One of the things I'm enjoying about my Dream Group is that we are bonding on a deep level and sharing very personal things about ourselves. I'm not involved in anything else that allows me to do this, and it's been a time of real growth for me. After our meeting this morning, we ate lunch together at Bon Ami and were joined by the counselor who led the initial workshop for us. It's so wonderful to be able to do this with friends who are so supportive of one another. I just wish we could meet more often than once a month. The rest of them, however, lead much busier lives than I do, so that's okay. At least, I have them once a month, and in between meetings, I'm having sessions with the counselor. She's given me homework to do before next week's appointment that I haven't done yet. We're having a rainy afternoon, so it's a perfect time to do some of that.

I got the sad news from Tupelo this week that Louise Parker lost a hard battle with cancer. Of all the supervisors I had at Bellsouth, she was, without a doubt, my favorite. Her obituary said she was attending Parkway Baptist Church and singing in the Senior choir. I had not seen Louise in several years, and was surprised to read of her church involvement. The Louise I worked for was estranged from the church of her childhood. I'm glad to know she, at some point, made her peace with it.

Give rest, O Christ, to thy servant Louise with thy saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.

I was very pleased with Obama's choice of running mates. I just hope they have ads ready to refute the ads McCain is already running, trying to use Joe Biden's words against the Obama-Biden ticket. I can't wait until the Democratic convention starts on Monday. I reached Olympic burnout long ago.