Social Holocaust

Thanksgiving 2014 is over, and although I did get my holiday shopping done early, there was no rush in our family for Christmas to get here any earlier. Thanksgiving was given its due course with turkey, stuffing and all the dressings. Time was spent with loved ones and bread was broken together while memories of the past were shared and futures were hoped for.

However, it's the present that I believe needs more thought. Lately in the news all I've hearing and seeing has been social unrest--the city of Ferguson riots, another shooting in a public area, insane child abuse cases, discrimination against racism or gender preference and so on and so on. It hurts my heart and soul to hear of these things and it reaffirms my vow to help others as much as I can.

After these events, there are prayer circles and Facebook picture shares of candles posted around. I feel the need to restate the fact that I have nothing against prayer circles and each share of a Facebook pic is a way to bring about awareness of social and political upheavals but it bothers me when people say how heinous such an act and derail against the justice of it all but then do nothing about it. People feel better about themselves and congratulate themselves on the back for having said their piece and then move on with their lives as if nothing happened.

Words do not do enough. Actions add weight and meaning to words whether said in whimsy or not. Don't just pray for a child to get better. If you see a child hurt, help heal the child. If you see a person who looks lonely, spend a few minutes with that person. If you see an unfair deal going on, play evenly, even if it means giving up something of your own to make it fair. If you see something wrong happening, go right it. Mostly importantly of all, use your common sense to make sure your actions are deemed necessary and not as something that will ultimately do harm to another person or simply boost your own ego. Do good for the simple sake of doing good.

And now, I'll leave you with a message I posted to my friends and family yesterday:
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family. Eat, drink, be merry and remember that there are those who are not as fortunate as we may be.

Be grateful for the times with our loved ones-don't focus on the negativity. Be thankful for the things you do have-because those things might not be there next time. Help others-so that the next time you need help, others may be able to help you. Most important of all, actions are more powerful than words-don't just say it, do something about it and mean it!

I give my thanks for the freedom to say all this, for the family and friends who support me and for the ability to prove myself worthy of those things. Much love to all!

Ramping up!

It's that time of the year for me . . .well, actually about halfway there. We're past Halloween, which was very easy for us this year. Just a few dollar store adds to last year's costume and the daughter became a butterfly. I doubt we'll be so lucky next year.

Anniversary has past with 12 years of marriage together. That's a whole dozen, like an egg carton! We did a sweet celebration of getting new wedding bands as we no longer fit our old ones and had an easy dinner at Red Lobster. Veteran's Day has just past. With so many veterans in our lives including my own husband, much gratitude was spread about and free meals were eaten out with a friend or 2. That day is a double, actually triple, whammy! My daughter was born that day. As all mothers around the world have and will continue to say, she's getting so big! Also, on that day, 2 of our friends got married on that day and so they also had their anniversary.

Coming up is the birthday party for the 7 year old, which is happening on the same day as my own personal birthday.  I only pray my birthday curse will not affect hers. Shortly thereafter, Thanksgiving should not be forgotten about and will, of course, be spent with family.

Of course, next month will be spent gearing up for Christmas Day. Lucky for my personal organization, our holiday shopping is done except for the work of a few handmade items that still need to be finished. Cards will be written up and sent out around the first week of December. Boxes will be mailed out shortly after that. There will holiday parties at school, family and friends.

It's a busy time of the year and I'm getting there to be ready!

  

Grazie! Prego!

The title of this entry makes it pretty clear that I'm learning Italian.  There's no particular reason why I'm learning that language, except that I found a free app that gives great lessons on learning to speak the language.  I've always loved Italy and hope to visit there someday.

https://www.duolingo.com/

PSA

Indeed, this is a public service announcement!

Have you ever wondered if there were any unclaimed monies and such that have your name on it but you are personally unaware of its existence?

http://www.missingmoney.com/

Type in your name, state and Eureka, you can claim it.  It's great with no finder's fees, so go find your money!

Adventure continues in babysitting

I'm back to wearing the Mary Poppins hat, in addition to my part time job. It's tough pulling double duty as I'm out of the house by 6:45 in the morning and not back into the house by 10 or even 11 at night. I wouldn't be able to do it without the support of the hubby. He takes care of things back at the house and goes out of his way to make sure I'm taken care of. I don't mind all the sacrifice though in the name of helping out good friends. I just have to make sure I take some time to get enough rest. I love kids anyway so it's no big deal for me to keep babysitting.

The reason I was asked to babysit was because from what I hear the babysitter before me was at the very least negligent to the baby. To my point--I don't understand how adults can harm a child, on so many different levels and at the very least I don't understand how a caretaker won't actually take care of a child. I do understand that not every person has an instinct to take care of a smaller person but if that is the case, do not put yourself in the situation of putting yourself in the charge of a young one if you know you can't handle the situation. 

A child is a reflection of a person. They learn from others around them. If you see bad behavior in the child it's likely an action they learned from you. It's tricky raising kids though. You have to make sure you love them with everything you have but without smothering them and giving them enough space to grow but still finding a way to keep them safe. You have to teach them about life situations but still giving them time to also figure things out for themselves. You also have to discipline them so that they understand they did wrong but not in a harmful way. It's an adventure taking care of a child but a child will love you back with all of their heart and makes every moment you want to pull your hair out worth it.

Life, it gets in the way at times

I'm not even sure where to begin.  Last week was the third most horrible week of my adult life. Yes, I'm aware that it's particularly sad that I'm able to keep track of such things. Murphy's Law decided it wanted to be my best friend because it was indeed a week of what could go wrong did indeed go wrong, but I won't go into it.  It's just not necessary to cry over what has already past. There is indeed a time to vent but this blog wasn't created for just that. This blog was meant to explore my thoughts, ideas and personal projects.  Unfortunately, I have nothing new on that front.  Life just kept getting in the way these past few weeks, but I'm hoping things will settle down a bit and I'll be able to get back on track with things. So, here's my affirmation for the week, cheers to finding focus again!

Creativity is everything

I consider myself a creative person. I love to create. I call myself a writer. I crochet. I paint. I sew. I bake. I love trying new things. I love making something out of nothing. So sooner or later, I always knew I would get a tattoo but because of money constraints, I had always put it off, til recently.

It's my own personal design with lots of meaning.  The rising sun represents my daughter.  The star constellation represents my husband.  The crescent moon is my personal sign.  The lily reminds me of life, death and resurrection.  I adore it and I'm happy to have it on my body.  I can't wait til I can get another one.  That's the outside of my left leg just above my knee, btw.