ABC Wednesday: A Proud Day

Today is the beginning of a new series of ABC Wednesday posts, sponsored by Mrs. Nesbitt, and I had planned a few suitable photos for the letter A.



First, I thought of the usual object used in children's books: A is for Apple. Apples were in abundance on my trees this year; we've hardly made a dent in all the applebutter, applesauce and frozen sliced apples that I preserved last fall.

And I thought of the weather, a constant topic of conversation the last few weeks. A word we often hear-- and sometimes cringe at--is Accumulation. Despite the ice and bitter cold we've had so far, we haven't had as much snow this year as the past two years. Of course, winter is far from over!



As miserable as this winter has been, I was going to end by saying I'd rather be in Arizona, where the weather is warm and the sun is shining.


But all these ideas seemed rather silly and trivial after spending much of the day watching television.

Today, I am proud to be an American.

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

It was a day when the joy and optimism were almost palpable. I hope that it inspires everyone to do their part in making this world a better place.