I WON!!!

I don't enter very many contests because I never win anything. The last time I won something was 30 years ago when a small local department store in Estacada, Oregon changed owners and wanted the community to choose a new name for the store. My suggestion was one of three that were chosen for final consideration, and I was given a $25 gift certificate to the store! (No, I can't remember what I suggested, and it wasn't the one ultimately chosen.)

I sure spent a lot of time trying to decide how to spend that money. We had four little kids and lots of ways to use it. Our oldest son was just getting ready to start 1st grade, and I ended up getting him a much-needed pair of shoes and some Star Wars Underoos. He was pretty jazzed about it. (check back later in case I find the great picture of him showing off his new stuff.) I was even interviewed for the local paper, and they published what my purchases were. That's small-town journalism for you! Just so you know, we loved living in Estacada. The kids and I walked everywhere - to the library, the post office, the grocery store, the playground....once in a while when I was feeling particularly brave, we would walk to the river so the boys could throw rocks.

But I digress.....I learned today that once again I have won something!!!  The owners of the gym I am going to put up a big chart a few months ago where we could write in our guesses for the arrival date, time and weight for their firstborn. I was very thoughtful about my choice: I picked a day a few days ahead of the one I thought was their due date because our firstborn came a few days early. And then I put in the same time of day he was born and his birth weight. By golly, I had the day right and was within 2 hours of his time of arrival! I was about a pound off on the weight too.  I won a nice gift certificate to a wonderful restaurant, The Greenery.  So I can go to the gym double-time for a week after we eat there. Oh, and I think I won babysitting privileges too!