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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Remember to rekindle romance in long-term relationships
QUESTION: My wife and I
love each other very much,
but we’re going through a
time of apathy. We just don’t
feel close to each other.
Is this normal, and is there a
way to bring back the fire?
DR. DOBSON: This happens
sooner or later in every marriage.
A man and woman just seem to
lose the wind in their romantic
sails for a period of time.
Their plight reminds me of sea
men back in the days of wooden
vessels. Sailors in that era had
much to fear, including pirates,
storms and diseases.
But their greatest fear was that
the ship might encounter the dol
drums. The doldrums were an
area of the ocean near the equator
characterized by calm and very
light shifting winds.
It could mean certain death
for the entire crew. The ship’s
food and water supply would be
exhausted as they drifted for days,
or even weeks, waiting for a breeze
to put them back on course.
Well, marriages that were once
exciting and loving can also get
Geese aren't such high fliers
Canada geese are flying
over our house, low and loud
and black against the white
sky of near-winter. In our
front yard, my dog picks up
on their rude honking and
spots them flapping heav
ily overhead. She barks and
gives chase, although they
are easily out of her reach
vertically.
“Knock it off, Patches,” I
tell her. “You don’t want to
associate with that gaggle.
Just look at those poor crea
tures, the result of millions
of years of design by commit
tee; anatomically awkward;
with bird brains and Oprah
egos. Pay them no mind at
all.”
Our little dog, realizing
she won’t be able to bring
down - or join - the flock,
skids to a stop on the mat
of dead maple leaves that is
our yard and watches Branta
canadensis and its brethren
get their bearings and head
off to the ... northeast?
Patches looks up at me as if
to ask: What gives here? Isn’t
winter coming on? Shouldn’t
migratory fowl that call
Canada home be mapping
out a southerly route to the
HICKS
From page 4A
calendar to motivate you to
do what’s right or best for
you?”
The coming of a New Year
is a helpful time to reflect
on what we like and dislike
about how things are going
in our lives.
And all of the items in the
list above are worthwhile
goals. But is January Ist
any more significant than
any other day of the year
to make important commit
ments to improve ourselves
and our relationships with
others?
We ought to be about the
business of making the right
decisions - even making
changes - throughout the
year, without needing a new
year to move us to action.
After all, I think we’d all
agree that our health, rela
tionships, finances and other
responsibilities don’t all of a
sudden become more deserv
City of Centerville
2006 SPLOST PROJECT REPORT
The City of Centerville, in accordance with O.C.G.A.
48-8-122, publishes this SPLOST project report
for 2006.
NAME OF PROJECT: Centerville City Hall
Original estimated cost of project: $2,035,000.00
Current estimated cost: $2,143,100.00
Amount spent on project prior to 2006: $1,605,637.00
Amounts expected to be spent in 2007: $ 467,012.00
The City of Centerville will use the proceeds from the
tax in excess of the estimated cost to fully fund the
project and the project is not behind schedule. The city
does not anticipate any surplus funds.
caught in the
romantic dol
drums, causing
a slow and pain
ful death to the
relationship.
Author Doug
Fields, in his
book Creative
Romance,
writes: “Dating
and romancing
your spouse can change those pat
terns, and it can be a lot of fun.
There’s no quick fix to a stag
nant marriage, of course, but you
can lay aside the excuses and
begin to date your sweetheart.”
In fact, you might want to try
thinking like a teenager again.
Let me explain.
Recall for a moment the crazi
ness of your dating days the
coy attitudes, the flirting, the
fantasies, the chasing after the
prize. As we moved from court
ship into marriage, most of us felt
we should grow-up and leave the
game-playing behind.
But we may not have matured
as much as we’d like to think. In
ißb®- ”*
Florida
coast?
“Calm
down,
girl,” I
tell her,
“and give
thanks
they were
out of your
reach. You
wouldn’t
Glynn Moore
Columnist
glynn.moore@morris.com
want to chomp down on an
imposter, would you? Those
critters were Canada geese
by evolution but not by resi
dence.”
I remembered talking
with our newspaper’s out
doors editor, Rob Pavey,
who told me why the geese
fly so low over my house.
They are as American as us
- Southerners, in fact - being
the offspring of waterfowl
that were introduced into the
state decades ago to make up
for the dwindling migrants
from Canada.
In fact, he said, those geese
reside at ponds and lakes
in my neighborhood. They
wouldn’t recognize Quebec,
but they can pick out our
cul-de-sac.
“Look at them,” I tell
ing of our attention because
of a date on the calendar.
We should commit to work
harder to make our marriage
work at the moment we real
ize the spark seems to be
fading. We should make the
time to spend with our kids
at the moment we realize
they have not been a prior
ity.
We should choose to change
a habit when we realize that
our health is suffering. If
that day is January Ist,
great. But so is April 25th
and September 3 and any
of the other 362 days of the
year.
Part of me wonders if many
of us may be less motivated
to change our lives at this
time of year because making
a New Year’s resolution is
just something that every
one does. It’s the same story
year after year. Millions of
us make New Year’s reso
lutions, and millions of us
break them.
If the driving force behind
our commitment is less
Dr. James
Dobson
Focus on the Family
some ways, our romantic relation
ships will always bear some char
acteristics of adolescent sexuality.
Adults still love the thrill of the
chase, the lure of the unattain
able, excitement of the new and
boredom with the old.
Immature impulses are con
trolled and minimized in a com
mitted relationship, of course, but
they never fully disappear.
This could help you keep vital
ity in your marriage. When things
have grown stale between jou and
your spouse, maybe you should
remember some old tricks. How
about breakfast in bed? A kiss in
the rain? Or re-reading those old
love letters together? A night in
a nearby hotel? Roasting marsh
mallows by an open fire? A phone
Patches. “They’re not in
it for the long haul. They
haven’t even been off the
ground long enough to get
their landing gear up.”
The black cloud of gigan
tic mosquitoes bulges and
morphs, but with three times
the number of birds usually
seen in a formation, cannot
arrange itself into a graceful
V It is more of a scribbled W,
and nothing good ever began
with a W (To begin with, it’s
the only letter with more
than one syllable: three,
unless you’re pronunciation
impaired, and then two.)
“Woof!” Patches suggests,
and I agree.
“Yes, girl, it is getting cold.
Not too cold, of course; just
enough to prove that our
neck of the planet is tilted
away from the sun at 23.5
degrees, creating our seasons,
sending our maple leaves to
their doom and my rake, and
signaling wiser birds that it’s
time to pack up for a long
flight south.
I scan the sky, hoping to
see the geese get their act
together and work them
selves into the classical V
formation. By flying in a line,
about transformation and
more about an annual ritual,
then it’s more likely that we
won’t succeed.
Instead of making a list of
New Year’s Resolutions, per
haps we should just resolve
ourselves to be consciously
attentive to the things that
matter most throughout
the year, and be willing to
make positive change at the
moment when it is needed.
Georgia Family Council
is a non-profit organization
that works to strengthen
and defend the family in
Georgia by equipping mar
riage advocates, shaping
laws, preparing the next
generation and influencing
culture. For more informa
tion, go to www.georgia
family.org, 770-242-0001,
Stephen @gafam. org.
HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA
Report on Projects Funded Through Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
Calendar Year 2007
Expenditures
Original Current Prior Year 2007 Remaining Committed to
Project Estimated Cost Estimated Cost Expenditures Expenditures Funds SPLOST Projects Status
2001 SPLOST
Road, Street and Bridge Improvements $55,821,250 $59,478,663 $19,791.098 $13,844,980 $25,842,585 $25,842,565 Ongoing
Public-Safety Communications System $12,500,000 $12,505,786 $12,505,786 ' - - Complete
Municipal Allocations $16,678,750 $17,572,978 $17,572,978 ; • ; Complete
• $85,000,000 $89,557,427 $49,869,862 $13,844,980 $25,842,585 $25,842,585
2006 SPLOST
Road, Street and Bridge Improvements $93,160,000 $93,160,000 $432,507 $2,131,661 $90,595,832 $90,595,832 Ongoing
Library Improvements $5,225,000 $5,225,000 $0 $414,234 $4.810,766 $4,810.766 Ongoing
Jail Addition $4,000.000 $4,000,000 $0 $24,547 $3 975,453 $3,975,453 Ongoing
Water & Sewer Improvements $3,000,000 $3,000,000 $0 $0 $3,000,000 $3,000,000 Ongoing
Debt Write Off $2,100,000 $2,100,000 $0 $2,100,000 - ; Complete
Municipal Allocations $22,515,000 $22,515,000 $0 $3,611,707 $18,903,293 $18,903,293 Ongoing
$130,000,000 __ SIOO.OOOjjOQ
1) All 2001 SPLOST projects are currently on budget Improvements to Corder Road and South Houston Lake Road (Bear Branch Road to Perry Parkway) are behind schedule due to
design issues with Georgia DOT. All other projects are complete or on schedule for completion,
2) All 2006 SPLOST projects are currently on budget and on schedule for completion
11 57944
OPINION
"Hfell, marriages that were once exciting and
loving can also get caught in the romantic
doldrums, causing a slow and painlul death to
the relationship. "
they can conserve energy the
same way a NASCAR driv
er saves fuel by riding the
bumper of the beer-adver
tisement-on-wheels ahead of
him. When the lead goose,
unaided by such aerodynamic
maneuvers, grows weary, he
drops back and lets a rested
up bird take his place.
That tactic is a holdover
from their ancestors’ migra
tory days, but my suburban
geese won’t be flying far
enough to need a breather.
They might never emerge
from their pathetic W before
alighting in the next pond.
The geese have flown out
of sight - and sound. The
sky is harsh and lifeless. The
sun dives for the neighbor’s
fence. Our maples are leaf
free, our yard leaf-congested.
As autumn fades into win
ter, Patches and I migrate
indoors.
Reach Glynn Moore at
glynn.moore@morris. com.
j <Pu6Cic Appreciation I %
The citizens of Perry thank the individuals and businesses listed below for their
civic pride in assisting to expand the City’s Christmas lights Without
their partnership, little could have been accomplished. Additionally, a special
thank yciu to Ms. Nellwin Moore for her leadership. C \
call in the middle of the day? A
long-stem red rose and a love
note? There are dozens of ways to
fill the sails with wind once more.
If it all sounds a little imma
ture to act like a teenager again,
just keep this in mind: In the
best marriages, the chase is never
really over.
QUESTION: We have a 5-
year-old son who has been
diagnosed with ADHD. He is
really difficult to handle and
I have no idea how to manage
him. I know he has a neuro
logical problem; I don’t feel
right about making him obey
like we do our other children.
It is a big problem for us.
What do you suggest?
DR. DOBSON: I understand
• Perry Area Convention &
Visitors Bureau Authority'
• Daniel, Lawson, Tuggle & Jerles
• America’s Best Inn
• Chambliss, Sheppard, Roland &
Baxter
• Goodroe Realty
• Walker Rhodes Tractor
• Green Derby
• EMICC
• Gilmer Warehouse
• Edgewood Development
• Captain D’s
• Garlinda’s Garden
• Eagle Burial Vaults
• Walker, Hubert, Gray & Byrd
• Waites & Waites
• Perry Drug Company
• Brian Bowen
• Pilot Club
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2007 ♦
“Have Cameras, Will Travel"
CX . TURNER
PHOTOGRAPHY
Aerial Chrtceraphv
Brad Turner •475>»22-1633cr475-4f4<CsCl
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• Glover Mortuary
• Charles Andrew & Son
• Bank of Perry
• Planters First i
• Walthall Oil
• Kiwanis Club
• Coldwell Banker
• Security Bank
• George Nunn Jr.
• Betty Mori
•James Katsekis
• Anna Pritchett
• Christine Hafley
• Gwen Free
• Ed Beckham
• Sam Nunn
• Cory Barnett/Travel Center j
• Utility Service
• Sugarplum Tree
your dilemma, but I urge you to
discipline your son. Every young
ster needs the security of defined
limits, and the ADHD boy or girl is
no exception. Such a child should
be held responsible for his behav
ior, although the approach may be
a little different.
For example, most children can
be required to sit on a chair for dis
ciplinary reasons, whereas some
very hyperactive children would
not be able to remain there.
Similarly, corporal punishment
is sometimes ineffective with a
highly excitable little bundle of
electricity. As with every aspect
of parenthood, disciplinary mea
sures for the ADHD child must be
suited to his or her unique charac
teristics and needs.
Dr. Dobson is founder and chair
man of the board of the nonprofit
organization Focus on the Family,
Colorado Springs, CO 80995
(www.family.org). Questions and
answers are excerpted from Solid
Answers and Bringing Up Boys,
both published by Tyndale House.
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5A
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