Days that live in infamy

I'm too young to remember Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Or Lexington, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775.

Or Fort Sumter, South Carolina on January 9, 1861.


But I do remember my generation's day that "lives in infamy," as President Roosevelt famously put it so many years ago.

It started out a typical Wednesday morning on September 11, 2001, when our nation was suddenly under deadly attack.  I remember returning home from carpool and watching in disbelief and horror as one, then two towers crumbled and fell.

I remember the horrific sight of a plane slammed into the Pentagon.  And another plane crash-landing in a Pennsylvania field.

All my life I've heard people say, "freedom isn't free."  But on that fateful day, I saw first-hand the awful price of freedom.  It was exacted in the blood of my fellow countrymen and women who happened to be on the wrong plane or in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Since that day, freedom's price has continued to be bought through brave men and women who choose to stand in harm's way to keep us safe.

On that September day, all I wanted to was drive to back to the schools and grab my kids out of their classes and hold them tight.  But I wasn't sure the teachers or students were aware of what had happened, and I didn't want to panic them.  So I watched and waited, paced and bit my nails until it was time to pick them up.  And then I hugged and held them.  And told them I didn't know why this happened anymore than they did.

As the days and weeks, months and years have passed, the details of that day are no longer as achingly sharp as they were ten years ago. But every time I see a soldier, or hear our national anthem, or see my country's flag flying, I remember.  Vividly.  When we visited NYC in December 2007, I peeked past the construction fence at Ground Zero.  And I remembered.

Every day I thank God for this country--for the freedoms we have and hold, and often take for granted. May God continue to patiently protect us, and may we and our leaders turn to Him to seek wisdom and His favor in the decisions that affect us all.

And I am thankful - this day and every day - for the sacrifice paid by so many men and women on that day and in the days that have followed.  I don't know what makes someone a true hero, but I am convinced each of these men and women deserves our respect, our thoughts, our prayers, and our gratitude.

In remembrance,

8 weekends + 2 hands = 6 projects

Granted, the math doesn't work, but let's hope my plans do.

As of today, there are eight precious weekends before Labor Day weekend. (And I am determined that Labor Day weekend is not going to be a weekend of labor for us this year.)

So what loose ends do I really really want to wrap up by the time the Vols kick off their opening game in 50 days?

• Finish refinishing a bedroom dresser. After languishing for a year, this has drifted to the top of my priority list only because I am tired of feeling guilty every time I pass it in the garage.

• Put the finishing touches on our new master bathroom: paint walls, hang a shelf, re-do the cabinet storage and hang a chandelier. Easy peasy, right?  Don't answer that.

• Recover the dining room seat cushions. By hook or by crook, they're gonna get done this summer. I have the new foam cushions, I just need fabric and some quality time with the staple gun.

• Power wash and paint the porch rails and front door. This is one of those jobs I really have to psych myself up for. But the good thing is, the porch stays shady all day long.

• Find the perfect couch for Mr. Official's man cave.  It will make it the bees' knees up there.  And once it's installed upstairs, the final loose end for the summer is....

• Paint the stairwell areas and hang pictures. I promised myself these areas should wait until we were moved in. Well, we're moved in and the days are slipping past.

So there you have it:  my top weekend projects to finish before September 2, not counting the garage cleanout at the old place.  Most of these will take about a weekend to do, if I use my time wisely (and maybe get a little help. Hint, hint.)

I just noticed that everything except #3 and #5 involves paint or stain. Guess I better stock up on brushes and rollers and paint thinner.  Joy.

But I'm not going to think about any of these until we wrap up the next housewarming party, which happens tomorrow night.  It's gonna be great to see some old friends of ours and get acquainted with some other Friday night football widows as the men in striped shirts swap gridiron war stories.

Happy project-ing!

Summer 2011: And so it begins...

Around here, summer is generally bookended in by Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.  If we're lucky, July 4th lands on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday and creates a tri-fected mid-summer long weekend. (The odds are in our favor on that one.)

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As of this weekend, we can now officially herald the beginning of true summer weather here in middle Tennessee, and most of the U.S. (But not Chicago and the entire state of Colorado - I've seen enough cold temps and even snow in late May in those areas to exclude them from that sweeping generalization.)

And for places farther south of here, summer begins much earlier as this popular list declares:

Mr. Official and I typically spend the summer holiday weekends grinding away on one or more projects that we are eager to tackle.  This year, we have a plethora of projects to choose from:  fences, moving stuff, and setting up for our all-summer VBS (aka SBV) at church. Or all of the above.

Amid the hustle and bustle, I hope we all take some time to pause and remember and honor those for whom this weekend is specifically dedicated.  Our country is so richly blessed with freedoms and liberties that other nations don't dare dream of having.  I fear familiarity breeds contempt and our personal freedoms are being traded for the illusion of security, which - as Ben Franklin put it, if you sacrifice one for the other, you deserve neither.  (Smart man, that Mr. Franklin.  We could use a few more like him these days.)

I pray for all our troops actively serving in foreign lands.  A few of you I know, most of you I do not.  But I do deeply appreciate the job you do and the dangers you face with courage and conviction.  May God bless you and your families, and keep you safe while you keep us safe.

Now, if I can just make sure I don't blink and miss summer as it revs up into high gear and speeds along toward Labor Day weekend, pausing just long enough to celebrate the 4th of July in between.


Happy weekend and happy summer!

My favorite afternoon of the year

I confess: I absolutely, positively adore Daylight Saving Time. I wish we stayed on it year-round and just made it the new norm. But since we don't, each year I get to welcome my old friend when DST comes back. It's kind of like the first M&M out of the bag - for some reason, it's just a little more enjoyable than all the others - although the rest of them are plenty delightful too.

"

Georges Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte"

It's true that I do not necessarily care so much for the first couple of mornings of DST, but I will take the trade-off of having the extra hour of light that extends the afternoon into early evening. It makes the day seem longer.  Yes, I know the day isn't any longer, and yes, I know we don't even really get an "extra hour" of daylight. but it sure is an extra hour of daylight that I'm awake and able to fully enjoy, and somehow the days seem longer when you stay outside later.

Happy spring-ing forward!