So here's the short of it, 
It's the Anniversary of Pearl Harbor...

And here's the long.

I can remember my Dad telling the story of Pearl Harbor.  He was a young boy in high school.  His Dad had died and as the oldest child and only son, he felt the responsibility of helping take care of his Mother and little sisters.  He worked at the Boston Store and as an usher at the Margie Grand Theater where he would have seen the news reels about the war.

His recollection of that day -- he went to Sunday School and Church and then came home for a quick lunch. He went with some friends "up on Ivy Hill" as he would say, to play ball. He heard that "the Japs had bombed Pearl Harbor" in the late afternoon on his way home.  He would always say that was the day that changed his life forever.  It was years before Dad would talk with his children about exactly how that day changed him forever. But he did finally share - A Name In The Sand became his voice not only for us, but his scions.

Dad raised his children to be patriotic, thoughtful, and reflective.  The three of us have grown into good people who have different views on many things.  All three of us love our country.  The anniversary of Pearl Harbor is always a time of reflection and of course a time of remembering Dad and the strong influence he was in our lives.

Today on FaceBook one of the people I grew up with said that "in this day and time and under this current president it is important that real Americans never forget".  I'm reflecting on that.  I wonder what a real American is.  I think I'm one; I think my brothers are as well.  We are all three patriotic; we all three want what's best for our country. Of course we have different views of what that "best" really is.  But, we really are all three real Americans.  I'm really sad that there are those on both sides of this political divide that believe those who don't believe as them aren't "real Americans".  I hope we can get through that and begin to see our diversity as our strength.

Today, all day, I've thought about those men who were at Pearl Harbor - and especially those who  made the ultimate sacrifice.   I've also thought so much about those like my Dad who would have their lives forever changed.

So here's the short of it, 
This has been a long week. 

And here's the long.

Wow I thought Friday would never get here.  I don't really know why this week seemed so long, but Wednesday and today I thought it felt like it should be Friday!!! So you know I'll be glad to hear the alarm go off in the morning when Friday will really be here.

Today I decided to take Sophie for a walk in the morning before I left for work because I had a few minutes before my first appointment which was at a school in a nearby neighborhood.  Well, she went out and decided that it was so much fun to be out that she didn't want to come in!  Alan had to go out and use his grumpy voice.  That made her come running!  If I decide to take her out on a work morning any more, I'll be sure and make it a leash walk!

Here's to another week down.

So here's the short of it, 
"You are not your brain; You are the user of your brain." Dr. Rudi Tanzi

And here's the long.

I'm watching Super Brain on pubic TV.  Dr. Rudy Tanzi is the presenter.  He just gave a way we should respond every time our fight or flight response is activated.  He used the example of someone being cut off in traffic and how that gets us ramped up.  Here's his suggestion. S.T.O.P.
The acronym stands for:

Stop
Take Three Deep Breaths and Smile
Observe What's Happening Inside of You
Proceed with Awareness and Kindness

He promises that if we do this frequently enough when confronted with these kinds of situations, we can actually activate parts of our brain that will keep us from getting into the chaos that somehow keeps us in that high anxiety state.  I'm too tired to watch the whole thing, but this whole new frontier of knowledge about the brain is just fascinating to me!

Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D., the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at MassGeneral Institute fo Neurodegenerative Disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, will present a Director's Lecture on March 23, 2011. 

So here's the short of it, 
Today was one of those stressful days. 

And here's the long.

It will all be OK. and I'm quite sure I'll make it through yet another week.  

So here's the short of it, 
Mother-Daughter mammograms today. 

And here's the long.

I took the afternoon off today so Mom and I could go to have annual mammograms.  We used to go together and then we got off schedule when I had to go on an every 6 month schedule. Mom was supposed to have gone a few months ago but she wanted to go at the same time as me, so she postponed her visit until it was time for me.  Now we are on the same schedule again.

Since I have to take sick time off in 1/2 day increments, we just had an afternoon together.
We ran an errand over near Hamilton Place and got some lunch.  We had a nice visit with Mommy Anne and Mom saw her friend Lillian Samuels.  We got Mom's package mailed, and we made a visit to WalMart so that she could pick up some things for tomorrow.  Her women's group is buying gifts for the Chambliss Children's Home.  By the time we got home, I just had a little daylight left for getting a Sophie walk in.

Tomorrow's another day!!

So here's the short of it, 
It's hard to believe that it's December!

And here's the long.

Wow, it sure was beautiful outside today.  This afternoon our little circle was a family busy place.  Our neighbors were out with their little girl. It was such a sweet picture.  They were all three sitting in the middle of the circle - her little wagon was just nearby.  Their golden retriever was playing with them.  It was just so cute.  Then over on the other side, there was a Dad playing catch with his son -- while his next youngest son was a little ways away practicing his golf swing with a kid's golf set.

Sophie got a tree up an electric pole and she was so excited.  When they get up a tree she gives up pretty quickly because they just move through the branches to the next tree.  But this little fellow had to scurry up quickly because she was very close to catching it.  The pole wasn't close enough for it to do anything except just stay up there!  Sophie aggravated that squirrel for quite awhile before she finally lost interest.

Looks like we're going to have another beautiful day tomorrow!

So here's the short of it, 
How in the world did it get to be after 11:00!!!

And here's the long.

This has been a good weekend day!  I've been home all day and feel good about the stuff I've gotten done.

The next door boys came over and helped me get the tomato plants discarded.  We cleaned up the tomato cages and stakes as well as pulling weeds and grass.  I still am planning to get a load of straw and put it out on the garden - hope I can make that happen sooner rather than later.

The neighbors donated their Halloween pumpkins to the cause.  I thought they'd be rotten and we'd just compost them, but they weren't, so the boys helped me cut them up and I baked them up.  I've got pumpkin in the freezer -  gonna have to look for some pumpkin recipes.

This evening the kids came over for the first half of the Georgia - Alabama game. It was nice to have them here.  We almost finished off a big pot of chili.  It was an exciting game even for someone like me who never watches football.  I suppose for this household the only thing that would have made it better would have been a Georgia win.