All we are saying...is give peace a chance...

After talking to friends, seeing many status messages on myspace and facebook, and reading other friends' blogs...all I have to say about the election is this:

We have a new President Elect. As Americans, we need to come together and support him in all the hard times that he will face. He may not be the person you wanted to win, but he is the person that has been elected to run our country. Let's give him a chance. Let's let him take office before we judge him.

In other news, this past week has been very difficult emotionally. On Sunday, Mike's cousin celebrated her 14th birthday with family. Everything seemed fine and no one picked up on signals that she was unhappy. She went to bed that night, and apparently ran away sometime during the night or early hours of the morning. Mike and I went into complete panic mode when we heard that she had disappeared and was now missing. I frantically searched myspace thinking that if I could find her page, then I could at least talk to friends and see what has happened. There were so little details in the beginning that we all jumped to conclusions and knew that we just wanted her home before something bad happened to her. I'm still not sure of exactly what happened, but she was found in Sand Run on her way to the bus station in Akron. After having ridden her bike from Richfield to Sand Run, she was very dehydrated and needed to have IVs for 3 hours to get her healthy enough to make a statement. Some 40 something year old man with two children who lives with his parents, found her on myspace and formed a relationship built on lies. He then convinced her that running away to be with him would make her happy. She trusted him. She give him her address and he sent a bus ticket to PA to be with him. Luckily a park ranger found her before someone else did. We are very thankful that she is safe and sound at home and understands that she was in danger and fell prey to an internet predator. I have been educating my students this week about the dangers of myspace if you trust everyone. Hopefully it got through to them since they now they see that it doesn't just happen on TV, but that this is a real life thing that can happen to any one at any time if they are not safe.

One last tidbit for today...It is unreal to believe that this time last year is when we lost my princess Dee Dee. We are taking a lot of time this weekend to remember her life and all the beauty that she gave to others. She taught people about love, life, hope, understanding, and patience. We will always be grateful for the love that you shared with us. I will never forget the memories and will always feel blessed that I had an angel, in horse form, in my life for the time I did.