Court date

I went to testify in court today about a fight that took place in the skating rink months ago. The irritating part is that no fight ever happened. Two boys pushed towards each other to start one, but it never went any farther than that. Of course one of the parents decided to press assault charges. I gave up a perfectly good morning to drive to the next town. I was afraid it was going to take all day, but charges were dropped and I was back within two hours. I didn't go straight home because I needed to discuss the state of humanity with my sister. Which is one of the great advantages of having sisters.
I've witnessed some very objectional, in my opinion, parenting styles in the last few days. I'm not talking about small differences like bedtimes, or nutrition choices. These are much bigger ones like condoning stealing from friends and relatives, or not knowing or caring where your five year old is after dark. These type of things make me sad.
Now I'm not one of those people who think the world is getting worse. I honestly think we as a society are getting better and those who think otherwise are romanticizing the past. Our weapons are worse, which amplifies our violent nature, but honestly we at least recognize the fact that violence against a wife and kids is a crime, not an unfortunate event, or a man's right.
I just think we could do better. Most parents do their best to instill a moral code in their children, but what can we do for the children who are falling through the cracks? I'm sure I'm not the only person who has seen a child come from an unbelievable childhood and grow into perfectly charming adults. What is the key, where did they learn morals if they weren't taught at home? Books? Movies?

Cheese sandwich blog, I'm okay with that

I read an article about blogs in Food & Wine magazine last month. They were talking about food blogs and mine is definitely not a food blog, but it did seem to be on par with a cheese sandwich blog. Which is a type of blog they didn't think highly of. Their description of a cheese sandwich blog was a blog that never left the writers dorm room.
Now I do not have, nor have I ever had a dorm room, but my blog does not leave my small town very often. I don't explore many outside issues unless they are an issue I have been thinking about during my day. This is the type of blog I enjoy reading though, so I cringed for a minute than got over it.
The blogs I enjoy reading the most are wrote by people who live in different regions than me and have made different choices than I have. I know what it is like to live in a small town in the Midwest. Up until I started reading Will Wheaton's blog I had no idea what life was like for an actor/writer in the L.A. area. The only things I know about working in the web design field, also in Ca., I learned from http://www.pocketpig.com. Now that the Croation Sensation, http://stefsertich.blogspot.com has committed to moving to New York. I hope she posts more often so I can live vicariously on the east coast too.

Late night cookies

I was late for work this evening because I was talking to friends over a glass of wine and forgot to watch the clock. Running down the street, into my house and changing clothes was made tricky by my slight drunkenness. Fortunately I was only a few minutes late. Having a teenager learning to drive is nice; an eager designated driver at my beck and call.
Last night some of my friends sat around and drank while I was at work. I joined them, but they were only good for another half and hour. I was really in the mood to lose control, but not alone. After this afternoon I was all set to do it tonight, but I was foiled again. Nobody was doing anything tonight except my sister and her husband and they wanted me to babysit so they could go out together. Guess what I'm doing?
If I lived in a house of adults this would be a night of midnight margeritas. Instead it was a night of one o'clock cookies. We made double chocolate cookies and ate them hot off the pan with cold milk.

Privacy scare

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm a bit of a privacy freak. The thought of somebody reading anything I write freezes me. I know this stems from growing up in a large family, with a mother who searched my room for any little note she could read. The more she pried the more I guarded myself. Now I have a husband with the same need to know. After years of this I am living in a cage of my own making that gets tighter every year.
The more I blog the more I like this format. For long ramblings I still use my archaic journal, but for putting thoughts into order this works much better. The problem with both types is keeping them private. My journal has been found and read. Despite new hiding places, and much screaming I'm not sure it still isn't being read. On March 6th the day I started my last post I was asked about my blog. In his defense, he thinks I must be using the internet to meet men. He wanted to know where he could go to read it and was angry/hurt when I wouldn't tell him. I told him I deleted the whole thing, and really I did plan to follow through. The problem is I don't want to. So I have just been staying away while I made a decision. I'm kidding myself by saying there was a decision,I need the little forms of expression, without them I never get to leave my cage.

Communion

We took communion in church yesterday. Every time I take my glass of grape juice from the tray I think about how cool it would be to be Catholic. To believe that a drink of wine actually turned into Jesus' s blood would be great, and slightly cannibalistic. Forgive me if they don't believe that anymore, I have read that they do, but realize I could be wrong. Anyway communion is always slightly comical for our family. A few years ago I whispered this thought about the blood to my oldest son, Lee, right before the juice was passed. While we were holding our glasses waiting for everyone to get one he spilled his drink. He whispered to me that Jesus better be forgiving, what with him walking around all day his blood on his jeans.
Yesterday we all took our little piece of bread and were holding it while the preacher was praying over it. I dropped mine and it slipped down the front of my dress into my bra. I'm sure I didn't look to pious groping my own chest during church.

Drinks and pictures

Last night I took a night off from the Skating Rink to watch my sons' basketball game. It was so nice to have a Friday night off. To celebrate we went to my sister's house to play cards. After a few Bacardi and cranberry juice drinks we think we are very funny. I become quite the smartass when mixed with alcohol. I hope nobody was hurt.
After I went home I realized I was still to drunk to go to bed so I went for a walk. It was cold outside and I probably would have made it home much sooner but found somebody to talk to. I also talk way too much when drinking. I made it to bed at 3:00 A.M. and had to be up at 6:30 A.M. to go to work. (that is me whining)
After I came home from the Skating Rink tonight we started going through a tub of old pictures. I can't think of anything to do more fun than that. Looking through old pictures always makes me laugh and appreciate my life. It really has been blessed.
Good night I'm going to bed.

Things that I love

I was watering the grapevines in my back yard when I noticed a smell that I have always loved. My dryer vents into my backyard and the smell of hot dryer lint was filling the air. I can't explain what is so nice about the smell, but love it.
Later in the day I was loading more clothes into my dryer when I noticed that I could hear a lot of birds chirping. I stuck my head out my back door and sure enough up in the leafless elm tree were what looked like hundreds of birds. Loving the sound of birds is not unusual at all, but it is unfortunate for all the caged birds.
'Shake That' by Eminem has been stuck in my head for a week. Before my kids were old enough to pick their own music a little bit of Run DMC and the Beastie Boys was my only real exposure to rap or hip hop. Now at least 40% of what I listen to falls into these categories. Most people wouldn't guess that I love this song.

What I don't love is when I leave the room and a four year old publishes my blog in the middle of a post.

An activity or two

Last night was the county spelling bee. I'm sure the first level of hell is a spelling bee. Two of my sons were participants. The same two have a scholars bowl meet today. Now scholars bowl is fun to watch, so I don't dread going to this. The only problem is that they have four meets this week. I went to Monday's and am going tonight. Saturday is league and I have to work so I'll be missing that one. The question is am I going tomorrow?