Not Every Child Has Someone Who Is Finding It Hard To Let Them Go...

 

Hi! 

So, this is what it looks like to be excited to go back to school.

She's six. She's going into grade one. She got a brand new pencil case, a fresh haircut, and a new outfit. 

She's the youngest of our grandbabies.

So many will be sending their firstborn babies into the big world of education within the next week or so, and it's hard.

So many will be sending their youngest off to a world where, for the first time, they will be at the mercy of virtual strangers, and it's hard. 

So many will be sending their offspring off to university/college very soon, if they haven't left already, and it's hard. 

So many will be sending their littles off to daycare for the first time, and it's hard.

It's supposed to be. 

If it's not, check your connections. You might find you need to reboot a thing or two.

So many things about parenting are hard. 

When they are babies, we obsess over every detail of their every bodily function. Is everything happening often enough? Too often? Is their pee too yellow, not yellow, is there enough of it? Same with their poop! 

Are we feeding them too much, or not enough? When should we introduce solid food, what should it be? Do we give them eggs? Meat? Peanut butter? There are soooooo many opinions! 

Then, they get sick for the first time. Do they need to go to the doctor? The hospital? Are we just being paranoid? Should I give them some over-the-counter medicine? What kind? Is it safe? Should I ask? Who should I ask?

Then comes daycare, elementary school, middle school high school, and then their choices become completely their own. We no longer get a vote. 

 

And, that is when everything goes as close to plan as possible. The thing is, nothing ever does.

And that's okay. 

Nobody gets through life without any scars. Yes, we try to protect them from the big things, the things that can be life-altering in the worst possible ways. We try to teach them to be kind, to be generous, to do the right thing, especially when it's hard.

We quickly discover that our real job as parents is to show up. To be far enough away to allow decisions to happen, but always close enough to catch them when they fall. This exercise is very literal in the beginning, becoming more and more metaphorical as they grow. We try to teach by example how to get back up when life throws you to the ground. We try to teach them to be a good friend without becoming a doormat. We try to show them how to care for themselves. We teach them that most bad decisions aren't fatal. You can recover. It might not be pretty, it might hurt, but you can.

We try to teach them to give of themselves without losing themselves.

Are there times when they drive us crazy? Of course!

Are there times we question every single parenting decision we've made? Of course!

Are there times we feel more like the manager of a team of drunk, hyper, pissed-off badgers than an actual parent? Of course!

Are there times we wouldn't trade for anything? Absolutely! Those are what we hold closest when we reminisce, they outshine the hard things a million times over. 

Not every child has someone who is finding it hard to let them go.

Every child should.

There are little ones living in chaos, in violence, in neglect.

There are kids who are living in foster care, feeling shuffled.

There are kids aging out of foster care, with no one to help them navigate what comes next. 

It's impossible to dream if you are too busy just surviving.

We have options. 

We can look away and pretend we don't know this, don't see this, we aren't aware.

Or....

We can help. In big ways, in small ways. We can do it anonymously, or through big gestures. We can reverse porch pirate where we know there is a need. We can donate to shelters. We can give our time and money to charities that support at-risk youth. 

We can help. 

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May you smile at everyone you meet, you never know the lift it may bring.

May you help give someone the gift of space to dream, to dance, to sing. 

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His Veil Of Protection Grows Rice Paper Thin...

 Hi!

Well, it looks like Karma's bad side just might be taking up residence on the shoulders of the guy who thought he could shoot somebody on 5th Ave and get away with it. 

To be fair, I guess he said he could do it without losing support from the people he fleeces of their hard-earned money, and, I mean, he hasn't lost all of them, but the shots of his 'rallies', are looking more and more like a dive bar at closing time on a Tuesday, but there are those that are still attending. 

His crown of victimhood is slipping. The truth is a stubborn thing, and always, even if it takes a while, demands to be heard, recognized, and accepted. It doesn't matter how hard he stamps his feet, how many names he calls people, how loud he cries his 'oh poor me,' how many threats he makes, the truth is getting deeper, denser, and will, inevitably, overtake his rhetoric. 

Investigations of this magnitude can't happen without evidence, and a lot of it. It wouldn't get past the first judge, grand juries would not be able to be assembled, and warrants could not be obtained. 

It's only a matter of time now. 

Prosecutors, in all of these investigations, are being very careful to dot every i and cross every t, making sure they have everything before moving forward. 

In the meantime, the grand orange buffoon can't seem to help himself. He can't seem to take advantage of his right to remain silent, and in doing so, is NOT helping his case, or, I guess, cases, plural. 

He keeps demanding things be made public, like that's going to make him look BETTER. He sends not-so-veiled threats to the DOJ, like that's going to help.

He implies that if the law holds him accountable there will be harsh consequences. Well, maybe if he would just tell the people that believe his crap the truth, come clean, and just stop criming, that would go a long way in calming people down. Lowering the temperature, so to speak. 

He wants to expose witnesses, and law enforcement so that his violent followers can cause harm.

Whatever happened to backing the blue? 

He knows he's done. He has to. He doesn't know what will hit first, the civil case in New York, the case in Georgia, or his Espionage and related charges. Maybe they will all crash down on him at once.

It's going to be the epic takedown of a narcissistic, misogynistic, wannabe tough guy that has spent his entire adult life abusing others without consequence, and I am here for it. I'm here for all of it. 

It's been a long old climb, and it's not over yet.

But, I for one, see storms over the horizon for pathetic Donnie, and his veil of protection grows rice paper thin. 

As the walls close in on those who deserve it most, life goes on.

Ukraine is still fighting for her life.

Mother Nature is still flexing her power.

People are still dying of Covid.

Little ones are getting excited about the new school year.

Grown-ups are getting excited about the new school year.

Babies are taking their first steps, and speaking their first words.

Sunsets are still breathtaking.

Most people are still kind and good. 

Joy and laughter are still there for the taking. 

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May you get excited.

May you feel real joy.

May you give yourself permission to have fun.

May you see that life doesn't always need to be serious. 

May you set aside the heaviness, and allow the light to touch your soul. 

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Saving The World With Super-Squishy Bunnyhugs...

 Hi!

If there are things better than sitting around a firepit with the people that matter most to you, for the sole purpose of just hanging out, I don't know what they are. 

There we were, sitting around the backyard of our daughter's home, surrounded by kids, and grandkids, sharing food, drinks, and laughter. That's it. That's the whole story. 

There was nothing newsworthy, no drama, no fighting, and the only hint of a meltdown, was when our extremely overtired 8-year-old granddaughter discovered she had forgotten her favourite blanket at home, and they were getting ready for their much-anticipated backyard campout in their tent. This crisis was averted with a substitute. (Grandma's super-squishy bunnyhug to the rescue!) 

Sometimes a person doesn't realize how badly they need time like this until it happens. We get caught up in our work/eat/sleep/repeat cycles. It's easy to do. Trying to tick things off of our relentlessly ever-growing to-do lists. And then, you take a second to breathe, and in that moment, realize just how short of breath you've been.

Routine, to an extent, is a good thing.  It helps us stay organized, and do what we need to do to make our lives functional, productive. to make them work, essentially. 

Routine does serve a purpose. 

But.

I think it can lead to living a life on autopilot, if it isn't interrupted on a fairly regular basis. 

I can't imagine that our fleeting time on this planet is meant to be spent on autopilot.

We need to spend more time colouring outside the lines, walking the paths least traveled, sitting by a fire, saving the world with super-squishy bunnyhugs. 

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Broken crayons colour just as brightly, and even better when they do so outside the lines.

Multicoloured skies, and polka-dotted, purple dogs are essential.

We are not meant to be hamsters. 

Life is too big to live small. 

Fun Filtres, Stuffy Naps, and Water Balloon Wars..... Precious Littles

 Hi!

A few days spent with the 10 and under crowd helps pull things into perspective. It reminds us that life is allowed to be carefree, even if it comes captured in moments that feel all too fleeting. 

As I play with them, make snacks, watch them torpedo each other with water balloons, and pick up all of the balloon remnants, so as not to choke the birds, it's impossible not to have memories flood in from when our girls were little. The backyard shenanigans, the cricket circuses, the salamanders, the things they think went undetected, the endless supply of Mr. Freezies and popsicles, the scrapes and bruises, all of it. 

The world looked a bit different back then. But, I'm sure every generation of parents feels the same way. Our parents, our grandparents, us, our kids, as they parent their own kids. The world is a never-ending work in progress, or, in some cases, couter-progress, depending on where you live. 

Every generation has faced its own unique challenges, each one feeling like the challenges hit at lightning speed with no room to recover in between. Being a kid now is not the same as thirty years ago, definitely not the same as fifty years ago, and gobsmackingly different than seventy years ago. 

Technology has fostered a necessary sophistication, a level of awareness the previous generations didn't really need. Our worlds were smaller, our information more limited. This generation of unlimited information presents both opportunities and pitfalls. 

I feel, though bullying has always been around, technology provides a whole new level of punching down. Those who choose to be cruel can be relentless, with the world living in your pocket, constantly buzzing, forever alerting, there becomes no escape. At least any that your kid can see. 

I don't know what the solution is, but I think one step toward stopping kids from bullying each other is for them to watch as adults get held accountable for doing this exact thing. 

Case in point... the garbage human that is Alex Jones. It has been ruled that he has to pay over $4 million to the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Why? Bullying. To this day he uses tech to continue to spew lies about the shooting itself, as well as the families ripped apart by this tragedy. 

Can you even imagine your child being killed in cold blood in an environment that is supposed to be inherently safe, their school?  Can you then imagine having that horror compounded by some asshat saying things like you are an actor getting paid, that your child didn't actually exist, that the event that took your child from you, your six-year-old child, didn't happen? Can you imagine, then receiving death threats because the lunatics that believe his horse crap think that these grieving families are part of some deep state?

I can't.

I can't imagine what that must feel like. Any of it.

Alex Jones then goes to court and tries to continue his most horrid fairytale. The judge wasn't having it. The parents of one of the victims told him face to face, the hell he has, and continues to, put them through. He couldn't care less. Garbage human.  

But, he is being held, at least, somewhat accountable. Is it enough? Personally, I don't think so. He's already trying to get bankruptcy protection so he doesn't have to pay. I don't think money is enough, he'll likely find some kind of loophole to keep from paying. 

I think he should be stripped of any opportunity to have any platform ever again. No podcast, no radio show, no social media. Before he leaves the airwaves forever, he should have to go on every talk show, every podcast, every platform, and admit what he has done. He should have to admit that everything he has said is a lie. He should have to give the correction of his lies the same level of fervor he has given doing the damage. The same bluster, the same commitment, the same passion. He should have to fix it.

Period. He can't bring the kids back, but he could give the families some peace. 

Hopefully, the court system will catch up to tech. In the meantime, I'm going to go and get things ready for the water balloon war that will happen again this weekend. They can be sophisticated later.  

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May every bully get exactly the life they deserve. 

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