Monday, February 14, 2011

And Itʻs Over.

I played along. I smiled. Hugged & kissed everyone. Sent the monsters to school in Valentiney Stuff. Now I am DONE. I am over it. I am tired. And honestly, it was exhausting to be that happy & cheery all day. I donʻt mind Valentineʻs Day, but it not on my top 10 list thatʻs for sure. People are all...smiling, happy, gushing love and for what? For people to spend money to "remind" either themselves or those in their live that they love them? Does me driving & picking them up for school everyday not say that? What about making dinner? doing their laundry? playdates? Engaging them in their mid-life crisis? sharing my bed???? Donʻt all these things say I Love You? I think they do.

So, I am done smiling & hugging & kissing & using kind words for the night. I want to head back to my trashcan and be grouchy. This 70 degree day with all its Love & Sunshine needs to GO! Tomorrow I will not smile at all! No matter a cute or sweet or loving or kind the monsters are! I will stay strong! Sourness All Around!

Hope everyone had a Great Valentineʻs Day!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

School Award Day or Groundhog Day?

My girls out awards at school today. They were very excited to get them. For Maggie, it was her very first school award & Killi is always excited about getting awards, but who isnʻt:) Maggie received her award for responsibility, yes I know, Stop laughing now...Yes, she does take after her Aunt Megan and is a completely different child at school than at home. I am very proud of her and I am glad she knows the correct way to act and does sometimes:)

Now for Killi. Drum-roll please, wait...Not needed, this is the same and only award she has ever won. 3 years in a row now! Kindergarten, 1st grade and now 2nd grade...OUTSTANDING EFFORT AWARD! For those of you that do not have children or at least not children at the same school as mine, let me break this award down for you. This award is better known as the YOU REALLY CANNOT DO ANYTHING WELL, BUT HECK YOUʻRE NICE AND SWEET AND YOU DO KEEP TRYING AWARD. And maybe this is not the case for every student that receives this award, but in my world that is how it feels.

I hear ALL the time how sweet and kind my Killi is. How she works so hard, but still cannot keep her head-above-water. How she is always the first to help others. And the only Award she can manage is OUTSTANDING EFFORT?

I know that some people will read this and not understand why I am upset so let me lay it out Jersey Style....To me this award is like hearing "We are going out tonight and in case you forgot, YOU ARE the grenade". Iʻm just sayinʻ, thatʻs how it feels to me.

Now to be fair, Killi does not seem to get that yet and she is still just happy to be receiving an award and that I get to come to school to see her receive it. And I am not sure she will ever see it the way I do, because she is a sweet, kind, innocent, perfect girl:)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ronald Reagan, What I am Celebrating on 100 Years.

While I have only lived under seven Presidents in my lifetime and can really only remember Reagan-Obama; I have been eligible to vote in only 5 Presidential elections, I have been fortunate enough to meet one President and say without hesitation that Ronald Reagan is MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT thus far.

As I have mentioned many times, I am a cultural & political junkie(yes, I know DORKY:), but I am. With this said, I have spent much time over the past few months watching footage of Reaganʻs Speeches and interviews and listening to others reflect on their experiences with him and I have wondered what do I find so Great about this man. What I came up with surprised me some, mostly because it took me so long to put together.

I admire, respect, appreciate and thank Ronald Reagan because he reminds me of my father, well aside from that fact that my dad is a lifetime Democrat & Liberal NUT:) No, my father was never President or a Hollywood Actor, Governor or Public Speaker, but what he is, is a Great Communicator, a Great Patriot, an Optimist, a Protector and an honest man. It is true that I only knew Ronald Reagan as President, what I saw on television or in movies, but when I saw/heard him I could listen for hours, he could make me smile & feel safe and make me proud to be an American. All lessons I was first taught from my dad. That is why I first found Ronald Reagan so AWESOME, he reminded me of my dad.

Like Ronald Reagan, my father has a disease that will eventually take him from us, he is suffering with Lung Cancer. With all that my dad is going through and we are going through as a family, sometimes I donʻt see his optimism and humor as much. I struggle now to protect him and make him smile, I wonder if that is how President Reaganʻs family felt?

I know my dad has his toughest fight ahead of him these days, but I know he will fight through it, if only for our family. I know he will continue to make us laugh and protect us, I just hope he lets us do the same for him.

So, on the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reaganʻs birth, I would like to say Thank You to my dad for having the qualities of a great man so that I have been able to recognize and enjoy those qualities in another Great Man.