs. That commitment hasn’t wavered since Dean began running for president. The Dean For America Web site notes that his presidential campaigning is scheduled around his son’s high school hockey games.

I am especially pleased to see that Dean's daughter played hockey as well, and that he's credited with building the sport, as governor, by offering grants to schools for developing girls' hockey programs.

See, this is family values. He didn't just show up to get his picture taken, he drove the carpool. And he's not trying to take credit for the slightest involvement in his children's lives, as famous fathers sometimes seem to do - this really is a deep and significant level of hands-on parenting. I admire that.

(no subject)

I'm trying to decide whether or not to do nanowrimo this year. Last November, when so many of my friends were writing, I really wished that I were part of it. This year, it looks as though even more of my friends are going to be writing. I want to be part of it.

But at the same time, it doesn't seem fair to the people in my life to have me take on another huge, time-consuming project so soon after I've finished my dissertation. I know that I was essentially an absent partner for several months - and not too great a friend, either. curiousangel did almost all the housework, and he put up with my neuroses as well. I can't ask him to do that again, and yet I can't promise that nanowrimo wouldn't consume my life.

I told therealjae that I'd work on a West Wing fanfic story in time for the Jeds deadline. I'm also working on setting up a weblog that's less journally and more commentary-oriented. Those two writing projects are probably enough. Right?