Jim Henson's Prodigy

Sometimes I worry so much about my son.  Reading and writing are still such a challenge for him.  He has improved exponentially, but it is still an up hill battle.   But then he does something like this:

Just some Sculpey and an imagination.  He started with a need to create a hamburger and all its fixin's and then he got into these little characters.

Looking at them all I could think of was the Muppets.  What do you do with a creative mind like this?  How do you grow it from play to art / stage?  I know the first step is to let it flourish and grow without being stomped on which we have allowed, but now how do we give it the light and nourishment to offer him stability and earnings in the future?

A Woman's Weekend Alone

Ok,  all you people looking for a description of a wild, sexy weekend of partying based on this title, I suggest that you surf on,  you will find no such article here.  All of you mom's who think that you will never have one minute to yourself ever again, read on.  This weekend was a first in our house.  DH took both of the kids camping and I was left home alone with the the animals (thus the Movies that Make You Cry entry). I had an entire weekend to myself.  Granted Sunday, I walked with 20,000 other people in the Rays of Hope Breast Cancer Walk, but the rest of the weekend was mine.  You are probably thinking that this sounds heavenly.  What you wouldn't do just to be able to go to the bathroom without someone knocking on the door.  Let me tell you, it was ........................................................HORRIBLE! 

Yes, there were enjoyable points.  I watched a couple of chick flicks.  I got a lot of writing done.  I didn't have to fight for the remote or my blankets.  I didn't have to cook and there were practically no dishes.  But there was no laughter, no snuggling, no reason to make dinner, and no kisses goodnight.  I found myself aching for them to come home.  I missed my daughter prattling on and my son's bear hugs.  I wandered around the house wondering what I am ever going to do when they grow a little older and move out.  I felt serious empathy for my father who lives alone now and could not imagine enduring this boredom day in and day out for weeks, months, years.

So, I advise all you mothers who think you will never have another solitary uninterupted thought to appreciate it.  It will not be long until your little ones are out of the house, until their social calendars are busier than yours, until not only do you have a moment to breathe but seriously unending silence.  On those days, you'll miss the knocks, the laughter, and even the dishes.

I'm so glad that today they are home!

Every Time You Feel The Spirit

There is a strange characteristic of New England Congregationalists – restraint. Where you may think of Southern Baptists hands raised praising “Alleluia”; New England Congregationalist are the picture of restraint. Rarely do we even clap or a good hymn or a blessing we have heard. Severe and quiet do we sit with our puritanical ancestors keeping us in line. Today, this tendency actually became comical when the minister tried to teach a lesson in the Children’s Sermon about enthusiasm – literally translated from Greek meaning to be filled with God’s spirit. He encouraged them to share how they cheered for their favorite sports team. The wide eyed children looked queerly at the Reverend. He egged them on. Meekly one girl said the words, “Go Brimfield. Go.” But the voice was so quiet and respectful in the Sanctuary.

“Is that really how you say it? Or do you say it louder?” The girl eyed him. You could see t in all of their eyes – Noise in church? They had been taught well.

There is an animal behavior experiment by Gary Hamel and CK Prahalad (as told in Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover) in which monkeys were put in a cage with a tall pole on top of which sat fresh ripe bananas. Of course, the monkeys were eager for the favorite food. They made easy work of the pole but just as they were about to reach for the prize the researchers blew the monkeys off the pole with a strong burst from a fire hose. After a few times of this the chimp gave up and stopped trying for the banana. More interestingly, when new monkeys were introduced to the cage and enticed by the same bananas, it was not the fire hose which halted them, but their fellow monkeys who pulled them down. Eventually, each of the original chimps was replaced so that no animal had experience the fire hose deterrent. Even so the monkeys continued not to eat the bananas. They had learned that the bananas were off limits.

Were these children the same? Had all these generations later had the descendents of the Puritans remained reserved to avoid the stockades? Even ministerial permission they no longer could be spiritually enthusiastic.

I must side with the minister on this one and believe it may be time for us to reach for the bananas. If the spirit moves you . . .

Reading Challenge 2009 - The Total Money Makeover

I finished #11 of the Reading Challenge 2009 – A book that claims it will make your life better because you read it. I checked out our new library (which by the way is very, very small- we’ll need to work on that) and took out Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. In these difficult financial times, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on your finances. I’m sure just like a food diet certain plans work for some and other plans work better for others, but Dave Ramsey has certainly put together a plan that can help anyone on the road to financial success. The most important message in his book is that it is ok to be debt free.




Can you imagine what a different society we would have if the idea spread across our nation? Instead of a nation of spenders, we would have a nation of savers. The sad truth is that even our nation’s capitol now thinks that spending is the answer. Perhaps I should send a copy of this book to our congressmen!

Let me hear from you guys. What part of the challenge have you undertaken?

Help - My Kids are Growing Up

Help me. I no longer understand the language being spoken at my dining room table. I remember when the children were small and I used to complain that my husband never took the children. For me, they were constant appendages. I love / loved my children, but there were times I so desperately needed a break. I could not even image this day coming. Now he goes here and there with them and I am the one left home. They have started fishing and camping. Last weekend and this weekend, they are taking a hunting course. They’re talking about caliber and action, discussing seasons to hunt what, and I am left just drop-jawed. I barely understand what they are talking about.

Now I am left with hours and days with no one in the house, except the dogs. I did not think that it was possible. I’m sure it is only going to get worse as they get older and branch off with their friends and, bite your tongue, get their licenses and jobs. When they were first born, it seem like there was so much time in front of us. Now it seems to be more behind us than in front of us. Only just a few more years before college or life . . .what shall I ever do?

New Teen Driving Laws

New driving laws have been adopted here in Connecticut and came into effect yesterday. New restrictions have been added to teen drivers, and parents have even been ordered to attend a two hour teen safety driving course. Of course, it has strong public support. People are rallied behind the idea of safeguarding our teens. Proof that acceptance of governmental control is always the way you spin it. I think that we have become a regulation happy society. We seem to think that should make laws for everything. These driving laws, although based in a reasonable ideal, are just more laws that are illogical and unenforceable (except in the worst case scenario of an accident). Are police officer’s now supposed to guess how old a driver is? Hmmm – 16? 18? Have they had their license for a year or 6 months (you cannot have friends in the vehicle until you’ve had your license for a year)?

I don’t know about most of you, but my time behind the wheel was often with my parents as they had to run my younger brother into town for a baseball game. Thank goodness I’m not getting my license now because you can’t have even you siblings in the car for the first 6 months. However if you are being raised by a single parent there is an exception (and a police officer would know this how? Does that mean a divorce decree has to be issued? How about if you are just separated? What about a married couple where one of the spouses travels?). What about families where the children are spaced well apart? You are teaching a 16 year old but also have a 4 year old. Are you supposed to leave the younger one home alone? I think this law instead of increasing driver’s strengths may weaken them, because the teens will never be allowed to drive. They will only meet the most minimal hours on the road.

Also, because the license becomes less restrictive as time passes, many teens will not have free will use of their cars until they are at college or out on their own. I don’t know about you but I would much rather have my children test the boundaries while under my roof than when they out on their own – ever heard of college binging and the freshman 15 - - how about the dropout rate for freshman in college. . . When children are out on their own for the first time, they tend to go a little crazy. Now we want them to do it with a car.

The law also reduces the curfew to 11:00 pm. I thought the government only enforced curfews under martial law? Doesn’t this seem to be a petty crime to waste police officers time with? Curfew is a parent’s jurisdiction. If you want to make a driving law, make one that gives parent’s the right to revoke their children’s driving rights either temporarily or permanently (until 18). It is only at this level that individual circumstance can be taken into account. If the concern is that kids are only out to party or cause mischief after 11:00 pm then there are laws against drunk driving, underage drinking, and criminal mischief on the books. Why not use the laws that already exist instead of making more?

Ironically, this law only applies to 16 and 17 year olds. If you wait until 18, none of these restrictions apply. It is my guess that we will see a reduction in 16 and 17 year old car related fatalities and accidents and a rise in 18 year olds. Unfortunately accidents are not necessarily a product of young drivers, but instead of inexperience. By making all these rules and regulations, we are just changing the timeline for that experience.

Freedom at Risk

This morning on the news, there was a story about insurance companies adjusting rates based on the number of miles you drive. They do this a bit already when you declare how far you drive to work, but this program would take this a step farther. They would like to electronically monitor your odometer. The theory behind this is that the farther you drive, the more likely you are to be in an accident. It was sold in the news story as a possible way to reduce rates for those of us who drive less. In my experience, any short drive savings, if there are any, will be set off strongly by the increases imposed. Frighteningly, most of the people that were questioned during the news story were enthusiastic about the idea. They felt if it might reduce the cost of insurance, they were all for it. HELLO –People! Why don’t you just sign over your privacy now?

People don’t realize that the loss of rights doesn’t happen in one striking blow, but in small acceptable steps. Recently, I read the book book Night by Elie Wiesel. His first chapters illustrate this idea in horrifying truth. Elie was a young man growing up during the time of World War II. He was Jewish. He watched first hand as the people in his town complied with Nazi’s requests. Move to the Ghetto – ok, it may be better to live together anyway. Be prepared to move on - at least we will have our families. As they arrived at the death camps, let us revolt – let us keep our calm and see what happens. Elie writes in frightening detail about what comes next. They have gone too far to do anything to stop what comes next.

I often think that people would willingly place tracking devices in their children if given the proper persuasion. If it was said that the government was requiring implants, the people would rise up. But if the same “request” was formed as a way to protect and keep children safe, mothers would line up for miles never considering that something so good could be used for wrong later on.We must be vigilant about our rights always. Our freedoms can so easily slip through our fingers under the guise of what is right and “good for us”.

Free people, remember this maxim: We may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost. ~ Jean-Jacques Rosseau