Back to School

Like many parents, I am pulling my hair out as summer draws to a close. The children are restless. Summer is fun until you start feeling like you are doing the same thing you've done before. Then the children get bored.

I, for one, cannot wait until the first week of September, and the first day of school. My son starts high school this year. I am positive that he will have more than enough homework and activities to keep him out of my hair. How will he handle it? Only time will tell. My daughter starts kindergarten this year. Thankfully, it is full day kindergarten.

Let the shopping and planning and prepping begin. Today was the first in the month long preparations. We made a trip to the school. My son had to check over his schedule, pick up the sports physical form, and order his new uniform shirts (high school wears a different color than the rest of the kids). My daughter was a lot easier. She simply needed to order shirts.

During the next couple of weeks, my daughter needs her kindergarten physical, my son needs his sports physical, shopping needs to be done. She needs pants/skirts/shorts that will be a part of her uniform. They both have a list of school supplies to purchase. Paperwork must be filled out and filed with the office.

August 31st is open house night. We go, meet teachers, tour the school (for my daughter's sake as this is her first year) and make sure everything is all set to start school. Hopefully, we can keep them busy with school prep.

On the plus side of things, the weather seems to be settling back down. The temperatures outside are cooler. The rain is finally making it to us. All the reminders that school is just around the corner are in place. We just have to survive one more month. Then both kids will be at school all day, and I can once again find the time to actually accomplish something, or many somethings, when and how I want.

I am ready for back to school, are you?

Manners

One of my biggest pet peeves is a lack of table manners. People chewing with their mouths open, talking with food in their mouths or making other obnoxious sounds while they eat. I am a stickler for these manners and will harp on and nag my children when they forget their manners.

While I teach my children to always use their manners, actors and actresses contradict my efforts. I don't understand why television feels it is necessary for me to also hear the chewing. I can see that they are eating.

The commercials for honey nut Cheerios, for example, depict people moaning and chewing noisily. This does not incline me to run out and buy said cereal. How many TV shows have you watched lately where the cast is shoveling food into their mouths while arguing some point? If what you have to say is important, say it without the food in your mouth. Subway has recently added themselves to my list. The commercial with the firemen (and kid's voices) where they rock/paper/scissors for the chance to share the sub with it's owner. He says congratulations around a mouthful of food.

Then, there is the whole chewing with your mouth open. TV shows of all calibers are using this to show that their characters are eating. Really? Because we the people are too dumb to realize that the food around the table is food, and that when they put the fork in their mouth and suddenly their jaw is moving they must be eating? So, because of our ignorance, they chew with their mouth open? Get a clue Hollywood. Under no circumstances do I need to see or hear the food being eaten on TV.

The newer generations are growing up with no sense of proper manners. They don't understand that it is impolite to make disgusting noises with their food. And it doesn't matter what we the parents teach them. What we tell them daily. Why? Because the television tells them that we are wrong. That no one who is famous uses manners. And what kid doesn't have some hopes of being just like some actor/actress they see on TV?

I will continue to attempt to teach my children manners. I will continue to pound it into their heads. But when my 13 year old uses excuses like "No one at school uses manners" even though it is actually a lunchroom rule at his school, then I admit, it is probably a lost cause. But my never-ending quest for manners will continue.

Keeping Up

Keeping up with social media outlets is difficult. I feel like I spend more time bouncing between Facebook and Twitter than doing anything else all day.

On Twitter, I try to retweet for people, but everything gets lost in the shuffle. I appreciate all the people who have retweeted for me or suggested me to follow. I really have a difficult time following what's what on Twitter. It seems like some people have all the time in the world to constantly tweet. I might log in in the morning and the same person has posted 20 or more tweets to their account. How do they find the time?

Facebook is sometimes harder to keep up with. Status updates combine with all kinds of "check this out" articles, videos and links. Add into that all the new "you know your from _____" posts that are now spamming up my Facebook feed. Then, I need to keep up with the fan page. Sometimes, I feel like I am becoming a spammer, so I back off of the page. Then I start to feel guilty that I am neglecting those who have chosen to follow and support me. Is there a happy medium?

What do you do to keep up with the social media outlets? How do you know when and what to post to which sites? I am slowly learning. Well, at least I hope I am. There really is no one to tell me if I am doing it right or not.

Well, I am off to read some more. If you have any tips or suggestions for keeping up with social media and would like to appear as a guest post on my blog, I'd be happy to host someone who can give me (and they many others out there without a clue) some sound advice on who, what, when, where, why and how to keep up with social media.

Switching books for review...

So, I am switching books mid-review. First, let me say that although I am having trouble getting through Silent Enemy it is not me showing that the book is a bad book. It is well written. However, it is hard to get through. I do strongly recommend it, based solely on what I have read, to anyone who enjoys a good war story. I will get back to Silent Enemy eventually.

Now, as for why I am switching books, I am currently working on Lone Treebecause that is one I have been requested to do. I take the "job" of providing reviews very seriously. As much as I would love to work on my TBR stack, I feel it is far more important to review the books sent to me specifically in need of a review.

You can purchase Lone Tree to read along with me by following any of my Amazon links. (I do make a small profit if you purchase any of these books through any of these links). I read the first chapter today and I have to say I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I will post my review as soon as I have completed my reading.




Happy Reading to all you BookWorms out there.

Friendship-the real deal or just another scam?

Way back in the third grade, when we were studying and learning about poetry, I wrote a poem about friendship. I am currently looking for that poem, but there is a section of it that I have never forgotten, even more than 20 years later. So, here are those lines I once wrote about friendship.

A friend is someone always there,
Whenever you may need.
Someone you can turn to.
Just look for them, you'll see.
©1989

There is more to this poem. I do hope that I find it and can post the entire thing. Meanwhile, you may be wondering:

A-why I am posting it
B-what exactly does the blog title mean.

So, here's the thing. At 9 years old, I understood the truth about what it took to be a true friend. I understood the meaning of friendship. Recently, I have been seeing all kinds of posts on Facebook that basically say that true friends can pick up right where they left off and that it will be like no time at all has passed regardless of the time or distance between you. I am sure you have seen similar messages. It goes on to say something about how many of us have true friends like this.

The truth is that it is easy to pick up right where you left off. If you left off at high school graduation, then you will spend a certain amount of time recapping what has transpired in your life since you did graduate. Did you go to college, are you married, how many kids do you have, and where do you work can all be great questions to open up a conversation. Many people confuse this conversation with proof that this friendship is rekindled. But, it takes so much more than that.

Friendship, like any relationship, requires hard work. You must nurture it. It must be fed regular healthy doses of kindness, love and tenderness. You must actually be there for the person when they truly need you. But more than that, if you are truly their friend, then chances are they won't need to tell you that they need you. A strongly built friendship will leave you able to anticipate their needs. Do they need to be left alone? A true friend can understand this. When they are hurting, not only can a true friend see their pain, but they can also feel it.

So, how is it that at 9 years old, I understood what it took to be a friend, but so many adults don't seem to comprehend? I am sorry if that sounds awful or like I am being down on people, but I have watched so many people come in and out of my life as what we call "fair weather friends" meaning that they are there when things are going good, but when the "weather" turns and I truly need someone to lean on for just a moment, suddenly they are gone.

Facebook and other social media outlets have only added to this epidemic of "friend scams." It's the never ending quest to show how many people you know. In high school, everything was a popularity contest. I was never one to join in on these contests. I am me, will always be me and either you like me or you don't, but I won't change who I am for you or anyone else. This is my attitude, this is my belief. Like everything I believe in, it is unshakable. I will not bend myself to conform to anyone else's belief of who I should be.

So, do you participate in the friend scam? Do you collect people you don't really know just so your number of friends is bigger than the next guy's? Do you have a true friend out there? Is there someone that you know would always be there for you, day or night? Who would you call if your world was falling down around you? Would they answer? Could they give you what you need?