Juicy!

With the baby now in the house, I no longer make cleaning the house a priority.  Arg.  The  house is such a mess!  We live in a 1000 sq. ft condo and most of the space on the floor is occupied by the baby’s toys and other baby paraphanalia.  And worse of all, Home is beginning to smell…

Need to spend some time to pick up the things lying on the floor.  Need to spend some time scrubbing the bathroom.  Need some time to wipe down the dust.   And need some time to just sit down and enjoy a cup of tea without worrying about having to clean up.

Where does a busy mother find time to enjoy herself?  I don’t know how single mothers do it.  I know when you’re put in that kind of situation, you adapt and you do whatever it takes to survive.  But I just can’t seem to imagine me doing everything by myself.

I received an email from a colleague of mine today.  It offers an interesting message to parents.  The email reads:

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question.

‘Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?’

I replied, “I had a drug problem when I was young: I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn’t put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity.

I was drug out to pull weeds in mom’s garden and flowerbeds and cocklebur’s (aka thistles) out of dad’s fields.

I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us!!!!

If this is what happens when we “drug” our kids, I really do hope our children gets drugged more often.

Sometimes, I feel the weight that I carry on my shoulders gets heavier and heavier every day.  Being the oldest child of 4 children, you tend to have this odd sense of parental responsibility - the need to make sure your family is OK.  So you carry this burden on your shoulders and tell no one about it. 

Then you come home to your family and make sure that they are together as well.  I was once told that it is the woman in the family that really carries the family.  I am beginning to think it’s true.  Couple that with being the eldest child.  So now you’ve got to hold your own family together as well as the family that you grew up with - your parents and siblings. 

Sometimes, I just want to hide from it all.  Run away.  But where to?  But the guilt!  I love my family. I love my parents.  l love my siblings!  So I can’t run and I can’t hide.  It’s up to me to keep the balance.

No, I’m not depressed.  OK.  Maybe just a little.  But don’t worry.  It’s just a phase.

My new intern started last week.  We’ve been waiting to meet him for months now.  He’ll be here only for the summer (3 months) and then boof….gone.   So why even spend the time to train these guys?  It feels like such a waste of time sometimes.  How much can you even train the guy?  The moment he starts to understand things, he’s ready to start school.  Why why bother? 

I remember being really grateful for being trained as an intern one summer while I was in school.  And to have “experience” at a large corporation…wow.  I am sure it helped me get my first out of college job.

It seems that these days, finding a job requires more than just grades.  The 4.0 GPA doesn’t cut it anymore.  Companies now want experience!  But what about summer school?  What about wanting to graduate early to reduce those rising tuition costs? 

Students, high school and college students alike, are under so much pressure these days.  I wonder how it’s going to be when my 11 month old is in high school and is preparing for college.  Will the Princetons and Yales be untouchable?  And then UCLA and Berkeley become the next Princeton and Yale?  Then the Cal States get bumped up the UCLA levels? 

Hard to imagine.  My little cousin, who is graduating from high school this year, is graduating with a near perfect GPA.  The only school he got accepted to was UCI and UCSB.  She’s a bright girl.  10 years ago, her credentials would have gotten her into UCLA.  Mind you, I’m not bashing UCI or UCSB.  Those are great schools as well.  But let’s face it.  UCLA definitely has a much better academic reputation.

Well, kids, it’s time that your teachers teach you time management because you’ll be expected to be a student, work, be involved with your school, and be involved with your community before you can even get anywhere.  Best of luck to you guys as I can feel your pressure.