30 Days of Grateful ? Or Simply a Ploy for Praise?

OK.. I get that some people are super thankful every day of their life and I know who those people are. I see them all the time. But this being the month we celebrate thanksgiving and being thankful for things I just can't get over the number of posts on FB. Maybe it's my cynical side coming out, yet again. But to post every day about something you are thankful for seems a bit overkill. Can't you simply wake up and say to yourself  "today I am thankful for _________" and call it a day? Why must you advertise your overly generous behavior and super thankful thoughts all over social networks for everyone to see? I get that it's a month long "challenge" to see if you can come up with something every day. So if that's the case then is it really something from the heart? Why not call the person you are thanking? Or stop by their house and thank them in person. Or are you just doing it so you can say "yeah I did it every day for 30 days"?  Shouldn't you be thankful every day of your life ? And not just for your extra chocolately mocha cappuccino from Starbucks or for being able to sleep in. But for real things like happy kids, and that your extended family has made it through yet another health scare. THOSE are the things I am thankful for every day of the year. Not simply during November in order to get through 30 days of some challenge on Facebook.

Maybe I'm just getting ornery and cynical in my old age, but instead of advertising I will simply be grateful for my own positives, pay it forward and be thankful that I have the ability to do so.

I Just Can't Take it

For the first time since joining Facebook I have a very strong desire to either block a long list of "friends" from my news feed or simply deactivate mya ccount. It's the presidential campaigning season. I despise politics. LIKE REALLY FREAKING HATE IT. If I want to know about my government and the goings on then I make it a point to do my own research. I do not rely on friends, loved ones and acquaintances to "teach", "instruct" or otherwise overload me with politics. And I really don't expect it in the place that I go to unwind and have fun like Facebook. FB is my "other" place. It's my getaway from work, laundry and the dull every day goings on that I deal with 24/7.  So when I tap on my FB app and the news feed is overrun with comments and threads about the political candidates and who is winning the campaign and consistantly updating during each and every debate I get a bit annoyed and just click closed until I have an alert that actually interests me.

Here's what I don't get... People actually think if they continue to rant and rave and bully their ideas and opinions at other people in every forum possible they will change someones's mind and bring them over to their own side. I don't think I've ever seen that happen. All I've ever seen is a constant bullying and ranting back with the oposing idea and opinion. And it continues and goes on and on and on .. It's a vicious cycle. Period. End of story.  Like topics such as Abortion and Gun Control.. there will always be 2 sides and there will always be a back and forth argument.. there will never be a Black and White. No one wins so why keep fighting? Why not attempt a truce and work together to find solutions to the issues at hand?? hahaha.. yeah right.. because that would be saying someone was wrong or made a mistake and we all know no one will do that.

9-11 Remembered.. for a day

Today is September 11, 2012.  Eleven years since that fateful day that changed every American's feeling of safety in our homeland. Social networks are lit up with "Never Forget" and photos of the twin towers and other such rememberances. That's all fine and good. I posted a short update regarding the day as well. But as I sit here I got to thinking. "Never Forget" .. Where are all these people on March 25th, June 16th or any other day of the year that is not September 11th? I see nothing reminding me of the tragedy and to Never Forget any other time of year. I am just as guilty. The only time I think of the events of that day is when I'm going through photos on the computer and I happen to see one of me and the Man on a trip to NY with the towers behind us. Then I stop to think.  But any other day of the year I don't really contemplate the day or how it changed our lives and I know I don't see any posts telling me to Never Forget around Facebook or Twitter. So,  my question is this, are we really remembering or just reminding each other because it's on the calendar?  Will we give another thought tomorrow, or next week, or two months from now?  Maybe we should try to "Remember" a little harder.

Can You Hear It?

It's the sound of that huge sigh of relief that is coming. Soon. Once the kids get on that bus and head off to school in just over a week.

That sound signifies a cleaner house, a lower electric bill, less fights, and a general sense of calm that comes with the everyday routine we settle into once September hits. Maybe calm isn't the word I should use. Because life isn't calm by any means. But it is "my" kind of calm. I enjoy a structured day.

So yes, we will be running to swim lessons on Sunday nights, CCD on Monday  nights, Soccer Practice on Tuesday nights, Gymnastics on Wednesday nights and soccer games on Saturdays.. but to me it will be a relief from the crazy days we've had all summer. It's been fun for them while it lasted but I've had enough.

The fighting from all the togetherness is getting to me. The kids fight much less when they don't see each other all day. And that is what I enjoy.

Vacation.. what's the payoff?

We leave for vacation soon and I've begun the endless lists of things that need to be done to prepare for our departure. I find getting ready to leave for a week is super stressful. The Man says I stress too much. Well I think he doesn't stress enough.

his jobs:  pack his clothing
               put everything into the car

I have to do everything else from packing everyone else's clothing to cleaning the house to stopping mail and getting someone to care for the animals. In addition to making sure all bills that may be due that week or right after are paid up etc.  Stressful you say ?? Of course it is. By the time we are ready to leave I want to clean his clock.  Simply because he is overjoyed and relaxed and I'm exhausted.  Then vacation starts and all he wants to do is go, go, go. I prefer to sit and relax.  WTF. We are polar opposites when it comes to vacation personalities. It's almost like I need to bring a friend for him and the kids so I don't need to entertain them all.

The days away from work, time spent at the beach with my camera & the kids and just quiet time with a book are what I look forward to on vacation. My kids spending time with their grandparents for a week and having fun is alwyas a good thing as well.

But while I pack and get ready I wonder if it's worth all the hassle and stress.

For the Love of the Game

When our baseball season began all I could think about was the running here and there and the weekends that I would get nothing done around the house because I would be at ball games. I thought about the weeknights when dinner would be rushed to get to practice and the dust that would be building on my furniture as the house went uncleaned.

Then it began. The season to end all seasons. Nine games of glory. I remember Jim coming home from that first practice.. looking at me and saying with a sigh "Well, it should be an interesting season to say the least. We have quite a bunch of boys." He left it at that and I was wondering what he could have meant.

Then I figured it out at game 1.  So many different personalities but so much in common, they are goofy 8 year old boys. Kicking dirt and throwing things at each other in the dugout. Your typical 8 year old boys with a short attention span and a need to win or whine.

The first few games surprised many of us parents when the boys came together and won despite the errors and lack of pitching skills that early in the season.  But boy did they seem to mesh as the season went on. They developed a wonderful defense and their hitting on both the machine and from the kid pitchers was phenonmenal. But as they won each subsequent game it caused the other teams to put a target on their backs. The other coaches and players were dead set on beating the "undefeated team". We, as a group of coaches and parents, couldn't understand this "out for blood" mentality especially from adults when they were dealing with children. We were there to play and have fun. When the kids struck out or made and error we still cheered because we knew they felt bad enough about it. It's only a game after all. But we encountered other coaches that would put the rules (and ethics in my opinion) aside in order to win at all costs. It was sad to watch. And we felt bad for the kids on those teams because they weren't learning the true lessons.  Even those teams were no match for our teamwork and explosive bats.

We finished the season 9-0 and because our boys were not in the higher division we get no playoff or championship games they simply got a participation medal.  It was such a wonderful season and the boys became such good friends that I was sad to see it all end.  I was wishing for a few more games.

So now we have a party planned.. a bit of a shindig to close it all out. It will probably turn into a crazy adult party if you read all the emails going back and forth between the parents. But the boys will have fun and we'll be able to celebrate the season the right way and plan some get-togethers over the summer.

Win or Lose.. it's how you play the game

I have been accused of being a ferocious Mama Bear without reason on occasion and I will fully admit that I can be at times. But this is not one of those times. I am fully warranted in my rant in this matter and I have other objective bystanders that can back me up if need be.


At the boy’s 5th baseball game last night we played a team (The Thunder) that we have played before. We rolled over them in our previous game. Thunder’s coach is bitter because we are the only team to beat them and apparently he isn’t too happy about it. This is confirmed by the League Commissioner to our Coach in a conversation prior to the game. The game was supposed to be 3 inning coach pitch and 3 kid pitch due to a shortage of pitching machines. Thunder’s coach states he’d prefer all kid pitch so our coach agrees. We know they have a couple great pitchers on their team but aren’t too worried.

We get into the game and after a couple innings we realize this won’t be pretty. We are up by a couple runs (2-0) in the 3rd. That’s when I’m not running around to bathrooms with the girls and really start watching the calls and the pitches. The coach for the opposing team stands behind his pitcher and calls the pitches. His strike zone is ALL OVER THE PLACE. In the dirt, at their heads, he’s calling everything strike. Our Coach is calling pretty darn fair and we end up giving up a few runs on walks etc. So they catch up .. The Thunder coaches are yelling the score out while standing next to our kids on the field. Being true jackasses. Going on the field and coaching the kids in the middle of plays, letting the kids take more bases than the rules allow, etc. Our Coach had to say something to them at one point about how they are talking on the field in front of the kids. Our kids are so discouraged by the 5th inning they start swinging at shit pitches over their heads because they are so afraid of getting called out on strikes. A few kids come off in tears for striking out when the ball was in the dirt. And all we can do is pat them on the back and continue to encourage them.

Luckily by the end of the game our kids hung in there and pulled out the win 8-7. But in true jerk form they were yelling that it was a tie in order to keep their kids from feeling bad for losing. What is that teaching them? That isn’t how they learn to play ball the right way. That isn’t what I want my kid to think is right. You don’t push the rules to the side if they don’t suit you. You don’t put others down to build yourself up. You especially don’t do it to children when you are grown Men and you are dealing with 8 year olds.

The whole ordeal was still bothering me this morning so I emailed our coach and aired my concerns and asked if he thought things were a bit iffy. He replied that those particular coaches had already been an issue last year and this year with other teams according to the commissioner (he had already emailed him ) and he agreed that their way of playing the game was not how we want to teach the kids.

So technically I was an angry Mama Bear but it was warranted and it was for all the kids.. not just my own. They played a great game and did it the right way.