![\"responsibilityplunge\"](\"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/responsibilityplunge.jpg\")
<\/a>Taking the responsibility plunge<\/p><\/div>\n
RV was conceived in a cottage a sandy hundred steps from Gull Lake. It was a cold early October day in 1996. The nine month timing with the next legislative adjournment was saying \u201cNow\u2019s The Time.\u201d But I was saying, \u201cWhoa, are we really going to do this?\u201d Took a real cold plunge in Gull Lake, thought quickly, jumped out, came back to the cottage, said \u201cHey Baby . . .\u201d and started in on some serious family planning. In those moments I truly grasped what the next score years meant in terms of taking on responsibility; what I had no idea about was how much fun being a Father would be. (Read \u201cPleasures\u201d Story.)<\/p>\n
However, being responsible and RV\u2019ing at the same time just couldn\u2019t hold up. The kids<\/span> (by now) needed one school district, one neighborhood, one house to grow up in, and, after the 2002 legislative map didn\u2019t include a living room bridge across the railroad tracks that divided our adjoining districts, I said: \u201cYou know Ace, you\u2019re pretty good at this politics business; we need a woman\u2019s voice up there; I\u2019m going to retire and move in with you full-time, lock, stock and barrel, baseball bats, baseball cards and baseball shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n Tomorrow: Lucky Again<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ace and I planned our first arrival for two years later, the next time the two year legislative cycle meant we wouldn\u2019t be in session. We did lots of planning, both family-wise and otherwise, accommodating our legislative duties. Because we … Continue reading