I love technology as much as the next person but I have to say that I am thankful I grew up in the 80's and that all the newfangled technology was not around then!
When I was Shelby's age there was no Facebook, no Instagram, no quick and easy way to know what everyone else was doing. Nowadays they can know what their classmates and friends are doing with a click of the mouse. I am in sure in some cases this is a good thing. Want to share a picture of the fun day you and your friend had? Share it via email or Instagram (or some thing called Snapchat but that one doesn't make any sense to me!). You don't have to wait to finish your roll of film, send it in for development and then get it back. Oh and if you want you and your friend to both have a copy of a photo then...don't forget to get double copies!
But what about the downside? If young kids are anything like I was at that age (and I am pretty sure they are!) then they are insecure about themselves, feel like they don't have friends, or feel like no one likes them or wants to hang out with them. This is easily justifiable as they peruse through their social media outlets and get to see pictures and posts from their classmates and friends. Even I scroll through them and my heart drops into my stomach a bit as I see Shelby's friends and classmates hanging out together but she isn't included. I mean at least when I was a kid I could just be naive and assume everyone else was sitting home with their mom watching The Golden Girls (in my defense, that was an AWESOME show! :)).
Hopefully as parents we encourage our kids to respect others and treat them well, but let's be realistic, they are kids and they will be mean to kids (weren't we all?) and kids will be mean to them. Back in the old days this would be done verbally and probably in the hallways during school or on the playground. I am sure it still happens there but now it also happens via the social network. Kids can easily respond to a post on one of these outlets that insults someone, makes fun of someone else, or can just be taken wrong by someone else. Oh sure, this would all still happen even if there was no internet, because kids will be kids, but the internet just makes it so much easier nowadays.
I just hope I have instilled confidence in my daughter and that even if she does see these things on social media she won't let it bug her. She will just look at it and decide not to participate in any bully like activities, that she does realize she has friends and will probably post pictures of her own that may make other people which they were hanging out with her.
I am just thankful I didn't have to worry about all this as a kid! God Bless the '80's! :)
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Life is a Tough Mother F!cker!
Seriously I wish I had known what life would like like at 39 when I was a kid! I remember always wanting to be older than I was, and wanting to be an "adult". Oh what a naive little kid I was! Being an adult sucks a$s! Okay, okay it doesn't suck a$s all the time, but those huge life moments happen more often then I would like and are a lot tougher to get through than any "issue" I had as a kid!
I have had a chance to really re-evaluate my life these past 4 months. Being unemployed (and bored!) gives you plenty of time to do that! So what, you ask, have I come to realize or what changes have I made? Well glad you asked!
1.) I realized who are the people I want in my life. These are people that stand by me no matter what my mood may be. The ones that will curse and cry right along with me about how unfair life is. These are the friends that will drop everything at the last minute and invite me to a coffee (or drink) date because they know I need it. They are the ones that make time for me even in the midst of their busy lives
2.) Meditation REALLY does work! I was always a bit skeptical about it, but maybe that was just because I wasn't sure how to go about doing it or never felt I had the time for it. However I have learned that we need to make time for it, or at least for a few moments just to allow our body and soul to have a little siesta. It doesn't even have to take long, and you don't have to get in any weird position, and go "Ummmmmm!" It can be as quick as 2 minutes (though I prefer a good 5 minutes for those rushed days!) and it's really just about the breathing. It's also about acknowledging how you may be feeling and simply saying "Hello there anxiety! I am not going to let you get to me today!"
3.) Life can suck, but someone else's life probably sucks more than yours. Yes I have been unemployed the past 4 months. I went through some crappy accusations about my work ethic that really tore me down. I knew these words were not true but you do still stop and question it. So I was not only unemployed, but was having my unemployment benefits questioned. I was questioning my purpose on this earth in general. What was I hear for? Life sucked. But you know what...I was healthy, my family was healthy, we had family helping us out by treating us to dinner or letting them clean their house for some extra cash (Thanks mom!). Even though people may not let you see it, everyone is struggling inside with something!
4.) I have magic powers! No I have not taken up any hallucinate drugs, I really do have magic powers! Okay, maybe not, but I have realized how the powers of positive thinking can create life-changing results. I have taken to writing in a journal again after YEARS (like 16!) and I joked to Chad that it was a magic journal because what I wrote in it came true! Granted not quite the way I wanted it to, but true non the less. I was talking about this with a friend who pointed me towards the Laws of Attraction. This is basically a philosophy used to sum up the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life. I started to look back on things that had happened in my life and was like "OMG, it's true!" Maybe it's pure coincidence but then again, maybe it's not! Hmm, wonder what my superhero name should be... :)
You can check out more about this here http://www.thesecret.tv/
5.) Treasure those little moments because who knows how long you will be able to. You just never know when your time on this planet will be over. We don't want to consider death of ourselves or our loved ones but it is inevitable. Hopefully it is off in the far future, but you just never know. So tell your friends and family that you love them (and yes sometimes it is okay to say "Right now you are really annoying me but I still love you!"), enjoy the little things like a sunny day (or even a rainy day when you can curl up underneath a blankie with your kitty, a cup of coffee and a good book!). Appreciate your daughter's HUGE stubborn streak because you know it will be a good trait to have in the future (but not so great when you are trying to raise her and her stubborn streak clashes with your stubborn streak!)
I am not perfect and I don't claim to be. I also know that even though I am in a better place now, that there will continue to be tough times ahead. I just hope I can continue to look past the negative and remain positive and thankful for what God has given me!
I have had a chance to really re-evaluate my life these past 4 months. Being unemployed (and bored!) gives you plenty of time to do that! So what, you ask, have I come to realize or what changes have I made? Well glad you asked!
1.) I realized who are the people I want in my life. These are people that stand by me no matter what my mood may be. The ones that will curse and cry right along with me about how unfair life is. These are the friends that will drop everything at the last minute and invite me to a coffee (or drink) date because they know I need it. They are the ones that make time for me even in the midst of their busy lives
2.) Meditation REALLY does work! I was always a bit skeptical about it, but maybe that was just because I wasn't sure how to go about doing it or never felt I had the time for it. However I have learned that we need to make time for it, or at least for a few moments just to allow our body and soul to have a little siesta. It doesn't even have to take long, and you don't have to get in any weird position, and go "Ummmmmm!" It can be as quick as 2 minutes (though I prefer a good 5 minutes for those rushed days!) and it's really just about the breathing. It's also about acknowledging how you may be feeling and simply saying "Hello there anxiety! I am not going to let you get to me today!"
3.) Life can suck, but someone else's life probably sucks more than yours. Yes I have been unemployed the past 4 months. I went through some crappy accusations about my work ethic that really tore me down. I knew these words were not true but you do still stop and question it. So I was not only unemployed, but was having my unemployment benefits questioned. I was questioning my purpose on this earth in general. What was I hear for? Life sucked. But you know what...I was healthy, my family was healthy, we had family helping us out by treating us to dinner or letting them clean their house for some extra cash (Thanks mom!). Even though people may not let you see it, everyone is struggling inside with something!
4.) I have magic powers! No I have not taken up any hallucinate drugs, I really do have magic powers! Okay, maybe not, but I have realized how the powers of positive thinking can create life-changing results. I have taken to writing in a journal again after YEARS (like 16!) and I joked to Chad that it was a magic journal because what I wrote in it came true! Granted not quite the way I wanted it to, but true non the less. I was talking about this with a friend who pointed me towards the Laws of Attraction. This is basically a philosophy used to sum up the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life. I started to look back on things that had happened in my life and was like "OMG, it's true!" Maybe it's pure coincidence but then again, maybe it's not! Hmm, wonder what my superhero name should be... :)
You can check out more about this here http://www.thesecret.tv/
5.) Treasure those little moments because who knows how long you will be able to. You just never know when your time on this planet will be over. We don't want to consider death of ourselves or our loved ones but it is inevitable. Hopefully it is off in the far future, but you just never know. So tell your friends and family that you love them (and yes sometimes it is okay to say "Right now you are really annoying me but I still love you!"), enjoy the little things like a sunny day (or even a rainy day when you can curl up underneath a blankie with your kitty, a cup of coffee and a good book!). Appreciate your daughter's HUGE stubborn streak because you know it will be a good trait to have in the future (but not so great when you are trying to raise her and her stubborn streak clashes with your stubborn streak!)
I am not perfect and I don't claim to be. I also know that even though I am in a better place now, that there will continue to be tough times ahead. I just hope I can continue to look past the negative and remain positive and thankful for what God has given me!
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