7 Quick Takes: Web Gems

I used to wish I had an extra hour or two in each day so that I could keep up with laundry and housecleaning.

Well, towels, socks, and clean bathrooms be damned, now I want those extra hours for discovering new things on the internet!  I am experiencing a renaissance of sorts, a re-discovery of the power of the web for GOODNESS and LIGHT.

Coming from a curmudgeon like me, this really is quite something.

To celebrate and spread my newfound Web-Wonder, my first 7 Quick Takes post in quite awhile highlights seven worthwhile ways to spend some time online, things to read, watch, or snort at.  Enjoy!



#1: A Catholic Quick Take: This week's reason to love Pope Francis.  Honestly, as if eschewing royal garments and red shoes weren't enough...if riding public transportation didn't do it...if living simply didn't just take the cake...now he steps out there and says just the most beautiful thing ever.  This man is holy.

Go read.  I'll wait.  Come on back after.



#2: A Colbert Response to the Catholic Quick Take Quick Take (3:50 minutes)

Honestly, as if I didn't already find him hilarious and brilliant...this man, this Pope of Basic Cable, is delightful.

#3: A Commencement Time of Year Quick Take (12:46 minutes)

Remember: when everyone is super, NO ONE IS.  Even in a Super Suit.



#4: A Reality Check Quick Take (1:14 minutes)

#5: An Awesome Education-Related Quick Take:

My work has allowed me to learn an awful lot about the amazing and wonderful things happening in the world of Education these days.  Take a look at this fantastic graphic.  For all of us who hope our children do well in school, I think deep down, this is what we really want for our kids...everything else can fall into place if they have these things:

This graphic comes from User Generated Education, as seen on Educator's Technology's website.  Visit them to learn more.



#6: A Random, But Inspiring Quick Take (14:32 minutes)

#7: The F-Bomb Quick Take...simply because I resemble that remark.  I wish I knew who to credit for this gem...I only know I grabbed it from a friend's FB page.

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As always, thank you to our 7QT host, Jennifer!  As always, please visit other 7QT-ers!  As always, please leave 7 Quick Comments to encourage and pacify the blogging world!

Happy three day weekend to all!

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Where IS That Lady?

Picking up my kids from school is becoming a huge bummer.  Apparently, they are not able to get themselves and their backpacks loaded into the minivan without an impressive amount of bickering and screaming.

It's embarrassing and exhausting and I hate it.

Today, for what feels like the brazilianth time, I asked them to stop fighting.  They did not.  For the brazilianth time.

Weary and distressed, all I could say to them was this: "This family needs a little more kindness."

Little T, all six years of her: "What we NEED is a little more mommy-ness around here!"

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That's not going to make a working mother even more weary and distressed AT ALL.

Sigh...

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Parenting 101 Turned Upside Down

On the way home today, my daughters were talking about a girl at their school who is...challenging.  This child has had some rough patches in life, and she "acts out" quite a bit.  She lies, she accuses people of things, she creates drama.  She can be a bit tough to take.

I think every school has one.

So my littlest pipes up from the back seat: "I can't believe 'Mary' actually likes 'Susie'...I mean, really!"*  Keep in mind, my littlest one is six.

I felt the hackles on the back of my neck rise.

I will NOT have mean girls.  Will.  Not.

So it's a teachable moment, right?  I'm always up for a teachable moment.  Here's what I said:

Girls, listen to me very carefully.  I expect you and your brothers to be kind and gracious to everyone.  Everyone.  Remember, people who are mean and bratty are usually that way because they are sad about something.  You have to remember that and be compassionate towards them.  I don't want any of you to ever say mean things about anyone.  

The briefest of pauses...a mere pregnant beat in the air.  And then the oldest pipes up from the middle seat:

"Mom, are you sad?"

Ohhhh, the laughter and hilarity that ensued!  That made them laugh the whole rest of the way home.  Little stinkers.

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In this, and many other ways, my children seem to defy Parenting Advice.  They're slippery folk, these five little beings.  I try various techniques designed to raise good and happy citizens, and they find a way to skewer them.  When I'm giving my best "this is why we aren't buying processed food" speech, one of my younger ones will look at me and say: "Mom, you should just chillax."

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On the soccer field this weekend, another mom was talking about how her first child was such a great eater: the first born always liked healthy food, never snacked between meals, has always been willing to try new tastes, etc.  This mother naturally assumed it was because she had done such a good job of developing her child's tastes, and providing smart boundaries for snacking and eating.

Then she had her second one.  Everything was different with this one: no natural tendencies toward healthy eating, tons of surreptitious snacking, a raging sweet tooth.  She had to confront the possibility that she just got lucky with the first one, and that all her careful efforts were not the decisive factor in her first kid's great eating habits.

We decided that all this effort we put in to making the right decisions and "raising 'em right" was a big fat waste of time, and that we could probably just phone it in and get very similar results.

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Maybe we should all just chillax.  Chillax and cheer up, or the sneaky monkeys will skewer you.

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*names, of course, changed.  Susie, in this case, is the girl who can be mean; Mary is just an unwitting pawn in the story.

Whatever Gets You Through The Night

This is what did it for me last night:

When you get to that moment, and you will, when you're within spitting distance of bedtime but entirely unsure if you'll get there with your dignity or your vocal chords intact, remember:  you can do ANYTHING for 20 more minutes.

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You know you have a big family when...

...you're primary visceral reaction to a child breaking a bone is annoyance.

Closely related to: You know you have a big family when another parent expresses far more compassion and concern for said child than ever occurred to you.

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Boston

Boston.

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It's becoming routine now...I see a cryptic message on Facebook and my heart sinks.  "Praying for the people of Boston."  And I rush to npr.org to find out why prayers are needed.

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My six year old, out of the blue, in the car (of course) said this the other day: "I remember something sad."

When I asked her what, she said: "I remember that a guy went into a school with a gun and shot and killed a bunch of little kids."

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When I was six, I remembered things like Easter egg hunts and art festivals and playing with the Harrison kids from down the street.

My kids will remember Easter egg hunts, hikes at Lake Anza, garden tours...and guns and bombs and death.  My oldest, who heard from his friends that Facebook and Instagram were all about something in Boston, called me at work this afternoon: "Mom, what happened in Boston?"  On the one hand, I want to be able to explain it to him and find a way to soothe him, to make it OK for him to hear and deal with.  On the other hand, I don't want him, or any of them, to ever be used to this, to ever feel like this is just normal.  It seems too normal for my children to hear something shocking and then move on.

Facebook is a mixed bag, to be sure.  But today, I'm grateful for it, because a friend of mine posted a beautiful prayer she heard this weekend from a nun speaking at a event for Catholic Charities in San Francisco.  I don't know the nun's name or if she wrote this prayer.  I'm guessing she will not mind if I spread these words, for there is so much need for them to be heard far and wide.  Tonight, I am speaking to my children in the words of this prayer.  Thank you, Sister, for the only thing that ever helps in moments of tragedy: beautiful, true words.

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

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A Reason, If Not an Excuse

Apparently, I am too tired to blog these days.  Perhaps this is why:

I would credit this, if I knew to whom to give the credit.
I found this gem on Facebook.

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