Paper or Plastic?

Today Landon helped the dc kids set up a little store in our dc room. They had every single toy, purse, doll, truck lined up and ready for retail! They asked me to go shopping and I was delighted to oblige. We have an Elmo fast food kitchen that has a little cash register on the side, so their store was totally complete. As I laid my things on the counter, I was asked by a little girl..."Paper or plastic?" After I told her my choice, she then picked up my items and instead of ringing them up on the cash register, she held them over the buttons and said, "Beep. Beep" Now, I realize she is only 5 and that is all she has probably ever seen at a check out stand, but I have to admit it made me a little sad. Years ago, I worked for a grocery store in the south called, Winn Dixie. I was a bookkeeper there, but I started out as a cashier. I loved to whip out those paper bags and hear that "swhoosh" sound it made as I snapped it open. The smell of fresh wood can still bring me back to those days. My fingers would fly over the keys as I rang up the customers purchases. I did enjoy that job and have fond memories of it. Now we have the fumes of plastic and the sounds of, "Beep. Beep." I wonder if years from now plastic fumes and the sound of, "Beep.Beep." will bring back "fond" memories for the kids of today?

Miss Flibbertigibbet

I follow a DIY (do it yourself) blog called Miss Flibbertigibbet. I love her. Usually her posts are about fun DIY projects, but once in awhile she will throw something out there that makes me go..."Oh yeah! That's right!..." Today was one of those days. I swear she read my mind and then decided to turn it into a post. It's too good not to share, so I am copying and pasting it here to share with all of you. You don't have to agree, but keep an open mind. Have a great weekend!!!
Desiree

Really?

Yesterday was beautiful compared to the intense heat we've had.

It was in the upper 80's - low 90's and there was a breeze.....

practically Autumn in comparison!

It was a good day to get some of the garden beaten into submission....

speaking of beating into submission....I forced three of the children to help me.....

I know, I know

in this day and age, modern parents don't make children do manual labor

they have "people"

cut the grass

clean the house

wash the windows

wash the car

modern children are much too busy

playing a sport

or

spending "quality" time with their friends

they are busy

enriching their minds by playing challenging video games

widening their horizons on Facebook

learning new words through texting

understanding more about the opposite sex through YouTube

brace yourself....I'm not done.....

Good old-fashioned hard work is pointless.....

after all, our parents made us do it

(if they were of a certain generation)

and what did it teach us?

That our kids will have a better childhood than we did and

they will all go to college ( even multiple colleges) so they can get a nice,

high paying job in a nice environment with air conditioning

and no overtime

and two weeks vacation to start

and bonuses that enable them to dress well and have all the

important things they need plus

have enough money to honeymoon in France and then buy a

REALLY big house when they get married (decorated completely top to bottom)

and drive REALLY nice cars

and take REALLY significant vacations

(NOT camping or even in the boring USA)

to islands or Costa Rica with their toddlers so they can give their children a "worldview" of other cultures

from the safety of a 4 star hotel while wearing expensive clothing artfully designed to look like "regular" clothing (holes and all)

and all the while learning from their parents how to be a

REAL and CARING person as they observe them treating "the help" with kindness and politeness

which is MUCH more important to "people like that" than money....

and feeling REALLY good that their children can

ENJOY their lives instead of having to spend

HALF THE DAY Saturday doing manual labor like

mowing the lawn

or washing the car

or weeding flowerbeds

or vacuuming

or cleaning a toilet

which is better left to people who REALLY need a job because in the end we not only want them to REALLY enjoy their life but we also definitely want our children to know we REALLY love them and are very happy to spend a LOT of money on vacations or outings so we can spend "quality" time together... plus helping them to realize that focusing our attention on them and their desires above other commitments is REALLY the most important thing .....

we know they understand we REALLY love them because we make sure they have their own :

TV, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Nook, laptop, bicycle (just for looks mostly), swimming pools, hot tubs, boats to ski and go tubing from, skateboard(s), scooter(s), cars, trucks, 4-wheelers, collections of CD's and DVD's, manicures, pedicures, salon hairstyles, highlights, personal trainers, private (fill in the blank) lessons, cute and trendy tattoos, belly button jewelry, piercings, more name brand clothes than we can fit into drawers or closets,

thereby ensuring they will have REALLY good self-esteem....

and last

but certainly not least.....

a REALLY generous allowance

so they can feel "independent" and learn the

value of money.....

which is to give their children a better life

than you gave them.....

The economy is bad right now

Lots of people out of work.....

the hard-working and the not so hard-working alike....

I'll venture an opinion that the hard-working

have been able to make do better than the not so hard-working.....

maybe because they have more experience with:

(I'm going to use a dirty four letter word here)

.....WORK.....

........as in hot, sweaty, sore back, sore hands,

sore feet, bone tired,

fall into bed and instantly asleep kind of work

This is just my opinion but I think a good work ethic is a REALLY valuable characteristic......

The kind of characteristic we should be worrying more about instilling into our children if we want them to REALLY have good self-esteem and be truly successful and truly happy......

yesterday, flowerbeds were weeded, hydrangeas were pruned, and unhappy children were forced to do "pointless" work

such is life........

at least around here........

Pointless?

Really?

Little Big Firemen.

Somewhere tucked away in one of my boxes,

I have a picture of Landon and his buddy David

when they were three years old, wearing the same firemen's hats.

(David was in my Day Care back then.Can you see how thrilled Landon was about this picture? )

They are ten now and haven't changed a bit!

Might have to save these pictures for graduation!

If I can find it before I forget about it, I'll show ya!