Home of the Brave Girl

O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave…GIRL!

Yes, after learning about Independence Day and singing the Star Spangled Banner, she naturally added “Girl” to the end of the song.

1969

Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 800

Average Cost of new house $15,550.00

Average Income per year $8,550.00

Average Monthly Rent $135.00

Average Cost New Car $3,270.00

Gas per Gallon 35 cents

Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon

Richard Nixon President of the United States

Wal-Mart incorporates as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc

Sesame Street makes its debut on PBS

First Target distribution center opens.

And…apparently I am sent some email that I recently received in my inbox:

Life Log

blog

/blôg/

A web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information,etc. on a regular basis.

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What is a blog? Defined by Google above. Defined by Webster below.

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“A Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site”

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My definition, “a life log”.

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Documenting when your daughter spontaneously dawns her sunglasses.

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Remembering when you thought she was saying I Love You…but you soon realized that she was singing “I love you, tomorrow…” from Annie.

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Telling others of the times she stops in her tracks to say “I am so cute”.

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Making sure when she’s 16 she’ll always remember the hugs she loved to give.

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Taking time for mom to ease into her evening after the mandatory “2 books” before bedtime.

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Illustrating through words the excitement of a birthday! No matter who. No matter the present. Everything’s awesome! And there’s cake!

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Writing of the silly squat that she does when asking for toothpaste; she holds the toothbrush as low as possible until the gel is applied.

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Putting into words the visual of naked dolls around the house; all clothes get removed.

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Caring to share that my toddler loves lotion; flipping on her belly, she simply states “Lotion” with a back rub expectation.

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Being sure to log counting…1,2,3,5,6,7,9. Somewhere in the teens there’s an “eleven-teen” now.

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Sharing that we have had parking lot time-outs. Holding hands is a very important rule not to be broken.

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Commenting on the covers that she puts on Mac. Showing she cares, it seems he could care less.

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…sometimes with pictures to help tell the stories.

Cuddledance

As I document life as a future reflection of history, I consider this week’s milestone that was missed.

The creation of the Cuddledance.

Once jammies are on we now have a quiet dancing moment on the way to the crib; the Cuddledance.

“Mommy and Abby are cuddling, cuddling”…soft singing repeated 3 times. Hugging her in my arms.

The creation of the Cuddledance was this week.

Such closeness ending each day. I love to hear her ask for it.

Argo

How did I not know?

How did I not know the core of the story that is Argo.

Such an amazing script illustrating honor, integrity and trustworthiness while sharing an amazing, little known piece of history.

This was not the story of removing the hostages from Iran as I expected. The movie told the, now unclassified, story of the few that managed to escape the historical attack on the consulate.

An escape with a twist.

Just lettin’ ya know.

Two thumbs up.

Yes, I remember

Yes, I remember when you had to turn on the tv by walking up to it.

I remember the Polaroid instant camera (and at this point I can say 35mm film!)

I remember when my first computer experience meant feeding punch cards into a machine.

I remember…

the first personal computer (and when the Apple 2+ was really cool!), the first “Mac” (we were very surprised on Christmas morning one year when one showed up as our family gift…set-up with love in a small closet), when “Windows” were just a concept (we programmed our own graphics in green screens…certainly no mouse), Pong, Atari, the first time a connection was made on our computer via the phone line (yes, a land line)…it certainly wasn’t the internet as we know it today. Dot matrix printers, floppy disks. Video arcades and the introduction of Pac-Man.

Yes, I remember…

Working to master Rubik’s Cube, getting a Cabbage Patch Kid at the height of the Cabbage Patch Kid craze, not having voicemail, finally getting an answering machine (first cassette tape then digital), the introduction of caller ID.

I brought a Word Processor to college. I learned about search engines when I started work at Target; internet, what’s that? I got my first cell phone (the size of 3 decks of cards, only for emergencies, no text option) after collage…I was an early adopter. My first TV was a 13″ Black and White tube set. I learned to navigate the world using a map.

Cell phone companies had coverage in very limited areas, very specific to them. Roaming charges applied. Minutes were very expensive.

I remember…

The Club and the ThighMaster.  Beanie Babies and when cans had “ALUMINUM” printed on them once they made that conversion (now the beginning of recycling).

The introduction of the Microwave and VCR to the mainstream. I’ve had vinyl albums, cassette tapes, CDs, and MP3s. I’ve had VHF movies, DVDs, Blu-Ray and digital. Certainly no DVR.

The Sony Walkman first made the media portable and personal; the boom box made it portable and loud.

The beginning and the end of the Space Shuttle program.

The introduction of “Cash Cards” and ATMs.

I remember…life before Starbucks, social networking like Facebook and Twitter, eBay and email. No cable TV.

The concept of innovation over my lifetime thus far seems impossible. What was new is now second nature.

Yes, I remember it all. What will Abby remember?