Can you imagine being forced to sit in front of your TV for an hour and listening to a pathological liar brag about how wonderful he is? Neither can I. That's why I didn't watch the SOTUA.
Besides I already know the state of the union. It's exactly what Donny boy set out to make it. A nation divided. He has done nothing but preach exclusion, intolerance, discord, racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia and hatred. Every time he opens his mouth or 'tweets' something, he adds a new layer of all of the above.
But this should not be a surprise to anyone. We all know what he is. What's really amazing is that there are people just like him who think he's wonderful.
That's the saddest thing about our state of the union!
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Parenting/grand parenting Today
Last week our two grandsons stayed with us. They-and their dog, Boomer-arrived on a Sunday and returned home this past Sunday. This week I've been getting our two grand daughters on the bus in the mornings and for two days stayed with one of them who is sick with the flu. The kids range in age from 8 to 14.
It has been a busy week to say the least and in doing all these things I'm reminded of something I've written before in this space. When you have a family where both parents work, they have signed up for a very busy time of it. We have them for a relatively short period of time. But for parents it's a 24/7/365 (except for trips) job.
As in our case, when help is needed studies show more and more families turn to grand parents. This is not a complaint. Just an observation because we are more than happy to do it. But it is tiring. We're not kids any more.
All of this reminds me of many years ago when grand parents often lived with their children and extended family and took over many child care duties. Then as time moved along families drifted apart-at least geographically if not emotionally-and that arrangement no longer applied. Now we seem to have come full circle. More and more child care duties are falling on grand parents-especially since it's often necessary for both parents to hold full time jobs.
It's very difficult for parents who both work and not have the services of a grand parent available. It's both costly and risky. I wonder if there's a significant change in recent years in the number of parents who choose to be a stay-at-home mom or dad. We'll have to dig into that and see what the research says.
In the mean time my wife and I continue to be available where needed-more me than her because she's still working full time but that will soon change.
It has been a busy week to say the least and in doing all these things I'm reminded of something I've written before in this space. When you have a family where both parents work, they have signed up for a very busy time of it. We have them for a relatively short period of time. But for parents it's a 24/7/365 (except for trips) job.
As in our case, when help is needed studies show more and more families turn to grand parents. This is not a complaint. Just an observation because we are more than happy to do it. But it is tiring. We're not kids any more.
All of this reminds me of many years ago when grand parents often lived with their children and extended family and took over many child care duties. Then as time moved along families drifted apart-at least geographically if not emotionally-and that arrangement no longer applied. Now we seem to have come full circle. More and more child care duties are falling on grand parents-especially since it's often necessary for both parents to hold full time jobs.
It's very difficult for parents who both work and not have the services of a grand parent available. It's both costly and risky. I wonder if there's a significant change in recent years in the number of parents who choose to be a stay-at-home mom or dad. We'll have to dig into that and see what the research says.
In the mean time my wife and I continue to be available where needed-more me than her because she's still working full time but that will soon change.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Updates/observations
Well, it has been two weeks since my last post-the longest stretch between posts. The main reason for this is because we were in Florida from the 3rd and got home yesterday the 13th. Herewith I offer these updates.
1. The weather takes center stage. In southwest FL it was up and down. When we first got there it was chilly for us and really cold for them. For example there were many days when the lows were in the high 30s and the highs in the mid 50s. Add to that a brisk breeze and wind chills made it feel like 40s. We used the heat in our condo for the first time. We've been owners for 7 years.
The weather up here of course is far worse. Bitter cold and windy. This after a very brief warm up which featured rain thus washing away most of what the big storm dumped. We missed that happy event by one day.
2. All of this talk about the weather has some people-especially certain political leaders-suggesting this is proof that global warming is a fraud. To do this is of course stupid. You have to look at the big picture. Global warming is just that-global. Plus, you need to look at climatic change over a long period of time-not a few months. But there are a significant number of people who refuse to be educated. That will probably never change. More's the pity.
3. Moving on to another kind of climate-the political climate. Taking center stage in this category is obviously Trump's racist remarks about Haiti and other third world countries. Everyone knows Haiti is a very poor country. That's not the point. The point is he pretty much said, "you're all worthless and we don't want your 'kind' here." Not counting his remarks after Charleston, this was probably the most blatantly racist remark he's made yet. He's a disgusting human being. He needs to be impeached. But with the congress we have that's not likely. From Paul Ryan on down they're a bunch of spineless idiots. Let's change that for the next major national elections.
I think that covers the major news for the time being. I'm sure there will be more. So for now it's back to the routine.
1. The weather takes center stage. In southwest FL it was up and down. When we first got there it was chilly for us and really cold for them. For example there were many days when the lows were in the high 30s and the highs in the mid 50s. Add to that a brisk breeze and wind chills made it feel like 40s. We used the heat in our condo for the first time. We've been owners for 7 years.
The weather up here of course is far worse. Bitter cold and windy. This after a very brief warm up which featured rain thus washing away most of what the big storm dumped. We missed that happy event by one day.
2. All of this talk about the weather has some people-especially certain political leaders-suggesting this is proof that global warming is a fraud. To do this is of course stupid. You have to look at the big picture. Global warming is just that-global. Plus, you need to look at climatic change over a long period of time-not a few months. But there are a significant number of people who refuse to be educated. That will probably never change. More's the pity.
3. Moving on to another kind of climate-the political climate. Taking center stage in this category is obviously Trump's racist remarks about Haiti and other third world countries. Everyone knows Haiti is a very poor country. That's not the point. The point is he pretty much said, "you're all worthless and we don't want your 'kind' here." Not counting his remarks after Charleston, this was probably the most blatantly racist remark he's made yet. He's a disgusting human being. He needs to be impeached. But with the congress we have that's not likely. From Paul Ryan on down they're a bunch of spineless idiots. Let's change that for the next major national elections.
I think that covers the major news for the time being. I'm sure there will be more. So for now it's back to the routine.
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