Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Weird Wednesday

NaNo Word Count: 500 yesterday! It would have been more, had I been able to attend crit group. Maybe I'll do better today and add another 200 words? We'll see:)

Saw on the news this morning the medical profession is encouraging people who wake up in the morning 'not feeling well' to stay home. They may or may not have H1N1, but why take a chance? There is also the financial factor: You go to work and don't do your best. You also infect your co-workers, who in turn go home and infect their families, or even clients.

But say you can't afford to stay home? No sick leave? Simply negotiate with your employer.

Yeah, right. Like that REALLY works. You call in one too many times (cough...walmart...cough) and you'll find yourself out of a job.

So no job vs working sick and spreading the germs. Which do you choose?

Ever since I can remember, I've dreamed of working at home. No having to get up at the ungodly hour of 6am; not having to drive in snow and ice or even cold temperatures.

(record scratch) Wait...I work from home and I still get up at 6, and yes, I have to drive kids to school in freezing temps!

But...I don't have to interact with anyone if I don't choose to, other than via phone or email. And, oh wait...I don't get paid either, unless you count the occassional royalty check in the mail. I get paid in hugs and 'I love you's".

And On That Note...
Parenting is a responsibility. Where do some people get off treating their kids as if they OWN them, instead of having to CARE for them?

If you're single and choose to destroy your life with drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy relationships, by all means, go ahead. But if you have kids, GROW UP!

I made an emergency trip last night to help a friend who is fighting for her granddaughter's right to grow up in a safe environment. The mother is on meth; the father gained custody to get his infant daughter out of harm's way. BUT...he's fallen under the charms of a predatory female, who has him drinking again; stealing his mother's pain meds; and not spending any time with his daughter. Oh, and this woman also withdrew her own daughter from school, in order to 'home school' the child, who now spends the majority of her time at her boyfriend's house, in order to stay away from a brother who regularly beats her up. This is a fourteen-year-old child who was making straight A's and B's, who, if the authorities don't intervene in time (they were called yesterday), will become another unwed, uneducated teenage mother. The brother was removed from the home, but given to the grandparents, who allowed him to get drunk!

I'm waiting for news of what will happen today. We packed up the father's possessions and put them in his car, finding proof of his theft as we did so. He wasn't smart enough to hide the bottles or labels. DCS will assess the situation and hopefully it will be proven that the father is unfit, and the child given into her grandparents' care. She's a sweet child, who six weeks ago, thought Cheeto's were an acceptable meal; wore size 9 month clothing (she's now 13 months old); and barely walked or talked (I'll concede this final point is age-appropriate!). She has gained weight; grown 3 shoe sizes; wears a 2T clothing; and is enjoying the educational benefits of PBS Kids. In short, she's blossomed under Grandma's care. Dad showed up drunk for a job interview two weeks ago, and in an unrelated incident, scared my daughter when she arrived for a visit. S doesn't scare that easily, so for her to call me and request to come home early is huge.

Bottom line: If you have kids, raise them responsibly. Care for them. Love them. But don't let your own selfish desires take precedence over your kids' welfare. You can go back to destroying your body once they've attained adulthood.

CBS Timeline: 1990!
-Vanilla Ice "Ice Ice Baby"
-Murphy Brown
-Gameboy was introduced
-Madonna's 'documentary'
-Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait
-Hubble Telescope launched
-President George Bush's declared hatred of brocolli (kids everywhere cheered!)
-Nelson Mandela released from prison
-Assisted suicides by Jack Kevorkian
-Death of Ryan White
-Home Alone, Ghost, Pretty Woman
-Infamous Milli Vanilli losing their Grammy Award for lip-synching
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
-SuperSoakers

I was enjoying my first year as an adult, but 1990 was traumatic on a personal level. I had gotten trapped in an emotionally abusive relationship, and broke my engagement, but couldn't get him to stop leaving my alone. It literally took me giving up my job and apartment for him to 'get it'. I vaguely remember the invasion of Kuwait; I remember laughing at the absurdity of spending all that money on a telescope which was now near-sighted; and since I lived ten minutes from Ryan White's house, his death was the newsmaker which had the most impact on me. I didn't know him, but I'd been by his home, and knew those who DID know him.

I still have my cassette tape of the TMNT singing 'Comin' Out Of Our Shells', a collection of songs Pizza Hut offered as a promotional item. In fact, I found it on YouTube; punch in TMNT Pizza Power, and you can find several songs, including more of my faves, 'Sing About It', 'Count On Us', 'Walk Straight', 'No Treaties', and 'April's Ballad'.

Since I still can't seem to copy/paste, here's the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J89vz7tfN-k&feature=related

(I hope it works! If it does, Enjoy!)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hopefully all will turn out well for the baby.

barbara huffert said...

I so wish people would listen to you. I work with criminals who have drug and alcohol problems and unfortunately, hear things like this every day. It's really hard sometimes.

Sandra Cox said...

How sad.

Linda Kage said...

I'm grateful my work came up with a temp sick-leave plan where we can use future sick-leave hours if we're feeling under the weather. I haven't needed to use it, but I'm glad it's there.

And thanks for making me feel better about my pregnancy. I'd been all worried about messing up my poor kid's life when she's born by how I raised her. But... after listening to that tale, I figure I can't do too bad since there's no way I'd put my little girl through any of that mess. Wow.