Hooray! I made TrackerK’s Do Not Kill List! Which is a definite relief since I’m pretty sure that he has something in his Swiss Army truck that would make certain they would never find the body. Hard to blame him though. He’s got a little girl that is so cute she’ll make your teeth hurt. Good reason to be prepared for anything. Although, I’m pretty sure she and her big brothers would be pretty formidable even without dad. I got to see them all shoot, and I haven’t ever had the pleasure of seeing them fight.

I kid. But I have to admit I have a soft spot for dangerous women. TrackerK is married to one and is raising another. And a pair of boys that should grow into men deserving of dangerous women to share their lives.

We also got to spend time with Ginny who ostensibly writes Cat O’ Nine Tales, but in reality she just neglects it*. She also brought her boys who were, as usual, a joy to be around.

Also in the bunch was my brother-in-law (who should blog but doesn’t*) and his wife (also not blogging*). Brother-in-law assassinated a watermelon which was videoed by old friend Beej’s friend, Brian. The video is up on Facebook; I’ll have it here with the pictures later.

By the time we got to the big field on Monday, we were down to just DanielS and AEPilotJim, but we still had fun stretching out the rifles for a bit. And we only started one grass fire. It actually went out on its own before the guys could get to it, but it made for some great pictures of the trek across the field in Jim’s jeep.

This was only the second opportunity we’ve had to spend time with DanielS and AEPilotJim. It was really nice to get to know these 2 guys in the smaller group that finished out the trip. Daniel left straight from camp to head home, but we got the opportunity to introduce Jim to a fantastic burger joint near our house. Where he cunningly snagged the ticket and treated the family. Thanks Jim!

The campout was great fun. I’ll have pictures to share soon.

*That could be interpreted as a nudge or something.

Not here.  Weer’d’s wife goes in for surgery today.  Updates are here.  Comments and well wishes can be left here.

As most of you know, we’ve got a kiddo heading into middle school this year.  It’ll be his first year riding the bus to school so we bought him his very own cell phone.  As expected, he couldn’t get his nose out of it the first couple of days.   I’ve gotten text messages including pictures of my parent’s cat.  He has played with it so much that he needed to charge it 3 times the first day.

And that’s okay.  It’s new.  He needs the opportunity to explore it and get to know the capabilities.  That said, now that he’s had a few days, we are coaching him on what is the appropriate way to use it.  Like so many other things, it is a useful tool and should be handled responsibly.

We took a walk down to the bus stop the other night so that he would know where it was.  On the way, we spotted different things and quizzed him about what he had seen.  Sure, that car was turning into a driveway, but it is still important that he notice it was there.  We also talked to him about the phone explaining that when he got off the bus, he needed to stick it in his pocket for his walk home.  We told him, “Keep your head up and pay attention.”  We don’t want him to be the type of person Tam is talking about here.  The received text message will still be there when you get home.

We are not training our son to live in any sort of fear, but only to be aware of what is going on around him.  You can’t react to something that you didn’t observe.  Too often, I watch people go about their lives in their little bubble.  Sometimes it’s the cell phone.  Sometimes it’s the ever present ear-buds.  And often it’s just some internal distraction that prevents observation.

Flipping open your cell phone so you can text your friends prevents you from seeing the man waiting on the corner.  Or seeing the unlatched gate where that aggressive dog lives.  Putting on your headphones prevents you from hearing that car screeching your direction.  Your eyes and ears and early warning devices.   Don’t let technology take them away from you.  What you miss may not be dangerous.  It could be a friendly greeting from a neighbor or the sight of kids in the park.

Maintaining an awareness of the world around you can certainly help in keeping you safe.  It is not the the only thing.  As Caleb points out, situations can change in the blink of an eye.  You need to be able to react quickly and appropriately.  Had he had his nose in his cell phone, that night could have played out far differently.

Our society with it’s instant contact and answer has ironically made many of us islands.  We will check that email or text the exact moment our pocket buzzes at the expense of missing that neighbor just waiting for acknowledgment.  We communicate with our thumbs and miss the waves and smiles that only real life can bring.  The text can wait.  It’s not worth missing the real life contact.  And it’s certainly not worth being oblivious to a potential threat.  Really, is your social media worth your life?

To You*,

I haven’t seen you in some time.  I hear you’ve been upset.  I understand why.  Your life sucks right now and has for some time.  You continually blame other people but the fault is your own.  You use people in an attempt to bandage your own wounds.  You think the world owes you something.  Maybe it does.  But that thing is a swift kick in the ass.

I have watched you destroy yourself for most of my life.  I have forgiven your resentment of me when all I’ve done is not be an utter failure.  You resent it that I’ve done something with my life.  You know what?  You had every opportunity to be respectable.  You failed.  I’ve been too kind to just tell you to buck up and deal with it.

No one made you drop out of high school.  Steal cars.  Drive drunk.  No one forced you to use drugs.  You and you alone made those decisions.  That’s your bed.  Lie in it.

And then I heard that you hit her.  I don’t care what your excuses might be.  You of all people should know better.  You are bigger and stronger.  No, she did not have it coming.  Any man that would hit someone weaker than themselves is not worthy to be called a man.  You are a schmuck.  A scoundrel.  You aren’t worthy to wipe the mud off my shoes.

She loves you even though I can’t figure out why anymore.  Sure she could leave.  She hasn’t.  She has other connections, and she thinks she needs you.  You are supposed to be the stability in her life.  Ha!  She’s stupid for continuing to believe that.  Probably even for getting involved with you in the first place.

You are of the lowest order of human beings.  You who I once classified as one of the kindest people I knew.  I’m done.  I’ll not spare another thought worrying about your well-being.  When you raised your hand against her, you proved that you are not worthy of an ounce of my concern.  Nor even my pity.

I know that it isn’t the first time either.  I should have written you off long ago.  But I didn’t.  And the truth of the matter is that I won’t ever, really.  Because I have far more loyalty and class than you will ever muster, and you and I will always be connected whether I like it or not.  And so I will pray for you.  And I will pray for her that she gets out and finds better than you.  Being alone would be a big step up for her.  And I will pray that no other woman is ever charmed by you.

You lost my respect a long time ago.  You want it back?  Earn it.  Somehow, I just don’t believe you have it in you.  Don’t come looking for my sympathy.  It has run out.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

*Yes, the You is referring to a very specific person that I do not wish to identify.  And the only way I could get him to read it would be to hand deliver the letter.  I’m not going to waste the energy and instead will share it on the internet.  Besides, unfortunately he isn’t the only one to whom the sentiment applies.

I noticed my son headed out to the backyard with a magnifying glass.

Me: Don’t burn anything on the deck

Kiddo: Ok

Me: Use the stepping stone.

Kiddo: Alright

After a few minutes, kiddo comes back in with a big grin on his face.

Me: So?  Did it work?*

Kiddo: Yep.  Burned some leaves and an ant.

Hey, it’s educational and skill building!  Perfect for children of all ages.  Okay, not all ages.  Besides, he’ll be going back to school soon where the learning is far more PC than burning ants in the backyard.  It’s not he was playing with something dangerous like rocks.  I suppose if the bureaucrats had their way he’d be studying a poster of fire instead.

Kids need a little risk.  They need to fail sometimes and hurt themselves.  Not badly, of course.  But enough to learn the lessons.  Success is meaningless if it’s guaranteed.  I don’t want my kid to be playing for the participation award.

In his experiment, he was safe from any harm.  He didn’t know it, but I was right there to make sure there wasn’t any real danger.  But he learned something.  In his first attempt, he failed.  The stepping stone was in a shady spot in the yard.  Rather than give up, he looked around for a better solution and moved the stone.  Could he have learned that from a poster?  Probably not.  Now if I could just get him to put things back where he found them…

*I already knew the answer.  What?  You really thought I’d let my kid go play with fire without being checked on?

She’s still in the hospital. She’s been there 10 days this go around.  There is more cancer. Going to visit her this afternoon.  Her mother called to tell me she wouldn’t be coming back to work when she said she would.  I told her that should be the least of her worries.

Sigh.  We were all hoping for better news.  They are trying to get her strength up so she can handle whatever the next stage of treatment will be.

Her spirits are pretty low.  If you can spare a thought, she could use it.

Seems the big C is all around lately.  My great aunt was diagnosed with leukemia late last week and had to have her spleen removed.  Please keep her and the family in your thoughts too.  Especially her daughter who is completely worn out with taking care of her parents.

Me?  Hanging in there just fine.  But I’ve only got so many thoughts to spare for those around me so I’ve got to ask for yours.

I hope to get a gunny fun post up later, and I’m looking forward to lots of fun at Christina’s shindig this weekend.

Here is part 1 and 2.  You always hope you don’t need to ask again, but she is in the hospital.  She’s needed blood and is feeling very weak and depressed.  And so, again, if you are a praying person, please spare one for her.

Just not feeling it today. I was awakened by a migraine around 3:30 this morning. As I stumbled out of the bedroom to retrieve my Imitrex, I ran into the door. I spit out some non-family friendly commentary and continued on my journey. I retrieved the drug and a cool damp washcloth and went back to bed.

Dreams were strange.  And the alarm went off far too early.

My head is still foggy and painful.  Less so than it was in the night.  And I’ve still got work to do.

Blah.

There’s lots and lots of stuff out there that is blog-worthy, but I’m just feeling like being lazy.  So, you get some linky with limited commentary.

We’ve got people blaming toys for fat kids.  Because it is absolutely impossible as a parent to say no to what your children want.

Jimmuh is upset that he can’t hang out with his terrorists pals anymore.

Proven wrong:  If you shoot someone with that (insert little caliber here) and he finds out, he’s gonna be pissed.  Well, he found out.  Wasn’t so pissed.

But now you will be.  That is, if you are a parent.  Because you can’t keep an elementary school from giving your child condoms.

And we have confirmation.  I was pretty certain he was full of shit before.  Now there is evidence.