The 'perfect' day

I'm a sucker for surprise military homecomings. Which is probably why (and I can't believe I'm about to admit this) I watched that new Billy Ray Cyrus show that chronicled surprise military homecomings. I just think they're awesome. As I've said on here before, military families sacrifice so much for the rest of us. They deserve a little positive PR. And little girls, like Skylar Johnson, deserve to have their daddy home. Grab a tissue... you might need it.

I hate this day

I don't know about you, but I'll never like this day. Ever. I. Hate. This. Day. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. And I don't use the word hate very often, because it is such a strong word. But I can't think of any other word to describe how I feel about today.

This day 10 years ago the worst thing to happen to this country during my lifetime so far happened. We all know what that is. But also, three years ago today, I had to evacuate the home that I had just bought 10 days earlier because Hurricane Ike was bearing down on it. Now I know, compared to the terrorist attacks, that's probably nothing. But to me, at that time, it was a big deal. I had no idea what I was going to come home to whenever I was able to come home. At that point in my life, it was hard to deal with. Three years later, I can almost talk about Hurricane Ike and the whole situation without tearing up. Almost.

Where were you 10 years ago today?
But talk about what happened on this day 10 years ago, I still get goosebumps. Actually, I'm crying a little right now. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember watching it unfold early on the Today Show. The first plane hit and I remember just being in shock. I think I thought the same thing that many people thought... something went terribly wrong, but it was an isolated incident. No way we were being attacked. We're the United States of America. That doesn't happen to us. I remember calling my mom at school, and they had no idea what happened. I remember not wanting to come unglued to the TV, but it was already kind of late, and I needed to get to work. I worked at Rice at the time, and was living downtown, so it wasn't that far of a drive. The drive in was a little weird. I just kept thinking, "What in the world just happened?"

I remember getting to the office, putting everything down in my office, saying hi to the boss, and going into our women's soccer coach's office because she had a TV on in there and I wanted to see if there was any new information. Sharon was in there, and I think Patty was, too, but I'm not entirely sure. And then the rest unfolded. We all know what happened after that. The second plane, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, and the Towers coming down. I will never forget that image. People were jumping out of windows 30, 40, 50 stories high. That's just not an image you forget seeing. Ever.

At that point, it was pretty obvious this was a terrorist attack and I was more in shock, which turned to pissed, and then a feeling of helplessness came over me. My heart was aching, aching, for our country, for these people - we had no idea how many lost their lives. I remember just seeing pure chaos on the ground. I remember that we were allowed to go home if we wanted / needed to, and I did. It was just too much. I didn't know anyone directly affected by the incident, but I'm an American, and asshole Bin Laden had just attacked the very core of what our country stands for, and I was pissed, and I'm not gonna lie... I was a little scared. I went up to The Woodlands the next day and spent the day with my mom in her classroom. I needed to get away from watching the TV (I think I had had it on all day and all night), and I just needed to feel like I was doing something productive and good for someone else, since I couldn't be in New York doing something for them. And Pre-K kids were just what I needed. They kept my mind off of this horrific incident, if just for a few hours.

I've often thought that this day needs to be made a national holiday. But then I think that if we do that, they win. And by no means have they won. We are the United States of America. We are the greatest country in the world. We are the strongest country in the world. And they have not won. They may have caught us at a weak point, but no more. We proved that earlier this year when we got him, and killed him. That's the only silver lining in this whole thing. That bin Laden is dead. I don't wish death on many people, but he is definitely one of them. But we can't let our guard down now. And I don't think we will. We'll always be on guard. Some things will never, ever, be the same because of 9/11, but you know what? If I have to always take my shoes off when I go through security at the airport, so be it. It's for my safety. It's for your safety. It's for our safety. I don't know about you, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. It's our reality now, our new normal.

What will you do on this day?
I will reflect. I will pay tribute. I will thank God for my friends and family. I will pray for the families of those who lost their lives. I will pray for those who were injured or who suffered a disease because of their efforts to help in the days, weeks, and years following 9/11. I will thank law enforcement officials for their service. It's not an easy job, and it's often a thankless job. But these are the people that are keeping me and my property safe. I will thank our first responders. God forbid I ever need them. I will thank those that I know that have served, or currently serve, in the military, to keep us safe, and defend the freedoms that make our country so great. And I will celebrate a local family that has fallen on hard times. One of our neighbors has hit the bottom, so us Islanders are putting our differences aside (and we all know we've had some differences lately), and coming together for a benefit to raise some money to help them out. That's the shining light in this day that I hate. Oh, and I'll watch some football. That might help a lot of people get through this day. After all, football was one of the first major things to occur after 9/11 that resembled some sort of normalcy. Whatever normal was at that point.

I hope you'll remember and never forget.

New Yard Art

It hasn't rained more than one inch in 200 days. 200 days! We need some rain like nobody's business. Unfortunately, there isn't any on the horizon for the next two weeks. Which means more hot weather (we've also set a record for consecutive days above 100 degrees), and more of this awful drought. We're now under water restrictions, which include no outdoor watering whatsoever, so I can kiss my beautiful landscaping (what's left of it) good bye.

But at least my new yard art is cute!!!

Enough said

Random Thoughts

Before I get to today's random thoughts, let me update you on the Couch-to-5K workout. I'm repeating week 7. I finished week 6 on a not-so-good note, and got really frustrated and wanted to quit, but I didn't. Week 6 day 3 was running straight for 2.5 miles, or 25 minutes. And I couldn't do it. I got frustrated and wanted to quit, but a friend sent me some encouragement (thanks PB!) and I'm back at it. I wouldn't recommend eating Tex Mex at a late hour on the eve of Week 6 day 3. Just sayin'.

So, now for those random thoughts...

• The Roger Clemens trial. I have a little bit of interest in this for a couple reasons: 1) He played at San Jac, so our name is coming up a lot with his, so for work purposes, I kinda have to pay attention. 2) Just the absurdity of the whole thing. I get that lying under oath is probably not a good thing to do, but really? I think we have better fish to fry in the big scheme of things. 3) The jury selection. Have you been following this? They had a hard time seating a jury (see #2), but once they did... wow. That's about all I can say. Where do they find these people? Take for instance, juror #16: Female, lawyer for Federal Communications Commission involved in TV station licensing. Husband also is lawyer and they have one son. Says she looked up Clemens on Internet after husband told her she might be on Clemens jury. Has no trial or criminal law experience, but close friend is married to prominent defense lawyer. Once worked with personal trainer, but says they never discussed dietary supplements. Says she doesn’t know how to turn on TV at home. That last sentence is the one that gets me. Um... you work for the FCC in the TV station licensing department as an attorney, and you don't know how to turn on a TV? Who's lying under oath now? I just really have a hard time believing that. OK, enough about that.
• Casey Anthony. I'm having a love / hate relationship with our justice system. I love it because it's better than any other in the world. I hate it because of situations like this. Not a reasonable doubt to convict her. We all know she did it, yet because they couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, she walks. She'd probably be better off in jail. There are a lot of people out there that hate her, and want her dead, too.
• Small town politics. They're  just as bad as big town politics. And we've got some small town politics going on here in Clear Lake Shores. All I have to say is karma is a bitch.
• And finally, my niece, Ella. Isn't she adorable?!?!?! I just love her to pieces! We got to see her over the July 4th weekend, and I loved every second of it!