Random Thoughts

Well, we're smack in the middle of the 4th of July weekend, and I hope everyone is having a safe & wonderful time with family and friends! I've been reflecting on how blessed we really are to be living in the United States. Every time I hear Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless The U.S.A.' I get a knot in my throat. There really IS no better place to live. Sure, we grumble and gripe about everything from the economy, to gas prices, to politicians, and all of the very real life issues in between, but in reality, we DO have it better than any other country in the world. I've heard the old cliche, as I'm sure you have, that 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence', but I, for one, am not willing to jump that 'fence' and see...I'll stay right here, thank you very much. God Bless The USA!

We've had a busy couple of days. Spent a few hours Friday afternoon up at Jess' parent's house in Valley Center, and, as always, had marvelous food, and, as usual, ate WAY too much-again...LOL...then made it home in time to watch the fireworks from the comfort of our own back yard.

One thing I've noticed is that I don't handle the heat as well as I used to. Chalk it up to age, or hormones, or whatever, but I just fizzle out after while. Used to be that I'd be running around in sweats in 80 degree weather, but nowadays, boy, once it gets past that 80 degree mark, I'm ready to turn the a/c on full blast and hibernate inside as much as possible. We were invited to Vail Lake up in Temecula today for a BBQ with my niece Willow and her family, as well as my other niece Julie (Willow's sister) and her family, and my sons and their families, but the more I thought about it, the more I just knew I couldn't face another day of sitting outside in the heat, even in the shade, so Jim & I wussed out. Then about 10am, a friend of ours called and invited us to a last-minute BBQ down at her house in San Diego-about 8 miles in from the coast. We immediately said yes, knowing it'd be ALOT cooler down there. And it was perfect! Maybe 80 degrees, and we had a wonderful time sitting OUTside and just chatting away. Got back up to Ramona early this evening, and it was so much cooler, so all in all, a good day! Hope our family doesn't feel like we abandoned them!

The one thing, or perhaps I should say, the one PERSON we've missed the most lately is Shannon. She's working something like a 24 day straight stretch. It's never a complete family gathering if even one person is missing. We'll have a big family get together later on, when both her and Brian can be with us. We love our family shindigs, and we have them as often as we can. We are so blessed.

That's it for now.

Until next time....God Bless.