And the Winner Is...

November 2, the day we had both dreaded and dreamed of, finally arrived. A restless sense of "What do we do now?" prevailed. We had poured everything we had into the campaign, working nonstop even into the wee hours of the morning of November 2. It was hard to let go and let the actual election take place. We could do nothing but try to occupy our minds until the polls closed at 7:00 P.M.
Instead of hosting a watch party, we chose to stay home and face the returns alone. We knew our supporters were pulling for Doug, but we felt that regardless of the outcome, we needed some time together to make the transition.
Election results began to roll in by 7:30. After listening to the first radio reports, I decided I could not handle the suspense. I quit listening and tried to block out the returns with a book and TV. Doug gamely listened and hoped. At 8:24 Keenan called and said "It looks like you won!" Then seven minutes later, he texted Doug and said, "All polls are in but one. You got 55%. Congrats!" In the meantime, Keenan was also texting Lauren and Shannon about the progress. At one time Doug was talking to Shannon with his cell phone to one ear and talking to Lauren with my cell phone to his other ear; then Keenan called again on the land line. After he shared a victory moment with the kids, the phones rang nonstop for several hours.
In addition to two radio interviews and one newspaper interview, friends and family called in their congratulations. An excited group of friends showed up at our house to wish Doug well and share in his excitement, and the phone calls continued. Doug was so elated that he did not sit down for at least three hours!
Although Doug and I worked harder than we ever imagined we would on his campaign, numerous volunteers put in hours of their time. They supported the campaign financially, canvassed door to door, mailed post cards, made phone calls, hosted receptions, and talked to their friends about Doug's candidacy. We are forever grateful. In addition, our family was asource of emotional support. Not only did they volunteer, but they loved us unconditionally through it all. We could not have survived without them.

Honoring His Honor

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead." I should have recalled this wise quote when Doug's secretary called me and informed me that the Beckham-Roger Mills County Bar Association would be hosting a dinner for Doug and nominating him for an award and that it was to be a surprise. My job was to get him and our family to the dinner without his suspecting anything. Gamely, I agreed to the conspiracy. Never mind the fact that I would somehow have to convince Doug that he must wear a suit and tie on a night that we had set aside to canvass door to door. In my mind, possible explanations for the fancy attire ran the gamut from "The suit makes you look official" to "You need to look good because you never know who might take your picture." I am definitely a rather lame and uninspired liar.
The situation was further complicated by the logistics of getting family members' schedules to cooperate. Week nights were ruled out because of distance and early work hours the next day, and Friday and Saturday nights were complicated by work schedules and of course football game attendance. Friday, September 24 was settled on, and then there was the possible problem of invitations. Keenan still gets his mail at our house, so if an invitation were to be sent to him, I would have to beat Doug to the mailbox every day so he would not spot the suspicious-looking envelope.
Making my conundrum worse, I decided that Doug needed a new suit for this affair. Since neither of us could take time away from the campaign to shop for one and since I would have to come up with a semi-plausible explanation for the new clothes, I decided to have Lauren buy the suit in Amarillo. I sent my credit card with her, and the plan would have worked flawlessly except for the fact that a very astute cashier realized that it is highly unlikely that such a young woman would be named Judy. Well, to make a long story short, we worked it out, and Lauren was not arrested for credit card fraud, and Doug got a new suit.
Well by this time, the "secret" had been shared with numerous people making the chance for a surprise dinner smaller and smaller. And then, one of the lawyers in charge of the dinner told Doug. In spite of the fact that I had wasted a great deal of creative deception and stealth on the project, I was relieved.
The dinner was wonderful. Of course, Shannon and Josh could not come from Georgia, but Lauren, Brandon, and Eli and Keenan and Carlie were all there along with many members of the bar and numerous friends. Doug received a Citation of Appreciation signed by Governor Brad Henry, Senator Tom Ivester, and Representative Purcy Walker. He was unanimously nominated by the Beckham-Roger Mills County Bar Association for the Oklahoma Bar Association Award for Judicial Excellence. It was truly an evening of respect and affirmation.