Moral Outrage

I am a nice person.
Perhaps too nice.

I am not a gossip-monger.
Nor do I spread rumors or tell tales.

I do keep in touch with people from the past for various reasons.
When asked how So and So is doing by WhomEver I pass along public knowledge types of information.

Things like...
She got married to That Guy and has 2.2 beautifully behaved children and lives in a house on a hill in the middle of NoWhereVille, GA.
You know, the kind of stuff that you can find if you were to Google someone.

I am nice, but not stupid...
or so I thought.
Until today.
When I opened an email and was floored...

Someone contacted me under false pretenses.
Someone would like me to tell tales, pass along misinformation, rumors and innuendo...?
provide names of others who would do the same?

Well....
I know nothing.
I will continue to know nothing.
and that is the truth... the whole truth...
and nothing is to be gained by trying to make the truth anything but what it is.

Writer's Workshop... 5 Things

Yes, I am at it again... or at least trying to be.
Here is this week's offering to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

Of the 5 topic choices I picked this one because... well because it was the only one that seemed to apply.  Enjoy! 

2) Five Things. 
List 5 things we don't know about you,5 things you're knowledgeable about, 5 things you know nothing about, and 5 things you believe. (inspired by LouLou’s Views)


5 things we don't know about you:
1- I hate asparagus
2- I get tired of being nice all the time
3- I am lonely most of the time
4- I never went to college even though I got a scholarship
5- I never planned to have any kids... funny how that one worked out, huh?


5 things you're knowledgeable about:
1- Kids
2- birds
3- health care and medicine
4- fundraising
5- crafting and decorating


5 things you know nothing about:
1- computer programming
2- computer networking
3- HeMan Hubby's computer networking engineering administrating job 
4- being in jail
5- jet engines


5 things you believe:
1- I believe that what goes around comes around so you better watch out 
2- I believe that what you do is more important than what you say
3- I believe that no one should ever go hungry or be homeless in the US... 
4- I believe that more people need to recycle
5- I believe that raising your children to be good, honest, productive adults is the only job that really counts...


So, now you know all my deepest, darkest secrets... 
Okay, not really....

Positive Day... Not a real holiday but it should be!

Today is a typical cold and rainy Fall day.
It is also a Positive day.
What is a Positive day you may be asking.
Well, it is a day that I decide to look at the Positive's in my life and choose to ignore the negatives.

Look at the weather. Instead of looking at the rain as YUCK, I will look at it and see it as the life giving necessity that it is... I still wish it wasn't cold, but...

The leaves have turned, creating a brilliant display of red and gold and burgundy outside my windows that fills me with a sense of sadness while at the same time comforts me and makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Fall is my favorite season.
I love Sweater Weather... or perhaps I should call it Sweatshirt Weather.

The crisp, clean scent of soil and leaves with just a hint of wood smoke...
The sound of leaves crunching underfoot as I stroll through the yard...
The sight of brightly colored leaves dancing on the wind as they fall to the ground...

Yes!
Today is a Positive Day...

It may not be a national holiday like, say, National Chocolate Day or National Secretary's Day ...
or is Administrative Assistant....

No, today is just a day, like so many others that go unnoticed but should be....
A day that reminds me that life is full of promise and new beginnings...

Yes...
Today is a Positive Day...

The World As I See It... feel it too

I have been decidedly lax in my blog posts of late.
Okay, I have been lax for the better part of the summer season.

That, however, was not my intention.
I had intended to write at least 3 days a week, but...

You know how life has a tendency to get in the way.

I resolved to start blogging with more regularity once the kid's soccer and football season, and the ensuing mad rush to be here, get there, do everything at once, had subsided.

Much to my chagrin I realized this was not going as I had planned when I tried to sync my Google calendar with my Blackberry calendar and got an error message that in effect told me that I could not be in 4 places at the same time... every single day of the week.

I figured out a way to over ride this little computer glitch...
Obviously the computer programmer who designed this wonderful syncing tool has never had the pleasure of trying to manage a household that is comprised of teens who are active in sports and youth groups; does not take an active role in community activities and act as an adviser and committee chairperson for these organizations; nor does this computer person try to balance all of this with bill paying schedules, work schedules- for both themselves or their spouse, while trying to keep up with all of the necessary things in life...
like grocery shopping, clothes shopping and being at every HS football game to video tape it for the coach.

And so my life has gone...
until...

Last week I felt awful.
For days I could barely move from my big, comfy couch...

And then, just when I thought I had shaken this, whatever it is...

My back has decided to act up.
I have no memory of pulling it or doing anything out of the ordinary, however...

It is letting me know that my life is too hectic, the pace that I keep far too fast and stressful...

My back is letting me know that the over-booked life that I lead is just too, too much.

Just finding the energy to cook dinner, fold laundry- forget carrying it to the laundry room- or sit long enough to write a blog post is not only difficult, but these seemingly simple tasks are excruciatingly painful and exhausting.

And so...

As I see it, the world is my domain...
and my world, for now, consists of my sofa and my bed and my blessedly soothing jacuzzi tub...

For now, that is enough....

October is Lupus Awareness Month... Did You Know??

This is a re-post of a post I wrote not long after getting the diagnosis of Lupus with Fibromyalgia ... since the original post I have also been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and neuropathy of the hands and feet and a mild seizure disorder - Lupus related- that has since resolved but leaves me constantly on the look out for a recurrence of this problem. If you know someone with Lupus, Fibromyalgia, RA , MS or any of the ever increasing auto immune illnesses and syndromes please take the time to let them know you care, give them a hand, lend a listening ear... You have the power to make a difference in someone's life... Use it! 

LIVING with LUPUS

DID YOU KNOW?

MORE PEOPLE HAVE LUPUS

THAN AIDS, SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA, CEREBRAL PALSY,

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, AND CYSTIC FIBROSIS

COMBINED!

Source: Lupus Foundation of America, Inc., Lupus Fact SheetProvided by the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

This Means SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS LUPUS!

Some of you know that I was diagnosed with Lupus just over a year ago. Of course the disease was around long before that , and I like many others, went through a series of frustratingly disappointing tests and dialogs with Doctors over many years along the way to accurate diagnosis. 
I try not to talk about my illness with people in general... only those who have it, or an equally debilitating problem, that can relate to how I feel and what I go through daily trying to Live with Lupus.
But I decided to change my focus and see where it leads me... thus far I think it is leading me in a positive direction that I think will help me to help others.

What is Lupus? 

Well, that is a loaded question so I will give the easy to understand version, but you must bear in mind that it is much bigger and more vastly affecting than I can even begin to describe here on my simple blog pages.

Lupus is an AutoImmune illness.
Simply put it means that my immune system is attacking and destroying the cells of my body like they would a germ or bacteria that cause the flu or a cold. For whatever reason, my immune system has become the Super Hero-SUPER IMMUNE SYSTEM ! It takes on all cells- friend and foe alike- without discrimination. Ok, anti-discrimination is great when you are talking about equal housing opportunities, job candidates, college scholarships... but when we are talking about the building blocks of every being, it is not such a good thing to have a Super Hero on your side! 
SUPER IMMUNE SYSTEM causes inflammation and swelling in the soft tissues and connective tissues within the body; like the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver. It cause joint pain and swelling, which lead to arthritic-like pain and often the inability to sit , stand or walk for significant periods of time. It causes pain for no apparent reason that is random and unpredictable, that comes and goes without any warning, and can leave a person writhing in pain and exhausted beyond belief.
Our Super Hero can also attack the Central Nervous System ( CNS) by causing swelling and cellular changes in the brain. These symptoms may come and go without rhyme or reason with increasing severity along the way. Forgetfulness, confusion, severe headaches, vision disturbances, loss of coordination and notable difficulty making your body do what you ask it to do, like lift a leg to go up a step, become more frequent as time goes by.
Chronic Fatigue, exhaustion, insomnia... these are all familiar symptoms known to those of us LIVING with LUPUS and our friends and families.

The Bad News is ...
There is NO CURE for this illness or those related to it like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Scleraderma and the many, many more that I cannot possibly list here. 

The GOOD NEWS is...
Research is being done to develop new medications and treatment programs to make increasing the QUALITY OF LIFE for those LIVING with LUPUS an attainable and long term goal.

How can I make Others Aware of LUPUS?
This is the question I asked myself. 

What can I DO to MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
The Answers I gave myself are these...

Tell SOMEONE about LUPUS and Show Support for Lupus Research...

DID YOU KNOW?

  World Lupus Day - May 10World Lupus Day provides both a day and a forum for various findings to be shared with the global lupus community. In addition, observing World Lupus Day offers lupus patients the comfort of knowing their condition is recognized and being addressed on a global level.

OCTOBER is LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH
It doesn't have to be October to help spread the word about lupus.If you want to know more about lupus, contact The Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

Follow Your Bliss... Say WHAT?

Imagine this...

A refrigerator magnet. About the size of a business card. On a refrigerator. Go Figure.

On this magnet is a cartoonish drawing of a lady who is obviously pregnant walking... er, waddling, along.

Under the figure of the pregnant lady are the words:

Follow Your Bliss

I liked it. Actually, I really liked it. The image of a woman living her life and happy as she is about to embark upon the adventure that is Motherhood.

However, it got me thinking.

What does Follow Your Bliss actually mean?

Okay...

Follow your dream... that I get.

Follow your heart... I get that.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road... I can even understand the sentiment behind that... 

But Follow Your Bliss?

Say WHAT?

The dictionary definition of Bliss is:

Perfect happiness; great joy; utter contentment; the joy of Heaven; a state of ecstasy

Alrighty then! 

That clears it up.... Not At All!

I think this is one of those things that is situationally interpretive...

I mean that it means something different to everyone who reads it and it's meaning changes as the circumstances of that person change.

For me... Follow Your Bliss means...

Take the path that leads to my own personal happiness and contentment with my life and the choices I have made.

Would the picture be that of a pregnant woman happily strolling along?

Probably not, at least not at this point in my life.

However, about 15 years ago... yes, yes it would.

Back then I had been told I would not be able to have any more children. 

Back then I wanted to have one with HeMan Hubby... I wanted to create a life with him, a family with him and I believed that I would not be able to give him one of the things that he wanted most in the world... a child.

Of course, miracles do happen and we were able to have not one, but 3 children... and the doctors have no idea how or why I was able to carry those children to term. 

Six years ago the image would have been one of a healthy, fit and trim woman walking along, holding the hands of her children... my health was deteriorating, I was over weight, constantly tired from either just getting off work or getting ready to go to work or taking care of a baby or running one of the older kids here or there; I was ill and in constant and often agonizing pain...

Then I had a hysterectomy, and 3 different types of cancerous lesions and cells were found and removed,  and my body began to heal, the pain to abate and become something that although not gone is at the very least, bearable.

Now? The image that would accompany that statement would be that of a woman who is strong in her sense of self, happy and secure in her place in the world, this woman would look a lot like Katherine Hepburn and give off her aura of self- confidence...

Follow Your Bliss... for me it means finding a way to be the person I want to be, not the one I think I should be, a way of balancing the woman I am on the inside with the woman that I am perceived to be on the outside... 

I started blogging as a way to give voice to my feelings and thoughts and fears and dreams on my journey to finding out who I am and what my purpose in life truly is... I'm working on it and I think that I need to 

Follow MY Bliss...

And perhaps, just maybe, so do YOU! 

Worrisome Worrier Am I

Many of you, at least I am assuming there are many of you reading this, know that I am a busy Mom of 6 children.
You also know by now that not all of my children still live at home.

There is GoodMom who has entered her 30's, has a husband, a mortgage and two adorable children, FancyPants and BabyG.

Then there is SmartGirl, not quite in her 30's and only recently employed in a field related to her college degree and more recently moved into her very own apartment.

Finally, there is ManBoy, who went to college, for a while, now works at two jobs and was the most recent, like within the last month, to move out and into the life of an adult-like person. Thank goodness for his room mates or he would not have been able to move out at all!

That leaves me, BusyMom, and HeMan Hubby, the most wonderful man on earth, home with 3 teenage children who think that they know absolutely everything about absolutely everything.

TeenBoy is 15, BratChild is 14 and SIX is 13.

I worry about our financial stability. Our ability to meet the needs of the children, beginning with TeenBoy in a very short 3 years, and followed rapidly by BratChild and then SIX as they graduate from high school and begin their pursuit of higher education.

How the heck am I going to put 3 more kids through college?

Add to this constant concern is the very wonderful, yet awful event that has made me feel even more guilty and inadequate where the kid's futures are concerned.

A local private school approached us about SIX. They want him to play football for them. They want him to take the entrance exam. Money? We can work that out...I spoke to several parent's of children currently attending, some were strangers but surprisingly some were not. I know them and know that they, like us, do not have the resources to afford 13k a year in tuition for high school. Do not worry they all said. The money will appear, it is amazing how it works out.

Yes, this is amazing. If my child scores well on the tests and the coach really wants him to play the school will find the money for him to go... and yet...

What about TeenBoy? What about BratChild?

I cannot afford 1 year for 1 child let alone any years for 3 children. But how can I send SIX and not send the other 2? Can I give 1 child the opportunity to go to a school whose graduates historically are accepted, and recieve amazing scholarships to, NYU and Stanford and UNC and Harvard and Yale...

While their current school, the public school, has graduates that are attending the local community college, Morgan State College and Mt. St. Mary's University and Frostburg and ITT Technical College...

Is it fair to offer advantages to the one child and not the others?

I know life is not fair, but a parent should be.
We should love our children equally.
We should provide the same opportunities and experiences to all of our children equally.
We should never let our children feel that one is better than another, or give them a reason to think it, even if it is not true.

I know some will say I am being overly concerned about this. And yes, I know that I am. But with good reason.
My older brother went to private school because my parents felt the public school was unsafe. He then went on to the college affiliated with the prep school he attended.
WE, my brothers and sisters, we went to the public school, the one my parents felt was unsafe, or not good enough, whatever, for our oldest sibling, but was apparently just fine for us.
We did not go to college, there was no discussion about any higher education in our home, no plans made for scholarships or college brochures ordered or visits scheduled.
We got the most from our public school educations and planned for our futures while in high school.
Me, I went to nursing school while in high school.
My sister? She did work study with a government agency and went there to work full time upon graduation. My brother? He followed in her footsteps and worked right out of school for several years until he found a way to be able to afford to go off to college and earn a degree.

My guilt is enormous. I helped the older 3 when and how I could.- college tuition, help with rent, money for groceries, or the actual groceries from my pantry when they needed it.

I am not where I thought I would be at this point in my life. The economy has made all of our plans null and void. All of the things we thought we would be able to do for, to provide our children are no longer possible.

But I can provide equal attention and love. I can make sure they have the best opportunities available within our means. I can make sure that they are all treated the same and never feel that one is better or worth more than the others...

So, my decision kills me inside, but it is the only one I can make and live with.
SIX will go to public school with TeenBoy and BratChild. He will play football with TeenBoy. He will be in Geometry with BratChild. All of them will travel in the same circle of friends and have similar high school experiences.
We may have to move, to downsize to be able to afford college for them and I am fully prepared to give up our home and sacrifice what we worked so hard to hold on to...

For my children I will do what I need to do...

Because that, after all, is my job as a parent...
To give them all the best that I can in every way that I possibly can

My Song... A Writer's Workshop Endeavor

Every week Mama Kat sends out 5 writing prompts. The idea is that bloggers can choose one of the prompts to write about and then link it to the Writer's Workshop on Mama Kat's site.
This week I am not crazy about any of the prompts but I'm going with #2:
---Tell us about your song--- 


The only problem with this is...
I don't really have A song.
Sure, I have songs that I really like. 
Songs that I sing along with on the radio.
Songs that make me cringe or smile or wonder what the heck the censors were doing the day that one was released.
But a song that I consider My Song... Nope, nada, can't think of anything.


Unless you count the songs that have meant something to me at various times throughout my life.


Queen's We Will Rock You / We are the Champions...
 that was my football team's song back when I was in grade school and a cheerleader for the community football league... the team that won the county championship every single year for 6 years running.


Then there was Slow Dancin' by Johnny Rivers 

That is the song that I had my very first kiss to... I was 12 and he took my face in his hands and slowly leaned in and gave me a lingering, heart felt kiss... it was Labor Day weekend and the summer of swimming and holding hands while we took long walks in the woods by the river was at an end...

Then there was Sweet's Love is like Oxygen and The Bee Gee's Too Much Heaven...

 Or any BeeGees song for that matter.
My first True Love and I loved the BeeGees. We would sit in his room and we would put on a 45 and drop the needle randomly on the record then would guess the song... in as few notes as possible. The BeeGees, Queen, Alabama, Lee Greenwood, Styx, Air Supply... I know, it was the 70's and let's face it, music was going through some serious transitioning back then. These songs take me back to when things between us were really good and we were really in love and planned to spend the rest of our lives together... before we grew up and got married and had kids and it all went so very wrong...

The 1980's were my high school years. My trying to find myself years and the music that was being put out there was perfect for me... Soft Cell and Adam Ant ...
And Blondie and Madonna and Pat Benetar and Joan Jett and Loverboy...

Disco and Pop and the beginning of Rap and Techno all being played on the same radio stations... it was totally awesome!

Blasphempous Rumors by Depeche Mode and Corey Hart's Never Surrender....


they are the songs that take me to that day in July when my brother was killed in a car accident. Corey Hart's song came in the radio for the first time as I was driving home from identifying his car and personal effects... and it said everything about my brother that was worth remembering...

Bryan Adams and Garth Brooks and Faith Hill and Green Day and Fire House brought me into the 90's and into a new marriage and more kids and more stress and strife and... the chance to be myself for the first time since I was... well in a very long time. I could wear what I wanted, color or cut my hair, have my own friends... and always have the support of my husband in everything I wanted to do.

Butterfly Kisses... that is the song that is my husband and my youngest daughter's song... the song that I heard for the first time when I was driving home from the hospital to take a shower, get fresh clothes... she was 6 days old and had been in a coma for 3 days and the doctor said she may not make it... that her daddy might never get to play soccer in the yard with her, see her off on her first date, walk her down the aisle...
But miracles do happen and she pulled through and she has grown into the beautiful, spoiled, intelligent and caring BratChild...

Linkin Park, Killers, Good Charlotte, Bruno Mars, PINK, Katy Perry... I love them all but I think that the song that best describes me, the me the way I see me?
Well then it would have to be..a song that is a little off, a little strange but in a good way... it would have to be Mr.Big's Green Tinted Sixties Mind...

The Life and Times of.... BusyMom!

BusyMom here...


Yeah, I know it's always me and I'm always Here.


But sometimes, okay, a lot of times...


I wish I could be somewhere else.


Like...
When I come in from a long night at work to find TeenBoy asleep in the dark on the sofa instead of on the school bus I just passed coming up our street.


When I come down in the morning only to find half-eaten bowls of cereal and cups of hot chocolate on the computer desk and breakfast room table, milk and cereal splashed everywhere, covered in ants who believe they have found The Promised Land and quickly sent out word to family and friends... all one million of them! 


When I get in my van and am hit with the noxious fumes from the dirty cleats and sweaty t-shirts and shorts and Under Armor soccer and football gear someone, Not Me most likely, has shoved under the back seat.


When I walk into the living room only to discover I am standing in yet another puddle left by StupidDog for me to find... usually the day after I steam cleaned the carpet, of course.


When I look at my day planner and calendar and try to sync them only to realize the computer program just won't let me be in 4 places at the same time... Silly computer! Doesn't it understand that I am BusyMom- a Super Hero in my own eyes?


I have been known to think derogatory thoughts about women who walk away from their children, their maternal obligations, to live lives unencumbered.
And yet...
Sometimes...
Just Sometimes....


I think that maybe I can understand the need to just be somewhere else...


And then the kids come home from school...


And SIX gives me a hug and a smile and that daggone dimple in his chin and the twinkle in his baby blues just gets to me...


BratChild hands me an order form for her soccer uniform sweats and I am so proud of her starting position on the High School soccer team I could cry...


ManChild drops by to spend a few hours before going to work... something we don't get to do now that he has moved out and is making his own way in the world like a real ADULT...


When GoodMom calls just to tell me BabyG smiled or FancyPants is finally interested in potty training...


When SmartGirl has a day off and goes to TeenBoy's football game with me and I see her cheering for him and the pride that shines through for her not so little brother... 


The same pride and love that all of my children show for one another... on occasion and not usually in public


I cannot imagine being anywhere else, living any other life, having any other family...


So...
BusyMom here...


And Here is where I'll stay.

I Will Survive... October's Theme Song

In the words of Gloria Gaynor-


You think I'd crumble?  You think I'd lay down and die?


                        OH NO!  NOT I!


                         I WILL SURVIVE!


These words, this song has inspired millions of women...
and men...


To overcome incredible odds...
To fight the un-winnable fight...
To Dream the Impossible Dream...

Choose to Support Cancer Research TODAY!!!!

                                              


Music is a strong motivator.


Music is a strong sensory memory trigger.


Just hearing the 3 opening notes to Queen's Another One Bites the Dust 


transports me instantly to my childhood


to the county football field


to a sunny Fall day


to yet another win for the team I cheered for


and the team I played street football with


and the tackle that really messed up my knee


that I didn't tell anyone about because...


well, I was a girl in a cheerleaders costume playing tackle football with the football team...


I Will Survive...


just those 3 words...

inspire
uplift
give hope
give strength


So...


For all of my friends who are searching for...


In need of...
Praying for...
The strength to carry on....


This is me...
sending a little bit of mine...
To You...

I HEART BOOBIES.... available @ Keep a Breast Foundation

                                           and Zumiez

Writer's Workshop... Where I am From

Well Hello.


It's been a while.


I. Know.


To get back in the proverbial saddle I am doing a post using a writing prompt from the ever popular and always insanely witty Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.


This is the template ( fill in the blanks style) from the SITS Girls- masterminds behind Bloggy Bootcamp- the one I did not get to go to...
So Here Goes!                   (pssst- it's a lot harder than it looks!)

I am from metal clamp on roller skates that never fit the way they should, from Hostess HoHo's and Wonder Bread, tins of Charles potato chips and Coca-Cola Dad traded for Twinkies with the Coke man around the corner.

I am from the middle of the road, one-story oozing Patriotism, of  Soap Operas and the voices of Beau and Hope and the songs of Sonny and Cher, the comedy of Laugh-In, where windows stay shut and curtains are never opened.

I am from the New Dawn roses in the front garden, from the lilies and crab apple tree that bloom out back in the Spring, from the land of weekend lawn mowers and running through sprinklers and climbing trees with the boys next door.

I am from Summer visits with Grams and Grand Dad, month long family vacations and standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon,  from Black Irish and blue eyes, from Raymond and Irma and Toy and Kate.

I am from quick tempers and long memories, from too many brothers and not enough sisters, from being the middle child in a family without one. 

From Good, Better, Best... and Do Unto Others... and what will the neighbors think...

I am from perfect attendance in Sunday school and questioning the Old Testament and Adam and Eve and people who see you on Sunday but see through you on Monday. Finding a way to find my way again.

I’m from the East Coast by way of Pennsylvania and Ohio and Poland and Germany and Ireland, sauerkraut and pierogis and golabki and Whoopie Pie.

From the one-legged turtle that terrorized Grandpa and the school where he worked, the way he could tell the story that had you convinced it was coming for you too, and Uncle Joe shooing the rabbits out of the tomatoes like Farmer Brown with the Flopsy Bunnies and the soporific properties of lettuce.

I am from vinyl photo albums with plastic sleeves instead of pages, family portraits and graduation pictures hung over the fireplace, family trees and genealogies written and published by Mom and favorite recipes meticulously compiled for each child,  grandchild and our foreign exchange sister complete with family stories and pictures of ancestors long gone but not forgotten. From keeping those who have gone ahead in our hearts and in our lives through our children and their children and the generations to come.

I am from a past that is present and traditions that I make up as I go along, to parents who did the best they could in a world where change happened in the blink of an eye, where  children grew up too fast and childhood was left behind far too soon.

I am from places and people that I will never know but who I am sure have always known me.

It's Great to Be...

Today was a busy day. 

And tomorrow?

It promises to be even busier than today.

Why? 

Why do I do this summer after summer, football and soccer season after football and soccer season?

Oh, you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?

Then I envy you.

No, I ENVY you...

You must be one of those lucky families whose kids don't play sports or join clubs or have friends who all seem to live across town...

I SO want to be that family...

I think...

Or not...

Never mind...

You can keep your life...

and I'll keep mine...

Shhhh...

Don't tell the kids but I think I would go mad with the inactivity of those other families lives so...

Back to being BusyMom to TheBusyFamily...

Ahhh... It's GREAT to be back! 

The Grand Tour... yeah, it's about culture

There is a reason that in the old days girl children were sent off to finishing schools when they were about 12 and only returned home long enough to try on the trousseau before the wedding took place and she was whisked away to spend the rest of her life nagging some poor unsuspecting guy to death.

If not for this quaint little custom I firmly believe that the human species would have died off long, long ago.
There are 2 reasons for this...

1)     if the girls had remained at home throughout the teen years... and please remember that beating children was still very much legal... well, I doubt many girls would have made it to the age of marrying off. Which is sad as they only had to make it to 14!

2)     by sending girls to live in all-girl boarding schools where they had no contact with guys of any age, but most especially anyone they would actually be interested in hanging out with, made them so starved for attention from any guy that they were much more amenable to an arranged marriage.

Of course, now that teen aged girls are totally horrendous beings, and beating them into submission is not an option, Swiss finishing schools are no longer in fashion. And let's face it, even if they were who on earth could afford to send their whiny, bratty, spoiled little angel to one anyway? Other than the obscenely rich and famous that is?

And then there is the Grand Tour. This is something that those of good breeding and culture did every year or so beginning around the turn of the century and on into the late 1920's...The Great Depression and all that.

Bribery is what the Grand Tour was. Honest to goodness basic bribery. I mean what girl doesn't want to go to Paris and Milan to buy their clothes? Who wouldn't be thrilled with the thought of meeting a rich and handsome guy with an accent who would sweep them off their feet?
Yep, sure wish that kind of thing was still done, or at least affordable enough to come back in style.

But no, instead we get to ground our children. We deprive them of their possessions until they earn them back with good behavior. Like a PlayStation or Xbox 360 or iPod can even come close to the bargaining power of a trip across Europe.

And the sad part is that this generation of bratty, spoiled teens has no idea what they are missing...
guess it's cuz they aint got no breeding or culture.

Mama's Losin It... post prompts to get you in the mood...

For WRITING ...


Each week the masterminds at Mama's Losin It come up with several thought provoking, imaginative, or just plain old silly ideas for blog posts.


This week I am using #5 as my inspiration to get back into the blogging routine...
Enjoy! 

 It's hot, the kids are home and crazy, our pets are panting, the days are long...share your number one Summer Survival Tip.


Okay. 
First, let me start by asking you a question... a serious one, I swear.


What makes anyone think that parents actually survive the summer school vacation with any of their mental faculties intact?
Yes, we are the grown ups.
And yes, we make the rules in our homes.
And again yes, we wanted these precious little miracles of nature ...


But that in no way means that we actually have any survival tips for making it to the end of the summer holidays without going insane from the constant litany of ...
"I'm bored"
"There's nothing to do"
and the ever popular... " it's too hot to go outside"


Here at TheBusyFamily home we have all the amenities of a four star hotel.
We have central air. 
We have a lovely, large outdoor pool.
We have an enormous deck leading to the afore-mentioned pool and...
We have a large, predominantly shady back yard that is just filled with wild honeysuckle and butterfly bush and the butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds, rabbits and deer to go with it.


And yet, even in this wondrous environment where a child can play soccer or volleyball or shoot some hoops; where breakfast can be eaten poolside at noon before a quick dip in the refreshingly cool water; where a tent can be pitched in a matter of minutes for an impromptu camp out complete with fireside scary stories and s'mores...


Yes, even in this haven of summer school vacation fun and laughter the children of  TheBusyFamily grow bored. 


They complain.
They bicker and argue.
They spend a lot of time in their rooms, staring at the ceiling.


While I, BusyMom of TheBusyFamily, take the opportunity to soak up some sun, take a dip in the pool, read a book or just sit and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature that I am lucky enough to have here at TheBusyFamilyHomestead.


So... for those searching for the secret to surviving the summer months my tip for you is simply this...


Do not seek to just survive...
seek to enjoy every minute you have to the fullest...
let your children see this joy so that they may learn to enjoy and appreciate what they have through your example.


Spend time with them. 
Get to know them.
But most importantly, do not be afraid to make them go out and get hot, get dirty, do chores around the house and yard... 


Be spontaneous. 
Be fun.


Be the kind of parent you want your children to grow up to be...
And you will do more than survive the summer...


You might even find out that you actually LIKE your kids...
but do not expect them to like you in return... 


At least not in public

Where Have All the Friendships Gone...

Time marches on.

Or so I have been told.

The proof is in the footprints it leaves upon the soul.

Friendships, like Time, march onward too.

They last as long as there is a need and then...

They too...   

Are gone.

Yes, Time marches on...

But it leaves behind Memories that will last a lifetime

Of the Friendships that helped shape us.

That helped make us.

Who we are Today.

Calgon... Take Me Away!

Remember that commercial slogan?

Or how about...

The Uncola...was that for 7-Up?

I'm a pepper, he's a pepper, wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?

Hey! It's Burger Chef and Jeff....

and Weeble Wobble but they don't fall down...

And they'll tell 2 friends and they'll tell 2 friends and they'll tell 2 friends... and so on and so on and so on...

Does anyone else in the world remember these catchy advertising slogans other than myself?

Sometimes I feel like there is something seriously wrong with my brain.

I can remember somethis as obscure as the tune to HR PUFFINSTUFF ( you know the one with Jimmie and the magic flute and Witchie Poo?)

or the name of the boy who was the lead kid in Sigmund and the Sea Monster (that would be Johnny Whitaker and he was also the little boy who played Jody in Family Affair with is twin sister Buffy who had a big sister named...wait for it... Sissy! And the Brian Keith was their dad... )

Yeah.

I know.

I can remember the birthday if kid's I haven't seen in nearly 40 years ...

But I can't remember the password for half the places I have to go online.

Like the credit card payment sites.

Or the mortgage payment site.

And the blogging site where you can meet up with other people like yourself, only smarter and more together obviously as they can actually LOG ON!

And then there is the online access to TheBusyFamily medical records...

Yeah.
See what I mean.

There is this thing on my Crackberry...
a password keeper.

It's great!

It's a miracle!

It can't help me one single bit ...

I can't remember the password!