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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Close-to-home threats
So my daughter's not in high school, but it's never too soon to start worrying about the challenges she'll face there ... even in "small town" America.
Today, news of an arrest in a case involving a student threat to kill dozens of his peers and teachers.
It makes me wonder if all the anniversary coverage of the Columbine incident prompted someone else to think along the same lines? Granted, the news organizations didn't go overboard with the coverage, but it was still out there and prominent.
I'm thankful someone (a student) took the threat seriously enough to notify officials at the school, and that school leaders took it seriously enough to notify authorities.
This kind of news sends chills up my spine. Kids have so many issues to deal with, and from listening to my sisters talk about their experiences as teachers/administrators in school systems here and there, it's anything BUT a laughing matter.
Just one more thing to worry about as the little ones grow up, way too fast...
Today, news of an arrest in a case involving a student threat to kill dozens of his peers and teachers.
It makes me wonder if all the anniversary coverage of the Columbine incident prompted someone else to think along the same lines? Granted, the news organizations didn't go overboard with the coverage, but it was still out there and prominent.
I'm thankful someone (a student) took the threat seriously enough to notify officials at the school, and that school leaders took it seriously enough to notify authorities.
This kind of news sends chills up my spine. Kids have so many issues to deal with, and from listening to my sisters talk about their experiences as teachers/administrators in school systems here and there, it's anything BUT a laughing matter.
Just one more thing to worry about as the little ones grow up, way too fast...
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Prom fashions, 2009 style
I'm going to sound even older than my age when I say this, but WTH is up with prom fashions?
Had the occasion to sit on the patio of a downtown eatery Saturday evening, and my oh my, did I ever get an eyeful.
Fashion police, where were you?
Gaudy dresses, ta-tas hanging out for God and everybody to see, pantylines marking the path to places no teen should be showing the world, and flip flops on the feet of more than half of evening gown wearers.
There were fake tans, up dos, rhinestone jewelry out the ying yang, guys in white tuxedos with blue cumberbunds (when did THOSE come back in style?), and just about every imaginable combination of short, long and not-so-appropriate dresses on the girls.
It was people watching at its finest, I must say. But I had to wonder what the parents of some of these kids were thinking when they let their pride and joy step out the door looking like a painted harlot? Or a stripper, minus the pole.
I hereby reserve the right to veto any prom dress that my now 10-year-old eventually begs to wear because "it's the style" or "everybody else is wearing this!"
Call me old fashioned, but there's something to be said for "understated" and "elegant" on prom night.
Maybe those hoop skirts and pink-and-lavender ruffles from the '80s weren't as bad as I remember them. Lord knows they would have looked better on some of today's teens than what I witnessed on the street last night.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Scary stuff, this truth
Who says reality TV isn't real?
For me tonight, The Biggest Loser's Kristen touched a nerve when she said: "I'm scared because as soon as I declare I want it, it'll be ripped away from me."
THAT got my wheels turning. And my stomach churning.
How many times in my life have I secretly harbored doubt and let insecurities prevail because of fear? How many times have I told myself if I want it too much, it'll hurt too much when I don't get it? Or it is taken away or disappears?
(Insert inner voice here, chanting: It's better to NOT say it, NOT want it, NOT wish for it, NOT to work 150% for it because saying it, wanting it, wishing for it, working harder than anything for it will lead to ... disappointment, disillusionment, dissatisfaction.)
I'm not talking about material things here. I'm talking real stuff -- at work, at home, in my relationship, in friendships, with family.
When Kristen said what she said, a lightbulb went on for me. Not necessarily for the first time, but for what I hope is the last time.
Wanting something, saying you want it and working at it without hesitation or fear of "what if ..."
I need to flip the switch in my head from its self-defeating setting and let go of the fear. Today.
Here's to appreciating all the success and happiness that can come from things that are good, right and fun ... and letting go of the worry and pain that accompany all the "what ifs."
For me tonight, The Biggest Loser's Kristen touched a nerve when she said: "I'm scared because as soon as I declare I want it, it'll be ripped away from me."
THAT got my wheels turning. And my stomach churning.
How many times in my life have I secretly harbored doubt and let insecurities prevail because of fear? How many times have I told myself if I want it too much, it'll hurt too much when I don't get it? Or it is taken away or disappears?
(Insert inner voice here, chanting: It's better to NOT say it, NOT want it, NOT wish for it, NOT to work 150% for it because saying it, wanting it, wishing for it, working harder than anything for it will lead to ... disappointment, disillusionment, dissatisfaction.)
I'm not talking about material things here. I'm talking real stuff -- at work, at home, in my relationship, in friendships, with family.
When Kristen said what she said, a lightbulb went on for me. Not necessarily for the first time, but for what I hope is the last time.
Wanting something, saying you want it and working at it without hesitation or fear of "what if ..."
I need to flip the switch in my head from its self-defeating setting and let go of the fear. Today.
Here's to appreciating all the success and happiness that can come from things that are good, right and fun ... and letting go of the worry and pain that accompany all the "what ifs."
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