Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmetic

It's back to school time! I find it to be an exciting time; I always loved school! My kids aren't so thrilled... But I love fall, sweatshirts and jeans, the changing colors of the leaves, football (better yet, the marching band!)

This design started percolating around the 4th of July. I had wanted to have a new patriotic shirt to wear for the 4th and started thinking about what I would want that to look like. The pledge of allegiance popped into my head and I started wondering what I could do with those words. The flag was a natural - easily patriotic - and provides a great backdrop for the text. I didn't get the design done in time to have my shirt for the 4th, but I'm planning on wearing my new red shirt for casual Friday at work this week. And with school starting across the country (my niece and nephews started yesterday!) this is a perfect design to talk about!

I don't know what the policies are in school these days. My son says they still say the pledge each morning. I found an online map that indicates that some schools have a law that states kids have the option of saying the pledge or not. I can see pros and cons about that. Mostly I feel that as a citizen of the U.S. we should all be proud and thankful to live here and the freedoms that we have! I'm thankful to the people serving in the military willing to lose their lives if necessary to defend our rights and freedoms and protect our country.

Our country was founded by great, God-fearing men who set up a wonderful democratic system. It is my hope and prayer that we can move closer to their vision for our country.