Dana Daily

Kids are back in school. I get stuck behind school buses before and after work. The weather is changing. Days heat up nicely, but mornings and evenings are chilly. Daylight is gone before 8:45pm . Oh how I miss the long summer days. Summer is over. For all intents and purposes, Fall has arrived. Not to worry though, I have lots of fun things planned for the girls and I. Here are some clues:

I wasted no time in crossing Item #1 from my list :

Sarah's first day of school was actually only 2 hours. The Ready-K class is split into 2 rooms and Sarah's teacher is Mrs. Patricca. I have to doublecheck tomorrow, but there didn't seem to be too many children in her class, around 10 maybe. While the students were getting acquainted with their teachers, classroom, and new friends, parents were invited to the cafeteria for an orientation session and refreshments. We received a packet of information and listened to school administrators and other parents talk about St. Ursula's. I'm sure as we settle into the school year it won't feel so overwhelming. Sarah's not required to wear a uniform, shares a locker with a little girl named Maggie, and has the option of buying a lunch every day, which would include strawberry flavored milk if she so chose (strawberry is her favorite). Following her 2 hours of Ready-K, I dropped her off at Little Achievers for one last hurrah with our beloved Miss Beth and Miss C...

In honor of this, my 34 th birthday, I am making a bucket list of things that I hope to accomplish over the next 365 days. Then, on my (gulp) 35 th birthday, from a beach location yet to be determined, I’ll see just how my year panned out. Look for updates in future blog entries. 34 Goals of my 34 th Year Buy a birthday cake for myself. And then lose 10lbs and keep it off. Visit an exhibit at the John Heinz History Center . Go to a hibachi restaurant. Graduate with a master’s degree from Chatham University . Take a ride on the incline. Visit the National Aviary in Pittsburgh . Go camping. Read a “classic” novel. Buy a house. Buy a new (or newer) car. Tour a Christmas lights display. Attend a concert. Travel to a state that I haven’t visited yet. Go to a waterpark. Explore someplace I haven’t been in Pennsylvania . Watch a musical on Broadway. Take a ride on the Gateway Clipper Fleet. Take a ride on the OC & T Rai...

Summer is winding down into Fall and the phrase "back-to-school" is everywhere. Even adults without kids have it on their minds because they know soon their commute will be slowed by lumbering school buses lacking any kind of get-up-and-go whatsoever. For those same adults, it also means that lunchtime at Chik-Fil-A will be a little less crowded and a little less noisy since only the under 5 set will show up with their soccer moms. Even though I have kids, I'm looking forward to that actually. I digress. With back-to-school comes new backpacks  new shoes and new haircuts We still need to buy a few items on the school supplies list, but we're just about ready. Good thing too, school starts next week on August 25.

I had a revelation recently. I've read several books lately, fiction, actually and for some reason I can see either myself or him (the one I refuse to call by name) or our relationship or at least the way we interact(ed). At first I thought, wow, this is amazing. Someone "gets" it. I can totally relate. Then it hit me. Like upside the head hit me. With a resounding SMACK. I'm not unique at all, nor is my situation. Happens to people all the time - which is why authors write about it and why people read it. And it's not just authors. Do you listen to country music? I mean really "listen" to it. Welcome to my life. Welcome to a lot of lives. Yep. I'm as ordinary as the next person. It's taken 13 months, but I'm over myself.

Living in the moment is something I've never been very good at.  Oh sure, in my day-to-day life I can enjoy "moments" of course. Like, for example, my kids playing happily together and listening to their conversations. It's cute. I love it. I think "how sweet" and sometimes I even blog about it. However, this is not the living in the moment that I'm talking about. I mean letting go of worrying about a future I can't control and thinking about a past that can't be changed. On some level I know it doesn't really  matter how I got here and it doesn't really matter where I'll be in 10 years. What matters is living in the now and making the most of the now. This seems to come more easily to some people than others. My sister and my mom, for example, were born with the "now" gene. You won't find either one of them fretting about what might happen two weeks from now or questioning every decision they've ever made. Nope...

The following came to me in an email and I thought it deserved some thought and consideration. I did rework the email a bit in this blog entry, but the theme and intent was not altered . Did you see Diane Sawyer's special report, "Made in America?" If not, check it out here . A fter removing all items from a typical, middle class family's home that were not made in the USA, there was hardly anything left besides the kitchen sink . L iterally . D uring the special they showed truckloads of items - USA made - being brought in to replace everything and talked about how to find these items and the differences in price etc . T he report indicated said that if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items this year, it would create something like 200,000 new jobs . O ne of my coworkers told me months ago that while she was grocery shopping at Walmart she noticed on a bag of frozen vegetables, I believe, that they were a product of China. It’s...

It's hard to believe we're in the last full month of summer, but no worries. Here is my Summertime Top 5, in no particular order. Summertime (Will Smith) Summer Girl (Leighton Meester) Six Pack Summer (Phil Vassar) Summer of '69 (Bryan Adams) Barefoot Blue Jean Night (Jake Owen)