Mom's Overture

A little laugh for moms and dads alike... Mom's Overture

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

Got my first fiction piece accepted and posted on-line at 365 Tomorrows. Not really one of my best, but I sure do loving writing, especially flash fiction. I've always tended towards minimalism, and flash fiction is right up my alley.

More on flash fiction

Brain Matters

Here's an interesting link to an image that shows if you're right or left brained.

Right/Left Brain

I can see both... does that mean I'm logically creative?

The Man in Black

Sometimes I need a reminder to keep my focus on things that are really important... and they're not things.

Johnny Cash's "Hurt"

Webkinz World

I am no stranger to childhood fads.

When I was a kid, we had Barbies, Rubiks Cube, and trading cards. Through the years, our society has churned out Cabbage Patch Kids, more Barbies, Polly Pockets, POGs, and Bop-Its.

Visiting a Hallmark store recently, I was shocked at how much Webkinz merchandise was stacked on the counter. Charms, bracelets, bookmarks, lip gloss. And, of course, the little stuffed animals called Webkinz. For the uninitiated, Webkinz are a stuffed animal with a code attached on inside of the tag. You enter the code on the Webkinz website, and viola, you are a full-fledge member of the Webkinz world.

The site itself is quite safe for kids. They can play games, interact with other kids/animals (with only pre-set language and responses), and earn webkinz cash to buy webkinz virtual stuff.

It's the explosion of marketing items that shocked me. It happened quickly, and it was prolific. And I'm surprised that it surprised me. They're out to make a few dollars, and they're capitalizing on a huge wave of buying potentional in the kid's market. Like the Internet, our world is becoming faster-paced. Instant access is the norm. What our kids want, they expect quickly.

It's a challenge for us parents, to teach patience and the trap of materialism. Add into the mix the limiting of web time vs. one-on-one human interaction time. "Balance" is my thought of the day. I don't have to be an old fuddy-duddy and reject all new forms of technology and "stuff". I do think, however, that teaching balance is a key of good parenting.

Return the Sturgeon

This past Saturday I went to an event sponsored by the Riveredge Nature Center and the Wisconsin DNR. Hundreds of people gathered at the edge of the Milwaukee River to release young sturgeon into the river.

Millions of these fish roamed the lakes and rivers in the Midwest during the early 1800s. By 1900, there were no sturgeon left in the Milwaukee River. Most of the decline was due to human action. Researchers believe that there are 2,000 - 5,000 adult fishing in Lake Michigan.

I'm not a huge supporter (in terms of time and money) of eco programs. My contributions gravitate towards spiritual and social change. I do think, however, that our physical world is in crisis. I think that people should stop debating the existence of global warming, and find solutions to heal a planet that is obviously in need of some help.

My daughter named the fish we released "angel". As fish go, it's appearance is prehistoric -- bony-like plates on its back, looking shark-like. We released Angel into a river recently cleaned of pollution. It wasn't a huge gesture, releasing this little slip of a fish into the river where she joined her brothers and sisters at the bottom of riverbed in temporary shock. The release is just one step in an attempt to restore balance to a badly damaged eco system.

Angel has a tracking device implanted in her somewhere. We'll be able to track her on-line, and with any luck, watch her return to the same spot to spawn in 15-20 years. I'll be close to retirement age, and the next generation will be running the show. Life goes on.

I think God gave us a precious gift in the earth, with all its intricacies. Hopefully the next generation will find it healthier, and live with more respect to the earth we walk on.

Vacuum

If someone posts a blog and no-one reads it, does it make a sound?

Choices

There was a time in my life that being busy was fun.

When I was in my 20s, I thrived on hectic work schedules, full evenings, and crammed weekends. Somewhere during the past 10 years being busy turned into non-fun.

Some people I know love being busy ALL the time. They are in constant motion from the crack of dawn until late into the evening. Their kid's schedules are booked so full that they have to do homework and eat supper in the car.

I've made a choice in my life not to be too busy. My body will usually tell me when my life is overscheduled: my heart races when I'm sitting still, I get an annoying pain in my stomach, and the back of my neck aches. Worst of all my family reminds me that I'm a cranky pants.

I love getting home from work, nothing scheduled. It's a quiet time for homework, dinner prep, and sitting outside on the back porch of it's warm. Maybe I'm slowing as I age, but I don't feel the need to go-go-go all the time. I love to snuggle with my family on the couch. I like taking walks in the woods and listening to the crickets call and the leaves fall.

My to-do list will always be huge. I don't know anyone (except the very young and ill) without a huge to-do list, even retired people.

When we were in Mexico, we saw first-hand how the people there put relationships first. They cherished their families and friends, and always put them ahead of tasks. As I walk through this sea of busy-ness we live in, I challenge myself over and over. Is it worth it, to be so busy? Will the task I'm so worked up about matter in the long run. Or will I stop, and cherish the people around me?