A Brand New Day?

Today Barack Obama was sworn in as our 44th president. It was amazing to see the millions of people croweded in the Mall in Washington DC. The news showed clips of people around the world celebrating. There is just such a hope from everyone - especially young people - that he is the person who is going to save our world. It's also amazing to see the faces of African-Americans as they watch a black man become President - the day after we honored the birth of Martin Luther King. There is such hope and pride and a sense of victory. Yet there are those who are not celebrating today. They think he's too inexperienced. They think some people may have voted for him just because he's black. They are scared when they hear his full name - Barack Hussein Obama. I don't know what I think yet. I want to believe in the magic but worry - have we put this man on a pedestal? Has the world built him up too much and made him into their savior? What an awesome weight is on his shoulders. He faces war, economic problems like we haven't seen in decades, terrorist threats, and building tensions in the Middle East. But, I'm praying and pulling for him to fulfill the hope that the world has pinned on him - hope for better times, hope for peace, hope for equality and freedom, and hope for goodness in our leaders. Time will tell. For today, I'll hold those incredible images I saw of people coming together in hope. I don't think I've ever seen or felt anything like it.

A New Outlook

I couldn't get on the computer yesterday to share the magic of being able to see clearly again! Because of an eye problem, I had to use some medication and couldn't wear my contacts for about 2 weeks. I ordered new glasses so I could see without the contacts but they were the wrong prescription. I wore them for a week thinking I just needed to get adjusted from wearing contacts all the time. Then, when it was clear they were wrong, I had to wear them another week until the right ones came in.
So, for 2 weeks my vision was all out of whack. It made me nauseous and dizzy, and I couldn't drive at night (and hardly during the day, either). I felt like I could hardly function and I was SO frustrated. Yesterday, I got the new glasses with the correct prescription. When I put them on, things were better but not perfect. But, when I got the OK to wear my contacts again and put them in - HALLELUJAH!!! I could see SO clearly! It truly was magic to get my vision back. The world looks sharp and I feel so much sharper!

Chivalry is Not Dead

We've had a lot of snow in the past two days (4-5")and today it is bitterly cold (5 degrees). However, in the bowels of winter I learned that chivalry is not dead! Last night, Dwight picked me up from work so I left my van in the parking lot. Of course, today, when I went out to leave, my car was the only one covered in a blanket of snow and snow was drifted all around it. For some reason, today I didn't wear my boots. So, when I got to my car I brushed as much snow off as I could reach without stepping in the drifts. Then, while I was contemplating how I was going to brush off the other side when the only access was to step in a huge drift, a man (a gorgeous man!) appeared out of nowhere and started brushing off that side of the car. I noticed he wasn't wearing any gloves (remember it's 5 degrees). I told him he shouldn't be doing that with no gloves but he said he just moved here from the upper peninsula of Michigan so this weather is nothing to him! He went more than out of his way to make sure my car was all cleaned off. It was so nice. So, whoever you are, Chase Commercial Banking employee who just moved here from Michigan, thank you thank you. Ah, to be 15 years younger and single . . . !!! ;)

The Knife

When my brother Kenny and I were younger, we had a toy that was an orange, rubber knife. I'm not sure why we had it. It probably came with some toy set. During high school for some reason we started playing a game where we would hide the knife somewhere the other person would accidentally find it when they least expected it - the shower, under their pillow, etc. When I went away to college my freshman year, I had forgotten about the knife. One day when I had been away for about 3 weeks I was feeling really homesick so I went to a practice room at the Conservatory to play my violin. When I opened the case,there was the knife! I remember crying and laughing at the same time. It was like a visit from home! Sometime over the years, we lost the orange knife. I kept thinking it would turn up but it never did. For Kenny's 40th birthday I found a similar black rubber knife online and gave it to him. Soon, the new knife was in circulation! At Thanksgiving, I hid it in his medicine cabinet. I asked him about it this past weekend when we were in Medina but he pretended to know nothing about it. Today, was starting out to be a bad day. I got little sleep last night and knew there were things I'd have to face today I didn't want to. As I reached into my purse, searching for something at the bottom, my hands gripped something rubbery. I pulled the object out and there was the knife! I burst into laughter! Suddenly, the day didn't look so bad!

Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is a really fun game. It's even more fun when your teenage kids want to have a family night and play it. And, it's even more fun when you all laugh til you cry and your teenage daughter turns down a couple of offers to do something else so she can hang out with the family. We haven't done this often enough. Cherish these moments.

Great Reunion in Heaven

Last night I was having trouble falling asleep and somehow got thinking about my grandparents who are gone now and other ancestors that I know only through family history research. I got thinking about whether or not we actually see these people again when we die and if we would all know each other. I finally fell asleep and kept dreaming about this. In my dream I met some of my ancestors. It was such a wonderful dream! I remember feeling so good. Then today, I found out that the mother of friends Becca and Bethanne passed away late last night. "Granny" was such a great person. She had lost her husband about a year ago. Again, it got me thinking about this great reunion in Heaven. I hope that Granny and her husband are together again. Based on my dream last night, I know they are. And, I know that someday, I'll see my grandparents again and tell them all about my kids and everything else that's happened since they left. I'll get to meet all those ancestors I've researched and tried to keep alive through documenting them and their stories. I don't necessarily want that day to come anytime soon but what a magical thought to look forward to someday - many, many, many years from now!

Thanks, Einstein

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." --A. Einstein