2015-06-26

LOVE Is Legal and I Forgot Everything Else I Was Going To Say

I had planned to write something this weekend, so many ideas swirled around like fallen twigs clogging the sewer drains all over the Midwest causing all the flooding. What to write about that anyone else would care about, but my funnel of thought was BLOWN AWAY by SCOTUS' decision to lift every ban on same sex marriage across the United States. 

Way to go, USA! Finally a step in the right direction, however long overdue.

My social media feeds were more filled with rainbows than this weekend's Pride Parade. I really needed to see that, too, because Thursday we went to Brookfield Zoo's first ever Pride Day and got there late so we didn't get our rainbow fix. We saw one rainbow flag in the whole place. No signage. Nothing on their social media channels. Hmmmmmm. 

Anyway huge step for Team Human. And don't tell anyone but I cried a little. Well, YOU read this and try not to cry. 

And if that doesn't make you cry, don't tell me because that means you're dead inside. And my particular hollow insides are always attracted to those kinds of people, so let's just HIGH-FIVE finally having one damn good reason to be proud of our country.

I hate that it took this long, but I am also thankful it's done. Let's move on to the next thing. 

Like taking down the confederate flag everywhere that isn't a museum or a sad footnote in history books. Don't come at me with Southern nostalgia. We all know the creator of this flag wanted it to be the symbol of white supremacy and segregation. We all know that past and current hate groups literally use it as a symbol of hate. Racism and hate trump your nostalgia. Done. Next issue.

Oh I love when things zip along.

I'm thankful with each year of my life, along with losing muscle mass I gain the wisdom to make decisions more easily and move on. I'll take that trade. Especially since there isn't much I can do about it. Except exercise, but let's focus on GOOD things we're thankful for right now.

We're getting End of Times rain and flooding in the Midwest right now, so the Silver Linings there are:
It's not snow. 
We're not in a drought. 
We finished our basement repairs just in time. Not one drop of water got in! 
Well, except for a little condensation from leaving the windows open. Did I mention we can OPEN the windows now?! Huzzah!

So many good thankfuls I need to focus on right now. I thought we were going to be good work-wise for the summer, but decided the new family wasn't a good fit for us. It bummed me out for awhile, but it's done. It was the right decision. I need to focus on the positives and forget the rest. 

I don't want to be negative, so I'll just say I like to keep my group small so we can do a lot of things: From walks, parks, games, arts and crafts, books, all kinds of things. This isn't just a business, this is my family. I like them busy, learning, having fun, getting TIRED. Certain people/situations make those things difficult. I can handle almost any kind of kid, but there are certain kinds of parents I just can't work with. 

Kids need a little guidance, structure, to know what their boundaries are. They NEED boundaries. They will always have them, different everywhere they go, there is nothing wrong with that. Parents have to be strong, have to be in charge and make the rules. Otherwise it won't take long before kids walk all over you. Then when they get to school it takes them longer to get with the program. 

They can't learn if all the time is spent getting them to catch up with the others in terms of sitting in one place, following very simple rules, eating real food in a calm manner. If you don't even want to try that? I can't fix it in a couple hours 3 days a week. Neither can teachers. You HAVE to start, however small. If you're not even willing to try? Have a nice day, somewhere else. I don't have the patience for that. Nor should I have to. 

My kids will only be this age once. A couple dollars isn't worth making them wait around for other kids to get with the program. Parenting is hard enough. Keep your village tight with the right kinds of people. Like my sister says, get rid of the weeds before they poison the whole garden. I'm thankful for her guidance in this way, and that my husband is understanding. I'm sure he'll be bummed at the paychecks this costs us, but seeing his kids active and happy is worth it. 

I'm forever thankful I have these options. That I live in a place where we won't go hungry, however tight the budget gets. I'm also thankful I was able to get some side work from a friend of mine to get us through the summer. Work at home has unique challenges. I'm glad I can do it and be home with my kids, no matter the ups, downs and WTF's! Soon enough they'll be teenagers and off with their friends and doing their own things and I'll be forever grateful for this time.

That has to be more than 10! I have to bring my son his phone he left in my car and go enjoy our time to be together and go things before my house gets filled with kids and reasons why we can't. 
Sorry if takes me awhile to hop around and answer comments lately. SUMMER!


13 comments:

  1. It's a great day for the USA! Congrats to SCOTUS for doing the right thing.

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    1. Thank you. Only a decade behind you. One bigot tweeted his discontent by saying, ironically, "I guess I'm moving to Canada." Apparently not knowing same sex marriage has been legal there for quite some time.
      Funny how quite often people filled hate are so filled because of the GIANT GAPING HOLE left in their soul by not allowing intelligence inside.

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  2. For a change, I am SO PROUD of our country! Really, so proud of SCOTUS. And now I can just laugh at Scalia instead of wanting to go at him with a baseball bat.

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    1. YES. And our POTUS helped pick those judges, so there's that. Scalia, OMG. What a nut. No matter what he's done in his life he will forever be known as "Old Man Yells At Cloud" that meme is hilarious and so true. Sounds like it's time for him to retire.

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  3. I can understand why you would be careful about your groups - watching other peoples children while parenting your own can be tough. You want to have enough energy left for your own at the end of the day, and during the day, you want it to be a good thing for everyone. I tried it for a few years when my oldest was a toddler, I found it extremely tiring and I had a couple of really good kids I was watching.

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    1. YES. It IS extremely tiring. I'm 42 and they make me feel OLD by 5:00! It is nice sometimes to have other kids for my kids to play with, but yes, you want to find a good fit. Which seems to be hard these days!

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    2. I could be wrong, but I am assuming you meant to link to the TToT? Just wondered because I was waiting for your link to pop up before commenting and I haven't seen it there yet.

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    3. I haven't linked up yet. Laptop issues and timing. I do most things from my phone now and haven't yet tried posting a blog post or linking to something via phone. Does that even work??

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    4. I don't know! I can handle doing some things from my phone, but I'm not savvy enough to do everything.

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  4. I know I have good Facebook friends because I didn't have to block or unfollow a single one for saying something stupid or ignorant immediately following that decision. Like you said, it's all about focusing on the positive. Even in the small things.

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  5. It was a wonderful day that day when SCOTUS made the ruling!
    I also agree with you regarding giving kids boundaries and rules! I know my two appreciate knowing that even though they may grumble about it sometimes! Yes, having kids and parents who are just not on the same page as you in terms of discipline is indeed annoying and it's better to mutually agree that it won't work out sooner rather than later!

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    1. Kids really do need limits. My son was a very high-energy kid, my father said he wouldn't watch him b/c he couldn't handle him. Yet his dad's GRANDMOTHER, who was in her late 70's could handle him just fine. Because she gave him limits and held him to them. He was better for her than anyone, b/c she wouldn't take his crapola.

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