Lionel Messi – quote on work
9
09, 2026
7
09, 2026
Happy Labor Day!
Today is Labor Day, as I’m sure we all know. It seems late. Blame the calendar. This year, September started on a Tuesday, which pushed the first Monday to the 7th.
New York City celebrated the first Labor Day on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, following the plans of the Central Labor Union. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1894, it became an official federal holiday celebrated with parades and speeches.
These days there aren’t many speeches or parades.
Most of us think of Labor Day as the end of summer and celebrate with cookouts instead. We forget what the day is truly about — honoring the workers of America.
Maybe as you celebrate today, pause and say thank you to all the workers.
HAPPY LABOR DAY!
13
07, 2026
Patriotism and The World Cup
The American Crisis is a collection of articles and essays written by Thomas Paine during the American Revolutionary War. Those essays provided ongoing support for an independent and self-governing America through the many severe crises of that war.
I’m a military brat and an Army officer’s wife. I grew up on posts where Reveille, Retreat, and Taps played.
I vividly remember hearing Retreat sounded at the end of the day when we lived on post. If I were outside, I would get out of my car and place my hand over my heart with pride. Hearing Taps played at military funerals brings the same feelings. So does singing the national anthem.
The lack of patriotism today feels like a Thomas Paine crisis to me and makes me sad.
The World Cup coverage highlighted so many of the positive things now taken for granted. Reels and reels on social media were posted by over 1.5 million people who came to our country en masse and experienced the U.S. for the first time. They experienced our countryside, food, citizens, and freedoms up close and were amazed.
The visitors’ comments on social media were a poignant reminder of what we have that others don’t and what we take for granted.
“You have so much to see, do, and eat.”
“There are free refills here…and air conditioning!”
They were shocked to discover the United States is so different from how it’s depicted on social media.
“OMG, you’re actually nice, generous people, …”
Our international World Cup visitors held up a looking glass, showing us everything we take for granted.
Maybe it’s time to sit back and think about what our visitors saw and felt—to internalize the freedoms we earned in the Revolutionary War and be proud of our country.
Personally, watching the reaction of our visitors, I’ve regained a new appreciation for my life and all my creature comforts. Shouldn’t we all do the same?
Please, this isn’t about politics or the games themselves, so any of those comments will be removed.
4
07, 2026
Happy Birthday, U.S.A.
Today is the Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941.
Every year, celebrations include fireworks, parades, concerts, casual family gatherings, and barbecues.
This year, Freedom 250 events began on Memorial Day and will continue through December 2026. Check out this list of Key 2026 Dates, Locations, Events, and Celebrations from Newsweek.
- May 15: Virginia’s Independence 250th (Williamsburg, Virginia)
- May-July: Sail250 Tall Ships (Gulf Coast to Boston)
- June 14: National Flag Day (Americans nationwide encouraged to fly the U.S. flag to honor its adoption in 1777)
- July 4: National Independence Day with parades, fireworks, and the burial of a national time capsule in the Independence Mall in Philadelphia
- July 5: America’s Potluck—community picnics nationwide
- Nov 11: Veterans Day Commemoration (Washington, D.C.)
- Dec 25: Washington’s Crossing Reenactment (Pennsylvania and New Jersey)
Happy 250th Birthday, America!
Readers, be safe and enjoy your birthday celebrations today…
And as you celebrate, don’t forget to give thanks for the brave men and women in uniform who are serving on foreign soil. Pray for their safety as they do their jobs to ensure our continued freedom.
22
06, 2026
Summer’s Arrived
Summer officially arrived yesterday.
Of course, if you judge by the ninety-degree temperatures we’ve been having, it’s been here since May.
Each day forward, we will head to bed later as dawn comes earlier, long days, late sunsets, and short nights begin.
Yesterday, the sun reached its highest point, signaling the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, south of the equator, winter begins.
The summer solstice has been around since the world began. Ancient cultures recognized that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted regularly throughout the year.
Stonehenge stands as a testament to their knowledge. The summer solstice sun rises directly above the heel stone at Stonehenge.
Psychologists have long suspected a link between our level of happiness and the amount of sunlight in the day.
Studies show that what truly mattered was not the absolute amount of daylight but the relative change in that daylight. Or was the day longer or shorter than the day that came before?
When the change in daylight was positive, as the summer solstice approached, people reported significantly greater positive effects than when the change was negative, i.e., approaching the winter solstice, when days are short and dark. No surprise there!
Not only was yesterday the longest day of the year, but it was also Father’s Day. We had the longest day of the year to celebrate the dads, grandfathers, and father figures who shape our lives with strength, love, and quiet dedication,
That won’t happen again until 2037. Father’s Day date changes because the holiday is anchored to a weekday rule, not a calendar number: the third Sunday in June, every year, without exception. Same as Mother’s Day.
Now that summer is officially here, it will last 93 long days, 15 hours, and 40 minutes and end on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 8:05 PM EDT.
Some are happy.
Some of us, not so much.
15
06, 2026
What is Flag Day?
On June 14, we celebrate the official adoption date of our national flag. During the Revolutionary War, each colony had its own flag with various symbols—rattlesnakes, pine trees, and eagles—and slogans like “Don’t Tread on Me,” “Liberty or Death,” and “Conquer or Die.”
The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution of 1777, which named the Stars and Stripes as the official American flag. The official announcement of the new flag was made on Sept. 3, 1777.
On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson made the observance of Flag Day official by a presidential proclamation.
Who designed our flag?
Although many people believe that Betsy Ross designed and sewed that first flag, there is no true proof. Betsy Ross did make ensigns and pennants for the Philadelphia Navy during the war, and she likely inspired the design of the current flag.
Based on colonial folklore, the American flag was first flown in battle during the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge in 1777. But we don’t know that for sure. We do know:
- The first flag designs arranged the 13 stars in a circle, depicting the equality of all the colonies.
- In 1818, the United States Congress decided to keep the flag’s original 13 stripes and add new stars to reflect each new state that entered the union.
The current design was created in 1958 by a high school student named Bob G. Heft, who sent a flag design that included five rows of six stars and four rows of five stars to the White House. To his surprise, President Eisenhower called him. His design is what we fly today.
June 14 is not an official federal holiday, but many fly their flags, and towns and cities hold parades and events to celebrate.
Why Red, White, and Blue?
The Continental Congress gave no reason for its choice of colors. But, in 1782, the Congress of the Articles of Confederation chose those same colors for the Great Seal of the United States:
- white for purity and innocence
- red for valor and hardiness
- blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice
Flying the flag
In 1942, the United States Flag Code (4 U.S.C. §§ 5–10) set up a uniform standard for the respect and display of the American Flag. It is a guide to proper etiquette rather than a set of laws carrying penalties. Read the full code here: https://nationalflagfoundation.org/us-flag-code/
There are eleven places where the flag flies around the clock:
- The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia
- The White House
- The U.S. Capitol
- The Iwo Jima Memorial to U.S. Marines in Arlington, Virginia
- The Revolutionary War battleground in Lexington, Massachusetts
- The site of George Washington’s winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
- Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland
- The Jenny Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (she was the only civilian killed in the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War)
- The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
- All customs points of entry into the United States
- Any US Navy ship that is underway
How to fold the flag
Old Glory is folded into a small triangle made of 13 folds. Each fold has a special meaning and symbolism. The first fold is life, while the third honors the veteran who has departed, and the fifth is a tribute to our country.
27
05, 2026
25
05, 2026
MEMORIAL DAY and a Wedding Anniversary
Today is Memorial Day, a day established for reflection and remembrance of those who died while serving in the U.S. military.
From 1868 to 1970, the official date for the holiday was May 30, whichever weekday it fell on, not the fourth Monday of the month. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which passed in 1968, created three-day holidays. In 1971, Memorial Day began being celebrated on the last Monday in May.
There’s a reason I remember those obscure facts.
Many, many years ago, my husband and I chose Memorial Day for our wedding ceremony. For years, we celebrated the holiday along with our wedding anniversary. Not anymore, because now Memorial Day changes its date. Our anniversary doesn’t.
Why did we pick that date? Back then, we were financially strapped college students. Time off from work for a honeymoon was out of the question.
That particular year, Memorial Day, aka May 30th, fell on a Thursday, which meant we only had to take one unpaid day off work to prepare for our wedding.
To save more expense, I wore my mother’s wedding dress, which she’d worn twenty-five years earlier.
My mother is in the dress in the picture on the top left.
I’m in the picture below her, wearing the dress with an altered neckline and a let-out hem.
The larger picture is our daughter in the same dress for her wedding, twenty-five years later. We added lace to the hemline and around the neck.
Otherwise, the dress, made by my grandmother from imported French Alençon lace, is exactly as it was when my mother wore it. Now safely stored in my mother’s cedar hope chest.
Memorial Day was set up to mourn and honor our nation’s fallen service members. It’s evolved into the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.
Today will be filled with happy thoughts of our wedding, coupled with deep sadness for friends and family we’ve lost in military service. There are so many families out there that don’t have loved ones around to celebrate their wedding anniversaries with.
Join me at 3 p.m. for the National Moment of Remembrance to give them some silence, to say a little prayer, and acknowledge their ultimate sacrifice.
11
05, 2026
Celebrating Mothers
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. The day set aside to honor mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.
For many, it was a happy day, spent surrounded by family. For others, the day was probably not so fun. Some of our mothers are no longer with us.
Where did the idea to honor motherhood come from?
Its roots lie in the British Mothering Day, which disappeared when the English settlers came to America.
Then, in 1870, Julia Ward Howe, author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, conceptualized the idea of Mother’s Day in her Proclamation of 1870. Read the poem here.
In 1872, Ms. Howe suggested a “Mother’s Day for Peace” celebration on June 2 of every year. Only a few states bought into Howe’s idea, and eventually the movement died.
However, a West Virginia women’s group headed by Anna Reeves Jarvis adapted Howe’s holiday to be a day set aside to reunite families and neighbors divided by the Civil War.
That Jarvis’s Mother’s Friendship Day evolved into Mother’s Day. And, as they say, the rest is history.
If you forgot to acknowledge Mom yesterday, do it today. She’ll be thrilled to hear from you, no matter what day it is.
3
03, 2026
The Season of Lent
The 2026 Lenten season began on February 17th, with pancakes served on Mardi Gras (also called Fat Tuesday), signaling the last day of consuming rich, fatty foods and red meat before Lent officially began on Ash Wednesday.
Lent is a subject of confusion for some and a cherished tradition for others. Merriam-Webster tells us Lent is “40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter, observed by penitence and fasting and considered a means of preparation for Easter.”
If the season of Lent is not part of your experience, a closer look at what it is and what happens may help.
There is no biblical mandate for Lent. However, the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE formalized the period of preparation for Easter to echo the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan before beginning his public ministry, as found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Ash Wednesday was originally a time of penance for sinners who were excluded from Holy Communion and seeking restoration. They wore sackcloth and ashes as a sign of public penitence. Today, the custom is to receive ashes in the form of a cross on the forehead or sprinkled over the head.
Fasting, also practiced during Lent, is a biblical practice. Traditionally, Lent fasting involves limiting meals and abstaining from certain foods.
For most denominations that observe Lent, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are formal fasting days, while the Fridays during Lent are meatless days. In earlier times, Lent fasting meant one main meal a day and strict observance of limited eggs or dairy.
Today, many people practice “giving up” something for Lent, like chocolate or social media, as a reminder of the season.
The last week of Lent is Holy Week. It begins with Palm Sunday and follows the New Testament narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday and the joyful celebration of His Resurrection three days later, Easter Sunday.
Some denominations acknowledge Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
- The Maundy Thursday services recognize The Last Supper, where Jesus ate with his disciples before his trial and crucifixion.
- On Good Friday, some celebrate by not eating all day. Others by a partial fast. Many churches hold special church services.
The season of Lent ends with Easter Vigil at sundown on Holy Saturday with prayers through the night. Other churches hold sunrise services on Easter Sunday morning, which include open-air celebrations in some places.
During Lent, crucifixes, religious statues that show the triumphant Christ, and other elaborate religious symbols are veiled. The custom of veiling is typically practiced from Passion Sunday until Good Friday.
Overall, Lent is a time for self-reflection, emphasizing the three pillars of Lent:
prayer
fasting
giving
Lent doesn’t fall on the same dates each year because, like Easter Sunday, it is tied to the calendar and the Moon rather than a fixed day. Easter itself is determined by the lunar cycle, following the Paschal Full Moon in spring.
The English word Lent is a shortened form of the Old English word lencten, meaning “spring season,” and the first day of Spring does fall during Lent this year. So if you don’t follow the Lent tradition, you can always celebrate the end of winter.