It is no big surprise that teenagers come equipped with attitudes.  They are under the pre conceived notion that the world should revolve around them.  This is not the case, getting them to accept this fact of life is difficult at best.
     The other big stumbling block is to get teenage boys to live harmoniously with their mom.  To teach them that they have to be better boys to in turn be great men.  It is a work in progress,  but we are getting there.  One step,  one slammed door and one hug at a time. 

 

     I am a born and bred New Englander.  Completely used to the phrase “if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes and it will change.”  This year has completely confounded me,  it is December 22nd and it is 40 degrees out, and forecasted to be 60 on Christmas Day.  Over this past weekend it actually was cold enough that it felt like December,  but that only lasted 2 days. 

     I am not a lover of feet of snow, although the ski resorts around me are crying without it.  Even if it stays cold long enough for them to make it.  People don’t think to ski when there is no snow on the ground.  I really don’t enjoy driving in the crap,  4wd can’t combat stupidity of others and there sure are a lot of them out there. 

     My allergies are in overdrive this morning, runny itchy eyes, sneezing, it is like September.  I wonder if this is what it is like for Christmas in Dixie?  Because it sure is an odd Christmas in New England weather wise. 

    

     The undeniable urge to choke the living s##t out of someone.  That has been my week,  between work,  getting ready for the holidays, trying to keep up with the social schedules of 2 teenage boys,  and family in general.  It is like my world is on fire and everywhere I go the extinguishers are all broken.

     I have spent the last 3 weeks putting out rhetorical fires.  Jumping from one crisis to the next.  I would be willing to admit it is why I either fall into bed exhausted at night or toss and turn running alternate scenarios in my head for hours.  Waking up more tired than when I went to bed. 
     Last night was my “see the light moment”  if you could call it that.  When I was getting my MBA and working full time,  and carrying on my long distance relationship with my husband (stress is not new to me). I would get these wild night terrors where I was being chased by a monster,  a big green scary looking monster.  This monster looked sort of like Sully from Monsters, Inc,  but not near as friendly.  The faster I ran the closer the thing got.

     Last night I had The Scary Green Monster Dream.  My body has drawn the line in the sand.  No more stress lady, figure it out.  So today I will breathe deep and ,  have some tea,  be a duck and let it roll off,  because the monster will not get me.

Every time there is a mass shooting,  either in the US or after the one in Paris.  The comments begin to fly about different religions and how they are responsible for the killing.  The most recent group to be blamed is “Muslims” and “ISIS”.  In the past few weeks it seems to have been “open season” on anyone that either is believed to be Muslim or of Middle Eastern decent. 
ISIS is a group of radicals that even Muslims are afraid of.  Don’t lump them together out of ignorance.

This type of finger pointing is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and his segregation, treatment and total annihilation of the Jewish people during World War II.  Hitler was trying to create a Master Race during his annihilation.  This time the segregation is brought about by fear.

Fear of people that don’t look like the rest of us.  Didn’t we learn our lesson with The Japanese Internment camps in the early 1940’s?  We are still feeling the effects of segregation and the African American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.

One of the Greatest Boxers in history was born with a name that few know him as.  Cassius Clay,  the name that he became famous under is his Muslim converted name,  Muhammed Ali.  Under this wave of fear of everyone that doesn’t look like The American Christian.  Muhammed Ali and his children would be removed from this country.  Hello,  he was born here and converted to The Nation of Islam. 

I ask you all,  to take a step back and look and think.  Since 911 the mass shootings in this country have been overwhelming committed by White Christians, Adam Lanza, Dylan Storm,  Elliot Rodgers,  Aaron Alexis,  James Holmes,  Scott Dekraai,  Jared Lee Loughner and the list goes on.  All we can focus on is the Santa Barbara killings committed by an American Citizen who converted to the Muslim faith and his wife who was a Pakistani National.  If we were to go by the facts and statistics we would be rounding up White American Christians and making them wear ID. 

What I ask for is common sense and empathy in this time of craziness.  It really is not too much to ask for.  Use your brains to think things through before you jump on the bandwagon of hate.

I just can’t sit by quietly and watch anymore.  I generally don’t engage in political diatribe or discussions on-line.  On the occasions that I have done it in the past,  I have learned : No one wins, and I am left frustrated and irritable.

Donald Trump is an idiot,  he spews hate, racism and a political ideology that makes no sense.  I realize that the unhappy masses have grabbed onto Trump and his ideas because he is loud and some would say charming. 

Charming is not a word I would use.  I would try obnoxious, self centered and pompous. 

I am also quite aware that there are not wonderful candidates to choose from this time, but for the sake of the election process.  Find someone other than the buffoon.

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I am truly at a loss, the 2nd Ammendment guarantees us “the right to bear arms”.  As an American Citizen the Bill of Rights is the foundation on which this country is built.  To pull that brick out would be detrimental to how our freedoms are structured.  On the other hand the mass killings need to be halted.
I live in an area of the country where every “backwoods good ole boy”  has a shotgun to shoot deer, Turkey, moose and any other 4 legged furry meat wielding creature.   Half of my work crew took days off this week so they could stalk deer because Shotgun season started on Monday.  This argument and therefore this blog is gonna go over like the proverbial fart in church with them.

I am done sugar coating it for them.  You don’t need an assault rifle to kill a deer with,  if you do, the deer will be splattered all over the woods.  I think it would be safe to say it is hard to pick the most off the trees to eat it.

Enough of the guns,  how many people need to die before the message is delivered loud and clear?  Without guns these mass murders will be much smaller and less noteworthy.  Picture a nut with a baseball bat,  or a knife.  He or she would would be taken down much quicker.  Stop the political pandering and the bowing to the NRA to make everyone happy.  The fear that chipping away at the 2nd Ammendment will change the way of the world.
Something has to change,  I am tired of being afraid,  afraid of what will set the nut off today.  When the mass shootings are outnumbered by the days of the year.  We have a problem,  are we gonna face it,  and deal with it?  Or keep talking about it? Talking won’t fix it,  but action sure as hell will!!!

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about how our lives our impacted by Social Media.  With our Smart Phones many of us are connected every waking moment.  From Facebook,  Twitter,  Texting,  Snapchat,  LinkedIn, Yelp, Emails, and the list goes on.  We are rarely out of touch,  with our friends, family and co-workers. 

That electronic connection comes at a heavy price, that price is that we don’t communicate well with each other face to face.  We rant on Facebook,  we send snarky emails to each other and we lose the ability to communicate.  I heard it said well by a commentator a few weeks ago,  “When you hide behind your twitter account and your thousands of followers, or let your PR people say it for you.  It is digital bullshit,  be a grown up and say it face to face to face!”

I have a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a Minor in Finance.  My Dad always says he spent good money for me to be able to talk.  In all seriousness,  in 2016 what would a degree in Communication entail?  Tweeting or sending Facebook messages to each other,  correctly updating your status with a picture that makes sense???

“He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe Christmas, he thought… doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more!”

It is no surprise that I adore The Grinch and also Dr. Seuss.  To the point that my boys won’t even watch it with me anymore, because I talk right along with Boris Karloff.  I sing the songs and just know it by heart.  It never gets old.

After the craziness of “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” maybe more people need to take a page out of the book and realize that Christmas doesn’t come from a store.  Christmas should be about time to spend together, not about what we spend on each other. 

I love the fact that my family will be together Christmas morning to open gifts.  We will have dinner together we will laugh and joke together.  Something that a lot of people don’t get to do.  For that I am thankful.