Parenting, Politics And Other Observations
My normally active brain seems to become more active when I'm on the left coast. I've got too much going on upstairs, and so this is going to seem more like rambling than coherent and cogent thought processes. Bear with me, I'll try to return to normal soon.
An update on my oldest son. He is out of the hospital, but not out of the woods, in reality and proverbially. Thank you for all of the prayers. Please keep them coming. My youngest son (who was invaluable help to me, and especially his brother) and I brought him home from the Seattle hospital he's been in for nearly a week. There is still no definitive diagnosis for the "seizure" he underwent last week. As a tot, he had some falls that produced scaring on his brain. The doctors opinine that overwork, stress, and sleep deprivation (did I mention he's a workaholic?) triggered the extreme headaches and on-going dizziness, but they cannot say with any certainty that it was not a stroke, or ..............name your poison! They seem to think he will heal with time and rest, but the diagnosis renders him unable to continue the pursuit of his preferred occupation for at least six months. I have always said, "There's a reason doctors refer to their occupation as a 'practice'."
In the meantime, we are in a strange sort of limbo about his future. I think I am out of practice dealing with stress. Retirement and a comfortable life may well leave you unable to deal with stress when it pops its ugly head back into your life. At least, it seems to be that way for me. After years of dealing with it daily, I feel strangely unable to cope with all that has transpired in the past few days.
Spending a couple of days in Seattle was a monumental departure from my usually serene existance. Just a few observations to give you an example: I can't remember the last time I saw so many Kerry bumper stickers...oh, right. I never saw that many in Texas during the entire campaign in '04!!! Then there's the TV ads on their local stations, extolling the virtues of such foreign things as raising alpacas. I'm sure I wasn't the best mom in the world, but both my sons are conservatives living on the left coast! That they're still conservatives tells me I must have done something right.
Getting to see my two wonderful grandbabies has been my major reward on this otherwise trying trip. My oldest grandson was complaining to me last night about the school testing program in WA. He must take certain tests to qualify him for the next step in his education...and he doesn't like it one bit. He complained to me that he'd made adequate grades for the pursuit of his chosen career path, yet they are telling him these advancement tests will discount all of his hard earned grades. Now I do not pretend to know how the state of Washington is complying with "No Child Left Behind" legislation, but on the face of it I have a myriad of questions. He has apparently spoken of his displeasure to his teacher, who of course explained that he should complain to Dubya about it. I was happy to explain to him that it is true, GWB believes every child should have the opportunity for a good education, but I also told him who the author of that abominable bill was: Edward (hic!) Kennedy. [Why is it that "I am the Walrus" song always comes to mind when I think of him?] I'd still like to spank our president for that ridiculous bit of conciliation!
As I often do when I'm reminding myself of how damn great I've got it, I went to visit my pals at ITM. As always, Omar and Mohammed were able to put things into their proper prospective.
"What caught my attention these days is the phenomenon of localized reconciliation initiatives being organized between certain districts in Baghdad. These try to give the wrong impression that the division is between the people and makes the fighting parties look like the peace mediators. "
It sounds eerily reminiscent of America's current climate. While our pundits and politicians on the left are lambasting al Maliki for not condemning Hezbollah, they conveniently forget they were saying he was just a puppet of the Bush administration a mere month or so ago. Screaming Dean's comments are particularly offensive considering he was raised by a father who complained of never having reached the presidency of a country club who proudly proclaimed they had never, nor would ever, admit black or Jewish members, when he calls Maliki an anti-semite!
"The Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite," the Democratic leader told a gathering of business leaders in Florida. "We don't need to spend $200 and $300 and $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn Hezbollah."
Meanwhile the American people go about their business dealings. They seldom care, nor ask, which side of an issue either is on, rather they are more concerned about getting things done, and getting along. I remember my mom telling me that she'd asked my grandmother the meaning of the word "politics". Grandma told her, "It's a dirty word." Universally.
An update on my oldest son. He is out of the hospital, but not out of the woods, in reality and proverbially. Thank you for all of the prayers. Please keep them coming. My youngest son (who was invaluable help to me, and especially his brother) and I brought him home from the Seattle hospital he's been in for nearly a week. There is still no definitive diagnosis for the "seizure" he underwent last week. As a tot, he had some falls that produced scaring on his brain. The doctors opinine that overwork, stress, and sleep deprivation (did I mention he's a workaholic?) triggered the extreme headaches and on-going dizziness, but they cannot say with any certainty that it was not a stroke, or ..............name your poison! They seem to think he will heal with time and rest, but the diagnosis renders him unable to continue the pursuit of his preferred occupation for at least six months. I have always said, "There's a reason doctors refer to their occupation as a 'practice'."
In the meantime, we are in a strange sort of limbo about his future. I think I am out of practice dealing with stress. Retirement and a comfortable life may well leave you unable to deal with stress when it pops its ugly head back into your life. At least, it seems to be that way for me. After years of dealing with it daily, I feel strangely unable to cope with all that has transpired in the past few days.
Spending a couple of days in Seattle was a monumental departure from my usually serene existance. Just a few observations to give you an example: I can't remember the last time I saw so many Kerry bumper stickers...oh, right. I never saw that many in Texas during the entire campaign in '04!!! Then there's the TV ads on their local stations, extolling the virtues of such foreign things as raising alpacas. I'm sure I wasn't the best mom in the world, but both my sons are conservatives living on the left coast! That they're still conservatives tells me I must have done something right.
Getting to see my two wonderful grandbabies has been my major reward on this otherwise trying trip. My oldest grandson was complaining to me last night about the school testing program in WA. He must take certain tests to qualify him for the next step in his education...and he doesn't like it one bit. He complained to me that he'd made adequate grades for the pursuit of his chosen career path, yet they are telling him these advancement tests will discount all of his hard earned grades. Now I do not pretend to know how the state of Washington is complying with "No Child Left Behind" legislation, but on the face of it I have a myriad of questions. He has apparently spoken of his displeasure to his teacher, who of course explained that he should complain to Dubya about it. I was happy to explain to him that it is true, GWB believes every child should have the opportunity for a good education, but I also told him who the author of that abominable bill was: Edward (hic!) Kennedy. [Why is it that "I am the Walrus" song always comes to mind when I think of him?] I'd still like to spank our president for that ridiculous bit of conciliation!
As I often do when I'm reminding myself of how damn great I've got it, I went to visit my pals at ITM. As always, Omar and Mohammed were able to put things into their proper prospective.
"What caught my attention these days is the phenomenon of localized reconciliation initiatives being organized between certain districts in Baghdad. These try to give the wrong impression that the division is between the people and makes the fighting parties look like the peace mediators. "
It sounds eerily reminiscent of America's current climate. While our pundits and politicians on the left are lambasting al Maliki for not condemning Hezbollah, they conveniently forget they were saying he was just a puppet of the Bush administration a mere month or so ago. Screaming Dean's comments are particularly offensive considering he was raised by a father who complained of never having reached the presidency of a country club who proudly proclaimed they had never, nor would ever, admit black or Jewish members, when he calls Maliki an anti-semite!
"The Iraqi prime minister is an anti-Semite," the Democratic leader told a gathering of business leaders in Florida. "We don't need to spend $200 and $300 and $500 billion bringing democracy to Iraq to turn it over to people who believe that Israel doesn't have a right to defend itself and who refuse to condemn Hezbollah."
Meanwhile the American people go about their business dealings. They seldom care, nor ask, which side of an issue either is on, rather they are more concerned about getting things done, and getting along. I remember my mom telling me that she'd asked my grandmother the meaning of the word "politics". Grandma told her, "It's a dirty word." Universally.
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