They also believe that she is finishing her senior year in high school. Right. She's finishing the 8th grade, so this may be a hint about the current status of recruiting for the military.

I told her to hold out for the Air Force or the Navy.

Oh well, I'm now the proud owner of a 2009 Army wall calendar.

Chelsey believes she will pass on training as a helicopter mechanic, thank you.

Wedding bands, like people, come in many sizes, shapes and colors. Celebrating differences has always been part of the best of America. Why do people think they can legislate morality? (Legislating manners, good ones, might be nice, but I digress, don't I?)

I'm not a very political person and I tend not to clutter the bandwaves with my personal views. Saturday, a pair of very nice, very conservative women with clipboards knocked on my front door. Hannah and I answered, then confounded them by stating that I wouldn't sign their petition. They, oddly enough, were amazed that I had voted in support of the legalization of same-sex marriage and would continue to support the same.

Were they surprised that I disagreed with them? Is it me? Is it that I look fairly conservative myself and disagreed with them? Maybe they were shocked that Hannah heard me state my views. Am I alone in San Bernardino?

That mountain that my Dad used to wish to live upon sounds good.

Maybe I'll just stop going to my front door.

www.advocate.com/news_deta...d57912.asp

Tomorrow would have been my Mom's 74th birthday. So, I spent a lot of time today thinking about Mom and all of the ways in which I miss her. I'm sure I'll continue the same way tomorrow, too. There have been so many times that a passing thought makes me reach for the phone to ask a question ... only to realize that Mom won't answer the phone. Just so many times I find myself thinking of Mom and making a mental note to ask a question ... Yesterday I couldn't remember if I had chicken pox or not. I think my sister and I did. We must have, since I had shingles once about 15 years ago.

When my Dad died, I was 35, almost 36. Dad's passing hit me like a ton of bricks. The whole family was in total shock. For being such a quiet, reserved man, Dad was the foundation of the family and we were all pretty aimless for a very long time. I cried for months. I started conversations with some phrase or another that included a statement to the effect that my Dad had just died. My poor friends ...

I found out that I had a lot of empty places in my life and my heart that just ached. It was very dramatic and lead me to a decision that still effects my life now. I heard myself saying way too often, I'm going to do that ... someday. When I realized how suddenly a life can end, my somedays were stacking up threatening to collapse on me. So, I did a number of things that scared the stuffing out me. I enrolled at the local community college, I volunteered at the library because reading voraciously was something that Dad and I shared.

I miss my Mom more than I can say. I'm glad she's not sick or in pain anymore and I believe she's with my Dad now. I hope so. She's spent all of these same years missing him.

So, I'll just continue to have my little talks with Mom when I need them. I'm so lucky that my Mom always emphasized her love for her kids. And I'll wipe a little tear and be happy that I know how much I was loved by my parents. I'll keep hugging my kids and reminding them how much I love them, too.