Continuing Our "Christmas In July" Clan Coverage

Well, the first poll has closed and the results are in. I was going to say "finally in" but they're pretty much instantaneous. What do the results show? Massive voter apathy it appears. Good thing I'm not running for President. At least John McCain started out with some steam. It appears I couldn't even build up enough steam to iron a shirt, much less power a national campaign.

In other news, head on over to the How Is Ethan blog to grab the latest installment on that front.

Big story of the week?

I Forgot My Sister's Birthday - And How I've Finally Learned To Cope With The Guilt

That's right. It is with shame etched across my face that I write these words. Robin's birthday was last........ Sunday I think........ and I didn't even remember to call her and sing her one of the birthday songs from my extensive repertoire.

Oh, sure, I could make excuses about scrambling around to get ready for my trip out of town. Or I could offer a weak argument regarding my being off my meds in order to prepare for another cancer scan (that's actually a good one because it uses the word "cancer" and makes people feel sorry for me, which I don't understand since it doesn't make me feel sorry for myself). I could blame my remorse over the passing of Tammy Fay. I could even blame advancing age or my incredibly busy schedule, all of which are probably factors in this sad tale of sorry sibling support!

Yes, I could do any one of those things to garner sympathy for my forgetful self, but I won't.

Oh, wait......

OK. So I did all those things just then, but I'm still owning up to the fact that I FORGOT!

Sorry, Robin. My eyes are wet with tears of regret and remorse. If only I had a webcam to show you what I'm talking about. If anyone wants to get me one, let me know and I'll put the one I want on my Amazon wish list and send you a link.......

So, here I am, in front of the whole Interweb thingy, where any google search for "sorry siblings who forget the birthdays of their only sister (and just about everyone else's....... including their own)" would probably find this post listed very near the top, offering my sincerest apology and wishing a.....

Happy Belated Birthday to the best sister I've ever had! Or will ever have I'm pretty sure......

I guess there's a couple of step sisters but we're talking about sharing significant switches in our DNA strands here. And probably switches from our parents except I think Mike and I got all the spankings and mom and dad were pretty well all spanked out by the time you came along. So, just stop reading after the DNA part.

Happy Birthday Robin. I love you. I just don't remember you apparently.

Christmas in July....

The two most dreaded items at Christmas time are the fruitcakes (that have the heft and consistency of a spare tire) and those family newsletters that chronicle a particular branch of your family tree. Well, I haven't figured out a way to electronically deliver a fruitcake equivalent, but through the magic of modern technology our branch of the nut tree can deliver the family newsletter all year long!

I can see you're thrilled.....

Since I've recently started a photo blog and a web page for my photography, I thought I may as well start a "Family blog" as well, and if you're reading this, you've stumbled upon it! Or were directed to it. Or maybe you were forced to click on a link presented to you by some arm twisting relative or another. At any rate, you're here.... and just in time too.

What exactly is a "Family blog"? I'm not really sure since I've not gone looking for anyone else's for examples. That means we can pretty much define this as we go. And when I say "we" of course I mean "me".

Maybe I'll post guest editorials from other members of the clan (or rebuttals). There will certainly be a photo or two from time to time. But it'll likely be some jumbled ramblings from my cluttered memories and faulty synaptic misfires most of the time.

Oh, I also have another blog that is specifically to follow the progress of my younger grandson, Ethan. If you don't do anything else, head over there and read up on the latest because the little guy could use your prayers. It is my hope that we can retire "How Is Ethan" sometime soon because the answer will be, "He's just fine". Yeah. That's the ticket......