Just a couple of opinions

We spent the day down at the Museum of Science and Industry. We hadn't been since before we moved, and children were starting to complain. Plus, my niece if visiting right now, and it's always fun to show off our town. The only downside was that when I looked at my membership card, it had expired. I guessed that I had figured that I would renew it when we finally got down there. I wasn't terribly excited about paying for the membership.

I cannot tell you what a nice surprise it was when I went up to the desk, explained I needed to renew my membership, and have the person at the desk tell me my membership was good until next summer. It seems I did renew it last summer, but I neglected to update my address, which explains why I didn't have a new card. It was very, very good news.

I spend a lot of time kvetching on here about museum "family" memberships which are anything but, and add a penalty fee on memberships for families who have the gall to have more children than they deem acceptable. (Ahem, Morton Arboretum, you happen to be the current worst offender.) So, I feel I need to give equal time to the museums who do it right. The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the museums who do just that. I have never had an issue with our family size when buying a membership or visiting the museum. I haven't even had an eyebrow raised when stating the number of children I am traveling with. It is a great relief every time. Not only do I get to bring all my children with me, but we can see a movie each visit as well. And then there's the free parking. It's a good deal, and one that allows our family to be regular visitors to the museum. The yearly fee may be a little steep, but we tend to visit at least two or three times a year. I was curious, so did the math as to what we would have spent today, with entrance, admission to the U-505 submarine, and a movie, if we had been paying the stated fees. It would have been upwards of $800 if I am doing the math correctly. That's a heck of a lot more than the yearly membership is, and we can keep using it. So, if you are going to buy a museum membership, I encourage you to support a museum that is equitable to all families with their membership, and does not punish families for having more than the average number of children.

We got back in time for me to drop people off at home and for me and P. to get to our polling place. It was P.'s first election to vote.

It was an unusual election for me as well. Having voted pretty heavily Republican all my life, I just couldn't this election. I am so disgusted by a party that will not stand up to the immoral lunatic that currently holds office, that I find I cannot vote for any of them. The final straw? A billboard that is totally blasphemous. I'm not usually terribly political here, but good gravy, that is so far beyond the pale, it leaves me speechless. So until the Republicans somehow find their moral bearings and spines again, we will have to part ways.

And with that, I will go tuck children in, read frivolous fiction, and listen to the election updates as my older children shout them out every now and then.