With February comes hope.............

   It seems like it has been snowing for days. The temperatures each day have been like a roller coaster ride and while there is a bit more light in the evening sky, it's still mid-winter. After basically a “flake-free” January (I am not talking about visits from friends and neighbors), the piles of snow on either side of the driveway are now getting pretty high.

   The car is covered in salt and sand. Lucky has a difficult time climbing over or finding a way around the snow banks to get to his favorite 'spots' in the yard and each day I shovel the snow drifts away from the back door. But have no fear. With the arrival of February comes hope.

   February 2 is Groundhog Day and we all know what that means. It means we will soon know just how much longer we must endure the snow and harsh cold of winter before Spring arrives. And this prediction is determined by....? Of course. It is a homely little rodent sticking his head out of a hole in the ground to look for his shadow. Now... what on earth could be more scientific than that? (I wonder if the groundhog is male or female and would that make a difference?)

   Like many other events in history, the early beginnings of Groundhog Day are not without some debate and controversy. 

   The general belief is that the earliest recorded history of Groundhog Day dates back to February 4^th 1841 in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, however a number of other small communities scattered across the northeast claim to have recorded even earlier dates. Who doesn't like a good fight over who is credited with recording the first Groundhog Day in America!

   As tradition has it, if it is cloudy when the groundhog sticks his or her head out of its burrow, it will be an early Spring. But if the furry little creature sees its shadow cast from a bright winter sun, if he needs his sunglasses, then we have six more weeks of winter.

   Over the years and probably the result of several marketing firms, Groundhog Day has become somewhat of a celebration and what American doesn't like a good party. Folks will get up early, wrap themselves in warm clothing and head for the nearest Groundhog celebration. There will be speeches, people running about dressed in groundhog costumes, lots of food and drink, more speeches, maybe an appearance by the Governor and then the announcement will come. Did he or didn't he? And the reaction from the crowd will indicate the result.

   It has been reported that on occasion there have been as many as 40,00 people gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania for the celebration. Now those are some dedicated fans.

   But this is what we know. The celebration in America was a custom believed to have begun within the Germans communities in eastern PA in the early 1800's, from a practice dating back as early as the 17^th and 18^th centuries in Europe. And like many other celebrations and holidays, its origin was based in early folklore about the weather and the changing of the seasons.

   Meteorologically  speaking, whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not, the first day of Spring is seven weeks after Groundhog Day, or on the 46-47 day following February 2nd. In simple terms, it's the middle of March and we know what the weather can be like in March.

   And how accurate are the forecasts? According to many of the celebration organizers, the little furry guy's forecast are somewhere between 75 to 90 per cent accurate. But most other official record keepers believe the accuracy to be more in the 35 to 40 per cent range. The National Climatic Data Center  has even said that the little guy has absolutely no talent for predicting the weather at all. But then, that is a response one might expect to hear from such an agency. Can you imagine if the groundhog were correct in his predictions. Can you imagine losing your job and being replaced by a groundhog?

   Monday is Groundhog Day, but I think I'll skip the celebrating, pour myself another cup of coffee before venturing out to shovel the walkway again and know that it's February, the shortest month of the year. Before long, whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, the sun will become brighter, the temperatures warmer and the plants and flowers will emerge from beneath the ground recently covered by 3 feet of snow and it will be Springtime. With the beginning of February comes 'hope'...........and maybe even a little bit of Spring fever!

                                     

Balls to the wall! Let's get this over with and move on...........

(Sorry.  I just could not let this one pass by.)

   It's full steam ahead (balls to the wall) in the reporting of the important news of the day. There are so many newsworthy events happening around the world it becomes difficult to decide what to include and not include in a broadcast, I would assume. But when one of the items up for consideration to be included with the other world news is a scandal over improperly inflated or deflated balls, that's got to be as important as the terrorist activity in Syria or the continued search for the bodies of those lost in the AirAsia crash. For sure, talking about properly inflated or deflated balls is something most of the population can comprehend and get their hands around. And the burning question here.... Who let the air out?

   There is the potential for so much to be at play here with this story. After all, it is a game, only a game. But what is reflected in all the attention given to the events of who, what, where, when and why surrounding proper pressure in (foot)balls is society's fascination with sports. Come on. We all picture ourselves at some point scoring the winning touchdown and doing the "dance of joy" in the end zone or standing on the foul line, the game tied, no time remaining on the clock and sinking the foul shot to win the game. The crowd goes wild and for a brief second or two we are a hero. What 'hero' wants to stand there holding a deflated ball? Is it really only a game?

   Almost no one likes it when someone else has to cheat to win, except the person doing the cheating. At this point I am not accusing the Patriots of cheating. The jury is still out for me. But ask most kids at play on the playground. Ask a local politician or two. No one likes a cheater, not even another cheater. But the importance of winning at any cost, winning at some point in your life, has become so much a part in our society and who we are that some people will do almost anything to gain an advantage or edge.

   I found it interesting that even our Governor weighted in on deflated balls. I was surprised to learn how knowledgeable he appears to be regarding deflated balls and the ethics and moral character of the New England Patriots, their coach and the players. And his favorite team? Could it be the..... Dallas Cowboys? And why?

   But what if there were no real foul play here, in Foxborough, and this turns out to be “just a lot of hot air"? Maybe the pump didn't work. What if no one tampered with the Patriot's balls? What if the player who intercepted the pass just didn't like the way the ball felt. Do all (foot)balls really feel the same?

   Tom Brady, in his news conference, spoke about his preference for how he likes the balls to feel when he grips them, ready to throw a 55- 60 yard pass to Edelmann or Gronk. “So do the other quarterbacks,” he said, trying to assure the reporters that he might not be alone in caring how balls feel.

   But as of early Saturday morning it appears  the league is getting near the end of it's investigation and that we soon will know the real story behind the deflated balls. The following is taken from the Daily Beast on 1/23....... 

  

        Early evidence has concluded that the New England Patriots used underinflated footballs during Sunday’s AFC Championship victory, though it’s still unclear whether the balls were intentionally deflated (or if the Pats knew). “While the evidence thus far supports the conclusion that footballs that were underinflated were used by the Patriots in the first half,” the NFL said in a statement Friday, “the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the game to have remained properly inflated.” The NFL said the goal of its “investigation will be to determine… whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action.” The league said at least 40 interviews have been conducted and video evidence collected. 

   
    (Now I do believe that report speaks for itself and clears things up nicely.)

   And for the NFL, if nothing else, the discussion of deflated or as the article describes them as underinflated balls, takes the focus off the mishandling of other more important issues facing this league and other major league sports. But then again, we do love our games and are often willing to overlook or forget those issues we don't want to remember.

    Underinflated balls will probably not prevent me from watching the game next week as I already have my snacks ready for the game, but I do wonder what will be the next major “scandal”? Perhaps it will be overinflated egos?

By the way.....the spell check on my computer does not recognize the word 'underinflated'. If the word isn't included in a spell check, is it a real thing? Draw your own conclusion.     :)

This ain't your grandfather's second grade class any more........

   As I walked from the living room to the kitchen the other day I passed  by the television. Much of the time the television is turned on just to provide background noise and sometimes entertain the dog, but this particular report caught my attention.

   The news was reporting on the number of schools that are dropping recess for students during the school day. Favorite time of the  day? As a kid... you bet. As a classroom teacher, it was a good break and a time for  kids to get rid of some of that built up energy after all those math problems. But  eliminate recess? Was it now considered unsafe, unhealthy, discriminatory? I pulled up a chair to listen.

   Schools are beginning to eliminate recess because it takes too much instructional time out of the day for more important subjects. It's a waste of valuable teaching time.

   The  broadcast went on to discuss the impact “The Common Core” is having on what is being taught in the classroom, the new expectations of what students need to learn and know for the remainder of the 21^st century. Teachers and schools are finding there is just not enough time each day to 'get the job done.' The obvious solution, do away with some of the 'time wasters' in the school day, one being recess. Could lunch be next?
   The history and development of “The Common Core” is not something that dates back hundreds of years although I think  deep down inside we all know what we should know, a common core of values that should be learned. This new  "Common Core had it's formal conception a few years ago. But it is an issue with strong political agendas and we know what happens when politicians  gets involved in issues and making decisions. It stirs up the 'pot of emotion.' But that may be a  topic for another day.

   I spent a major part of my working life in the field of education, dedicating my career to insure that the next generation would have the skills, the knowledge and training to take society to the next level, whatever that level was to be. But I must confess there were times that I felt that what we were trying to do or achieve... it was almost like driving a car down a highway, except that we were driving the car in reverse to get ahead, trying to move forward but constantly looking back in the rear view mirror.

   American public education is rich with history and traditions. It's goal has always been to provide some level of learning, open and available to anyone  who wanted to take advantage in order to create a better society. With its beginnings in the tiny one room school houses scattered across the country to where we have evolved today, public education set out on task to make this country a better place and one only needs to look at the famous people, political and business leaders, the doctors. scientists and teachers to measure its success, remembering. too, that success is not always measured by fame. But, one  also needs to look at the  failures and struggles  as well in order to understand the mistakes that were made.

   But American education has also become the  great “gate keeper,'” an institution and structure reluctant to change. Some often describe it as 'not stepping out of the box'. And there in lies a great  irony,  "resistance to change". Isn't that what education is all about, the ability to learn, change and grow?

   For example, most students are requires to attend school each year for 175 day, give or take a few days. But do all students learn the same amount of knowledge in that 175 days. What we do know is that some of us take a bit longer to learn than others, yet the expectation for each student is the same, get it in 175 or else.

   For many, the school day begins around 8 AM and ends shortly after 2:30 PM. Recent research shows that high school students are more successful if the day and classes begin around 9:00 in the morning, a bit more sleep. But that schedule would effect the after school activities, the basketball and soccer practices and all the other things teenagers  do after school.

   Originally, if my memory serves me, the school calendar was based upon an agricultural calendar. After the harvest in the Fall and before the Spring planting seemed like a good time to spend in school. There was nothing else to do in the winter months except annoy parents until Christmas anyhow. Late Spring, Summer and early Fall were busy times on the farm and everyone was needed to pitch in and help. Attending school stopped in the summer. Even to this day, there are school districts that shut down in the Fall for a week or two because of the potato harvest. Yet how many kids today help with the harvest. Is it just the continuation of a time honored tradition?

   What I think and hope people are beginning to realize and discover is that with all this new knowledge  that needs to be learned, schools can not operate as they have in the past. Perhaps for some it is a year around activity, of course with a few vacations included. (That does not  mean making all schools charter schools designed 'for profit' as some are proposing.) The world is demanding new standards, new expectations for what kids need to know and perhaps it is time to 'jump out of the box' and be willing to try some new and innovative approaches.

   But... One more thought here. It takes time for ' meaningful change' to occur. In the past we have been too quick to not give “change” a chance. As an institution, 'public education' is often criticized because we start something new and if we don't see immediate results we quickly give up and move on to the next 'new' thing. How many mathematics and reading programs have your children been exposed to in the last ten years?

   I did not attend a one room school, although there are some who may think I may be that old. My second grade classroom with Mrs Graham, the teacher, was very different from the second grade class my grandchildren attended just several years ago. I can only image what the second grade classrooms will look like twenty years from now.

   I know the political debates will continue as to what should be taught, when it should be taught and who should teach it. I  do believe the discussion is a healthy one though and needs to be ongoing. But to drop recess? Come on! It was my favorite time of the day.


PS. If you doubt the importance of a free and open educational system, one only needs to take a look at countries and areas of the world under siege from radicals and terrorists. The first thing they do? Close down the schools. Sounds a bit like history repeating itself, don't you think?  

AAAAA......(Don't worry. Your eyes are fine)

   I was recently part of a discussion in which, for the most part, I had no clue what was being said. Now for me, that might not be that unusual and there will be some who will agree. But in this particular situation, I was somewhat, or I thought I was, familiar with the topic and the subject matter. But the person leading the discussion used so many abbreviations and shortened terms in his presentation it was difficult to follow and understand. In his speech he had forgotten one very important thing, his audience. Many in the room, including myself, needed a dictionary of terms and abbreviations to understand what he was trying to tell us. We were not familiar with all the acronyms, abbreviations and shortcuts.

   Several months ago, with a new cell phone in hand, I ventured into the world of texting and sending messages via my phone and I wrote a blog about the 'new' language and the spelling of words that was quickly taking over the world. One year later, I still often have difficulty understanding some of the messages sent to me, but I'm catching on thanks to an understanding granddaughter.

   Acronyms are a bit different than many of the texting shortcuts and have been used a long time, or so I am told.

   According to Wikipedia, and who would ever doubt Wikipedia, an acronym “is an abbreviation formed from the initial components of a word or phrase.” OMG! The definition goes on to say that while abbreviations for words and phrases have been used for many years, the 20^th century has seen a dramatic rise in their use as we look to find ways to shorten our speech and writing. But does it shorten our understanding?

So let me send you a brief memo..............

To all staff,

The ETS and the HO will be conducting a TBA over the next several months. SV's, AC's and AA's will be assigned a specific ICT during this time. On the forms provide to you, be sure to include your MOB and your HOTs that you generally perform each day.

After you have completed your individual TBA, be sure to E-File the results on the appropriate AIF immediately to your SV.

Thank you for your cooperation, understanding and participation in this very important job assignment study.

FM

   Out of the context from the business or industry from which these acronyms came, you might have no idea what was taking place or what an employee was being asked to do. Even if you work within this group you still might not know.

   I was not surprised to recently learn that in many organizations new employees are given, in addition to all the other paperwork the fill out a sign, a copy of the “The Company Guide to Abbreviations ” in order to help and assist in learning to understand the business language, terms and jargon. And how do I know this? I was given one of those guides at my recent orientation.

   Abbreviation and acronyms have been around for many years. Some are quite funny.

   For example....AAAAA (see blog title) is the American Association Against Acronym Abuse. If you happen to see AATO , know that Acronyms Are Taking Over. If you thought that ABC was a television channel, you might be partially correct. ABC......A Boring Channel. Everyone knows about FAQ's, And maybe with April 1 just around the corner, you may want to think about pulling off an AFJ, April Fool's Joke.

   As the world continues to change, as we move forward toward a total butchering of language and communication, I envision a society where we do very little speaking or writing in full or complete sentences or thoughts, where correct spelling was something taught by Mrs. Graham back in the second grade, rest her soul, and junior high English, where we learned that a sentence must have a subject and verb. What's a subject and verb anyway? Are these  just a distant memory of a missed ALO (a learning opportunity).

   I have come to the conclusion there is a transition taking place. With the increasing use of texting, once easy and understandable abbreviations such as IBM or AT&T are being replaced with a new language and unless someone publishes the 'U.S. Guide to Abbreviations for the Common Citizen,' we may never truly understand what each other is trying to say.... to each other. (Poor subject-verb agreement there.)

   And about that FAQ? We all know that is an acronym for 'frequently asked questions.' So my most frequently asked question is quickly becoming....”What did the memo just say? Did I forgot to submit my QCB on time! What's a QCB?”
  I guess over time I'll start to figure all this out.  UNT........be safe!

Full and fair disclosure... The memo included in the blog was not a real  memo. The acronyms are, however.

Sitting by a warm fire in a comfy chair....

   Sitting comfortably in an overstuffed chair next to a roaring pellet stove with my computer in my lap, thus the name 'laptop' I would assume, I am surfing the web, checking up on the latest news, sports scores and other somewhat meaningless pieces of information.

  A very quiet “ding” tells me that someone has just sent me an email or posted something to my Facebook page. Most of the time the instant communication we now have with others, with the world, allows us to react and respond at our own pace, in our own time. Should I look now or wait until later? What if it's something important? What would I have done twenty years ago before computers or email. I think I'll wait and look a bit later.

While on my 'surfing expedition', I found several pages of 'best life quotes” and sayings, not necessarily by famous people, many from just ordinary, common folks like you and me.

As I scrolled down through the list I found some to entertaining, humorous, serious and the…."I could have said that" type. Here are several examples:

“Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go,
be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and
one chance to do all the things you want to do.” (anonymous)

Someone looking for ideas for a New Year's resolution may want to consider this one. "Dream what you want to be..." But for many of us, there are times when it difficult to take that first step. We are afraid to fail.

"Don't be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” (anonymous)

Society has done a great job of creating a cultural belief that 'failure' is a bad thing or that winning is all that really matters. A failing grade on a report card often results in restriction to the use of the television, or taking away the cell phone or shutting down the Facebook page, with the intent of teaching a lesson, to work harder. But the result is often an increased fear in trying something new, taking on a new challenge for fear of failure.

    If Christopher Columbus had been afraid of sailing across the ocean because of a fear of failure, of not keeping his promise to the find new sailing routes to the Far East, how many more years might it have taken before the discovery of a new part of the world.(Speaking of Columbus, aren't there some Columbus Day Sales coming up soon.)

   One of my favorite 'life quotes' has to do with open and closed doors.

   “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.” (Alexander Graham Bell)
   
   Personally, I have had my share of doors closed in front of me, most recently in my attempt to get people to take part in a health study survey sponsored by one of the government agencies in Washington D.C. In some cases, I was also told to get off the porch and never come back again.

   Now, I add that as a bit of humor, but  in reality how often have had what we thought was going to be a 'golden opportunity' placed before us, only to have it swiftly taken away and we spent too much time focusing on the closed door, what we thought we lost, we didn't see the new one open  right next to it.

   (I find it interesting this quote credited to Alexander Graham Bell, focusing on open and closed doors and not the possibility of cell phone in the future. But back then, who knew.)

   One of the all time 'sages' of life lessons was Dr. Seuss and without a doubt his wisdom and perspective on the world is missed. One of my favorites …....

   “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” (Dr Seuss)

   …...may have more meaning today that it did years ago. How many of us pretend to be someone we are not for the sake of trying to impress others? Now if you are trying to get a date with an attractive young lady or handsome young man, that's one thing. But what politician or leader has not said things, made statements, to get the vote, when in reality it is not really what they meant to say or reflect upon who they really are as a person? At what cost are they willing to sell their soul to the devil?

   As I get older, I hope I get wiser, learn from previous mistake, but always knowing I may make new ones. Making mistakes is often how we learn. But it is way to easy to get stuck in the past, reliving the memories, both the good ones and the bad.

   “I've learned that things change, people change, and it doesn't mean you forget the past or try to cover it up. It simply means that you move on and treasure the memories. Letting go doesn't mean giving up... it means accepting that some things weren't meant to be." (Lisa Brooks)

   But the time has come to add a bit of humor and lightheartedness so, from an unknown source, I close with the following thoughts about success...............

“At age 4 success is not peeing in your pant
At age 12 success is having friends.
At age 16 success is having a drivers license.
At age 20 success is having sex.
At age 35 success is having money.
At age 50 success is having money.
At age 60 success is having sex.
At age 70 success is having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is having friends.
At age 80 success is not peeing in your pants!” 

                                   

                     
For a complete listing of  thousands of  "life sayings and thoughts", you can visit the Best Life Quotes website.              

There are some days when......

   There are some days when, after just a few short minutes, you know that it might be better to go back to bed and start over. No, however, this is not going to be your typical..."you know you are having a bad day when".....posting.

   After discovering that  I forgot to buy coffee on my last trip to the grocery store or forgot to press the 'wash' button on the dish washer before going to bed, I began to wonder what other surprises the day had in store for me. (There were a few old tea bags in the cupboard, but tea just doesn't have the same morning 'kick' as coffee does for me, but...sometimes you make do with what you have.)

   After a brief visual scan of the yard, I finally found the morning newspaper sitting in a puddle of water at the end of the driveway, only this time the delivery person had not put the neatly folded newspaper in a plastic wrapper and the paper was too wet to even think about spreading out to dry. Not the worse thing in the world. I can always catch the news on television.

   Speaking of television, it appears the cable service in not working this morning, so.... no TV, internet or telephone service. Is this some foreign 'rogue' country at work again and is that a mullet haircut he has ?  There is always my cell phone, which, by the way. I forgot to plug into the charger last night. But then there are some days when it might not be a bad thing to be isolated from the rest of the world for an hour or two.

   No news, no phone, no connection to the outside world! A bowl of cereal would be great. Plenty of cereal, but why is the milk a funny color and have a strange odor? Guess I had better add milk to the list along with the coffee I need to buy tomorrow.

   Sticking with breakfast cereal for a moment. I usually put my cereal in the bowl and then add the milk and it blends together quite well. Pour the milk in the bowl first and then add the cereal and it just seems to float on top. Wonder what scientific principle that is? Probably worth a national study....”Why does the cereal float on a bowl of milk?”

   It's raining pretty hard at the moment and I can't get the dog to go outside and besides, my raincoat is in the trunk of the car, which is parked, not in the garage, but in the driveway. I thought I would be smart and, knowing it was going to rain, leave the car outside and let the rain wash off some of the dirt and sand. Did I mention the temperature was 29 degrees and the car was now encased in ice? Well, at least it's nice and shiny.

   My plan was to spend a bit of time on the road today, trying to track down some of the people I hoped would participate in one of the national research studies I am working on, but with slick and icy roads, I think I'll wait until the weather clears and the ice melts. Who wants to have someone knocking on their door on a cold and rainy day? Who wants to have someone knocking on the door 'from the government' on any day? So, this might be a good time to finish up on a couple of projects around the house.

   No clean paint brushes, not enough paint and the sandpaper is pretty well worn smooth. Time to shift to plan B. Clean out the pellet stove. Plug in the vacuum, flip the switch and the room instantly fills with a cloud of black pellet dust. Even the dog runs to another room. Well, at least now I really have something to do! Where are those little blue colored dust collector thingies?

   By mid morning, I had decided that it had not been one of my most productive days, except to clean the living room, and although there had been no major or catastrophic events to slow me down, like a flat tire or the car running out of gas on the interstate or a tree falling through the roof or those other  "you know you're having a bad day events", sometimes there are just some days when it makes sense to roll over, go back to sleep for a few minutes and start over. Maybe by the time I get up the  internet and cable service will be back up and running.

   P.S. For those who thought I might post my annual list of New Year's resolutions, which by the way I very rarely ever keep, that may or may not be for a future edition. However, making sure there is a enough coffee in the house, that the milk in the refrigerator is well under the 'sell by' date and that I park the car in the garage when there is an ice storm might be a pretty good start to some simple, common, everyday resolutions. One more. Clean the paint brushes each time  after using.

                                                     Happy New Year

Of course there's a reason to celebrate............

   Christmas is just around the corner and a new year less than two weeks away now. This alone should and could be cause for celebration. But today, December 21, is a special day too. For those not sure, it is the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

   Each day I watch the weather forecast, primarily to see if I will need a raincoat or thermal underwear or maybe both. But there is one statistic that always draws my attention however....the hours of daylight and the amount of the decrease of sunlight each day since June. As of today, it's eight hours and forty seven minutes of daylight with a decrease of six hours and fifty one minutes of sun light from June. That is when the sun is actually shining. The sun is something we have not seen for many days now, making the dark and gloomy days seem to blend seamlessly into the night.

   The shortest day of the year, or the winter solstice as it is astronomically known. marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere, while those south of the Equator enjoy basking in the sunshine and playing beach volleyball with warm sunny days and  starlit nights. Now all of this shortness and 'longness' has a scientific explanation, the tipping of the earth's axis and orbits around the sun. But that explanation is for another day.

   Winter solstice should not be confused with the first day of winter. The solstice is actually just a moment in time, like many things in life , sometime around 11:00 AM I think. And the first day of winter this year? Let's try the snowstorm of November 3!

   The winter solstice has a long history of importance. In addition to being a time of seasonal change, it was often seen as a time of warning and a reminder to communities of the coming months of possible starvation. In many of the colder locations the months of January to April were known as the 'famine' months.

   On a more positive note, many early cultures recognized the winter solstice as a time for celebration, of rebirth, of festivals and for holiday gatherings. It was also a time when much of the wine, prepared and bottled in late summer was now ready for drinking. Let's party.

   The time from mid to late November to early April is a time of early sunsets and late sunrises. Recently is seems there have been very few sunrises due to the stormy weather plaguing the Northeast. Being the hearty stock we are, we know this, too, will pass and that the sun will eventually shine again. And if not, perhaps we can contact our local legislators to submit legislation about increasing the amount of sunshine each day. Maybe the Governor could help too.

   For those really curious, the shortest day of the year does not always fall on December 21, the result of the earth's trip around the sun and other factors, but that gets too complicated for me to explain here. I'll stick with December 21.

   But now the countdown begins. With each new day it starts with only a few seconds, but soon minutes will be added to the amount of daylight. And, as if on cue, the seed catalogs will begin to arrive in the mail and Kohl's and Target will begin their swimsuit and beachwear advertisements.

   As the sun moves higher into the sky and the once lengthy shadows cast from the low winter sun begin to shrink, it will be time to start up the lawn mower, sweep the leftover sand and salt from the driveway, clean up the yard after the dog and take the car to the car wash.

   For sure, Christmas and New Years are great times to celebrate with family and friends. But let's not forget to celebrate, not the shortest day of the year, but what will soon follow, even if it's only one or two minutes each day.