I've been down in Virginia since Sunday, helping watch two of my cousins so my uncle can make the world a better place.

Today, I took the youngsters to the park and enjoyed playing with them and watching them interact with the other kids. It got me thinking about how great these kids are, and what a wonderful job their parents have been doing raising them.

I like to think that my parents sent me out into the world filled with the right stuff to make it to the top in whatever I end up doing, kind of like that balloon (I'll admit, it's an incredibly cheesy analogy, but I wanted to link the picture in somehow). My hope is that should the time come when I am raising my own kids, I'll be able to provide them the experiences, skill sets and background to be honest, empathetic, happy, independent, intelligent, contributing members of society, and know that when I let go of them so they can float off on their own, I can do that with confidence in their ability to make good decisions in whatever it is they choose to do.

Heck, I'd settle with having half of those attributes myself.