The Pursuit of Happiness

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

Here is what I believe-

Everyone should be able to....

love who they want.

wear what makes them happy.

spend their life doing what they love

live their life in a way that makes them happy 

.....so long as it isn't illegal and doesn't hurt another person.

Here is what I don't believe in-

Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny 

Getting to decide, legally or otherwise, how other people get to live their lives

Getting to decide, legally or otherwise, how to define 'family'

Picking your personal highlights out of the Bible, and throwing them around to hurt people 

Being 'Christian' is the same as being a good person

Being 'Atheist' automatically makes you a bad person, or a witch 

Someone else standing in the way of my child's happiness ( That is MY job!)

My Children like to plan their birthday parties, more so than any other annually occurring holiday. And, we talk about them, a lot.

This will be the one day of the year they go, do, see, be a part of anything they want with whomever they choose. It's a big deal- literally, anything goes.

I have a child, and not the one you would expect, maybe, if you know my kids, that has started to plan, as he puts it, 'the ultimate spa day'.

yes, he.

The day will start with a yummy breakfast, 'probably at cracker barrel, because you can have breakfast anytime of day, & a bottle of rootbeer to drink'.

We will go to the 'fanciest spa', & 'wear fluffy robes'.

We will 'have a mani/pedi, & gunk on our face at the same time'. 

'We will have to have cucumbers on our eyes, but I don't know why'.

'There will be yummy snacks, like grapes and cheese'.

'We can also drink orange juice out of fancy glasses'.

'AND IT WILL BE GREAT!'

and it will be

I don't know what this means right now, but it doesn't matter. I am only in charge of making sure it happens. 

Here is what I do know- you jack with my kid's happiness and life goals, and I will not like you.

 Making fun of someone, because of their choices, is not okay- EVER.

Denying someone life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness, just because you don't like what their life & happiness looks like, based on a religion they might or might not follow (which is why there is separation of Church and State, in this great Country of ours, founded on the right of religious & personal freedom.....), is, sad.

Here is what else makes me sad- one day, maybe soon, there is a solid chance that someone will say something horribly hateful to one of my children, and make them feel bad about their life choices.

One of the the favorite movies that I like to watch with the kids is 'Hairspray', the new one, not the old one with Ricki Lake, though I have promised to show them that one as well, so we can compare them.
The whole movie can be summed up nicely by a line from an African American Woman, currently being oppressed by segregation, after a catchy tune titled, 'Don't leave me without love', when she finds her teenage son, has fallen in love with a white girl. Let's remember, it was a big issue back then, just like other peoples love lives (& other choices) are a big issue today....

Motormouth Maybelle: Well, love is a gift, a lot of people don't remember that. So, you two better brace yourselves for a whole lotta ugly comin' at you from a never ending parade of stupid. ( New Line Cinema, 2007)

 Lots of things are gifts, that we are all unique is a gift, but that won't stop the ugly coming from the stupid parade.

George loves Enid, & the day she taught him to tell time

George, loves Enid, a lot.
Today, she helped him learn to tell time.

George met Enid at Temple, any Jewish mothers dream come true! Unfortunately, for George, she was already taken, though, that was not enough to distinguish his flame for her. Every week, he would save her a seat, even though she had sat in the same seat for longer than he had been alive. He made her crayon pictures, but was too embarrassed to  ever bring them to her. He was smitten.

Enid, can make George sit still and pay attention. While she understood that little boys are often little boys,  there is also a time and a place for everything, and if you were going to sit in THAT chair, you had better shape up or ship out, buster!
He never would tell me what exactly she said to him those times when his feet starting kicking or his body got wiggly, but whatever it was, was enough. And, when it wasn't, she would do what any Mother would do to a sassy youngster- get a good hold under the armpit and haul him up.

It must have been Hanukkah, because the tiny Chapel we use for our services was pretty full, and the fam was all spread out. George had taken up his post on Enid's right, looking very dashing in his tiny suit, that he had spent all day lovingly laying out. And, then we got to the part where standing up is not an option, but a must- even those who struggle to remain upright magically find the strength- not a choice.
I don't know if George was just slow, or if he just wasn't going to, but he didn't move fast enough. Enid, reached over and hauled him up by his arm. There was no debate, and certainly no back talk, just a silent, standing boy.

He said that she just understood him. I don't doubt it.


George lovingly laid out his outfit and accessories for today's gathering- his prized pocket watch, the one he earned for being brave, when his noggin was stapled back together, being among them. They both enjoy being snappy dressers, and Enid is always worth dressing up for.
And, once again she whispered those magic sit-still words to him, and he sat, studying his watch. Before we left her today, he had figured out  how to tell time. I don't know how, exactly, but very much believe that she was whispering, again, magic words in his ear.

Enid Lowenberg, 1923-2014

The BedazzledPineapple, is sad to share the passing of one of its most devoted readers.

Stick 'em up! Its SCIENCE afterall

I promise there is a point to this, and we will get there sometime......
      Last week, my trusty Father (GPH), was head chauffeur, toting my oldest nephew to and from a super neat space camp, requiring them to traverse Kansas City highways during both morning and afternoon rush hours. If you do it right, it's not bad,but when you do it wrong, you wind up as a talking point for GPH.
When asked what the main difference between riding with Mimi and GPH, Nephew replied that riding with Mimi was, "Are you warm/cool enough? Do you need a snack/drink? What about a new toy?", and riding with GPH is all, " Don't go fast or follow too close!".
Which is true. I think Mom (Mimi) is still working out the trauma of her Gege making her brother and sisters sit on the curb to eat drive-thru hamburgers.

I love my Mother, a lot. She is about the greatest Mimi ever.


This weekend she and GPH came up, for a number of reasons, and they brought her precious babies presents. She brought them......cap guns. The real kind, with the paper rolls of caps. And, then she told them that they could hit them with a hammer when they got tired of shooting each other- which was about as soon as they could find a hammer. When that got old, they figured out how to pop them between their fingers and thumb ( it only burns a little!)

Tonight, Batman wanted to know if we could see what happened when we set a cap strip on fire. Being the Mom that I am, I shut that down pretty quick. No explosions here! Only responsible adults here!! Even if it does sound pretty cool...
So, then, Batman says...." Let me get my journal, we can call  it an experiment! It's SCIENCE, after all!!"
This boy should be lawyer, with that kind of argument.


Me: "Dude, we can't blow up the house, record it our journals and call it science."

What is, how Christmas ruined our American dream & it was 3/4 my fault

We didn't get the loan.....after 30 days of hard work, by many people, we didn't pass and it was mostly (all) my fault, but I am blaming Christmas- which is just no fun after you grow up. Stupid Christmas! Stupid Commercial Holiday!!

For the last 13 years I have lived outside the family nest, never once have I ever missed a rent payment. Never. We own both our cars. We are working to steadily pay off our student loans and credit card debt, which is really saying something for the amount of income we (don't) have.
    *Shameless plug for Obamacare- we now pay about $100 a month to insure our family of 5. It's a high deductible plan, but we (4 of us) are in fairly good health, and thankfully we don't need to use it often, and it will be there if we do crash and burn, pun intended. Saving us $200 some dollars a month. It might not sound like much, but to us, it's golden.*

I thought we were finally getting ahead.............

I knew it was Christmas. It wasn't a surprise, it happens at the same time every year. The last few years, I have tried to go about it very systematically. I pore over the toys adds, find the best price and together, Husband and I try very hard to make a list. I try so hard. But, I just couldn't squash the joy in Husbands heart, and we went over budget, significantly- even though we probably spend way less than the average family/per child. It's rare that Husband actually gets to spend any of the money that he works hard to provide. After bills, groceries, gas in the cars...poof, it's long gone. I just couldn't tell him no.

 So I traded our Barbie Dream Home for some holiday happiness when we just didn't have the money to pay the electric bill and it was delinquent, and it was pretty much my fault.
Hindsight is 20/20, no?
There is no one else to blame. Husband has no idea what our budget and bills are, and I don't think he wants to know. He says he trusts me to handle it. Fumble on 1 yard line.

This year for Christmas, ironically when we can re-apply, all I want is a loan. I think someone needs to write a catchy tune  about it, that one about teeth seems to have caught on!