boys are fun

I was cleaning my back sliding door today and guess what I found? A dead earwig taped to the top of the door. There it was, stuck between one piece of scotch tape and the glass. Now I'm not sure if the earwig was deceased before it was adhered to the glass or if the poor insect faced the traumatic loss of life due to taping but I thought it was nonetheless an interesting choice on the part of my sons. At one time in my life I would have found this act heinous and declared the perpetrator and sicko but as the mother of three boys I have learned that these displays are quite common and no indication of future criminal activity. I have to say, boys just add such a different dimension to any home. I'm glad I've been thrice blessed.

She's here

Here is our butterfly. She emerged this afternoon and we have sent her on her way. We know she is a girl because she is missing two black spots on the lower, center of her wings. Only males have those, they release pheromones. This was a great little experience this summer, I look forward to raising more next year.

Metamorphosis continued

Here are some pictures of the caterpillars. These aren't my caterpillars but this is EXACTLY what they did. The hanging "J" is the first sign they are close to cocooning. The second photo is the skin splitting and the pupa emerging, the third is the pupa stage and the last is the chrysalis. I should have a butterfly in about 2 days, maybe sooner.

Save Yourself

I have to wonder at what Fed. Chair Ben Bernanke has been thinking lately. I wonder if he feels a little like God after looking at the mess we Americans have gotten ourselves into with the debt loads we carry. Too bad he can't just say "Stop making such a mess of the economy people, this has nothing to do with interest rates.". Someday we are gonna have to learn fiscal responsibility.

Human weakness

I've read a lot about the Utah mine disaster and I have to express my disappointment over the media reaction to Mr. Murry, the mine owner. Even the Governor of Utah jumped on the band wagon by chastising Mr. Murray about holding press conferences and being available to the public by saying that if Presidents of airlines don't do that, mine owners shouldn't either. What?

Now maybe Mr. Murray isn't the most congenial person. In fact maybe he down right stinks at interpersonal relations and can't put a compassionate thought through his lips but please, lets cut him a little slack. He's made himself available to the press and to the families. He originally vowed to pull those men out of the mountain no matter what condition they might be found in. I believe he's tried to help. He cared more about helping others than shielding himself from lawsuits (which will surely follow). He lives on the mountain, he's worked with the rescue miners and now he's getting ripped to shreds in the public press. Folks, I think when human beings are faced with tragedy we lose our ability to see beyond who we can blame for what happened and on to how we can make something better from it. Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes all our technology and education, all our political might, all our public policy can't make things right. It's taken SIX holes to find these miners and there is a high probability these men won't be found. Let's face it, we are physically weak in comparison to the strength of this mountain. We hate to be reminded that we are not in control of everything around us. We hate to be reminded that sometimes, we're just not gonna get the outcome we want. At times like these the difference between the people who are miserable and hateful and those who find peace and start to heal is that latter sees past the obstacles and make a new path.

I feel very sad for the families of those men. I can't imagine knowing my husband is buried inside a mountain of coal and I may never get to mourn him properly. My prayer is that these families can find it within themselves to forgive so that they can grieve and they can heal.

GFC 7

Here's the latest Good Force Challenge: Take 5! Arrange to take five extra minutes tucking your kids into bed. You'd be amazed how much can be said in five minutes and what your kids will tell you if you let them know they have your full attention. Don't have kids? Take 5 for yourself at bedtime. Write in a journal, read a book, meditate. It's a great way to end the day.

Back to School

Got two of the kids back to school today! (Do you hear the sound of angels singing?) My house is quiet and clean. I'll admit, it's nice to be on a schedule again but I am a little bored this afternoon without too much to do. Here are some pics of the kids this morning.

Time to Reflect

In preparation for the marathon I waked 13 miles today. It went well, I am sore and a little tired but no worse for the wear. In those 3 hours I had time to reflect on many things and the one thought that truly stuck with me was this; I have finally realized in my life that I can let go of the person I'm not in order to become the person I need to be. I realize at the age of 33 that this lesson could have been learned a long time ago but I am no less grateful for it today. It was a good day.

Thank You

I read a sweet article in a local magazine yesterday while at the dentist. As I was trying to keep my 18 month old from breaking the glass on the 100 gallon fish tank in the lobby my eyes caught a few sentences from an interview with Jane Clayson Johnson formally of The Early Show. She was recalling the experience she had after giving birth to her son at 27 weeks gestation. "When he was in the NICU he was very sick. The hospital recommended 'kangaroo care' which is skin to skin care.I would go to the hospital every day to hold him. Day after day, week after week, he didn't respond to me in any way. I wondered if I was making a difference. A very perceptive neonatologist sensed my sadness and came to my corner of the unit. She sat down and said 'William can't express it right now but on his behalf let me say "thank you" for being here.'

On behalf of all the kids who are too busy running around the house, making messes and making noise let me say THANK YOU MOM! Thank you for breakfast this morning, thank you for reading to me. Thank you for unloading the dishwasher and loading it back up again. Thanks for good snacks and making me brush my teeth and most of all, thank for loving me so much that you do these things everyday without expecting me to say thanks.

So Mature

I found a good one today! It's an article from MSNBC written by Alex Johnson about the growing push to lower the legal drinking age. Apparently the National Youth's Rights association is backing a drive to put lowering the drinking age (to 18) front and center in the political arena. I don't even know where to begin with this. First, who are the National Youth's Rights Association? Are they seventeen year old high school students with a lot of mojo? Seriously, if they are, I'm impressed with the diligent hard work on getting such an important topic so widely noticed. That takes commitment! My question would be why would such obviously talented youths feel that this topic is a worthy cause? Seriously, if you can get something like this noticed, think about what you could do for poverty in America. Teaching inner city kids about why they shouldn't drink and do drugs. Heck, teaching suburban kids about why they shouldn't drink or do drugs. The list of alternate topics, better topics is endless:

Teen pregnancy awareness
Aids/STD prevention
College admittance
Tutoring
Adopt a country
Violence in Darfur
Violence in America
Why to stay out of gangs
Community involvement

Need I say more?


Yes! I know I'm ranting here but it's really kind of fun on such a no brainer. I'm not even getting into the issues about safety and addiction, that's a whole other post! C'mon parents, what are we teaching our kids? That it's ok to drink as long as you do it in the open? Folks, there was just a big push to raise the driving age because we don't think teenage drivers are ready to be behind the wheel alone so early! Let's make up our minds, do we think they're ready or not?
And to those who say "well they can vote and they can fight for our country" I say raise the voting a draft ages.

It's Time

I've realized after reviewing several entries in my blog that I have very quietly avoided one subject that is very dear to me and really, most important to my life. In my efforts to keep my views open to readers, I have carefully avoided bringing up, alluding to or otherwise discussing the subject of my religion. I am somewhat amused at my discomfort and trepidation simply because it's just flat out wrong and I look at it as just another symbol of my silliness. I have decided that it's time for me to stop worrying that I might "disenchant" a group of readers by discussing my beliefs. One of the items you will find on my "What Drives the Force" is faith. It is true. One of the greatest single forces in my life is my belief in my chosen religion. I was born into, baptized by choice into and continue to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (the Mormons). Every thought that comes from my head comes from that background. What I find interesting, and why I have been apprehensive, is that some people will find me weak because of that. What I also find interesting is that I feel the need to defend myself for it. I am excited to dive into these ideas in future posts and really take a look at religious beliefs in this country. I am adding a link to the LDS website (LDS is the abbreviated name of the church) in case anyone wants to know what I'm talking about. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Metamorphosis

I've added a better picture. It may not seem like it but they are getting so big.

We are raising three monarch caterpillars this summer. If you look closely in the first picture you can see him at the top of the leaf. I think it will be fun to chronicle their lives for the next few weeks.

The Human Race

Once again, perusing the daily news cycle I found a thought that surprised me. By an article about Chauncey Bailey, the editor from San Fransisco who was gunned down in broad daylight, I was surprised at the direction the article went. First of all, I'm very sad for the family and community who have lost this man who seemed to sincerely be interested in their welfare. He was gutsy enough to write an article that was intent on unmasking organized crime, a feat that must be intimidating at the very least and terrifying at the worst. What surprised me is that the article addressed the tragedy of his murder as something that only the black community in S.F. should be awakened by. I appreciate that this man worked in the realm of bringing political might to the African American citizens of that city but wouldn't the point of this man's life be that everyone should work together to fix the ever worsening problem of violence everywhere? There was even a quote of a sign held by a protester: "stop black on black violence". What does that mean? black on black violence is worse than white on black, Asian on black, black on Asian? Why is it that STILL we see things from one side or another? People killing people is just wrong. In San Fransisco, Miami, or "Mayberry" respect for life shouldn't belong to people of one skin color or another, it is the responsibility of everyone.

There, I feel better now.

Happy Thoughts

Did you know the average person thinks 6,000 thoughts a day? Here are a few happy things to occupy those thoughts:

Babies are being born to parents who love them
People are laughing together
Someone is holding the door for others
Children are learning to read
Someone is moving into their first house
Someone has finally sold theirs
Neighbors are talking
A teen "just says no"
A mother decided not to do the laundry and read a book to her son
Someone got a job
Lots of people didn't have flat tires
The price of gas went down
A garden is growing
A child is safe
The brownies are ready
Chocolate has nurtitional benefit
Someone prayed for the first time in a long time
A little girl is meeting Cinderella at Disneyland
There is enough food for dinner

Too much sugar for you? Try staying away from the vinegar!

The Myth About Boys

I just read a fantastic article in TIME by David Von Drehle and I had to share some snippets of it with you. The title of the article is "The Myth About Boys" and of course, having three of my own it peaked my interest. Ten years ago, when I became a mother for the first time, I of course became subject to all the worries and apprehensions that accompany motherhood. These seemed to be fed a healthy dose of anxiety by the growing belief that boys in this day and time were falling behind. A belief fed by researchers and psychologist, doctors, educators and of course, the media. Apparently I was not the only one who felt bombarded by these "new findings". In his article, Mr Drehle frequently mentions a book called "The Dangerous Book for Boys". (I haven't read it yet but have added it to my list) He describes it this way; "bound in an Edwardian red cover with marbled endpapers (it) has many of the timeless qualities of an ideal young man: curiosity, bravery and respectfulness; just enough rogue to leaven the stoic;....It celebrates trial and error, vindicates the noble failure." He talks at length about how we as a society have moved away from allowing boys to learn in the manner they do best, by trial and error, experimentation and hands on experience. Boys as a gender group do best under these circumstances. He points to the fact that because of the lack of these techniques and the diminishing numbers of classes in the subjects in which boys excel, it is no wonder that boys test scores have declined in an era of education geared for girls. He quotes several experts who believe boys are doing fine. "Sara Mead, a senior policy analyst at Education Sector: 'with few exceptions, American boys are scoring higher and achieving more than they ever have before.'" Another, Michael Gurian says: "I think it would be an error not to be optimistic." Ultimately, the final thought in this article is the one I love most: "Worrying about our boys-reading and writing books about them, wringing our hands over dire trends and especially taking more time to parent them-is paying off. The next step is to let them really blossom, and for that we have to trust them, give them room. The time for fearing our sons, or fearing for their futures, is behind us. The challenge now is to believe in them."

The article is well worth the read for anyone who is interested in the balance of the future of our society.

Kudos Mr. Drehle!