Yesterday, my 11-year old daughter enthusiastically asked me "Are you excited Mom?"  When I asked her "about what?" she replied "Your Birthday!!!!" After explaining that, at my age, birthdays are not something we really get excited about any more, I realized that it is still a day for recognizing milestones and taking inventory of our blessings and shortfalls both. Two years ago today, I was  thinking I got the greatest birthday gift ever, with the election of Barack Obama--the first African-American president in history, and someone who would advance a progressive agenda and get us back on the right track [...]