Another week has passed, and every sports fan's favorite weekend is upon us.

I'm thrilled to be hosting a Super Bowl party Sunday, with about a dozen of my closest friends coming over to watch football, eat food and distract me from the video montages of NFC Championship game footage.

One of the things I miss most about college is the ability to gather a large group of friends on a whim.

We would play spontaneous kickball games, make mass Meijer trips in the middle of the night and gather in the dorm hallway Sunday afternoon to catch up. I really miss that.

So I'm going to take the chance to unwind and enjoy my friends company on Sunday.

Another thing I'm looking forward to this weekend is trying to let go of work. I, like a lot of people, bring my work home with me.

It was magnified last night, when in a social setting, I was reading a work-related e-mail on my cell phone and got caught.

"Hey, stop doing work," a friend chastised me. And I actually responded, "Just let me finish reading this one."

I know I'm not the only one who can't stop thinking about the office. Sometimes it feels like a badge of honor amongst us writers, how we dream about stories and wake up in the middle of the night panicked that we missed deadline.

My goal this weekend is to not answer any e-mails, not look at the website and let go. We'll see how well that goes.

While watching debate and primary coverage this year, I got to thinking about how elected officials have families and belong to a community, just like everyone else.

The local elected officials here interact with their neighbors every day and are involved in things outside of politics.

In some cases, they have other jobs outside of their office, and many times are not compensated for their time.

So the question that popped into my mind is, "Who is Hilary's neighbor? And would she lend you a cup of sugar if you were her neighbor?"

Has Obama ever invited his neighbors over for coffee? Has Romney ever shoveled his neighbor's sidewalk? Has McCain taken in the paper for a family on vacation?

These are things that local officials wouldn't hesitate to do around here. Sometimes I think our national politicians are so out of touch with real life that it is hard to imagine them as anyone's neighbor.

Maybe that's why the White House has such a big lawn.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.