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Day 02 started out really slow. When the whole house was finally up and moving around, it had to be after 10am. I had already showered and felt fresh and clean but sluggish... I'm assuming its the jetlag.

We started talkin' family history. Genealogy is a serious hobby of mine. I shared with my in-laws what I have been able to gather about their families so far. My in-laws seem impressed with the progress I've made. We had a long discussion about family stories. It seems that every generation loses something from the past thinking we have it figured out.

I remember my father telling me stories about his childhood and life without electricity. I find it almost unbelievable to hear them. I remember my mother telling me about outhouses (eeew!) and working to eat, as there were no grocery stores in Samoa. And I think to myself how so far removed am I from a life of physical struggle. Yet, I have a desire to know that hard life to feel and experience the contrast between my life here and now and the life of my parents 50 years ago.

In those 50 years, the clear and definite lines between good and evil have been blurred beyond recognition. The state of the family now includes "blending" and alternative lifestyles. And the world almost seems so screwed up, without a clear direction toward happiness. The gender roles have been squashed and I sometimes think that it hasn't been for the advancement of humanity. I think the Creator made us to carry out different roles and to have different characteristics based on gender.

The past 50 years since my mothers day and mine has seen much technological advancement but I wonder -- what have we advanced from? Has more computers meant a better standard of living or has it created an even wider gap between the rich and the poor? Has the combustible engine helped humanity in any way? We get to places a lot quicker yet have surrendered to oil dependence. We've stopped growing our own food and now have to wait to hear on the news if the produce we've consumed has been recalled. We have become so dependant on others for our basic necessities, from food to fuel, that if the grocery store closed its doors, America would starve. Can you imagine the people in the highly populated metro area's? **sigh**

My discussion with my in-laws prompted all these thoughts about their life, about my life, my parents lives and how much progress have we really made? And then, as if to spit upon all the ideals we had just spoke about, we carted ourselves off in a big, gas-guzzling SUV to a mall that's a hundred miles away, to shop for the commercial-driven Christmas presents that our family is waiting for. **sigh** Ironic, isn't it? We ate at Dave's BBQ in Franklin, Tennessee... not having to lift a finger to get fed. (Notice my plate, BEFORE and AFTER)
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Don't get me wrong, I am truly grateful for what I have. The Creator has placed me here at this time, in this very special place, and I am humbled that he chose me to have so much abundance. Just imagine, you or I could have been born in much different circumstances. Yet the Creator has placed us right where we are.