My sister and I have been talking lately about people we remember from our childhood… People we have no idea how to contact… And, our life story is pretty complicated :) there’s not many people to ask… We’re looking for people like the very nice woman who was my father’s girlfriend when he died… Her name was Arlene, and that’s all I know… I have no memory of her last name, but she had brown hair :) So, if you’re reading this… Your name is Arlene, and approx. 32 years ago you were dating a man named Paul Cassidy (who had 2 adorable little girls :) )… can you contact me??? We’re looking for you :)  Anyway, that story is directly related to one of today’s “thankfulnesses” (I know… not a word…) I was also looking for my cousin Jeff, we’re the same-ish age, and the last time I saw him was just about 20 years ago (how THAT’s possible, I have no idea!)… After my grandfather moved to Maryland, whenever I’d visit, Jeff and I used to go into Washington DC or Annapolis and hang out together… I sent a “random” message to someone I thought was him on facebook, and YEAH!! It IS him :) so glad it wasn’t a random stranger who got my “hey, are you my cousin?” message!

Another thing to be thankful for… No More School Committee!!! The town election is over, and Mike is no longer a member of the board!! I am thankful he did not run for re-election, I’m not sure I could take another 3 years… To my dear husband… Job well done!! Now, let someone else do it :)

And… It’s a BEAUTIFUL day today… the sun is shining, it’s breezy… I better got get something cooked for supper :)

There’s LOTS to be thankful for this week…

First and foremost!!!! Last night was the last official meeting of my husband’s tenure on the School Committee!!! YEAH! It has been a very long 3 years, and I was very thankful when he decided not to run for another term. The job (which he did unpaid, ’cause he ran on “giving back” to the schools) was far more difficult and infinitely more time consuming than it looks…  We are glad to have him back to ourselves, and I’m especially thankful because Wednesday nights are not only school committee meeting nights, but also cub scout night… Thankfully, now he can start taking Sean, and I don’t have to go and try to entertain Kathryn while the boys are having their meeting!!!

Here’s one of my favorite photos from the election… 2008, April on election day… Rainy drizzly wet morning… Kathryn in the background wearing her boots so she could “have fun” dancing around behind “Mr. Serious” who’s idea of having fun was holding signs for Daddy… It really captures their personalities… They were 6 and 4… Look at those missing teeth! and I just love her dancing in the background… Super cute!

Anyone want a sign as a souvenir? We still have like 600 of them in the basement :) and I have to keep reminding him that he’s NOT running for ANYTHING for a long time…

On another note… I stood up for myself this week… I’m inherently wimpy, and although I cheer on people who are brave and speak up… I’m not usually one to make waves or put my foot down… but I was unhappy about a decision and stood my ground (eh, in a wimpy way, but still, I pestered people) until something changed… Not everything went my way, but I got a couple changes made that made me happier with the final decision.

We got snow this week (not something to be thankful for…) BUT it went away as quickly as it came… we’re turning the corner, and it’s not just the calendar that’s saying spring…

Here’s a couple of pictures of the super Pinewood Derby cars!!! I need to take a pic of the trophy that Sean got too… Here’s Sean’s car named “Red Hot” which got the trophy for fastest Bear Den car! They cut and sanded the car themselves (with a bit of help from Daddy!) and then painted and stickered them… I guess there’s an art to putting the wheels on “just right” (which we clearly didn’t get right last year!!)  So much fun!

And Kathryn’s car “Blue Lagoon” which was actually FASTER than Sean’s :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week… and remember to count your blessings!!