Not Complaining...

The sun didn't really come out today, but even though I had my heart set on another beautiful spring day,  I'm not complaining...
  
You see, Superman sent me some pictures of his day...I am feeling humbled and a bit ashamed.

I didn't have to deal with this.  Turning day into night as it first rolled in...

Then turning the sky a uniform yellow as the sand flew.

After that, they have a mess to clean up.  The sand gets in everything.  Seriously...can you imagine cleaning up during "sandstorm season" every year?

Suddenly, lingering gray skies don't seem nearly so bad...in fact, I'm thinking they're downright beautiful.

Perspective is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Coming Out of Hibernation

Growing up in the Southern California year-round sunshine, it never occurred to me that I would be a hibernator. Moving to a place with a real winter, complete with gray days and freezing temperatures, has taught me that I do, in fact, hibernate.

Winter began early last year...we had real snow on the ground in October. Winter kept a firm grip on the land for six long months. We didn't see crocuses until the end of March and the tulips have just this week begun to bloom. Finally, the snows gave way to rain and freezing temperatures stopped being part of the weather forecast. The grass has really started to grow (and so have the weeds!)

As it held on to the land, so did winter seem to have a firm grip on me. Just like the flowers are stretching and reaching form the sun, I find myself waking from the deep hibernation of a long winter. The sun shone so brightly today...the blue sky so crisp. I felt my blood warming up as I threw open the windows before heading out to work in yard.

Now I sit here a bit sun-kissed, a bit sore from using muscles that took a winter break and keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow will be another beautiful day...after all, I have flowers to plant!

Isn't it amazing what a little sunshine can do?

I Wouldn't Say I'm Happy

Unless you were in a complete electronic blackout last night, you heard the news that Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Forces sometime last week. It spread like wildfire across the ether...from facebook to gaming sites to the nightly news. The president made a live speech confirming the news reports...it was everywhere...

As the rumor spread, the news cameras showed us jubilant crowds first in front of the White House and later in Times Square. I was dismayed. I went to bed last night wondering what I would awaken to. It came as no surprise, then, to see a huge photo of the crowd at the White House accompanying the headline on the front page of our local newspaper. I was pleased to read that the crowds really never gained momentum. The high-fives, the celebrations of a job finally done, stayed private. I think that is how they should be.

Over the years we have seen exultant mobs burning the U.S. Flag, dancing jubilantly at the news of the death of U.S. Soldiers, burning pictures and other representations of our president in effigy and it has sickened me. I don't want us to be those people...I think we are better than that.

Am I glad that our Special Forces carried out their mission? Absolutely. Do I agree with our president who said this confirms that the U.S. will do what it takes to protect this nation and it's citizens? Again, absolutely. Osama bin Laden was the head of a group that has been targeting America and it's allies for 20 years...he was called a terrorist mastermind and he was a threat that needed to be removed. After almost ten years, it finally was. Our military did the job with no more loss of life on our side.

I guess I just don't see how we can be "happy" about this. It doesn't undo the World Trade Center, it doesn't undo the USS Cole, or any of the other things he instigated with such devastating effectiveness. Osama bin Laden brought terrorism to us in a way his death won't eliminate. Sleeper cells, suitcase bombs, bio-terrorism, and alert levels have all become terms we're familiar with because of his concerted efforts. He was so successful that he changed the landscape of our lives forever. My children are growing up in an America that is completely different from the one I grew up in. His death hasn't changed that...so, no, I guess I can't say I'm happy.

To our Special Forces, I say "Job well done" and to the rest of us, I say the job has just begun.

Faith and Trust and Pixie Dust?

They're all worthwhile, but why is it that so few of us remember to pay homage to the value in and results of hard work?  All nighters, continuing education, over-time, dedication, going the extra mile, doing the right thing, taking pride in your performance, above and beyond, day in and day out...whatever you call it, it is not a secret formula, available to only a select few. 

Just wondering...

"The heights by great men reached and

kept, were not attained by sudden

flight, but they, while their companions

slept, were toiling upward in the night."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Lest You Think My Children Are Perfect...

My beloved Buttercup eyed her home-made Egg McMuffin with distaste and and grumbled, "I guess if Bear Grylls can eat grubs, I can eat this."

Gee, thanks!

Back in the "olden" days...

...when I was a kid, we used to celebrate both Lincoln's Birthday and Washington's Birthday.   First it was February 12 and February 22.  Then, somehow, we got two consecutive Monday holidays.  We loved it.  We loved learning about each of this amazing men and, of course, we loved getting two days off from school in February.   Then, something horrible happened...those celebrations morphed into "President's Day".   Two holidays became only ONE!  Life, however, went on and I never really thought much about these holidays and how they've changed since I was a young girl back in the olden days.  Until today...

Think about it.

One of these amazing men helped give us America.  The other helped us save America.  We were introduced to them at the youngest of ages and each year we learned a little more.  We learned about myths and facts, cherry trees, honesty, humble beginnings and great deeds.  We learned about the frozen Potomac and The Gettysburg Address.  We learned about character and conviction.    Do kids in school today still learn about these amazing presidents?

So, what happened to our celebrations?


Did you know that Washington's Birthday was February 22 and was celebrated across the country long before it became an actual holiday?  He was beloved and these celebrations sprang up all over the place.  The date was officially declared a holiday by Congress in 1880.  Five years later, Congress began giving all federal workers the day off.

It wasn't until 1968, though, that the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed and we began the tradition of celebrating with three day weekends.  Washington's Birthday began to be celebrated the third Monday of February (which means it is not possible for us to ever celebrate Washington's birth on his actual birthday).

Both Washington and Lincoln were beloved presidents, but did you know Lincoln never actually had an official holiday commemorating his birthday (February 12).    After his assassination, the anniversary of his birth began to be celebrated across the country.  (Who knew?  I always got the day off from school...)

Anyway, once that whole "third Monday in February" thing got started, Lincoln's birthday fell out of favor...there was even an unsuccessful attempt in Congress to rename the federal holiday currently known as Washington's Birthday to "Presidents Day". 

Yes, you read that correctly, this day is still Washington's Birthday.  It is not Presidents Day. Presidents Day is just an invention of advertisers.  Somewhere, along the way, we've stopped celebrating Lincoln's birthday.   So, there you have it.  A brief civics lesson for you on Washington's birthday, Lincoln's birthday, and the myth of Presidents Day!

Food for Thought - Families

"...I see it as a parable of our time; his journey is part of the larger one I'm writing about.  It is a story about finding your place in the universe.  Not just the one out there, but the one in your home, your family, your community, and your world.  By no small measure, my son's story (and in large part each of our stories) reflects how, when untethered from a larger familial purpose, we can become dangerously unmoored, floating precipitously from one external referent to another in search of self."

-- Harriet Fasenfest - A Householder's Guide to the Universe --as she ponders the significance of familial purpose or lack thereof on our quality of life for both her son and the rest of us.
(emphasis mine)

Have you ever thought about "familial purpose"?  Superman and I have been thinking a lot about it this past year (just not with that phrase).  Do we have a larger familial purpose?  What is our family's larger goal?  Why do so many families seem to fracture, often before the children are raised?  Are we working together and engaging in "parallel work"?  What is the real reason we do all that we do?    These are just some of the things we spend time thinking about.   What about you?  Have you ever actually tried to quantify your larger familial purpose?    Does the idea strike a chord in you?

Happy thinking...

I'm Ready for My Closeup...

Beans lets Buttercup do whatever she'd like to her. Buttercup's been crocheting a scarf for Beans. Beans looks lovely in it, doesn't she?  She looks like she's ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille.

Oops...looks as if there might be trouble on the set.  It seems as if she's got a bit of the diva in her, doesn't it?

That's okay...just give her time to play with the dog's tug toy and she'll be fine.  And look, she loves her scarf...