Parenting 101

Today's posting is about children. More specifically, their parents. I do not claim to be an expert, just using a little common sense in this observation.

I have to laugh at some of these parents who think their children are soooo perfect. I sit with these moms & dads at the pool in the summer, at various sporting events, at school functions and can not believe their stupidity. I can not even begin to tell you how many times I've heard a parent say, "my child would never.....(fill in the blank)." Um, yes. Yes they would. They're kids. This is what they do.

Exhibit #1: My favorite story is about a good friend of mine who would swear on a stack of bibles that her child didn't "party." One day I was an observer at a sporting event and a bunch of high school girls sat behind me. I didn't know who they were, they didn't know me. They proceed to talk about the previous night's festivities and mentioned how "messed up" my friend's child was. One girl actually said, "has anyone checked on XXXX today to see if they're still alive?? I've never seen them that wasted before."

Exhibit #2: We have a lovely family here in our sub-division whose little angel has recently been arrested in a string of burglaries in our town. This boy has been in and out of trouble for years and years and we've even had some personal run-ins with him and his family. Mommy & daddy have supported him thru thick and thin and have even posted his bail within hours of his recent arrest. Now, I understand this particular child's behavior is extreme and I hope to God that Chris & I or any of our friends have to go thru that as parents. However, what about the parents that turn a blind eye to minor things? Are they setting their child (and themselves?) up? Are they creating a generation of spoiled children who know that no matter what they do, mommy & daddy will back them up?

Exhibit #3: T went through a lot of crap this summer. Nothing serious, just typical 15-year old bullshit. She's a tough kid; she's over it. She found out who her friends were and who she could trust (as did I at 41 years old!). A parent of one of the kids involved corresponded w/ me and told me there is "no way" her child did any of this because her child "said so." Um....okay. Do you really think your 15-year old kid is going to own up to it and risk having their precious cell phone taken away? God forbid they can't text their little fingers to the bone! Do you really think they're going to risk having their Facebook privileges restricted? We can raise our kids with the best intentions, read the best parenting books, consult with pediatricians as necessary, take them to church and to Sunday school. Bottom line is, they're still children. Just because they "said so" doesn't mean it's fact. Wake up and smell the coffee. This generation is never going to learn if parents bail them out at every turn.

Has it really been over a week...

...since I last blogged? Wow! Very unlike me!

The kids started school a week ago. Everything has gone well so far (knock on wood!). KJ really likes her teacher. She came home from school the first day and said her teacher was "very energetic." I guess that's a good thing. T has also enjoyed her first couple of days at the senior campus. She had to change her locker to a more convenient location and that was really her only hiccup. Since our morning bus has always arrived way too early, Chris has always taken both girls to school on his way to work. This year the girls start school an hour apart so T has been taking the bus in the AM and she's had plenty of time to get ready in the morning. She's even made herself eggs for breakfast a couple of times.

We had to check both girls out of school around lunch time on Friday so we could head to Tallahassee for Brittany and Matt's rehearsal dinner. It was only a 5-hour ride but it seemed much longer than that due to the secondary roads we had to travel on. Podunk little roads w/ tons of stop lights. We literally checked into the hotel, changed our clothes and ran over to the country club for the rehearsal dinner. The wedding didn't start until 5 PM on Saturday so we spent the morning walking around FSU and then headed over to the church.

Brittany looked absolutely beautiful on her wedding day! So elegant and graceful! She's always had a wonderful smile since she was a little girl. Joe & Laurie were very, very calm and the ceremony was both meaningful and personal. We had a lot of fun at the reception and I had way too much wine! It was wonderful to see family again and a great time was had by all.

We left Tallahassee as early as we could on Sunday so KJ could be home in plenty of time for the Jo Bros concert (that's Jonas Brothers to some of you!). Her friend Gabi invited her months and months ago when her mom bought the tickets. It was her very firsst concert and, as you could imagine, she had a blast! She had a special outfit picked out and even made posters.

So now we're into our first full week of school and activities (and homework) have started back up. KJ has dance on Tuesday and Wednesday, T has dance on Wednesday, Thursday and bright and early Saturday mornings. KJ has volleyball on Wednesday and Friday. Fall lacrosse will be starting soon so there go our Sunday's.

Required Summer Reading

Poor T. she's trying to get through her required summer reading before school starts next week. Unfortunately, she has to read "Starship Troopers" and apparently the book sucks. All the kids are complaining about it and really struggling. I think she's about ready to just rent the movie starring Denise Richards.

Why can't the kids read classics? Tom Sawyer? Little Women? To Kill a Mockingbird (a personal favorite!). Lord of the Flies? George Orwell's Animal Farm? Don Quixote? Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea? Jack London's Call of the Wild? Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne? The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson? The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper? The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. Wind in the Willows? Watership Down? Great Expectations? The Great Gatsby?

what a week

well, tomorrow marks the end of a fairly crappy week. Felt like I was in high school all over again...I had one friend betray my confidence (it really wasn't that big of a deal; I said something in passing, she mentioned it to someone else) but the other friend thought it was major and decided to terminate our 10-year freindship. In keeping with my new lease on life....Whatever. Guess I know now who my friends are and who values our friendship and who doesn't.

Whatever!!!

"Whatever" is my new mantra; my new way of thinking, my new way of life. I'm not going to let anything/anyone upset me. I am so sick and tired of fake, phony people who smile and nod at you as they're stabbing you in the back. I'm tired of people making mountains out of molehills and reading into things too much. I'm tired of immature people. I'm tired of people who think their children are perfect and "would never" do whatever it is. Whatever.

A wise man (OK...it was Chris) said "we have our health, each other and two beautiful daughters, that's all that matters." And as much as it kills me to admit it, he's right. So, to all the people who have upset me the past couple of weeks for various reasons....Whatever.