I’ve said that keeping expectations low will reduce cause for disappointment. This works when you adjust what you expect from others. This has been good advice (almost cookie-cutter for me lately) in helping to cope with actions from others over which you have no control or influence. If you don’t expect anything from anyone, then you won’t be disappointed. In fact, even the slightest considerate gesture will be a pleasant surprise. Easier said than done, but that’s been one of my mantras.

But I’ve never personally approached it the other way, at least not intentionally. My latest blog discovery is from my niece, Melissa. Her blog “I May Be Small…” describes how she perpetuated people’s lowered expectations of her by playing down her assets relative to those of her older brother. She believed that his qualities overshadowed hers, allowing others to expect much from him and mush from her. But now she’s out and she has warned us to expect more of her. She’s going to show the world that she’s bigger than we thought she was. She plans to chronicle her ascent to greatness in her blog.

So, now Melissa, you have both of my readers and all three of Ronnie’s readers. Feeling the pressure yet? Show us all that you may be small… but your heart is big! You GO girl!

P.S. Melissa: I picked that photo of you and your dad in honour of your approach in life. I figured with that pic, folks won’t expect much from your blog. Won’t they be surprised!

August. This month brings hot weather, leisurely vacation, and special occasions. Not as many as last month, but certainly not less important!

Here they are:

	August 3rd: Uncle Pat’s birthday. He passed away a couple of years ago from Huntington’s Disease. We miss you Uncle Pappy! He is pictured here many moons ago with his two sons, Billy and Jamie. Aunt Jean is missing from the photo… someone had to use the camera I guess!
	August 3rd: My sister-in-law Sharon Melee. This picture is about 23 or 24 years old… Sharon is holding Renee, my parents’ first grandchild. Happy Birthday Sharon… be well.
	August 11th, Katie Greene and August 23rd Madison Stanley. Hope your days are super girls!
	August 11th: My parents’ upteenth anniversary. Is it 45 years? Yes, i think so… Happy Anniversay Mom and Dad! We love you.

Seems as if all my posts these days are birthday posts.  I've been wondering if I should put birthday wishes aside, or summarize them in single, monthly posts or something.  It's a dangerous thing, wishing "happy birthday" to people… next thing you know, you have left someone out, or you post an unflattering picture, or two and folks get pissed or miffed or even entertained, God forbid.

But before I make any drastic changes, I have to ensure that I put due effort into the two special birthday babies in my life who were born on June 23.  So, here goes. 

Happy Birthday to Mary Williams, my darling mother-in-law.  If you are counting on a great batch of homemade bread, or flipper pie, Mary's your gal.  For a young woman in her 70's, she certainly has a lot of energy.  She can run circles around most men I know half her age.  I think it's her energy that keeps Harry young.  Happy Birthday, Mary.  I hope your day is a special one.

Next, another very special birthday wish.  This one goes to my cousin Bill Rose, who turns 40 today.  I really should call him my brother…  we grew up together.  Our birthdays are only a couple of months apart.  We practiced (and perfected) our delinquency together, got into trouble together, we sometimes even kicked the shit out of each other.  He really is a special kind of guy and in more ways than one, he makes me feel VERY lucky.  You see, he was unfortunate enough to be inflicted with Huntington's Disease.  (I've posted about Huntington's in my family before.)  He was always a very strong person, active in sports, active socially, well-liked and popular.  For most inflicted with this disease, it starts manifesting itself when they are in their 40s and 50s.  For Bill, it hit in his 30s, I think maybe even in his 20s.  Not fair, not fair at all.  Anyways… enough of that.  This post is about celebration… Happy Birthday Bill!  Have a beer for me!   (Or I'll have one for you!)

Huntington's Disease, is a rare neurological inherited disease affecting 1 in 20,000 people of Western European descent. It is passed on from generation to generation, needing only one affected parent to pass on the affected gene causing the disease. There is a 50/50 chance that any child of an affected parent will inherit the disease. Pretty good odds, if you were a betting person, that you won't know someone with Huntington's disease, much less actually have it affect you personally. Not so in my family. My mother is one of five children born to my grandparents. My mother was the only one of the five who was not affected with the disease. This morning, the last of my mother's siblings, Aunt Patricia, succumbed to Huntington's. I've posted about this disease before, when my Aunt Rosie (Catherine) died.

My mom's family, in the picture above, are (clockwise from top left) my mother Mildred, Patricia, Patrick, Susan, and Catherine. I thank God often that my mother was not affected and that I am lucky enough to have avoided this disease. (I have one cousin, Bill, that has the disease. It affected him roughly ten years earlier than it commonly affects most. He is 2 months younger than I am.) I miss my aunts and uncle dearly. They were all very good people who had hardships in their lives to overcome and were not deserving of their suffering. They were taken from us way to soon. God bless them all.

Renee is 24 years old today! Wow! My parents' first grandchild is almost a quarter of a century old… Now, doesn't that make everyone feel old?

Happy Birthday, Renee!

So. Here’s the scenario. I am at work, talking with with one of my peers whom I happen to supervise. We are having a fairly serious conversation when the screensaver on my computer kicks in. I have most of my personal photos on my computer and my screensaver is a random display of these photos. Each photo appears on the screen for about 3 seconds.

This photo pops on the screen. I try my best to make sure that I am speaking and NOT looking at the screen. I have one eye on the screen, and one eye on the person in the room making sure HER eyes are NOT on the screen. It was a LOOONG 3 seconds. When the photo finally disappeared, she calmly, without cracking a smile, said “I saw that.”

Shit.

Even though it was at my expense, I could see the humour in this self-inflicted awkward situation. I smirked and squirmed a little… Apparently noticing my embarrassment, she said, “I think it’s cool that you are self-confident enough to take pictures like that.”

Yeah… that’s it… Self-confident.