I was eating my lunch today when the phone rang. It was a live person calling on behalf of John McCain. She was reading from a script and said that Barack Obama had “worked closely” with “domestic terrorist” William Ayers.

I interrupted her and said, “That’s a lie.” To my surprise, she departed from her script and said, “I know. I’m being paid to do this. I don’t know what else to do.” Then she resumed her script, and I hung up before she could finish.

It was an odd call, mixing the fever of our political campaign season with the desperation of our economic downturn, and, for me, linking McCain to both of those states of mind – feverish and desperate. I feel sad for the woman making those calls and angry at John McCain and his campaign.

I wish I had stayed on the phone to get more info about the organization calling. When I checked my caller ID, it said only “out of area,” and I could not find a number.

Above are pictures from Walk to School Day in Northfield, Minnesota, October 8, 2008. We had four schools participate this year: the three elementary schools and the Middle School. That is a fourfold increase over last year. Approximately 160-200 students participated at the Middle School and 150 at Sibley Elementary. The latter represents at least double the usual number of kids who walk or bike on a given day.

The pictures show children leaving Bridgewater Elementary with the assistance of the crossing guards, my daughter in our new jogging stroller, and a photo from Greg Sumner of a record number of bikes at the Middle School.

I stumbled across this info at Whitepages.com. Not surprisingly, it shows that the highest concentrations of people with my last name – Ostrem – are in states where many Norwegian immigrants settled, mostly in the Upper Midwest:

Top States for last Name Ostrem:
1. Wisconsin: 70 listings
2. Iowa: 57 listings
3. Minnesota: 35 listings
4. South Dakota: 24 listings
5. Washington: 23 listings

My wife went back to work full time in September, and I only managed three blog entries last month and none so far this month, which is almost half over. My main excuse is that I’m caring for our 4-year-old daughter and our 9-month-old son. We have less child care than we did last school year, because we didn’t want to put our son in daycare yet and we have not found a baby sitter who can come to our home part time. I also remain chair of the Northfield Area Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation, which can be demanding at times.

I continue to be struck by how demanding parenting is. I don’t have time to do many of the things that I used to do, and there are many other things that I can do less often. In that sense, there is loss in parenting – the loss of old habits and activities. But much is gained, of course, including being witness to developing children and giving and receiving their love. I must remember and be open to those rewards, which are easy to ignore among the many demands of daily life.

Being a stay-at-home dad has also made me appreciate the sacrifices that women have made over the eons as they have raised children and managed households. It can be a very difficult, even isolating task, and it is one that men have too often shirked. No doubt one purpose of patriarchy – the rule of men – in many societies has been to push the burden of child rearing onto women’s shoulders.

Although I’m willing to be a stay-at-home dad and generally enjoy it, I do wonder if women are generally happier caring for children than men are. My experience and intuition tells me that, on average, they receive more joy from being close to children on a daily basis.

Still, this dad receives a great deal of joy from his children, and there is much to appreciate in working under their demands rather than those of a boss or employer.