Memento

Over the last few months while Mommy B and I have created this blog, we had an idea to save all our posts and when the time was right, publish them and turn them into a storybook that we could give to Alli as a gift when she was old enough to appreciate it. She could read about the trials and tribulations that her parents went through raising their first child. She would be able to read about how the "big moments" thus far in her life affected her parents and how we felt about them.

Well, I had a thought today that I decided I had to act upon. This blog should not only be a conduit for All Things Alli, but also serve as a time capsule for her later on. She could catch a glimpse into her first night home from the hospital, her first night sleeping all the way through, her first tooth, her first steps (coming soon probably), etc., etc. Just like opening a newspaper that you had tucked away in your basement (sorry fellow Southerners - a basement is an open space under your house that is under ground) for a few years, you think back to how you felt when those events took place. Even though she's too young at the moment to remember much about what's going on around her, she would be able to read about "how things were" at the time.

Well, here's how it was...
~ May 2nd, 2011 - President Barak Obama announced that a small group of Navy SEALS tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind behind the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York City on September 11th, 2001. Over the last 10 years, his face has embodied all that is scary and evil in the world. Mommy B and I remember that day very clearly - I turned on the TV in my senior year Physics class just in time to see the second plane crash into the second building. After class change, I watched from History class (ironic, yeah?) as the buildings collapsed and people went running for their lives.

At the time, terrorists around the world celebrated the fact that someone was able to infiltrate the good ol' U.S. of A. and bring us to our knees. They rejoiced at the fact that a small group of bearded men were able to execute such an attack on a way of life they so despised. His death marked the end of a 10-year manhunt that spanned multiple countries on the other side of the world. As the news broke about bin Laden's death, young people all over the country poured into the streets to celebrate. While no amount of retaliation will make up for the innocent lives that were lost that day, our country can find solace in the fact that a small group of (likely clean-shaven) men were able to execute such an attack on a way of life they so despised. In my opinion - bad guy is dead. Time to celebrate. Loudly.

~ The average price of unleaded regular gasoline costs $3.98. I remember when I got my driver's license and gas had just broke $1 a gallon. Gas stations around the country had to fix their signs because they never anticipated gas would cost more than $1 a gallon. This time last year it was just over $2.50 a gallon. Tensions in the Middle East and Northern Africa (over lord knows what now) and switching from winter- to summer-blend gasoline has been cited for the sharp increase in fuel prices. My opinion, it's a crock...

~ The National Football League is still in the midst of its first work stoppage since 1987. The owners want more money and more games, the players want more benefits and the same amount of games. It's a bunch of jewelry rattling by people that want more jewelry. A recent study on a deceased former player's brain revealed that he had developed early signs of brain damage due to multiple concussions and repeated blows to the head over the course of his football career. Doctors believe that many of the symptoms he begin experiencing lately had likely led to his suicide. More games, eh? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea...

~ Meanwhile, Alli is so close to crawling it's not even funny. She has the strength to do it, she just hasn't put all the movements together quite yet. We can tell that when she sees something she wants, she tries with everything she has to scoot over to get it... but just hasn't put all the pieces together in the right order to get there. She is able to roll over like nobody's business (which basically constitutes her movements these days), but is about to crawl away for good.

Hopefully she will look back on this blog and appreciate all the "big moments" of her early childhood and the effect they had on her parents.. While she may not remember them first-hand like we will, she'll be able to look back and see what it was like for her parents raising their first-born child. And just like opening an old newspaper, she'll be able to really see "how things were" back then.