Green Balloon Friday

There's been a call to release green balloons today to show our solidarity with the plight of Iranian citizens. You can read more about it here. Here's my contribution in western Virginia....

They're there - click on the picture so you can see 'em!

Cheating

I'm at the point in my life where friends are starting to get divorced. It's scary because I feel like I'm surrounded by stories of infidelity (these politicians lately aren't helping) and I wonder if it could happen to my husband and I. I don't see how it could, though, because it's black and white as far as I can see it. When you're married, certain things are off limits. Can you think someone is attractive? Of course. Can you flirt with them? You're starting to cross the line. Can you develop an emotionally dependent but non-physical relationship? That sounds like cheating already. Can you sleep with them? What?! Are you crazy?

I hear all these rationalizations from married people. Oh, I wasn't getting my emotional or physical needs met. I had a moment of weakness. I didn't mean for it to happen. All of this is a load of you-know-what. The bottom line is the cheater is a selfish, short-term thinker with not enough self control. It's not wrong to think or feel all those things, it just doesn't justify the cheating. If you're that miserable, then you should end the marriage and THEN feel free to do whatever!

Then there's the whole "I'm sorry. Forgive me." routine. Sure you're sorry! Sorry you got caught! Where was the sorry when you were having your fun? The forgiveness thing I'm going back and forth on. It's good to forgive and let go of the anger but should you forgive something that could happen again? Is there any way to know whether or not it will? I think more often than not, people say I'm sorry and ask for forgiveness but then do not follow it up with serious steps to prevent it from happening again. My kids say "I'm sorry" automatically whenever they do something wrong. It's a reflex and they do it without any thought or true remorse. There are very few apologies given that are truly meaningful.

I've said my piece. It's easy to preach from a safe perch, which is where I'm sitting. To all of you down in the trenches: tell me if you think I'm wrong...

observing the wonder of nature

Here is the coolest wasp/hornet/yellow jacket (help please) nest that is under construction outside my daughter's bedroom window:

What's wrong with the American education system

In Virginia, we have these exams that start in grade three and continue on each year from then on. They're called SOL's, which literally stand for "Standards of Learning" but I think philosophically stand for what first came into your mind when you read that.

The schools are accredited based on these scores and people falsely judge the quality of education at the schools from these scores. Teachers are hired and fired based on these scores as well. While I don't have any documented proof of these claims, I do have anecdotal evidence and this is a blog so, like Glenn Beck (whom I deplore), I don't back my claims by any fact checking.

So, back to SOL's. I hate what they have done to our schools. I understand that the thought process behind initiating these tests was to hold all schools and students to basic standards which is a good thing. The behavior that is rewarded by implementing these tests, however, is a drilling of facts without context and without a passion for the subject. Bottom line is it makes learning boring and is not bringing out the best in young minds. My fifth grade daughter spent a month after spring break taking multiple choice practice questions and nothing else to prepare for her social studies SOL. Can American History get any more boring? I was helping her with it, and I didn't know half of the obscure facts she needed to know!

Now that there are only a few weeks of school left and the SOL's have been completed, there is no homework coming home, my kids are watching movies in school, field day is tomorrow, and there are picnics planned for next week. So besides the three months of summer vacation, the last month of school is basically a free ride and the first month back is reviewing what they've forgotten. That means there are only seven months of true learning (and I'm keeping Christmas and Spring breaks in the learning portion)!

I'm THIS close to home schooling. I totally see why our kids fall behind so many other countries!

UPDATE (5/25/09): I just read this in the elementary school newspaper under the Opinion section. You think there's a little propaganda getting out from the teachers/administration???? I think the kids who answered "ice cream" have it dead on!

Thoughts on Menopause

I was visiting a friend of mine who is going through menopause. She's 49 and has been dealing with it for awhile. Her family told me about it first because they say she's transforming before their eyes. They say she's more high strung, quick to lose her temper and very un-fun to be around. They were begging me to convince her to start some kind of prescribed medicated therapy. At first, I didn't think she had changed at all but, after a few days, I kind of saw what they were talking about (but not to the extreme they described). My friend is aware that she's not herself but doesn't want to alter this natural process that all women go through with medication.

My first reaction was to tell her family to be supportive of her wishes and leave her alone and it will eventually pass. The more I think about it, though, I wonder if that's the way to go. If I change so much that I'm making my family miserable, I think I would consider drug therapy. Especially since I now realize that menopause lasts for years and years. I started to think of it in the context of any kind of illness. If you're sick and there's a drug to help, shouldn't you take it? The reason I hesitate, though, is because I think that our culture makes us susceptible to quick drug fixes (think ADHD, diet pills, etc.) rather than the slower, more disciplined approach of correcting our problems naturally. Then there is the other extreme of those whackos who let their children die while praying over them rather than medically intervene to save them with simple modern day cures.

I guess, when it's my turn, I'll have to decide on some middle ground between these two extremes and hopefully won't change that much when I start my menopause. I think the first thing I'll do is a happy dance at not having to buy birth control pills, maxipads and tampons anymore!

If any of you have advice on natural ways to deal with menopause that I can pass on to my friend, I'd love to hear from you!

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so....... yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......... um...... how are you?........... me? good......... yeah, well............... not much new to say............ is my blog dying?........ maybe............ so, um, i guess that's it............. um........... bye............

My Message to the Palestinians

My husband laughed at me for doing this but I think it's pretty cool! If you go to this website, you can pay a nominal fee and they'll spray paint your message on the barrier wall between Israel and Gaza. My husband thinks they photoshopped it and it's some scam being run in Pittsburgh or some less exotic place but I'm thinking it's legit.

Anyway, the purpose of my message is to let the Palestinians know that I am thinking of them and wish them happiness. Of course I want the Israelis to be happy too. I wish they could both find a way to do this.

My messages says, "Ellie in the USA wishes Palestians could move freely & be happy." Here are the photos they sent me (they guy spraying it is kinda cute):



Click on any of the photos to enlarge....