As we approach presidential elections, I question the honesty, integrity and moral compass of both candidates. In fact, in this day and age, I question the moral compass of all politicians. It saddens me that we’ve deteriorated as a society. Our children are no longer taught to discern right from wrong, good from bad. We are consumed by things that are irrelevant in this life. It no longer matters if we work hard to live a good life, try to be a good person or hope to help others. We’ve been sold on an idea that there is no God or Higher Power and therefore there are no repercussions to our actions or consequences to carry over when we die. We’ve been sold that there is no such thing as evil; there is no right or wrong. We’ve been sold that it only matters in this life if we are rich, cool or famous, or PC. (No thanks to Al Gore, whom I personally believe is evil, selling his “green” wares to make himself millions at our expense.)
Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day. As I thought about our founding forefathers, I knew, without a doubt, the greatness of these men and their strong moral compass. It is incredibly apparent to me when I read the preamble to the Declaration of Indepence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
It is my hope and prayer that we will strive as a nation to be worthy of the work and sacrifice these great men endured, to provide our freedoms and give us rights as a people and a nation. Let us not forget their greatness, nor their goodness.
Staying up and playing the Wii until 1:45 a.m… especially when the baby was up at 3 a.m. for a feeding.
I’m a little tired, but I have to say it’s nice to feel like I have a moment to myself, no requests from friends, family members, kids or husband. Just Mii and the Wii.
I should be in bed, trying to sleep. But instead, I am about to go play my son’s Nintendo Wii. Because I am a video game junkie. Ha!
WE DID IT! We are credit card debt free! It took ten months and let’s just say it was enough consumer debt that could have afforded us any of the following:
- Go to New Zealand (my dream!!) for our 11th wedding anniversary.
- See the Sistine Chapel in Italy, 4 times.
- Walk along the Great Wall of China, 2 times.
- Take the kids to Hawaii, 3 times.
- Take the family on an Alaskan cruise, 4 times.
- Pay for more than half the cost of a new minivan, to haul the kids around town in luxury.
- Take the kids to Disney World for a week or two, 3 times.
- Buy a couple of extra large flat panel LCD TVs.
- Install travertine floors, new vanities and redo the kitchen cabinetry.
- Pay for 3/4 of the cost of finishing our basement.
- Set aside partial college tuition for my children.
- Buy the diamond ring I promised my mother, when I was 5.
Three months ago I wrote the following:
“As I read this list, I see that I’ve sacrificed my dreams (New Zealand,) and the worst is knowing that there is still debt to pay. It makes me want to vomit. We are paying dearly for the foolish mistakes and impulse buys we made over the last ten years. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 and the shoulda-coulda-woulda monster is not helpful in moving forward. But I mention this experience in the hopes that if my children read this someday, I want to teach them that there is absolutely nothing, NOTHING, worth purchasing on credit. You want some airline mileage, or some rewards incentives? Save your money and buy it with cash. Nothing is free in this world. Even if you’re disciplined enough to actually pay off your credit card (I only know 3 people who are disciplined enough to do it; my mom, my sister, and my friend Michelle,) think of the time you’ve spent budgeting to make sure it all comes out even. My sister and I determined long ago that our time is worth too much to sacrifice.”
As I read this, I sense the anger, frustration and despair in my tone. However, after following Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover plan, we are no longer slaves to credit card bondage. It has taken great courage at times, to stand resolutely in a crowd of neighbors who say, “Looks like it’s time for you to get a minivan; you should get one like ours…blah blah blah.” and I unashamedly respond, “yes, when it’s within my budget.” (Although on the inside I think, that’s really none of your damn business, you jackass who put your van on a home equity loan.) And it has taken a tremendous amount of discipline. Discipline to say no when friends urge me to go out, to not buy when I really want to, to pay off debt instead of spending it on something. But ten months ago we set a goal and we accomplished it. I’m proud of our commitment, discipline, and strength of character.
Now on to the next monkey… that horrible clutter…
It’s cryptic, I know.
This past Saturday Matt and I celebrated (sort of) our 11th wedding anniversary. Yes, we got married quite young by society’s current standards. But I had just graduated from college and Matt finished shortly thereafter. I say “sort of” in terms of celebration because we had a house full of out-of-town guests: My friend and her two sons, and her twin sister and her three sons. And those five boys plus my son meant we had six boys all under the age of six-and-a-half running around, plus my two little girls. Let’s just say my cream berber carpet is now quite black in some areas. Hopefully I’ll find some good carpet cleaner!
As they were preparing to leave, one of the friends mentioned her 2 year-old son had suffered constant diarrhea during the last 2 days. To my horror, I watched as he shoved his hands down his diaper and then touch all of the baby’s toys. After the herd of friends left, my OCD kicked in and I proceeded that very night to clean the bathrooms, the floors, lysol down the toys, door knobs and anything else that might bring upon the dreaded Montezuma’s Revenge. I don’t know why, but lately I’ve become a bit of a germaphobe. I noticed it kicked in after my third child and I’m trying to figure out why… I’m obsessive and insistent with the hand sanitizer and hand washing and I feel uncomfortable whenever my children play with toys that don’t belong to them or when other children play with my children’s toys. I worry that they’ll catch gross diseases. For example, last summer my two year-old daughter caught hand-foot-mouth disease from who-knows-where and passed it to my five year-old. Last winter my son caught the stomach flu, twice, and passed the vomiting/diarrhea to my two year-old, twice. I realize that’s just the nature of the beast of childhood diseases; it goes around and then around and around some more.
As for the “nuttiness” of it all, I use the term in reference to my OCD, to seven little kids running around my house for three days (the baby is still immobile) and to laughing and having a good time with our friends. We did conduct a blind taste test of peanut butter between my fave Skippy and her fave Jif. We both preferred Jif. It was definitely a “nutty” weekend.
My 5 year-old had to get his kindergarten immunizations today, in anticipation for that glorious day in August when he starts school. I dosed him with tylenol, told him it would be fast and hurt, but only for a bit, and took him in. It was a horrible experience and I won’t go into the details, but four shots to the thighs and several sad screams and heartbreaking cries later, I offered to buy him a new game for his Wii.
The sweet old man assisting us at Wal-mart laughed when I mentioned this was a bribe for school shots. He said, “You know, my son did the same thing for his kids.” Then I sighed and said, “You know, when I was young (and remember, I’m only 32,) I remember you got your shots and that’s that. Maybe you got a lollipop. But that was it. No big deal.” He laughed and said, “That’s right! Things certainly have changed. (He looked to be in his 70s.)
So, fifty bucks later, I walk out thinking, I have contributed to the demise of this generation by spoiling my child. Hopefully the times I say “no” and the times I teach principles will stick with him and he won’t grow up feeling “entitled.” Today was a loss on that scorecard. But only time will tell.
sweaty, shaking, heart palpitations, dizziness… I feel like I could pass out. I just saw THIS in my backyard. It looked like the size of a baby rodent. Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration. It was probably 2 inches in length, fat, furry and UGLY.
By the time I grabbed my camera, he was gone. Hidden somewhere in my garden, awaiting to pounce on me and give me a heart attack. It’s poor quailty, but I found this photo on a web site which categorized him as Phidippus audax, a harmless jumping spider. (I can’t believe I’m posting this picture to remember this. I’ll have nightmares!) I’ve seen this spider many times during my childhood, as tiny harmless spiders, crawling on ceilings or the pavement. This one must have been on steroids. Serious ‘roids. He was the size of a baby tarantula. I swear!
Did I mention I hate spiders? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
