Anniversary

Today marks the first anniversary of our move to our beautiful new home in Aboite. It's hard to beleive that an entire year has passed since our dreams came true, and our family began a new life here. It's amazing what one can accomplish, despite all odds, when you place your children first in your life's goals.
We had a nice home, by most standards. . .MY boyhood home actually. I purchased it from my parents fifteen years ago. Not the largest, not the fanciest, but full of love, memories, and lots of sweat equity by moi. I committed several years and several thousand dollars upgrading my home. I hoped to stay there forever, worked hard at taking care of and improving my property, even serving as president of my neighborhood association. We set records for voluntary association dues collection, and worked hard to improve our appearance. But there was just no overcoming the decline in the area; not enough residents seemed to care about what was happening around them, other than to place blame and deride the "bad press" regarding the south side of town. To the four to five people who always volunteered, always showed up for association meetings, and really cared. . I am sorry. I tried, I tried my best. As did JoAnn, Mike, and others before us. God bless you, and continue to be involved. It is appreciated even by those who are not involved and do not stop to say "thank you". They are the people who need you most, although they may not know it. They will miss you if you are not out there looking out for them.
I had my blinders on for YEARS, but having children is a HUGE wake-up call. Schools with the worst ratings in the state, total loss of grocery stores and other retail, and rising crime rates, forced me to leave my home of thirty years. Aboite is very much like my old neighborhood when we moved there in 1970. Ironically, my parents moved there from Lafayette Township, just south of here, to access better schools and a growing area of Allen County. Hindsight is 20/20. . .You never know what the future will bring. You roll the dice and cross your fingers. It's all basically a crapshoot. Here's hoping that my bet turns out better than my Mom and Dad's, God rest their souls.