stand beside her, and guide her ... or not.

It was almost one year ago that my eight-year-old daughter wrote a letter to the President of the United States, following the election, expressing just how proud she was to be an American and how she felt very lucky to live in this country with it's awesome museums in Washington DC.  When she received a response from him, she couldn't believe it.

He. Wrote. Her. Back! 

And, he included a picture of HIS DOG. 

OH MY GOSH CAN YOU BELIEVE IT NO I CAN'T.



Living in this part of the country, a stone's throw from the Nation's Capital, we have a lot of friends and neighbors who work in Washington, DC. Today, those friends and neighbors went in to their offices just long enough to set their "out of office" automatic reply message on their computer, and then they came straight home until who knows when.

Washington Braces for Prolonged Government Shutdown.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Sadly ... yes, I can. When it comes to government politics, and the inability for elected officials to work together like competent adults, it's no wonder our US budget is now being held hostage. It's really no surprise to me that we're in this stalemate, which will adversely impact millions of Americans and our country's economy.  It's also no surprise that Congress will continue to get paid for their "service" while 800,000+ of it's constituents are indefinitely furloughed; including many of our friends and neighbors.

But before we dwell too much on the negative consequences of this unconstitutional situation that has been triggered by the dysfunctional behavior of a political party that is willing to take extreme and damaging action to get its way,  I'd like to point out that my daily commute will be so much easier.

Three cheers for me getting to sleep in for an extra 15 minutes every day!