Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: birthdays, cigarettes, daughters, Dr. Laura, friends, girls, kids, mistakes, parenting, priorities, smoking, stupidity, teenagers
Tomorrow FD turns 14.I can’t believe it, seriously, I cannot believe that I have a 14 year old…..who’s half an inch taller than me, and I’m not short! It got me thinking about all of the stupid stuff I did at her age, and it made me very thankful that I’m a much more involved parent than CAM ever was (but this is not about CAM!).
By the time I reached the age of 14 I had already tried my first cigarette (and that’s all I’m telling you about). I will NEVER forget this story, mainly because I learned what an incredible idiot I was. I was about 12 or 13 and CAM was always working all the time, she didn’t get home until late. My friend Lisa was planning on coming over after school and when we got home she produced a cigarette that she had stolen from her mom. We really had no idea what to do with it but we were so excited we couldn’t stand it! Since we were so afraid that someone would see us, we decided that the best place to try this cancer stick would be in my bathroom, window open, fan on……that should take care of the smell right? Wrong. CAM came home about 2 hours after we had lit up and she could smell it from the front door to the back of the house. I was toast, as usual. Funny thing was that her ranting was so normal that I think I took to tuning her out really well. I’ve repressed the memories of the punishments……that’s not a joke, I seriously don’t remember what happened even though I know I was punished!
My point is that with everything that the kids are being taught in school there is no way that FD would even think about trying a smoke. The schools have these kids scared so straight I am amazed. And I’m not the only mom that feels this way. When I talk to other moms about what we did at this age versus what our girls are doing now we all laugh and thank God that we’re able to keep better track of our kids. And maybe that’s why we do it. CAM didn’t make me a priority and most of my other friends had moms that worked and simply trusted that the kids would be okay and stay out of trouble. But for those of us that got into trouble we’re so knowledgeable about what the kids could be doing that we’ve made a conscious effort to be home when the kids get home from school or volunteer in the classroom or get to know our kids’ friends parents or install home alarm systems in an effort to keep the kids in (not burglars out)!
Either way I’m thankful for the fact that the schools are doing a great job with drug and tobacco education, that there are people like Dr. Laura who aren’t afraid to tell people that kids are the priority, NOT careers and I’m mostly thankful for the knowledge that I gained through my own stupidity. My hope is that my children learn from my mistakes and that they benefit from my knowledge of what NOT to do! Well, one can hope!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: actions, awareness, cell phones, effects, English, friends, parenting, rude, rude behavior, treatment
Almost every weekday morning I meet up with my BFF D for about a 45 minute brisk walk through our neighborhood and around the local park, and sometimes MFH joins us. Without fail we run into several other people while we’re out, many of them the same people every day. We all have our routine. Every once in a while we’ll walk by someone we haven’t seen before and at least once a week we’ll walk by someone who doesn’t return our cheery “Good Morning!” This morning that got me thinking about how rude people can be. AND, whether we all know it or not how we respond and how others respond to us can affect us throughout the day!
Here is my top ten list of rude behavior:
10: Chain e-mails that are sent by supposed friends that tell you to either forward it on to ten other friends or “you will have a horrible day”! What the heck is that?? Nice “friend”!
9: People who drive 10 miles under the speed limit with only a single lane of traffic and a double yellow line. It doesn’t cost anything to pay attention!
8: People who allow their dogs to poop on the sidewalk and don’t pick it up…..even when there is a free baggy, next to the garbage can, within 10 feet of where the offending poop happened!
7: People who pretend to not speak English. It’s one thing to really not know the language but if you’re not going to try, at least learn how to apologize for it, in English!!
6: Not signaling when going for a right turn. MFH is famous for that. He’s been flipped off for not signaling more times than I can count….and he deserves it every time!
5: It’s rude when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store and a new checker opens their lane and then takes the LAST person in line….the one behind you. “I can help whoever is next” does not mean the person behind me! OH, and then I’m the rude one for pointing this out to the checker with a pleasant “I believe I was next”…..no, that’s just irritating.
4: This one is touchy: people who talk on their phone in public places AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS. The last part is the most important. I think that people should be able to converse on their cell phones but they need to be mindful of their surroundings.
3: Parents who do not control their children…….need I say more? Public displays of poor parenting should not be tolerated.
2: People who are chronically late. Oh wait, that’s me….but I’m admitting that I have a problem and I’m working on it. I’ve trained my friends and family to expect me 30 minutes late to any function, so it’s working!
1: AND the number one most rude thing that people do? When you are a pedestrian and a car will not stop to allow you (by law) to cross the road at a cross walk….and then when you pleasantly remind them that you have the right of way by either flipping them off or by yelling “Hey, thanks asshole!” they actually give you a dirty look! That’s just rude, and wrong!
A wise friend once made the suggestion that I keep a journal of all of the people that I came into contact with and how I responded to them throughout the day. When I say “came into contact with” I mean anyone from the gas station attendant to co-workers….EVERYONE. She said that after she had done this she became acutely aware of how her responses and actions toward other people could have affected them negatively and thus she changed her attitude to become a person that was more mindful of how she treated others. That’s a nice thought, in theory.
Me on the other hand? I’ll keep using my car’s horn, my hand gestures and my all around pleasant use of the English language to counteract the effects of rudeness!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: children, danger, kids, news story, parenting, stranger
Last night was not my proudest moment but I suppose that if the story made even one parent stop and think about reminding their kids not to answer the door to a stranger then I guess, in a weird way that I did something good for society. Who cares that it made me look like an idiot, right?! Okay, so I took one for the team!
(Hint: Click on the highlighted “Story” in the paragraph to see the “Stranger Danger” story)
