What Are We Teaching Our Kids?

I was thinking very early this morning (sleepless night) about what kids are seeing and hearing these days. Kids are little sponges! They absorb everything they see and hear. They may not completely understand but their little brains pick up everything! Some things are good, like good hygiene or healthy eating habits. Unfortunately, there are too many negative things they are picking up these days.

None of us are perfect, God knows I am not. As a parent, I did try to teach my kids to be good humans. I’m so glad they’re grown because I can’t imagine having young kids in the house right now. Being a parent is hard enough without having to wade through bullshit misinformation and bring kids through it in a healthy way.

Kids are absorbing “info” from everywhere. Once I started thinking about this, my mind was blown! Let’s think about this for a moment:

Kids today are learning that:

Bullying is acceptable. It’s ok to belittle people and call them names.

Their opinion is right and everyone else is wrong.

Rules, procedeures, and the law do not apply to them especially if they disagree.

Their rights are more important than others’ rights.

To solve problems they must yell and behave badly until they get their way.

They don’t have to be respectful.

They don’t have to be tolerant of others who are different in some way.

It’s ok to cheat and lie as long as it benefits them.

If a game (or vote) doesn’t go the way they want, then it’s ok to accuse others of cheating even if they have no proof. Poor sportsmanship is acceptable.

You Tube and Facebook are more informative and true than actual science and experts in the field!

It’s ok to threaten people’s lives if they believe something different than they do.

Can you think of anything else to add to the list? What are children learning from their parents? What are they learning from other adults in their lives? What do they pick up from the news on tv? Just watching the news for about an hour reveal all of the above. This should concern us all…

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

Like so many of you, I have too much on my mind and I’m suffering from insomnia. I’m lucky if I sleep 6 hours once a week! Last month, I had slept 5 nights of 6 hours or more. All other nights were 4 hours or less. No lie. Yes, I have been keeping track so I have something to show my NP on my next visit.

So, you may be wondering what’s been bothering me? Maybe the same things that are bothering you! And I’m going to say right now up front and without hesitation, this blog is based on MY life, MY feelings and MY opinions. If you don’t agree that’s your prerogative but if you can’t be respectful then don’t fucking comment!

COVID. Yes, the topic that everyone is sick of. But being sick of hearing about it isn’t going to make it go away! Making it go away will be a joint effort of everyone and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Some people think it’s all about them and their personal freedom. Guess what? It’s not about the individual. It’s about the entire country; your state, your community. If you don’t want to wear a mask, then don’t. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, then don’t. I just pray that COVID skips your dumb ass and that you don’t infect your children, grandchildren, elderly parents, siblings, or the innocent immune-compromised shopper that you infected as you sneezed while in the produce aisle, because you don’t seem to care about those people when you refuse to wear a mask. Thankfully, the number of deaths have gone down BUT I’m pretty sure we’ll have another surge eventually. Not enough folks want to get the vaccine to help stop the virus and at the very least, won’t wear a mask because they think masks don’t work or it violates their freedom. Pfftt…

I just don’t get it. The mentality.

Masks work. If they didn’t then there would be no need for your dentist to wear a mask while bent over your open mouth. If masks didn’t work then there would be no reason for surgeons to wear one while removing your gallbladder or doing open-heart surgery. Duh.

Vaccines save lives, too. Think about polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and many other communicable diseases that have been nearly eliminated. Are there risks involved in getting one of the COVID vaccines? Of course there is, just as there are risks getting any vaccine or taking any medication. The benefit outweighs the risk! I think some people would prefer to be ignorant of facts and science. UGH.

Some people are nuts. Seriously. They refuse the vaccine because they “don’t know what’s in it.” Come on. Give me a break! You don’t know what’s in that McRib sandwhich, Nacho flavored Doritos, or numerous other products either but you consume them like they’re the best thing under the sun. If you get sick with strep throat, the doctor will prescribe an antibiotic. You don’t refuse that, either, do you? You don’t know what’s in it. Why do you take it?

All of this crap is just exhausting. No one seems to want to do the right thing anymore. People are hateful for no reason. Behaving badly seems to be the new normal. It seems people don’t have a problem being UGLY to each other.

So, I stay home. I don’t venture out for much these days. I go to appointments and pick up a few groceries now and again. Mostly I use pick up services and drive up windows. I have very little use for most humans anymore.