Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. I love that declaration used by Mr. Rogers at each and every beginning of his children's show. What a great way to begin each day, especially when you're a child. Both of my boys watched Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and Sesame Street. Jay was strictly a Sesame Street kid - high energy, stimulating content with lot's of emphasis on classical preparatory learning. Eric, on the other hand, was exclusively a Mr. Roger's kinda guy. Mr. Roger's was soft, gentle, and kind. His learning style was laid back and focused on the things that made a person a good human being. I loved to watch the shows with the boys and always marveled at the wonder in their eyes as we watched. It sure beat the shows I watched as a child. Mr. Green Jeans wasn't bad, but Nurse Nancy was dismal, and the cartoons were sometimes more for the adults that the children. I did get a kick out of watching my Dad break out in laughter at scenes from the Road Runner. I think he amused me more than the actual show. My Dad was a great laugher. He had all different styles of laugh depending on the situation. It was almost as though the laugh itself indicated what type of funny was being elicited.

The sun feels so good coming in through the window. I love sitting in front of the windows looking out on the backyard. In the winter months, I can see a lot of the Pinion Hills and the position of the sun's rising is quite dramatic if you follow it over a horizon during the seasons. Even the moon's appearance in the evenings is interesting to follow. We can turn off all the lights in the house and sit at the window and watch it come up behind the leafless winter trees. When our boys were little and we lived out on our acre in Johnson Lane, we would get our lawn chairs and sit in the back of the pick up truck in the driveway and watch the moon rise over Mount Seagle off to the east. Even the dog would join us. We must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies! Those were the days - I'd do them all over again if I could.