Author Archives: The Senator's Wife

About The Senator's Wife

I started this blog on a whim thinking it would be fun to write about politics while my husband served in the OK State Senate. The jury's still out on that, but having a front row seat on the sideline of Oklahoma politics has been one big adventure.

A Good Thing

I spent some time in San Antonio last week for a board meeting. Let’s just say that the Alamo…. is not as big as you think it should be.

It was also cold. However, that did not stop us moms from enjoying the river walk or our time in between meetings.

My eyes are closed in that picture due to some serious sleep deprivation. Not much sleep to be had at these meetings. Nope, we use our free time wisely and that would be staying up late to catch up and laugh with one another. Lots of laughter. This is a good friend of mine from Las Vegas. She has two daughters, a family business and is a brilliant, out of the box thinker.

Don’t get me started on these two past National Young Mothers of the Year from Georgia and New Hampshire pictured below…..my sides still hurt from laughing so hard. Simply amazing women.

The women on this national board come from all across the country. A multi-generational, inter-faith, non-political, non-profit organization comprised of women who are interested in supporting and honoring moms. Really doesn’t get much better than that. They are also responsible for naming the National Mother of the Year ®. I kid you not. And, they’ve been doing that since 1935.

In this picture are moms from Oklahoma, Texas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Indiana, Nevada, Washington, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Georgia, California, Utah, North Dakota and Puerto Rico. AND, there are moms on the board who were not pictured from Vermont, Oregon and Kentucky.

Here’s the link….you should check it out because they do good things. And we could all use a little more of that.

Under Construction

Do you ever watch church t.v.?

I remember my grandmother talking to me about some of her friends who did. She was not a fan. Consequently, I remember thinking why in the world would anyone need to watch church on television when you can just go there?

I have grown up a lot since then. And, so has the evolution of church t.v.

What a production.

Anyway, I referenced this for a story about the Inaugural Ball the Senator and I attended this past week. You remember me talking about the lengthy line to retrieve ones coat and how the Senator found a friend who was already in the back of the coat room to snag ours. Yes, he did. And while we were waiting for our coats, we ran into several other friends including this darling couple who are pastors at a very large church in the Senator’s district. We knew they were there because he gave the actual invocation at the event, but when there are nearly 2,000 people you really can’t predict who you will actually get to see there.

So, as it happens, the Pastor and his wife were debating and dreading having to fall back into the very, very LONG coat line. Just for good measure, let’s say the line was so long it wrapped around the corner, down a long hallway and back into the Ball…because it did.

That being said, we laughed and talked with them as it was good to catch up and I pressured the Senator to sneak back into the coat room to get their coats. I mean they are pastors, you’d think he might get a little extra prayer plug in for the good deed, right!?

This couple actually do all sorts of wonderful things for our community. In fact, their staff and church were a source of great comfort for me during the last campaign. I wrote about that here. ( and I’ll link to it if I can ever find it in my archives… promise.) They have also been out to the Capitol to see the Senator.

But, what made me think about church t.v. is because I watched him the other day. They live stream and because I am so high-tech (loud background laughter) I sat down early in the morning and pulled him up.

It was terrific. Never mind that I had watched a re-run on actual television only moments earlier! But, the message is always good. Real good. And I took notes.

Here is what I wrote:

People under construction

Nobody’s perfect

Church is a great place to tweak your walk with God – which is a work in progress.

Be aware of people around us – be sensitive to the needs of others.

Sometimes – the bridge is out and it looks impossible to get where you need to go. The house of God reminds you that not everything is perfect.

Genesis 28

It is more important to unlearn something old than to learn something new.

Every time you serve, worship and give it helps you break the cycle of greed

If you never get around people who are different from you – you will never grow.

Forgive for what it does to you on the inside.

Through faith and not by works….

Construction zone for all people – because we are all under construction

What belief system do you need to change so that God can be everything

When people get mean –

Philippians 1:6

God – keep doing the work in me….

Amen to that! I am putting on my hard hat and getting to work this week!

P.S. The Senator did actually sneak back into the coat room to snatch their coats claiming it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I think he was right!

Working the Crowd

The Senator and I attend the Governor’s Inaugural Ball this week.

I think this type of event makes for some great people watching….especially when everyone is seated and dinner is being served.

Typically, all of the politicians in the room tend to get up and work the tables….which at this event, meant that the entire room was working the crowd.

This always makes me smile when it happens and some politicians do it better than others… meaning they are subtle. My Senator thinks it is rude to leave the people at any table where you are seated, and quite frankly, I agree with him.

However, this was not an issue for us at this particular Inaugural Ball. The Senator didn’t have to get up and work the room, because we ended up working it as we searched for our table. Nice, huh! There must have been over one thousand tables, and we started searching for ours on the wrong side of the ballroom. Fun, fun.

By the time we made it to our table I was quite thankful our seats were still there, never mind the salad had already been cleared and they were serving the main course. Who needs salad, right? Our tablemates were glad to see us and were most gracious. We knew some and not others which always makes for interesting table talk.

And, then I began playing with the camera on my iPhone to take some photos of the outfits. Oh, the many different dresses. Mostly long and appropriate ball gowns with a sprinkling of short cocktail dresses.

Obviously, I have not figured out the camera on my new iPhone. Be patient, my friends. It will be a scary day when I master it!

Cute. Let’s hope they didn’t check their coats. That line lasted an hour…unless you were the Senator and decided to take matters into your own hands. Don’t ask.

Special note to Ball planners: when over 1,800 people are going to attend an event and it is 10 degrees outside, plan for them, their cars and their coats. That’s all.