Presidents Day

Lots to do today, but no school.

Dean is off to work; and Walter is off to work for the week in Staunton, again! I do believe that he is getting to know that area quite well. He told me there are even a couple of restaurants that they really like up there. I do believe that he could actually move up there and already feel at home with the area. Then there is Tim who's off toward Lee County - again - he keeps running into 'cousins' at every turn. Hard not to when you've had family in the same area since 1740.

Checking the email this morning, I found that we had received an offer on the house...but it isn't what we are asking in fact they are asking (I think) for a bit much. Still that is what negotiations and realtors are for, we'll see what happens. We may even get another offer from a different party. Then they could have a bidding war which would be great for us. I can only hope. I almost forgot that we do have another house showing today from 2 - 2:30 p.m. Happy Thought! they could really like the place and just come in with the perfect offer.

Sean is hitting the orthodontist twice today. Once this morning to have his braces removed and later on this afternoon to get his retainer. In between we have another doctors appointment and a house showing. It is going to be truly a busy day.

Our first visit to the orthodontist went well although it took about a half hour longer than we had expected. Sean has nice straight pearly whites. Our in-between doctors appointment took forever, since it was a walk-in appointment. But we made it through and back to the orthodontist for our second appointment on time. The retainer that they put in this afternoon looks like one of those invisaline type of braces. It doesn't look like he has anything at all in his mouth. He gets to wear it for 6 months then only at night. There was a little snafu with the lower retainer so we are heading back tomorrow and pick it up.

We have had an offer on the house, which turned out to be significantly lower than what we are asking. We've countered their offer and they still aren't happy. We've given one more counter offer to see if that would fly...and then we will have to decide whether or not to drop the price.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thoughts for the Day:

• "Don't tell me the sky is the limit, there are footprints on the moon!""
• If you only believe what you see, then you are limited to what's on the surface. If you only believe what you see, then why do you pay your electric bill?" - Dr. Wayne Dyer

Survivors

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets…not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because ……. WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.......WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them . . CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good……

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!