On Success (a personal musing)

I have succeeded in at least one thing: being the kind of mother I would have been proud to call my own; not perfect, but loving and strong, learning alongside her children on this journey called parenthood.

I see three children I am proud to call my own. I see the adults they have become, not because of my own guidance, but because of the individuals they are. I hope that, in some small way, I have contributed to the people they have become. Nevertheless, I feel privileged to share my life with them.

Food, Toys, and Parental Responsibility

This past week, Santa Clara County (California) supervisors passed a law prohibiting the inclusion of toys in children's meals unless the meal meets certain caloric and sodium guidelines (no more than 485 calories or 600 milligrams of sodium). This is just another step in the ongoing movement to have government take away our choices and our responsibilities.

The most visible target of this ordinance is McDonald's. People see statistics on childhood obesity and want to do something about it. I can understand that. We had so much more physical activity when I was growing up. We had gym class more than once a week (which is how often my teen sons have it). We could join sports without having to make major monetary investments. We walked or biked almost everywhere. We went outside every day. We did yard work. And, yes, we also had McDonald's Happy Meals with toys. The difference there was it was a special occasion to go to McDonald's (or any other restaurant, for that matter). We ate most of our meals at home. Once every two weeks (for us), we would eat out somewhere. Some families ate out once a month, some once a year!

Our lifestyles have changed, and now we are trying to legislate ourselves some easy answers. But there is no "easy answer". Why should we penalize businesses for something that is our own fault? McDonald's (and most other fast-food chains) offer alternatives to the traditional, high-calorie meals. Children can choose (or parents can choose-imagine that, parents actually telling their kids what they will eat instead of having the government choose for them!) chicken nuggets or a hamburger instead of the cheeseburger, apples instead of fries, and juice or milk instead of soda. They still get the prize. And then they can burn off the calories running around the McDonald's Playland. Better yet, they can walk to McDonald's (on their once per two-week excursion).

Bobby getting warmed up for go karts.

Bob Still Working!

My husband has been working for almost 12 hours since midnight on his night off. Hopefully he will get some sleep before our son's birthday dinner tonight.

Bobby

Ready or Not! Here Comes Summer...

Yep, it's that time of year again. My middle son finished school on Friday, my oldest is off today (he has no finals today-high school) and has a half-day tomorrow, and my youngest has his last full day today, then two half-days. Tomorrow night, my youngest "graduates" from elementary school. Meanwhile, I have had to take a leave of absence from work, because I have been falling asleep while driving. (I have an appointment at the sleep clinic this week.) I hope they can fix me up, because we really need my income.

So, today is one of those quiet, boring days, where my oldest is bored and trying to find something interesting to do. This is the way it is all summer, every summer, for him. I hope he gets a job soon, to occupy his time. He has been applying for jobs for months and has not been hired yet. He really wants to work at McDonald's, because it is relatively close to home. In a couple hours, I'm going to take him to Burger King to apply for a job.

My husband sleeps all day, because he works at night. I am somewhat worried that, when I do go back to work, the kids will wake him up too much during the day. Oh well, there's always something.

My Kitty Died

Felix died on Saturday. He had FIP. He lived 10 happy years with us.

Our New Puppy

Sunny
Originally uploaded by hollesdottir.

We brought home our new puppy on Sunday. His name is "Sunny". We are house training him. The hard part is keeping him from chewing the furniture.

What a Day

Whew. What a day I had today. I drove my kids all over the place, well two of them at least. The youngest wanted to spend his allowance. So, we went to this big mall about a half hour from our house (I had to drop my husband off in the area, anyway, or we would have just gone to the little mall near our house). I took him to Toys'R'Us, KBtoys, the candy store and the arcade. After two hours or more, he still didn't buy anything. Oh, well. I'm glad I don't do that every weekend.