Lessons from Today

In no order of importance . . .

1) Slushies are an invaluable substitute for air conditioning when it's in the 90s and your car doesn't have A/C. Don't buy an Icee for $1.75 at Target when you can buy the same size (and have a better selection of flavors) with the Red Sox logo on it for $.79 at Cumberland Farms on Main Street. If you have to learn your lesson the hard way, buy two slushies to take advantage of the Cumberland Farms value. Definitely don't buy a Coolatta at Dunkin' Donuts, unless you want more ambiance than Cumberland Farms offers, or a little more class in your drink for a lot more money. Slushies are about survival for me this week--forget ambiance or class.

2) The Horatio Colony Museum on Main Street in Keene is a delightful place, and free. I loved the half-hour tour and the fascinating antiques the house boasts! This region has been home for almost 27 years, and I have never visited. Shame on me. I learned that Horatio's grandfather started the Colony Mill (yeah, duh, hadn't ever made the Colony connection), and that it was the US's longest running mill operated by the same family. I also learned that the origin for the expression "cool your heels" was the need to cool horses off gradually after a hot day of work, so their owners put them in a stream to cool their heels!

3) The views of Mt. Monadnock from Route 124 are phenomenal.

4) It sure is fun to take four boys under ten swimming. Forget swimming yourself, unless getting splashed enthusiastically by David counts, because you are so busy counting them repeatedly to make sure they are still alive.

5) Boys are . . . well, boys. On the way home from the lake Timothy, Peter, Luke, and David decided that we should drive to China, sans parents. "We'll beat up the little Chinese boys we meet," announced Peter. Whaa . . .? I never did get a straight answer on why this was important, but I suspect it has something to do with proving strength and claiming territory--maybe the same motivation that possesses boys to argue about whose father is better. Wait! We girls did that, too. But I don't ever recall discussing beating up little Chinese boys.

6) Sometimes it pays to speak up on behalf of people who are doing good work. When WORLD Magazine asked for Hope Award for Effective Compassion nominees this year, it would have been easy to think, "They'll have so many, why should I speak up?" I actually almost forgot to send in my nominees until almost the deadline. I recall e-mailing the WORLD contact between 11:00 PM and midnight on the day of the deadline. This evening I received an e-mail from an organization dear to my heart, Straight Ahead Ministries. It opened, "Straight Ahead receives high praise as a Northeast Regional Finalist in the Hope Award for Effective Compassion." I hope they received many nominations besides mine, but either way, my heart is happy.