6/25 - Busy Busy Summer!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, June 25, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight we went to ‘Bridge to Terabithia’. It was pretty good, but
not quite what I expected. I’ll give it a 2 ½ boys out of 4.

We had a busy weekend. Last weekend, if you recall, we went to a
family reunion and camped overnight at Bear lake. This weekend
Camp Hobe asked up to be a host family for Camp Hobe at the 7th
annual ‘Catch a Cure for Cancer’ fishing tournament at
Starvation Reservoir. Last year they raised over $17,000 for camp Hobe.
I’m not sure how they did this year, but with 42 boats, and every one
giving all of their prize money back to the camp, plus a HUGE
raffle drawing, I’ll bet they did pretty well.



The kids even wanted to chip in and buy some raffle tickets. The 3
older ones put in $10 each, and mom and dad put in $30 more. We
all did pretty well too. Between the 6 of us we got some Olympic
key chains, floating pliers, blow up pool toy, 2 free lunches, 3
brand new fishing poles, a $25 gift card to Sportsmen wearhouse,
and a 4 man tent! I’m telling you, there was a ton of prizes. (If
someone will remind me next year, I’ll take your donations and
send you what you win!)

The summer is only 1/3 of the way over, and we still have the
Make-a-Wish Ducky Derby and swimming day, Pediatric Brain tumor
Ride for Kids, Pioneer Trek, and Scout camp left. I think we’re as
busy as we are in December!

Enjoy Today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-

Interesting quiz. Find out what accent you have. I’m upper Midwestern.
Right were I should be...

http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have


<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>

A crew of highway maintenance workers was sent to repair some road
signs that vandals had knocked down in a forested area. The first
one they put back up was a symbol warning of a deer crossing.

As they moved down the road to repair the next sign, one crew
member looked back and spotted a deer running across the highway.

She turned to a co-worker and said, "I wonder how long he's been
waiting to cross?"

<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>

"In England this week they recorded their highest temperature in
history. Good thing they can all cool off with a refreshing meat
pie."
~Conan O'Brien

[I hear they don’t put ice in their drinks, and serve water warm.
Yish…]


<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>

As the commercial says, "Life comes at you fast," and before you
know it you're old. This is one of the best assessments of being
old that I have read, so I thought I would share it with my
children, who will someday (before they know it) be old.

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old.
I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon
seeing my reaction, he was immediately embarrassed, but I
explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder
it, and let him know.*

*Growing Older, I decided, is a gift.*

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I
have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over
my body ... The wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the cellulite. And
often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror,
but I don't agonize over those things for long.*****I would never
trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for
less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more
kind to myself, and less critical! of myself. I've become my own
friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for
not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I
didn't need, but looks so avant garde on my patio. I am entitled
to be messy, to be extravagant, to smell the flowers. I have seen
too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they
understood the great freedom that comes with aging.*

*Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer
until **4 a.m** and then sleep until -- ? *

*I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50's &
60's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love I
will. **

*I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a
bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I
choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.*

*They, too, will get old. *

* I know I am sometimes forgetful. But then again, some of life is
just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important
things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart
not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or
even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are
what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart
never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy
of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn
gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep
grooves on my face So many have never laughed, and so many have
died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no," and mean
it. I can say "yes." and mean it.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about
what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've
even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being older. It has set me
free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live
forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time
lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day... (if I want)