A New Approach?

Well, times sure have changed. And I guess I need to change with them. Like learning a little something about computers. A LITTLE. Anyway, my church is offering a new Sunday School class, and I am going to join. It's called 'making your children mind without losing yours' or something like that.
I really didn't have too much trouble making my children mind, the first time around. I just threatened to punish them. But my how things are changing. My sweet little five year old grandson was playing 'swords' with a stick and he hit his sister with it. So I took it and gave him a good firm swat on the butt with it, so he could see how it felt. He puckered up, but instead of crying said, 'You could go to jail for that.'
Well. I understand they are teaching the children not to let someone abuse them, to tell if someone hurts them. And I'm not proposing to beat my grandchildren. But he's only five. He doesn't know the difference between discipline and abuse. Between teaching and 'torturing'. It hurt, he didn't like it - Grammy should not do that to him!
So, Grammy is going to try to learn some new tricks in the world of child rearing. Because I spend a lot of time with my grandchildren, because I am involved in their care and raising, I need to keep on learning. Because the world is changing, and I guess I need to change along with it.

What I've learned so far...

Well, kids, you did it. You hauled Grammy into cyberspace, but you didn't prepare me very well! It's embarressing now to look back at some of the gaffes I've made in the last few weeks. Oh well, if they are really my friends, they will forgive me for forwarding all that stuff without checking it for accuracy first, right? Now at least I know how.

I see now why no one uses their real names when leaving comments on things they read. Really, the rudeness is inexcusable. My generation was taught to state an opinion without attacking those who disagree like a pit bull. Wish I'd known a little bit sooner that manners seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

I appreciate all your suggestions on things to read, but, truthfully I just didn't 'get' some of them. However, I am learning how to find the things that interest me, and it really is pretty neat! Just don't think that because you 'finally' got me online, you don't need to call anymore! Personal contact is still needed, even if it is just the sound of your voice!

Now what?

The party's over and the settling in begins; President Bush back in Texas and President Obama in the White House. To me as a Grammy, the best part of the inauguration was watching the girls during all the ceremonies. It must have seemed endless after a while. I loved the little squirms and wiggles, the skips and hops, the normal behavior of little girls. It is exciting to think of those little ones running the halls and exploring their new home.

Now we watch anxiously to see just what part of government our new president decides is not working and needs an overhaul. Social Security? Selfishly I think, 'Not that! I'm disabled and it is my only income!' Medicare? Not that! That's my only insurance!

Now I have a suggestion: overhaul the insurance industry! There oughta be a law against their godlike power over peoples' lives, their enormous profits, complicated rules, exclusions, etc.

What a day!

I can't help thinking that, impressed as we are by the significance of today in our history, we really don't know just how significant it is. And we probably won't. Our grandchildren will, maybe. And I can't help wishing I could tell our new President some of the things I have learned by living to be a grammy. Things like, I know it's on a much larger scale, but...you can't spend your way out of debt, and if you can't pay cash for it, don't buy it. And with all the complaining about the performance of our schools I hear, it seems to me that kids learned more in the small community schools than they are in the huge consolidated institutions our grandkids go to now. Oh well, I'm just a grammy. What do I know?