It's not that I don't have anything to say...

it's just that I'm always not sure how to say it.

There are many rants that well up in my mind, or issues that come up that I have an opinion on, but I can't figure out how to express my opinions on them without seeming catty or bossy or just downright annoying.

I hate when people do the whole I-am-better-than-you-because-I-think-this-and-you-don't thing because I believe there's different opinions for everything (though the other person's opinion is generally wrong... ;)) and all opinions should be heard out and discussed.

Enough for being not sure about what to say.

I'll give you an update on life.

Our family went to Washington, DC this past week and it was fun, although very, very, very hot. It was 90+ degrees every day there. A girl passed out at Arlington cemetery cause it was so freaking hot out. But we managed to stay cool and not die. :)

We toured the Capitol, went to many, many museums, saw all the memorials and monuments, went to the zoo, walked around a LOT, went to Quanitco (insert Criminal Minds fangirl squee here) and saw the changing of the guard plus a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington cemetery.

It was a lot of fun, and there's still too much more to see in DC! I'll have to go back sometime again. :)

Girl Drama

OK, we are waiting again, so I will babble. Girl Drama, is this really necessary? They are such sweeties when babes, and something saturates theirs souls as puberty begins and monsters emerge. They are so beautiful to look at it takes you by surprise, budding young women whose heads can spin around. I have 5 sisters and I remember little drama while I was home, rumor has it the two youngest did battle for a while, but I had moved out by then.

Maybe my memory is flawed, wouldn't be the first time, but I don't recall PMS being allowed or tolerated, you were supposed to be at least civil to one another all the time. I am trying to recall what my mother did. She kicked us out of the house a lot, that would take care of some of the battles. We had to work at home or elsewhere, once again this gets us out of each others hair, or too tired to fight. I remember pouting and silent treatment, but usually you just found something to do, or a good book to read. Maybe the 3 year gap between me and the next girl had something to do with it, my usual family companion was my older brother. After the gap there are 5 girls crammed into 6 years. Heading to college at 18 I left the quintet, ages 9-15 home alone, with one younger brother, maybe he is a better person to ask about the presence of girl drama in that generation.

But I still need a fix, something to bring down the curtain on said behavior in this current crop of females. Withdrawal of all privileges doesn't do it, at times it seems to increase the drama. Maybe the work option is the way to go, then instead of sniping at one another I become the primary target, this would give them an enemy to unite against. We might get a little peace and I might get a clean house.

A Test?

"Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character hope, and hope does not disappoint" Romans 5:3-5

Sitting in church and this little gem was read, so affliction builds character which is suppose to bring hope, is this required or just one of the means to the end. And does it mean real affliction or does it also include minor annoying problems. Maybe that is the problem with hope and youth, they don't really need God, we have kept them safe, secure, fed, clothed, loved and they want for nothing, including God.

I do know that crisis' can be a faith building experience, they certainly get you back on the praying wagon. But is deep, unshakable faith, the kind that provides assurance, possible without struggle? I think of youth experiences and how most use familial love to build the emotional connections and steer teens to Christ, these last only a short while and without further nurturing lose their impact, it gets them started but something more is needed to sustain the faith. Must they face the devil, via affliction , loss, or some other devastation? We have tools, we have Eucharist, we have scripture, we have tradition, to nourish and build upon the early love fest, but can each of us also expect a "test."

Seems a bit frightening, the images are there, the potter molding, the smith purifying the gold, the narrow gate.

I know it is frighting, my sister just told me she has cancer...I don't like tests!

Hope? (My Plan to Possibly Change the World)

I'm not convinced that there actually is a complete lack of hope in today's adolescents. I think that the domino effect of depression works against us. Maybe I'm not the best person to ask - I'm probably the least hopeful person you'll ever meet. Perfectionism does that to you.

However, I don't believe that the world will necessarily be worse in 100 years (though, if the apocalypse comes... hardeeharhar). I don't always think that I will lead the world to a better place, but I believe I have the power to. Saying there's no hope in the world means that you believe there's no hope for yourself... which I can definitely relate to, but don't agree with in a hardcore sense.

The future belongs to us, but not everyone agrees on what a good future is. What defines a "better" future? At this point, I'm not sure what would make a better future... but there are some things that would help for sure.

Peace would always be good, yeah, and maybe we have the power to do that. Maybe being a little bit nicer to people, connecting a little more, making that little bit of effort. A friend once mentioned to me that a smile can change the world... maybe smiling more would help us out. Maybe smiling more would give us a little more hope.

Or maybe less judgement? Less hate might give us some more hope. Respecting people could give not only the judged people, but I think the judging people as well, a little more hope.

I'd definitely like some more world awareness - Invisible Children is helping with that, at least for one aspect (great organization, BTW... if you can, donate! They're wonderful. Check 'em out). But poverty, hunger, and so many other illnesses affect people around the globe. In a better world, we'd need to fix that, and I think most people would agree.

I don't quite know what other things I'd do to make the world better. I do believe we can have a better world in 100 years, I'm just not certain we're all quite sure how.

Hope

OK how about this...What in the world has happened in this country to cause the total lack of hope I see in youth today. I remember feeling and I know I was not alone, that I could do anything, and it was my responsibility to save the world. The whole "Ask not what your country can do for you..." permeated our consciouses we had a duty to make life for others better, to battle injustice where ever we found it, and we did because we believed we could make a difference. We protested, organized and marched, I even joined the Socialist Worker Party as a college freshman, and just knew we could change the world to a peaceful utopia.

Service was a part of your life, not something you got credit for in school. You helped neighbors, worked for you school, even created fundraising events when we felt the call. This is not to pretend that we were not real narcissistic teenagers, we were often as self centered and oblivious as today's youth, but in that narcissism we had the audacity to believe we could make a difference. If asked "In 100 years will the world be better or worse?" we would have overwhelmingly responded "Better" and gone on to explain that it would be so because we were going to make it better.

I did ask my class this year why there was no hope, and one young man said there was just too much information and it consistently left them feeling small and inadequate. I still approach situations with a "What can I do to fix this" attitude while my daughters regularly focus on "Why this can never work." What has changed to make our youth feel so helpless, have we mollycoddled them, failed to inspire them, handicapped them with overprotection? Maybe all of the above? If life is leaving our youth feeling incapable what must we do to build in them a hope that will sustain. A hope that will carry them to heights we can only imagine, and through those times in life when hope is all that is left.

Daughter, thoughts?

"I see the signs now all the time."

It's Friday! Time for... PHOTOS! YEAH! (Lyric from "Signs" by Bloc Party)

So this week's challenge was signs. I was picturing lots of creativity in my photos - having my sisters do some sign language, find some billboards, etc.

It didn't happen - whether that is my fault for being too lazy or...

yeah, it's me being too lazy.

The good thing about living in a metropolitan area is that there is an abundance of street signs, and they were none too hard to find...

For more Foto Friday, visit Rebecca.

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Well, this is easier than I thought it was going to be. I imagined frantically searching for time to write yet another post, but it appears things will be more relaxed than that. We have discovered a problem. My daughter was supposed to present me with topics which we in turn would expound upon and hopefully offer differing points of view. We cannot find anything to discuss which raises enough conflict to make things interesting. One of the perks of homeschooling is you have oodles of time to throughly brainwash your children.

There are topics which we agree upon but discussion would prove disastrous for our social well being, we have for years lived in a blue state while remaining in a red cloud. It was one of the many reasons that relocation was so inviting, to be among "friends" and to be able to come out of hiding would have been a real plus. BUT I cannot dwell on the the impossible it just depresses me, we will continue to search for relevant topics and try to keep this interesting.

Tattoos?

Twitter? (Oh wait, I can't use that word.)

Math?

None sound very interesting.