Abigail - Today Abby finally did it. She climbed to the top of the rope at Gymnastics Village and rang the bell. She's been going there for over a year but hadn't the upper strength and coordination to do it. She got a special "monkey patch" to mark her accomplishment. Today was also the first class in a while where I could pick her up as soon as it was done. There's no waiting around for Claire to finish because she will go to her classes on Saturdays now. On the way home we stopped at J. Beaners cafe to pick up a treat for her. I also picked up a treat for Michelle to celebrate that …
Basement inspected - This morning the town inspector came by and gave his approval to all the work done on the basement. I'm comforted that if we ever have to sell this house, the work is registered and approved by the town. I had a co-worker that had issues with his house closing because he did his basement (and in particular, the electricals) by himself. I didn't want to worry about that.
Within hours of passing inspection Michelle moved the kids' toys into the rec room. The dining room can now, once again, be a dining room. OK, so we don't have a formal set for it yet, but perhaps someday. As I noted in this picture, since the sleeper sofa from the study moved downstairs, the piano has moved from the corner of the toy room into the study. It's nice to play and practice the piano in front of that 8 foot wide window overlooking the side yard and conservation land.
Satellite - Have you noticed that the excellent Google Maps service now includes an option to see satellite imagery as well?
The Blame Game - I've been thinking about an aspect of our media and culture that reminds me of some immature teenagers. I was observing our media coverage of the President and the Pope. While it is true that they are "leaders", it's funny how much blame we give them for the things that should be better. On one hand we don't want them to interfere with our lives, but then put every little problem (of their respective spheres of influence) on their shoulders. Both can point a direction, but the most significant factor is often … us.
Look at the gains the US made in productivity in the 1990's. We had massive infrastructure improvements in communication, transportation, and computing -- all of which caused significant efficiencies for business productivity and strong economic growth. Did the President do anything which caused that? No. Can you imagine a government developed solution to mimick FedEx, cell phones, or the PC? Recently gas prices have skyrocketed. What is the President going to do? Do we really think he could just order them to be lower? If he did, could you say "shortages" and "rationing"?
In a similar way I've heard about some of the "problems in the Catholic Church" that worsened during Pope John Paul's reign. The man visited an enormous number of countries, was outspoken on a wide variety of social and moral issues, wrote numerous papal encyclicals trying to re-elaborate Catholic positions in the context of the modern world, reached out to young people with annual youth conferences, beatified more saints than any predecessor so that we might have more examples to follow. And yet, we often didn't listen. Or many who did rebelled against the message. If we don't try to really know the message, is it any wonder Mass attendance is down, vocations are down, churches are closing, weekly offerings are down, divorces and annulments are up, and we have so many Catholic "pro-choice" politicians? While the Pope and bishops attempt to point the way to lives of virtue, we're too busy channel surfing between MTV, The Bachelor, and Desperate Housewives to hear them.
My point is that these men are our leaders, yes, but not benevolent dictators. In a free society the responsibility falls on each of us. It seems such an American mindset to blame someone else. It's never my fault. It's the government, it's big business, it's the President, it's our bishop... Certainly our leaders can inspire and often be enablers, but in the end it's still us that really makes things happen. Somehow we think these high profile leaders should be able to walk on water and defy laws of economics, nature, and reality. We seem scandalized at every shortcoming, as if we forget the human condition. I could never walk a day in their shoes, but in the end, they're just men. Courageous, strong, but still human. How we attribute so many problems to their actions amazes me! What a bunch of whiners we can be!
I just needed to vent a bit. I'll step down from the soapbox and catch some sleep. Still trying to adjust after daylight savings time shift.