GOOD NEWS!

I know I won't be the only one in the blogosphere to write about this, but I can't seem to stop myself. I won't often blog about politics, since there are so many who can do that much better than I, but a lot of political issues--or issues with a political side to them--have been weighing heavy on my mind lately.  The US economy is in the tanker, we are at war in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of people in this country have no health insurance or not-good-enough-and-way-too-expensive health insurance...  I could go on.  And on.

But the media understands our need for a glimpse of hope, for some sort of light in the darkness that seems to be covering our national landscape.  I go to CNN's homepage today and it's as though an angel has come along to say "Don't despair!  There is wonderful news in the world, too!"  What could it be? The headline reads: Paris Hilton's Dogs Alive and Well.   

Oh.  Well.  Thank GOD for that! Seriously? 

In case you're one of those who has been lying awake nights tossing and turning over rumors that Paris' pups were eaten by a coyote, rest assured.  Paris has had a doggie mansion built for her pampered pups (I love alliteration) and, according to Paris' rep, the doggie mansion (or puppy paradise) is "very secured."  PHEW.  

I'll admit to following a certain amount of celebrity gossip, but I wonder if there should be a line drawn somewhere.  If I were a Texan who had just lost her home, for instance, how would I feel about finding the Paris puppy story on the front page of CNN?  I don't honestly know the answer to that. What do you think? Are stories like this a fun distraction from our problems, or just plain silly--or worse?

The Purple-Haired Teen

Oldest Daughter is away this week, visiting friends who live in another state. This after already attending two different sleep-away camps this summer. I'm so glad that she's had wonderful opportunties to do these things, and even more glad that, after this week, she'll be home and staying put. I miss her! Of course, Two Year-Old helps put things in perspective. This evening, three days after putting Oldest Daughter on a plane, I asked The Little One where her sister was. "She's in her room. Still sleeping," responded The Little One. And it's true, I'm discovering, that when you have a teen you don't necessarily see a lot of them, even when they are home. They like to sleep late. They like to stay in their rooms and talk to their friends on the phone for hours.

Later this evening I got a text message from Oldest Daughter. "I'm thinking of dying my hair dark purple. What would you say about that?" My husband's response was, "Of course. It's her hair." In principle, I agree with him. But I also cringe, remembering my own high school years and one perm gone VERY wrong. (I'd post a picture of it, but I don't think anyone in my family was mean enough to ever take one.) I'd love to spare my daughter similar Horrifying Hair Mistakes. But what do I know? Perhaps dark purple is her color.

Deep thought of the day

I kind of get the idea behind chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, but really, why do we have to bother with the ice cream?

Just a little more, please.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how hard (ok, impossible) it seems to be for us humans to be fully content with what we have. I don't think of myself as being very materialistic, so I wasn't really aware that this inability to be content is a problem for me until I noticed what inevitably happened to ALL of my if-I-win-the-lottery fantasies. (Ok, so the very fact that I entertain fantasies of winning the lottery--even though I never play the lottery--should have tipped me off.) The thing is, it doesn't matter how much imaginary money I win: it is NEVER enough. First of all, you've got to pay taxes. Then there's the 10% (or more) to give to charitable causes, after which we can pay off our debts, put away enough for all of our children's college educations, help my parents afford to retire... If you're a math whiz, you've already figured out that I need to have won a pretty sizeable lottery, and that's even before we trade in our starting-to-falter cars for shiny new ones. By the time I'm done, I've ended up feeling incredibly frustrated and--here's the good part--mostly glad that I don't ever bother playing the lottery.



This problem doesn't only pertain to money; I have similar issues with time. When I heard lately that one of my mom's friends had taken care of her grandchildren for several days, I thought, "That's so unfair! Why doesn't anyone ever volunteer to watch my children for even just a day? I'd be so happy with just a day!" Immediately I began to fantasize about what I would do for a day without my children in the house. I deliberately tried to aim low: no days at the spa for me, just time to do some of the things I'd like to do (sit and read in peace and quiet) or need to do (finally organize my closets). And guess what? Just as with my lottery fantasy, this one ended up with me feeling frustrated. Just one day without the children wouldn't even begin to give me enough time. I need more! More, more, more!



It doesn't necessarily sound like a big deal when I'm talking about my lottery and childless-for-a-day fantasies, but I actually think this whole thing is a huge deal. After all, it's what lead to the original sin in the Garden of Eden. Well, no, I think the original sin was much more complicated than that, but at least part of what was happening there was a play on Adam and Eve's inability to be content with what they had. They had paradise, they had a terrific relationship with God, they had each other, and still... that serpent was able to get to them by making them discontent with what they had. "There's this one thing you don't have, don't you think you should be able to have that, too?"



I deliberately practice being grateful for what I have, the material blessings as well as the many other blessings in my life, but it's not always easy. It's a hard thing to teach my children, too. They know that we have a lot, we talk about how most children in the world live, and I know they're grateful for what we have. Still, they have a lot of friends who have things we simply can't afford, and it's hard not to be sucked into wanting more, more, more!



I have a few little tricks that help me. I try to remember to thank God specifically for what I have (again, not just the material stuff), and I do my best to stay away from malls, because I've found that they breed discontent in me. How do you remain content? What tricks do you have?

Guacamole Ukulele Song

While I'm finding time to finish my entry on slowing down, please enjoy this awesome happy song!

Update, and another reason I love my husband:

My husband managed to find these cleats for middle daughter, who squealed with delight and said, "Oh, they're so glamorous! Just what I wanted!"

Sometimes life is wonderful in completely unexpected ways.

The Onion makes me laugh

Finally, someone with authority speaks with common sense on how to deal with traffic problems!