Red, white and blue

America is the promise of choices and chances. It is not the guarantee of riches or glory but rather the opportunity to succeed or fail by the sweat of our own brow. America has always been the Land of Promise.

Whoops, I had my camera on the wrong setting! Darn it!

I overheard my brother making a comment to one of my kids about dreams not really coming true. He's right, dreams don't come true- unless you work towards them with dedication and perseverance. It is not enough to have a dream. One must be willing to start at the first step at the bottom of a ladder in order to make it to the top. It brought a song to mind from the sound of music "Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, 'till you find your dream." Well guess what, mountains are hard to climb and steams cam be muddy and slick. I have tried to chase rainbows in Hawaii and that ain't easy either. Making a dream come true takes more than a thought in your head. It takes hard work, dedication and some times a little blood sweat and tears.

Not that my brother is this way, but I started thinking about all the people I know who want something for nothing. They want to know how much they can get for the most minimal amount of effort. The catch is that sometimes handouts, no matter how good, aren't always thoroughly appreciated. I just want to remind myself that anything worth having is worth working hard for. Not only that, but the harder we work for something, the more we appreciate it.

Happy Fourth of July!!!