A sugar day

The sky is gray, hanging low and keeping the heat and humidity floating throughout the house. I'm hoping for a storm. Thunder claps that rattle the house and ring in your ears. I'd love to see flashes of lightning that would light up a dark closet and splits the sky. Then after that show is over let it rain, pour, soak the whole island. 

Of course there is Max. That would mean that someone would have to walk him in the rain. Well it aint me babe. They bought the doggy in the window and I'm not going to feel guilty anymore. I don't care how much he loves me and follows me through the house and settles at my feet. 

I wanted the little fox terrier my sister in law wanted to give me. I would not have to worry about walking it for miles to get him to do his business. I could even use a little piddle pad. It would then sit on my lap like a peacocks feather so soft and light.

Instead Max lands on me and sinks me into the chair unable to move, licking me with his sloppy tongue, and breathing his fish breath all over me. 

The little terrier would sleep on my bed hardly taking up an inch. Instead Max jumps up on the bed trying to sleep on it with his head on my pillow and his back smashed up against me daring me to move. He then bounces off like Tigger bouncing from a tree leaving a hair shirt behind. 

Oh, so what's with the sugar day? I'm still in a mood so the sugar? Ah, it's coffee Haagen-Dazs. While the stew cooks I will stew with my ice cream and watch the debates. And when Nico finely finishes his sandwich I will let Max in and it will start all over again. 

So why have a kid at all?

NPR asked this question on todays show. Can a woman be a mother while holding down a high powered job? Well I thought what's good for the goose is good for the gander. If men can be fathers and hold down these powerful positions, Why can't a woman? 

The real question should be; what kind of quality parenting can be given while holding down a high powered position? Lets see. How can you parent and still be powerful? Let me count the ways.

Let's say your child is in school. That will give you some time on your own. Oh, but you leave the house at 6 AM? Well, you can have a live in care giver. She can get them dressed and fed, and she can get them to school. Anyway, having breakfast with your children isn't really quality time as they are grumpy having to get up for school so, you really couldn't have a nice conversation.

So you've had a good 10 hours to be powerful and it's time for the kids to get out of school. Super care giver to the rescue. Of course you don't want your children to be bored after school while waiting for you to come home you can put them into, dance, music, sports are art classes. That should occupy them so they won't notice your aren't around.

After school programs and then home to do school work. And what better help could there be with homework then tutors? After all being powerful has not given you the time to know what they are learning in school so how can you be helpful. Hire the best. After all you can affford it. 

Well it's time for dinner. Hum, maybe you can make it home in time. But the problem may be that you have to entertain clients, finish up on a meeting to save the company, world, or just your job. But you have a lot of extra minutes to give them a call and say you love them, they are the most important thing in your life and to remember to do what the super care giver says to do. 

But lets say you do have time to come home for dinner? You sit down at the table after hasseling with problems all day, people talking into your ear, your cell, your email and your head is buzzing after dealing with the cares of the world. You sit down to the table and the kids start in, I need help with my new toy, game, bike, etc. Can you take me to the store I need this and that for school? 

Why can't I do this or that? How come you didn't go to my class play, PTA meeting, soccer game? You get the picture. 

You finely tell the kids to please be quiet as your head hurts. You look at your partner who also is high powered and he, she is no help. His, her, stomach is killing he, she and they need to do more work or go  back to the office etc. 

Maybe you have nice conversations at the table but it may only be an hours time. Then super care giver takes over with bath, entertainment and bed time. And so it goes day after day. And don't forget the fighting about who doesn't stay home enough to help with the kids and who is always getting stuck on weekends taking care of them. Well that's if your not working on weekends. 

So Let me see, you spend maybe 5 hours a week with the kids. And maybe one day on the weekend if the kids are lucky, so the kids are yours for 21 hours a week. The other 147 hours are taken care of by the Super Care Giver. 

I think that the real question here is; Why have kids at all? Oh I forgot you are both powerful people trying to save the world and by having children you can hire a caregiver and pay them thus your contributing to the economy. Wow, I'll vote for you.

Unless your children are just for show, they need parents. They need attention and the love that can only come from them. That is where the child gains his self worth. If you need to be taking on the world then someone else should be taking on having a family. It definitely should not be someone who is a parent in name only. 

I do believe that either a male or a female can be powerful and even rule a nation. But someone needs to be a parent. And if it can't be the father or mother and then both on weekends then leave the job to someone else. And I don't mean the Super Care Giver.

Another Day Older

As I woke this morning, Thursday was upon me. Man it was just Monday. The week was moving so fast I felt the swoosh of the steamroller as time flew by me. At first I thought, great the weekend is almost here. Then I thought, It's September, we can start decorating for the holidays soon. Then I thought, oh my god the year is almost gone. And then I realized I'm going to be 64 in no time at all. It was amazing how fast I went from elated to depressed before I could stretch my arms.

Who wants another birthday? It's funny the one I remember the best is when I was turning nine.  Nine to me is like turning 29 to some women. I am always stuck in that year even if I wasn't nine I will pick that age because for some reason I feel every thing happened in that year. 

Well anyway, Mom was giving me a birthday party and I was so excited because, she had made me a birthday cake with little plastic circus animals all around it. I was more excited about having those animals then I was about the birthday presents I would be getting. It might have been all of the different pastel colors that they were painted or just the fact that they were all little animals but I just couldn't wait to get my hands on them. 

All the kids crowded into the house.  We ate cake and ice cream,  played Pin the Tail on the Donkey,  ran all over the house with balloons, and  I opened my presents. Then it was time for everyone to leave. I went into the kitchen to take the plastic animals off of the cake that remained. 

My mother was putting them on the side and little peggy from across the street was standing there watching my mom. I went to pick up the little animals when my mother stopped me. "Those are not for you, Peggy has asked for them."

"But Mom it's my birthday cake." I argued in a tearful voice. 

But Peggy picked them up and off she went. Mom said I was selfish.  I felt cheated. I believe that was the last birthday party I ever had. And maybe that is why I never grew older after that year. Till this day I ask myself, was I selfish? Should I have given away those things with a happy heart? 

I don't know. But if I really think about it I know what I was a victim of. My mothers mania for cleaning. To her those little plastic animals were just more garbage and she was more then happy to "throw" them out by giving them to peggy. And I am sure she thought I would forget all about them by the next day. 

Hum, wrong Mom.

Fractions Don't Count

Today on Public Radio, the SISTER of Cindy McCain was being interviewed. It seems that Cindy has been telling everyone across the nation that she IS an only child and that her father, Cindy kidded wanted a boy so he treated her like one. Or something in that vain and then she laughingly said, oh he was such a cowboy.

Well needless to say, Cindy's sister was upset when she heard this as she was Cindy's fathers first daughter from his first marriage. When he remarried then Cindy came along. (I'm sorry I can't remember her name)

In my book they are related. I think you would call them Half sisters? Or maybe Cindy can't do fractions so she does not count her sister as being related?

Well her father obviously did as he bought his first daughter school supplies and I believe he even helped out with his grandchildren going to college. What ever it was he did recognize her even after the divorce.

So why doesn't Cindy, the pillar of the community, the activist who helps out children in need in other countries to the point of adopting one of them. But maybe she dosn't believe in Charity begins at home.

Her father who became a millionaire due to his beer business, seemed to favor Cindy too.

When he died being worth millions he left his entire estate to Cindy. To his first daughter $10,000.
Cindy's sister did not know that until she found out that her credit cards had been cut off. Hum, I wonder who did that?

What kind of a person would deny to the nation the existence of a sibling and be dumb enough to believe that no one would ever find out?

What I find unbelievable is that no where in the news does it even mention this. Can you imagine if Obama's wife were caught up in such a lie?

Cokie Roberts jumped all over Obama for taking a vacation in such an exotic place as Hawaii (as if it were not even part of the US let alone his home town) boy she would have a field day with Michelle trying to hide a relative.

When Public Radio tried to reach senator McCain for a response they did not return PRI's call. Hum, I wonder what kind of skeletons lie in Cindy's closet beside herself?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93708729

So, What Are Grandmas For?

I've been wasting time on my computer all day. I tell you I try to learn something about a program like Twitter or blogging, I end up digging deeper and deeper and before I know it I've wasted the whole day. At 12:30 my grandson says to me, "Grandma when are we going to the library?" He is mindful of the fact that we are not going to go to the library to check out DVD's anymore because I am tired of him not wanting to look at books. After all what is a library for? Now I realize I've been sitting in my chair from 8 AM, well not continuously, I mopped, vacuumed and did several loads of laundry and fed Nico a couple of times, but as much as I could I was on the computer.  So the day will not be a complete loss, as the humidity is starting to make me cranky, I decide I will take photos of the Hawaiian Quilts at the library. I pack up the camera, my purse, Nico and his Bumble Bee transformer. I run across the street to get the library books from Nico's friend to take back with us and then realize I forgot our books. I run back into the house get the books pile everything into the car, make sure Nico is buckled in and were off. 

As we walk into the Library I am happy that I bothered to take my camera and try to decide where I want to photograph the quilts. Meanwhile Nico finds a life size stuffed Dinosaur that is so colorful I decide I must take a photo of them together. With my sore knees I carefully bend down to his hight and set the shot up. Nothing happens. My battery is dead. So here I am with the camera around my neck and out of luck. Well I had to get books for research anyway but I was disappointed. Oh well, At least Nico was happy because in the end he had managed to get 4 DVD's to check out. At least one of accomplished our goals 

  

Last game of the season

Leis of orchids, plumerias, and pikaki would just be a few of the flowers you would have hung around your neck at your graduation. Not to mention leis made of money, candy and all sorts of yarns.  By the end of the evening my grandson had leis so high you could not see his face. 

The family gathered in the high-school stadium for the last time.  Every season we came together to watch Lono play Football. His grandfather yelling out plays from the bleachers. LONO!  he would yell loudly all evening long. So when we sat in the stand where the band once played it was a very sad and very happy occasion. 

As Lono's name was called his grandfather stood up one last time and shouted, LONO!  and for the first time in the four years that we sat through his games Lono was actually smiling from ear to ear. Now it's off to college. Job well done Lono!