Happy Memorial Day and Rhut Rho Shaggy!

I would like to thank all of the service men and women that have served our country and sacrificed family, health, and life to keep our country safe.  Our family is proud to have had six such individuals.  My father-in-law (Bob) was a proud veteran of the Navy and served in WWII, my father served in peace time in the Air Force and spent time defending the DMZ in South Korea, my brother-in-law served honorably in the Coast Guard defending our waters, my brother-in-law, Ray, served during the Vietnam war as a proud member of the Air Force, my cousin Cheri also served honorably in the Air Force, and last but not least, my neice's husband, Matt, is in his 20th year of service in the Army as a recruiter.  And I am sure that I am forgetting some others.  We are proud of all of them.  My small family of three started a tradition in 2007 of honoring my dad's and Bob's memory with flowers on their graves.  It hit me hard this year that Bob will have been gone from us for 5 years this July and my dad will have been gone 3 years this August.  So much has happened with our family in the space of that time, but I believe that they have been with us every step of the way  gentling guiding us, providing encouragement, and celebrating the good times and the bad with us.  I miss them both, but know in my heart that they are with us always. 

And enough with the maudlin.  It would not be a holiday without an injury, now would it?  Jeff works very hard to take care of my parents' yard and our yard every summer.   I help Jeff on the weekends when he mows the 3 lots and my parents' yard.  Jacob always goes out with us and rides around on his 4 wheeler and basically terrorizes his grandmother and aunt.  Today, my Uncle Jim from Elkhart drove down to pick up some furniture that we had hauled away from my cousins' house on the campus of Miami University of Ohio on Mother's Day weekend.  The plan was to go in to Lafayette and have lunch and Jacob was excited until we went to get the booster seat out of my dad's car.  Two of his fingers accidentally got shut into the door of the car.  After wailing, tears, some ice, TLC from Mom, and a Scooby Doo movie later (Thank you Cartoon Network), he was fine.  No bones appear to be broken (Thank Goodness - his fingers must be moldable like mine according to Grandma), but he may lose the nail on the tall finger.  So hopefully that is our injury for this holiday.  Hope your holiday has been safe and injury free.  But if not, Scooby Doo can cure anything - at least according to Jacob.

History in the Making

It has been all over the news this morning and was a topic of discussion on Fox and Friends.  President Obama used an autopen to sign the legislation which renews a portion of the Patriot Act.  This is the first time in history that autopen has been used to sign a piece of legislation.  Previous Presidents have used it to answer letters, but never sign legislation into law.  The discussion on Fox and Friends plus the news bites about this "historical" event got me thinking about how this will be regarded in 100 - 200 years.  This is such a small event but could have significant effect on how the future laws of our country are established.

When I was in 8th grade at Southwestern Junior High, I was in the humanties program which combined history and english.  Our history teacher was Mr. Sink and Mrs. Powley taught english and would work together to ensure that the two courses complimented each other.   Mrs. Powley instructed us on building our writing skills while selecting novels for us to read that reflected the period that Mr. Sink was covering in history.  I dreaded exams in Mr. Sink's class because they always consisted of a minimum of 5 essay questions which utilized the structure and grammer teachings that Mrs. Powley covered.  When the freshman moved to McCutcheon High School, Mr. Sink and Mrs. Powley moved with us and I had the privilege of having both of them in high school.  Mr. Sink made history fun.  He not only taught us the dates of the various battles in the Civil War, but also taught us the history that was not in history books.  He made history come alive and explained how even the smallest event (such as the Magna Carta) made a significant impact on the formation of the United States and its relationship with the world.

With President Obama signing the legislation using autopen, he has opened up several possibilities with how Congress will pass laws.  I can imagine a future where our Senators and Representatives no longer conduct business in Washington D.C, but use technology to hold debates from remote locations.  Instead of having roll calls for votes on important issues, they would be able to log in to a secure site and say Aye or Nay.  President Obama has set a precedent that no longer does a President have to physically sign legislation, but now can be in another country.  I wonder what type of impact this will have on our future generations. 

The little white lies we tell our kids

Our son, Jacob, does not like storms.  In fact he hates them and is terrified of them - but has really worked on conquering his fear.  When he was about 3, I thought it would be comforting to tell him that thunder and lightening were only his two papaws bowling with the angels in heaven.  I also added that both of his papaws loved him dearly and would not let anything harm him - in fact they were his guardian angels.  Needless to say, my plan backfired.  For about a year to a year and half after, he would yell at the ceiling for his papaws to stop making so much noise when it stormed and that he was very upset with both of them.  Now as he has gotten a bit older, he has stopped yelling at the ceiling, and resorted to asking why his papaws are making it rain all of the time.  "Why won't they stop Mom?  I want to go out to play."  So we have had several discussions about the flowers, trees, and grass needing water to grow and that God is providing them with nourishment. 

With all of the storms that have been  happening around the country this Spring, it leaves me in awe at the power of mother nature.  It also makes me realize that even though Jacob had a rough night sleeping last night (which means so did I) and it will probably be a rough night tonight, it is trivial with all of the destruction that has occurred in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.  I have friends who have had family members lose everything - homes, memories, and have been injured by the power of storms.  And my biggest complaint this week - that I will have an uncomfortable night's sleep in my son's bed with him due to his fear of storms.  I should be and am thankful that I will have a bed to sleep in, a roof over my family, and a little boy who wants nothing more than his parents to be with him as much as possible.  That is what is truly  important.  I can do without a good night's sleep as long as I have that forever.