Lately I've been wondering if people should hang out with like minded people or surround themselves with a variety of opinions and beliefs.
There's one argument that I'm bouncing around that says our acquaintances should be those with similar values. It's handy to have our views supported and reinforced. But every time I think that I immediately counter it with the thought that if we're only around those who think like us then there's no growth.
I guess a balance could be the goal.
I asked Scott about it and his comment was, "Similar goals with different strategies works best." I think he's on to something for getting things done, but what about socially, when there aren't any goals except having a good time and enjoying each other's company?
Should Christians only hang with Christians? Can liberals and conservatives share a meal without arguing? Should they?
Maybe as long as there's respect among friends it's not only acceptable but desirable to have different viewpoints. I think so, at least. It probably also depends on what your hot-button issues are. Maybe disagreeing on that issue won't be so healthy for a connection.
Maybe there really is no formula and I'm just pondering to ponder. What do you think?
I don't know if there's a good answer or even if there's only one answer, but it's just something that's been on my mind.
About Me
- Annie
- Like all of you, I'm a number of things to a number of people...Navy wife, homeschooling mama, educated woman and aspiring writer. Read my thoughts on all of it here. Please feel free to leave your thoughts on all of it too!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Ever Wonder on a Wednesday?
I have. I wonder just about every day of the week! I'm very curious. Apparently so are my children. They ask the most intriguing questions. Do you have any answers?
What if there were hand fairies and we lost our hands? What would the hand fairy leave us?
Should you use your turn signal in a turn only lane?
If the whale shark is really a fish, why do they call it a whale shark?
Why do I have to go to bed early?
Why can't I go to bed early?
Why don't people take better care of themselves?
How do people get to be so selfish?
These are just a few of the questions that have wandered around our house this last week. What do you wonder about?
What if there were hand fairies and we lost our hands? What would the hand fairy leave us?
Should you use your turn signal in a turn only lane?
If the whale shark is really a fish, why do they call it a whale shark?
Why do I have to go to bed early?
Why can't I go to bed early?
Why don't people take better care of themselves?
How do people get to be so selfish?
These are just a few of the questions that have wandered around our house this last week. What do you wonder about?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Setting Me Straight
Jace is smart. He's got bright blue eyes that shine with glee every time he proves that to me. Sadly, he leaves me standing there with no comeback all too often.
One of the first times this happened was several months ago when I was making dinner and he was ready for it long before it was ready for him. He sat out in the dining room and cried that he was hungry and begging me to hurry up. He wasn't being very nice about it either. I told him it was his choice to sit there are cry and whine and wait, so he needed to be quiet. He corrected me, saying, "No, it wasn't my choice to wait." Luckily I was in the kitchen with my back turned so he didn't see any of the many reactions that crossed my astonished and amused face!
Today he got me again. Earlier when I went into the garage I found a brink in there, on one of their toys. I figured Jace was the culprit. When we got home from the bus stop this afternoon I asked him about it. He admitted it, but didn't see the problem.
"What makes you think you can dig up bricks out of the backyard and play with them anyway?" I asked.
He nonchalantly responded, "It's only one brick."
Again...so true. What do I say back. "You know what I mean," isn't going to cut it with this kid.
One of the first times this happened was several months ago when I was making dinner and he was ready for it long before it was ready for him. He sat out in the dining room and cried that he was hungry and begging me to hurry up. He wasn't being very nice about it either. I told him it was his choice to sit there are cry and whine and wait, so he needed to be quiet. He corrected me, saying, "No, it wasn't my choice to wait." Luckily I was in the kitchen with my back turned so he didn't see any of the many reactions that crossed my astonished and amused face!
Today he got me again. Earlier when I went into the garage I found a brink in there, on one of their toys. I figured Jace was the culprit. When we got home from the bus stop this afternoon I asked him about it. He admitted it, but didn't see the problem.
"What makes you think you can dig up bricks out of the backyard and play with them anyway?" I asked.
He nonchalantly responded, "It's only one brick."
Again...so true. What do I say back. "You know what I mean," isn't going to cut it with this kid.
"They'll carry your kids away!"
When we found out we were moving to Georgia several people told us that the bugs here were big enough to fly away with our kids. That didn't sound fun, but I haven't really experienced that...until today.
Don't get me wrong, there are bugs here...lots of them. There are crawling things of every shape and size that antagonized me for the first several months, until I figured out the importance of having a bug control company come in every few months. I've never had to do that before. Then there are the millions of annoying little gnats that don't bite, but pester like no other. And we can't forget the sand gnats that do bite...there are millions of those too. Love bugs fascinate me during their brief stint as the most populous in the spring, I think it is. And I did see a giant horse fly a year or so ago. It was easily the size of a quarter. Giant. But there was just one...he wouldn't have gotten too far with any of our kids...they're big too!
But, today...this morning at the bus stop, the mosquitoes were out in force. They were so big. They didn't even bother landing on your skin...they went right through your clothes to bite you. Jace and Gracie watched Tyler and I (I was holding Tyler and covering him as much as possible) and I watched them. We were constantly swatting at the quick little buggers. They were everywhere and, did I mention, they were big. One landed on me and I could see his little eyes smirk at me before I squashed him and got bug guts all over my shirt. Gracie had one land in between the straps of her sandal so we couldn't get to it easily...big and good at their bloody sucking jobs! And poor Jace went to school itching his legs, which now have blood mixed with mosquito bits and pieces smeared across them.
We made it, though. We have bites and smears, yes, but Jace got safely on the bus and Tyler, Gracie and I made it back home. No one got carried away. Whew! But it was close ;)
Don't get me wrong, there are bugs here...lots of them. There are crawling things of every shape and size that antagonized me for the first several months, until I figured out the importance of having a bug control company come in every few months. I've never had to do that before. Then there are the millions of annoying little gnats that don't bite, but pester like no other. And we can't forget the sand gnats that do bite...there are millions of those too. Love bugs fascinate me during their brief stint as the most populous in the spring, I think it is. And I did see a giant horse fly a year or so ago. It was easily the size of a quarter. Giant. But there was just one...he wouldn't have gotten too far with any of our kids...they're big too!
But, today...this morning at the bus stop, the mosquitoes were out in force. They were so big. They didn't even bother landing on your skin...they went right through your clothes to bite you. Jace and Gracie watched Tyler and I (I was holding Tyler and covering him as much as possible) and I watched them. We were constantly swatting at the quick little buggers. They were everywhere and, did I mention, they were big. One landed on me and I could see his little eyes smirk at me before I squashed him and got bug guts all over my shirt. Gracie had one land in between the straps of her sandal so we couldn't get to it easily...big and good at their bloody sucking jobs! And poor Jace went to school itching his legs, which now have blood mixed with mosquito bits and pieces smeared across them.
We made it, though. We have bites and smears, yes, but Jace got safely on the bus and Tyler, Gracie and I made it back home. No one got carried away. Whew! But it was close ;)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
There's always an excuse...
When I was in high school I used my parents as an excuse when I didn't want to do something. A few times I even said to someone on the phone, "That sounds like fun. Hold on while I ask. (Pause) Man, I'm sorry. Mom says I can't go. Yeah I don't know why...but I can't. Sorry." Whew...got out of that!
In college I used my sister's history and extended family as an excuse. The story is that Jody, my older sister, and her best friend decided to spend the night at a hotel a few hours away from home when they were seniors in high school. As far as everyone knows they didn't misbehave in any other way than they weren't where they said they'd be. As it happens there was a sign in log at the hotel and the next person to sign in recognized the name and asked my uncle what his niece was doing there. I went to college only an hour from home, so if I really didn't want to do something I'd rationalize that someone in my family (there are a total of 16 aunts and uncles, not counting spouses) could very easily know someone who would see me out and about.
Growing up, having family to lean on as a way to get out of things I didn't want to do was probably healthy...until I could simply say no on my own.
Now, though, I'm using my kids as an excuse. "I can't walk as much as I want because Gracie gets tired and Tyler wants to eat and Jace wants to ride his bike and..." Blah. Blah. Blah.
I like walking. I should be walking. Ask any doctor. Whether that doctor knows me or not, he or she will tell you I should be walking. So, today we went for a walk. It wasn't an hour long, peaceful, thought-provoking stroll for me...the kind I like. But it was a walk. The kids weren't happy. One was thirsty, one was hungry, one was just plain miserable (read tired and fighting it) but I enjoyed myself. I really did. Perhaps not as much as if I'd been on my own and I didn't get as much of a workout as I could have speed-walking by myself...but it was good.
So, no more excuses. I'm a big girl (who's trying to get smaller). The kids can blame me to get out of things, but I won't blame them any more.
In college I used my sister's history and extended family as an excuse. The story is that Jody, my older sister, and her best friend decided to spend the night at a hotel a few hours away from home when they were seniors in high school. As far as everyone knows they didn't misbehave in any other way than they weren't where they said they'd be. As it happens there was a sign in log at the hotel and the next person to sign in recognized the name and asked my uncle what his niece was doing there. I went to college only an hour from home, so if I really didn't want to do something I'd rationalize that someone in my family (there are a total of 16 aunts and uncles, not counting spouses) could very easily know someone who would see me out and about.
Growing up, having family to lean on as a way to get out of things I didn't want to do was probably healthy...until I could simply say no on my own.
Now, though, I'm using my kids as an excuse. "I can't walk as much as I want because Gracie gets tired and Tyler wants to eat and Jace wants to ride his bike and..." Blah. Blah. Blah.
I like walking. I should be walking. Ask any doctor. Whether that doctor knows me or not, he or she will tell you I should be walking. So, today we went for a walk. It wasn't an hour long, peaceful, thought-provoking stroll for me...the kind I like. But it was a walk. The kids weren't happy. One was thirsty, one was hungry, one was just plain miserable (read tired and fighting it) but I enjoyed myself. I really did. Perhaps not as much as if I'd been on my own and I didn't get as much of a workout as I could have speed-walking by myself...but it was good.
So, no more excuses. I'm a big girl (who's trying to get smaller). The kids can blame me to get out of things, but I won't blame them any more.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Tooth Tales
Jace is growing up. You probably could have figured that out on your own, especially considering the amount he's been eating. Yesterday he said, "I wish I could eat all the time. I could just live at the store and eat the food. If it was frozen pizza I wouldn't even cook it. I'd eat it cold and then eat something warm after it so I wasn't cold." He's thought this through! Anyway, that's not even why I say he's growing up, today. Today it's because he's lost his first two teeth!
Two days ago we didn't know teeth fell out at this age. Jace calmly told me his teeth were wiggly and I hopped on www.ask.com to find out if they should be. Sure enough, he's the perfect age. Once he found out it was okay, he wiggled them with his tongue, his fingers, his food...anything he could. Yesterday he got tired of waiting and pulled them out! I think (I hope) they were ready, but he was so excited! Got $1.25 from the tooth fairy too! He plans to purchase some candy with it sometime soon.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Growing Boy
I've heard that teenage boys will eat you out of house and home...no one warned me about almost 6 year old boys! Jace's birthday is next month and I'm convinced that he's going to eat until he gets all his new birthday clothes and then shoot up right out of them!
He's been asking his sister if he can finish whatever she doesn't want. I've caught him eating food that Tyler has thrown on the floor around his high chair. Not more than five minutes after we finish a meal, he's hungry again. It's been going this way for over a week, but it's starting to get really crazy!
Right now he's eating more than I am! The funny thing is that Scott and I are keeping track of our points on the Weight Watchers program, so Jace asks how many points everything he eats is worth! At least he wants to eat me out of house and home in a healthy manner!
He's been asking his sister if he can finish whatever she doesn't want. I've caught him eating food that Tyler has thrown on the floor around his high chair. Not more than five minutes after we finish a meal, he's hungry again. It's been going this way for over a week, but it's starting to get really crazy!
Right now he's eating more than I am! The funny thing is that Scott and I are keeping track of our points on the Weight Watchers program, so Jace asks how many points everything he eats is worth! At least he wants to eat me out of house and home in a healthy manner!
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