Can You Count?

I snagged a cheap plane ticket and hotel room package deal at Travelocity and made a quick trip to visit my Dad last weekend. We saw the New York City Ballet perform at the Kennedy Center in DC. Very wonderful. And we also spent some time pouring over Dad's notes and mementos about our family history.

This photo of us isn't the best, but hey, can you see the family resemblance?

Much of what we know about our family's past comes from the US Census. And guess what? 2010 is a census year. When I got back to Little Rock, I signed up to be a census enumerator. The Census department needs 5000 Arkansans to help with the census here, and they have only hired about 600 so far. The pay is puny - less than $13 per hour - but I think the work sounds pretty interesting. And if you've ever done any research on your own family tree, you know how great and lasting is our common debt to the census takers. You can find out about the jobs at 2010.census.gov. Maybe you know someone who needs some extra income. Even high school kids are being hired - anyone who can count, passes the test and does not have a criminal record.

This week, Honey learned to say, "Nana" and she started saying "Leo" when she looks at pictures of him. Absolutely thrilling. Leo comes home on Sunday and I can't wait to see if she'll call him by name when she sees him in person.


Here is this week's picture of Honey. She looks a little like her grandpa, don't you think?

In Washington, they'll be counting votes. I hope that goes well. And in Arkansas, we'll be counting our blessings. I hope you enjoy the holiday, too, however it adds up for you. Cheers!