As with many of you I listened to Whitney Houston throughout my college years.  She was the epitomy of talent.  Many years ago I listened to an interview about the making of The Body Guard.  It was Kevin Costner's idea to have her start the song with no music and just to have the sound of her voice.  It made such an impact to the song and showcased her voice ultimately.

Her career started to take a downfall when she hooked up with Bobby Brown.  We all were witness to it but felt helpless to help her.  But were we all responsible for not helping her.  We all know she didn't want to be helped.  But if there is a testiment as to what drugs can do this is it.

So we say good-bye to a woman who had a wonderful talent and an unforgetable voice.  

I am truly blessed to have two boys that get along and enjoy each others company.  Is their relationship perfect?  No but it is pretty close.  They would be there for each other today and hopefully for years to come.

Words fail me as I attempt to describe what happened during Storm Alfred.  We knew we were getting an unusual storm that would cause snow and freezing rain.  This type of weather is certainly not uncommon for New England.  Unfortunetely for us, the leaves had not fallen off of the trees therefore making the weight of the snow too much for limbs and trees to withhold.

Two days before Halloween it started to snow.  The first snowfall of the season for me has always been exciting as we venture to the next season.  It snowed most of the day then tapered off to near nothing.  The temperatures began to drop.  When the snow first starts to fall there is a certain silence that overcomes every neighborhood.  As the night started to fall we lost power.  We this happened a mere two months before we thought we were better prepared this time.  Nightfall came and darkness came over the neighborhood and town.  The silence was soon replaced by the cracking of limbs and trees from the weight of the snow.  None of us would know the devastation until the next morning when the sun came up.

Since one of my hobbies is to take pictures I found this was the best way to document what happened.  We had no idea what we were in for.  We lost power for ten days.  People came from all around the United States to help.  Shelters were set up in every town to help feed people and give them shelter.  The most moving sight was seeing a crew from Canada with an American flag flying from the back of the truck.  The crews were not only helpful but did it with smiles.  They worked tiredless into the nights.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Ten years ago being pregnant with my first child should have been a happy day.  However  it has been ten years from today since I watched the towers tumble to the ground and witnessed the United States under attack.  Some days it feels like it was just yesterday while others it feels like a lifetime ago. 

Ten years ago I was about 6 weeks pregnant with my first son Walker.  Both of my sons will never know how impressive the towers were and have only heard about the tragic day of 9/11.

As I was buried with work I heard a co-worker say a small plane hit the world trade center.  Like many other employees that day we logged onto CNN to see live coverage of what was going on.  It never occurred to any of us what was unfolding in front of our eyes. 

All of a sudden the same co-worked said ,”Oh my god… the other tower has been hit”.  Frankly… it still never occurred to me that we, as a country, we under attack.  Shorty after that the Pentagon was hit.  We were stunned and frozen in time.  We all started to think of friends and family in the targeted areas and the phones were ringing and e-mails were flying through. 

At the time I worked for a supervisor that was also in the Army Reserves.  When he went running out of the building that morning we began to realize how serious the situation had become.

Firefighters, Police Officers, all arms of the military and people from around the United States started banning together to stand united.  We were sure at the time who or what our enemies were.

I was six weeks pregnant and I was beginning to wonder what kind of world I was bringing a baby into.  The terrorist desperately tried to break the American people.  They took buildings and lives but they could not break our spirit.  Though we lost many lives in this attack, we as a country survived. 

I now look at my 9 year old son and know that he will never know that fateful day but only hear about it through anniversaries and remembrance ceremonies.  I hope my children will appreciate how brave people were on that day.  I remember and will be sure to tell the story of how I witnessed everyday Americans come together for the greater good.

I will never forget and I will make sure my children don’t either.

Here are my thoughts from my 2007 journal entry.

My children are now entering into the 2011-2012 school year with enthusiasm.  Walker is starting his 4th grade year while Peyton is starting his 1st grade year.  When asked who was going to do better on their first day they both agreed… Peyton.  There was no apprehension with either of them for their first day.

They both have homework most nights.  Though I check their homework is complete I do not “correct” their homework.  I will help explain when assistance is needed but I believe the teachers need to know what my children are having a harder time understanding.  If I correct their work they would never know and it is not a true reflection of their capabilities.  Both my children know they can come to me with questions but I won’t do their work for them.  They both have great teachers again this year and I wish them the best of luck.

I have run into parents from both end of the spectrums. Let me tell you how I was raised to give some insight into how I feel.

• I was raised that you never talked back to your parents or any other adult because… well… you would suffer the consequence. Non of us really knew what that was but we weren’t willing to find out.

• You didn’t steal from your friends, neighbors or anyone else because… well… again you would suffer some kind of consequence that was beyond your wildest imagination.

• You said thank you, please and your welcome because it came naturally due to the example your parents gave you.

• I didn’t have to wait to get reprimanded until my father came home because I was raised by my father… thank goodness.

• You were aware of others around you because the world didn’t evolve around you.

• You always did your best because your parents always knew when you were slacking off.

• You didn’t lie to your parents because eventually they find out when the guilt of what you did is too much to handle.

• I was allowed to fail and make wrong decisions with the perspective that I had learned a valuable lesson. (This is important for helicopter parents to learn).

Since I was laid off from my job over a year ago I have had the opportunity to be more involved with my kids and their activities. I could be helping out every day in class but I don’t. The kids need to have other adults that they listen to and respect. I help out approximately once a week for about an hour in one son’s class and computer class for the other. I will help out whether in the classroom or out. I don’t need to hover (hence the name helicopter parent) over my kids while they are in school. When I have helped out in the younger son’s class and there is another parent I specifically ask if they can do the project with him and not me. I am there to help not monitor my child. One of the biggest compliment I received from the teacher was that Peyton behaved the same whether I was there or not. She was basically saying he was on his best behavior all the time. Music to a parents ears.

I was recently in the dentist office with both of my children. in the waiting area was another woman and three children. The fourth child was already in the dentist chair. They were disrespectful to her in that they did not listen to her when she reprimanded them. But from their perspective there was no consequence hence, they kept doing what they were doing. The way I view it is you are only making it harder on yourself in the long run if you don’t follow through. The kids were loud and obnoxious. After my kids and I had our appointment I found out I wasn’t the only one to think so. the doctors staff shared my sentiments.

My kids aren’t perfect by any means. What I will say is they have received numerous compliments on their behavior when they are at other people’s houses or we are out in public. Apparently well behaved children are such a rarity they get noticed.

As parents it is our responsibility to raise well adjusted, behaved and mannered children that will grow into mature and responsible adults. How else can we ensure a bright future for them or ourselves. They need to be able to make decisions on their own. This also means they need to be left alone to make their own mistakes on their own too. My father raised me to make my own decisions. Some of them were good and some of them were bad. Regardless, he was there to help mend or celebrate.

As I have said before my children aren’t perfect and neither and I but frankly my tolerance is getting thin for those parents who won’t step up to the plate and parent their kids.

Here  is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about New   Englanders...

"Forget  Rednecks ......."

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you  assistance
and they don't work there, you live in New  England .
           
If  you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time,
you live in New  England .

If you've  had a lengthy telephone conversation with
someone who dialed a wrong  number,
you live in New  England .
             
If  'Vacation' means going anywhere south of New York City
for the  weekend, you live in New England .

If you  measure distance in hours,
you live in New  England .
           
If  you know several people who have hit a deer more
than once, you live  in New  England .
            
If  you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the
same day and back  again, you live in New England .
            
If  you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a

raging blizzard  without flinching, you live in New England .
            
If  you install security lights on your house and garage,
but leave both  unlocked, you live in New England .
             
If  you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how
to use them,  you live in New England .
            
If  you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a
snowsuit, you  live in New  England .
             
If  the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph you're going 80 and
everybody  is
passing you, you live in New England .
            
If  driving is better in the winter because the potholes
are filled with  snow,you live in New England .
            
If  you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still
winter and road  construction, you live in New England .

If you have more miles on  your snow blower than your car,
you live in New England .
           
If  you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly', you live in New England .
             
If  there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner, you live in New England .

If you  think everyone else has a funny accent, you live in New England .

We all have that aha moments.  They may be big or they may be small.  Regardless of their size here is one I have vowed to uphold.  Life is too short to keep friends that just bring you down.  Yup – cleaning the house of friends is on the agenda.  The process has already started.  In hindsight friends that don’t treat you with respect aren’t worth your time.  They are not honest with you and only drain you of your self respect.  Yup I am done with this particular person.  Keep in mind I have been friends with this person for about 30 years.  A few friends have been given the details of what happened and are horrified of what this person did.  Whether they are friends or family they are not given a free license to treat you any way they want.  This particular person kept saying that I needed to listen to her so we could get past this.  Apparently I was the one that just needed to sit there and listen to her attack my integrity.  I decided after the call got dropped that my time could be better well spent. 

So 2011 will be better for many reasons.  I hope everyone has health and happiness.  Better days are on the horizon.

Walker is lucky enough to have a fabulous teacher again this year.  She is full of energy, smiles and laughter.  Walker came home the first day and said, “My class rocks”!  Having a sense of humor is par for the course of being a elementary teacher for this age group.

Walker is now having spelling test each and every week.  He was doing a fabulous job until the other week when he came home and said he got one work wrong.  I go though the list thinking it was one of the more difficult words.  To my bewilderment it was… get this… the work… “Fine”.

The conversation:

Me:  Walker… are you kidding me?  How could you get the easiest word on the list wrong.

Walker (profound answer): I don’t know.

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I went to class last week to assist in the computer lab for Walker’s class.  I mentioned to the teacher that I couldn’t believe he got the easiest word on the list wrong.  So here was the conversation that I missed that occurred at school.

Teacher: Yes Walker?

Walker (pitiful puppy dog look in his eyes): Mrs. Venzie… I heard the word “Fin” not “Fine”?

Teacher (while keeping her laughter to a minimum) replied: Really Walker?  Well… I would believe that if everyone else in the class spelled it the same way.

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I guess you can’t blame a kid for trying.  I think he gets an A for effort on that one don’t you?