Reflecting on Life

Now that we have the fun stuff covered in the previous post, now we can talk a bit about what I’ve learned lately. The past week had both my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary and my father’s 60th birthday. I once heard someone say that it doesn’t matter what things you haven’t done; instead you should focus on the things you have done. I know that I held higher career aspirations for myself and that I hoped to be living on my own again, but I can’t see them as failures. I may not have a descent paying job and I may still live with my parents at the ripe old age of 28, but I’ve traveled, I give the most honest advice I can, and I try to be the best friend/sister/daughter/godmother that i know how to be. I’m taking little steps to better myself and my situation starting with a CPR/First Aid course at the end of the month. Those are the little victories I’ve learned to appreciate over the past few years. I might now be completely happy with my life right now, but I have a wonderful support system of loving friends and family that will help me to tackle each new challenge.

Hug Holiday Day!!!

I know that just a few days ago I posted about a strange little holiday called National Log Cabin Day, but when I saw this holiday listed I simply couldn’t resist poking fun. Hug Holiday Day always occurs on June 29th. Right off the bat I see two major things wrong with this holiday. 1) Hug Holiday Day, isn’t the name a bit redundant really? Doesn’t a Holiday typically occur on a day? Maybe it should be changed to Hug Day or just Hug Holiday. 2) All I could think when I heard about this was, “oh great now there is a holiday that promotes sexual assault and invading people’s personal space, joy.”

With as politically correct as our society is becoming I bet kids trying to observe this holiday at school would likely get suspended. So how did it start you ask? Well Hug Holiday Day was started by the Hug Health Foundation (http://www.hugs4health.org/) which is an organization I didn’t even know existed. The goal of this holiday is apparently to give hugs to those that need them (whether they agree with you or not), to encourage membership to the Hugs for Health Foundation, and to encourage individuals to donate to this or other charities helping people in need. Again thank you to the informative folks at Holiday Insights(http://www.holidayinsights.com/).

P.S. You might be better off giving these instead of real hugs.

(Much safer, nobody pressing charges, just sayin’)

38th Annual Harborfest

Every year on the second weekend of June tall ships, tourists,  bands, and vendors invade downtown Norfolk, VA. If you live in Hampton Roads, Harborfest marks the real beginning of summer. You can tour tall ships from around the world,  enjoy live music,  indulge in a few adult refreshments,  oh and there is plenty of kid stuff too. Keep tuned in for updates on great things to see and do in Hampton Roads and even across the state.  Here we nearly have a festival every weekend over the summer.

A Visit to Yorktown

   

Despite today’s D-Day anniversary I decided to check out a Revolutionary War site, the Colonial National Historical Park in Yorktown, VA. This site was the location of the October 19, 1781 Battle of Yorktown marking Lord Cornwallis’ surrender. This decisive victory was achieved by a combined force of American continentals and French Army troops led respectively by George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau. It might amuse most Americans that Cornwallis actually remained hidden in disgrace in a beach-side cave forcing his second in command to surrender in his place.

For me this trip held a more personal significance since last year, while compiling my family history, I discovered that on my mother’s side our first ancestor to arrive in the colonies was a German Hessian. (Hessian soldiers were German troops contracted to serve in the British military throughout the Revolutionary War) In the case of my ancestor, Johann Ruhrschneck  , he was forced to serve the British and fought at the battle of Yorktown where he was taken as a prison of war. Later upon his release, he decided to stay here in Virginia and eventually purchased land out in the mountains by the Shenandoah Valley.

A Stroll Through Local History

The images above all come from Lee Hall Mansion in Newport News, VA. On a complete whim my best mate and I decided to go visit one of the many local history sites that we’ve neglected to visit over the years. It seems to me that locals hardly ever go visit their own sites. The two staff members there yesterday were both older and quite charming, despite the somewhat fussy two year old we had in tow. The house tour was informative and I really enjoyed it. So now a bit about the mansion.  Lee Hall Mansion was built in 1859 as the private residence of Richard Decatur Lee, a prominent local farmer who was not directly related to the famous Confederate General. (Though oddly enough both Lee families experienced severe financial difficulties) The mansion was used as headquarters for Confederate generals Joseph E. Johnson and John B. Magruder during the well known Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War  in 1862. After the way Lee was able to get back his property, but all of his possessions (including slaves) had been sold off due to bankruptcy.