The Curse

The generation that is currently between 12-25 or so has a curse.  I’m going to call it the “it’s all about me curse.”  Don’t get me wrong- I know all about the “teenage myth” that has been part of the teaching in Child Development 101.  You know the one where teenagers think that when they walk into a room everyone is instantly paying attention to only them and taking in every detail?  Lately that has extended to not only everyone paying attention to the individual, but that every situation should be focused on meeting their needs. The problem is that now it is not ending when they are teenagers and it has become a curse.

I have this problem in my home.

I am constantly reminding my children that sometimes a situation focuses on another person and their wants or needs.  They should have learned that at birthday parties when they were little, but we moms have softened the blow by planning huge extravaganzas, making sure that all the guests feel special and included and then we send everyone home with a favor bag. I think it backfired.

I have a child who thinks that every hour of his “free time” should be free.  That his dad and I should make sure that there are funds to meet his wants and that he should not have to do anything that is not “fun.”  He gets cranky when the focus is on someone else because he perceives that his needs (which should be the most important) are not being met.

Jealousy is a disease that is like cancer.  It eats away at us and makes us a little more miserable every day while generally leaving those we are jealous of completely unscathed.  The only difference is that jealousy is entirely curable by the affected.  Each of us needs to remember that life is NOT all about me. . . sometimes it has nothing at all to do with me!

I certainly hope that we can all find ways to keep this curse from affecting our lives.  

Happy Birthday, Reed!

I cannot believe that my baby is eleven years old! And here I am. . . only 29! We celebrated this morning with breakfast at McDonald's. It is also the last day of school before Christmas Break, so all the boys were happy to have a mini-celebration.

One of our weird traditions is that we don't really celebrate Reed's birthday. We will go out to dinner and have a cake tonight. . . he wants a cheesecake. . . and he will get one present (which hasn't arrived yet). Then, on June 19, when the days are hot and sunny, we will have a party with friends and he'll get a few more gifts from us. Since we have been doing the half-birthday "thing" for so long, it is no issue. In fact, last summer we had "Reedfest" when both Colby and Parker were gone for his half-birthday week!

A Truly Wonderful Day

It is truly my philosophy that life should be enjoyable. Granted,fun doesn't happen every single day, but we need to make fun when we can and build happy memories. Today was one of those happy days when fun flows!

I am in Salt lake City with my good friend Leisa Tucker at the Scrap Girls Digital Scrapbooking Convention. Leisa and I have been good friends (more like sisters!) for almost 20 years, so any chance to be together for a few days is a celebration. When that is combined with my favorite hobby, my newer Wasatch Front Scrap Girls friends, and a great conference atmoshphere, what results is truly uncommon!

Today was Leisa's birthday. I won't tell you which one, but hey, we are definitely middle aged! The day began with an air guitar solo (by yours truly) to wake her up, posters in the conference hall and hotel to announce the event, and the wearing of the amazing purple caftans to put us in a celebratory mood. Although that would have made for a great day alone, we had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Gardner Village during the Witchapalooza celebration. Shopping, girlfriends, and costumes? Can it get any better?????