January 01, 2009
I know it’s Tuesday and the day we should be discussing developing a budget with our children. We will get to that next Tuesday. That gives you time to continue keeping track of your spending habits if you have not already done that. Please, please, take the time to track you spending. The true definition of self reliance must include creative and consistent management of our money.
Today, I believe we need to reflect for a few minutes on all the blessings we enjoy as Americans. As I watched the inauguration today it was a very emotional experience. I remember the joy my grandmother felt as a German immigrant to be able to say she was a citizen. I remember the stories of the depression from the grandparents and the sacrifices they made and the sense of community that was created as they worked together to survive. Their financial situation was far worse than we are experiencing now, but they came together and got through it. I remember the sacrifice my father made for his service during World War II. He was part of the invasion on Utah beach and was later wounded. He suffered physically the rest of his life because of those wounds, but how he loved this country.
Whether or not we agree with the policies of President Obama we need to remember the promise of this country. We need to remember the divinely inspired Constituion which guides us. Now, we need to move forward. We need to help our friends, neighbors and first of all, our family prepare for the future, not in a spirit of what is wrong or may go wrong, but in the spirit of the power we have to make things right for those we love.
Here we often focus on disasters that are or may occur. They are real, but we must not become people who focus on the negative or who expect others to care for us during hard times. So, for today, let us reflect on the good things in our lives and the blessings we all have and let us give thanks for those.
Thank you for that reminder…I heard President Obama’s speech earlier today and while I don’t agree with all of his policies, I appreciated his challenge to all Americans to become involved in something and to make a change somewhere.
I didn’t watch anything of the Inauguration (it was starting at midnight our time) but my hope is that President Obama will actually bring about positive, EFFECTIVE change. His big campaign promise was that things will “change” – but as anyone who tries to prepare for emergencies knows, a change can be “bad” too.
As an Army brat and a military wife, I really hope he will turn out to be a true leader as Commander-in-Chief as well. I’ve got my concerns about that, but as they used to say in my dad’s day, “Respect the rank!”
Here’s to a semi-clean slate for the country, and a big thank you to those Presidents who have served us before as well.
I have to admit that I came away from watching the speech with a better feeling than when I first started. Hope all goes well…
After trying unsuccessfully to get my kids and grandkids to show even a little interest in the history of this inauguration, I realized that somehow I owe them some “learnin’” along the lines of patriotism as well as self-reliance. I’ve decided to write each of my grandchildren a letter detailing how I felt about this day and the many other historical events I’ve witnessed in my 62 years. Hopefully, they will keep it and read it when they are grown and able to understand better what events like this contribute to them personally. My granddaughter said, “Now it’s time to start listening to my generation.” I told her as kindly as I could that the day you stop listening to an older generation, that’s the day you start making the same mistakes we did. Hopefully that was the start of her “education.”
“…prepare for the future, not in a spirit of what is wrong or may go wrong, but in the spirit of the power we have to make things right…” Well Said!