Ugh!  I can’t believe it’s been two months since my last post.  So much for my New Year’s resolution of chronicling the daily trials of rebuilding “the original American brand”!   Today I had hoped to capitalize on a rare occasion of uninterrupted time (between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., of course, while my kids are at school) – to compose a thoughtful editorial/essay on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.  If my essay was succinct and insightful then hopefully it would land on the editorial pages of a newspaper or two . . . ok, I’d settle for the local newspaper, The Waco Tribune-Herald; After all, you gotta start somewhere, right?!  (This was the fate of my first attempt – a tribute to Lincoln on President’s Day – something I’d felt compelled to write about for a couple of years . . . so much for efficiency).  Not so fast!  On the way to school, my fourteen year old son had a meltdown and begged to skip school, which is unusual for him.  Mother’s intuition kicked into overdrive.  After dropping the younger two kids at school, I fired off a cautionary email that was met with record response by a respected coach on the other end of my phone line.  A lengthy conversation ensued – with me doing my fair share of the talking – and a game plan was adopted to resolve the simmering crisis.  Having averted the aforementioned teenager crisis, I rushed to complete a few other morning chores like (1) pinning the horses in their stalls so they don’t gorge themselves on the fresh green “spring” grass and “founder” (like last spring), (2) releasing the chickens from their coop so they can “free range”, and (3) feeding Carl, our pet pig, who in actuality is a feral hog that we’ve raised for the last year and a half.  Another topic for another day!

All this reminds me of a letter John Adams penned to his wife Abigail in 1780 while he was our French diplomat.  Adams described his life as “harassed” because he’s terribly busy and had to spend all his time studying ‘government and administration’ so that he could fulfill his duty during the Revolutionary War.  It’s apparent in the letter that Adams felt he had a vital and particular role and that he had to get it right.  His work as a statesman was for something – a higher purpose.  That higher purpose is called “the laws of nature and of natures God” in the Declaration of Independence.  Knowledge of these things, available in the great works of literature and philosophy (and by simply looking around you once you know what to look for), is highly desirable and necessary to securing and maintaining our freedom in America, according to our Founders.  Knowledge of Natural Law is all but absent in America today.  I certainly had no knowledge of it until I began creating The Liberty Brand.

My point is that I, too, feel like I have a particular role to play today in addition to being a mother.  Perhaps because I am a mother.  I don’t presume that I’ll have the impact Adams had, after all, he more than anyone else provoked the writing of the Declaration, recommended Thomas Jefferson author it, and secured France’s alliance in the Revolutionary War.  Tall shoes to fill!  But I love America and I love my children and want nothing more than for both to grow and prosper.  My hope is that The Liberty Brand can successfully capture and showcase the history and meaning of America, thereby making a ‘visual appeal’ for the founding.

The Liberty Brand is a worthy pursuit – the founders would argue, the ultimate pursuit – and I’ll doggedly pursue it . . . all the while being “harassed”!