Who are we?? We are two mothers that have between us, 4 daughters, 1 son, 1 grandson, 1 son-in-law, 1 soon to be son-in-law( July 4,2010 wedding) and 1 daughter-out-of-law who is the life partner of our gay daughter. Since Ca. does not allow same-sex marriage, we call her our only out-of-law. Hopefully, this situation will resolve itself as voters realize there is no danger to the institution of marriage by allowing gays to wed. After all, having a 50% divorce rate in this country is hardly evidence of the high esteem our society has for marriage.

As mothers, we want our children to have happy and fulfilling lives. We are very proud of them as they are all accomplished. They range in age from 40 to almost 21 with distinctly different personalities. Nothing pleases us more than when they are all together with us which does not happen as often as we wish.

We were both raised with mothers that viewed themselves as "victims" and told us over and over how their childhood was so tough. The truth is closer to them being raised as "divas" and their behavior proved it. When we were young, we believed everything they said, but as we got older we were able to distinguish between their version and reality. Sadly, by this time we had a major case of guilt when we had to ask for something. In my case, I learned to be self sufficient very early because I just couldn't take the heavy sighs, shaking head held in her hands and the whine of " oh, God, how am I supposed to do this".

We are hopeful that we did not pass this trait on to our children as they are all fairly confident problem solvers. Our youngest is still growing in her self confidence. She does not fully realize that with her looks, personality and brains she can be or do anything she wants.

We think all families are dysfunctional to some degree and they always have been. The trick is to organize not agonize. I had some great advice once from a therapist. She said that we cannot change our past but we can change our future by not allowing any of those negative experiences to have power in our adult lives. So, the bottom line is, learn from but don't dwell on the past, be grateful for the good things in your life now and look forward to all the positive things in your future. The glass is always half full on the way to brimming over.

I received the following today from a friend. I think it makes a lot of sense and I urge all to follow suit.

> > Subject: FW: One Light Bulb at a Time..........
> >
> > One Light Bulb at a Time
> > A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while
> > one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very
> > much, a billion of them would.
> >
> > With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a
> > good American with a Good idea ...
> >
> > one light bulb at a time . . . ..
> >
> > Check this out I can verify this because I was in Lowes the other day
> > for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose
> > attachments . They were all made in China The next day I was in Ace
> > Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments
> > there. They were made in USA . Start looking ..
> >
> > In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do
> > affects someone else - even their job .. So, after reading this email,
> > I think this lady is on the right track . Let's get behind her!
> >
> > My grandson likes Hershey's candy . I noticed, though, that it is
> > marked made in Mexico now .. I do not buy it any more.
> >
> > My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico ... now I have
> > switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything ..
> >
> > This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and
> > Bounce dryer sheets . I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to
> > the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday Value
> > . " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were
> > the same except for the price ... The GE bulbs were more money than the
> > Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the
> > fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made
> > in - get ready for this - the USA in a company in Cleveland , Ohio ..
> >
> > So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day
> > that are made right here ..
> > So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . .. . yep , you guessed
> > it, bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value
> > brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and
> > the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using
> > for years and at almost half the price!
> >
> > My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
> > everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA -
> > the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!
> >
> > If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address
> > book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!
> > Stop buying from overseas companies!
> > (We should have awakened a decade ago .. . .. . . . )
> >
> > Let's get with the program . . . .. help our fellow Americans keep
> > their jobs and create more jobs here in the U . S . A ..

Our famous but inept Gov. Schwarzenegger is in Washington begging for money. He has blamed California's congressional delegation for failing to procure more funding for our state. California pays into the Federal government more than we get back and he wants the $6.9 billion difference to help close the $20 billion budget gap we have now. I would ask Arnold how much sense does it make for him and the top Republican and Democratic members of the state Assembly and Senate to spend money our State does not have to make this trip. Our State is in such dire financial straits that instead of going to the expense of flying a group of politicians to Washington where they will, no doubt, stay in the finest hotels and dine at the finest restaurants, he show some fiscal restraint and use the technology available for video conferencing or better yet, keep your butts at home and spend time figuring out how to solve our budget crisis. Our State politicians should be ashamed of themselves for continuing to pass legislation that increases our budget deficit during this crisis.

Over the time Arnold has been in office our State was enjoying the biggest increase in property taxes in decades and they spent every penny and more. Our State and Federal politicians cannot do what the average tax payer must do, keep spending in line with revenue.

Another day full of gloom and doom according to the news in print, on the radio and TV. We say, don't listen to any of it and just take care of yourself and your family the best you can. We already know that you cannot count on anybody or anything except your close personal group of friends and family and sometimes not even your family.

One of the interesting things I saw in the paper today was an advertisement for a "high yield" savings account. The "high yield" was 1.5%. Financial institutions are advertising their generous rates for savings and CDs that range from 1.5-4.3% and yet their credit card rates for ongoing balances are in the 20+%. Consumers have more information available to us than ever before on how these institutions do business and yet we continue to ignore the warnings and dive head first into the trap of spending more than we earn. We know how difficult it is to restrain ourselves because we are used to buying what we want and paying for it later. We have forgotten one of the most important facts of life, that being CASH IS KING!! If you cannot pay cash for that item that is your current hearts desire, don't buy it.

Opinions Without Follow-thru Is How We Got Here

We have just witnessed a major upset to the Democratic party and the Obama administration with the election of a Republican to fill the Kennedy senate seat in Mass.. The Democrats have spent the last year squandering a major gift the voting public gave them, sixty votes. In my opinion, they have been outright stupid in holding their votes ransom on not just the healthcare bill but on everything Obama has tried to do. Instead of using their mandate to improve the situation for all Americans, they became a bunch of spoiled, selfish children trying to gather as many toys for themselves as possible.

Don't get me wrong, I do not think the Republicans would have done anything different. They have let themselves become the party whose only agenda is to cripple President Obama. They are not making decisions based on what needs to be done to improve our country but rather what needs to be done to put a Republican in office in 2012.

Both parties do a lot of shaming and blaming instead of putting forth ideas and plans that would benefit the average American. The really sad part is that it is the fault of the average American as evidenced by voter turnout. Yes, we are a country of free speech and almost everybody has an opinion but the majority of people with opinions only want to talk the talk instead of registering to vote and actually voting.