Weekend Ramblings...

Why can't the work week go by as fast as the weekend? It seems as if every time a weekend comes around it is gone as fast as it came. This one was no exception, either.

Friday night, Patrick and I had a date night and went out to the movies. We saw "Freedomland" with Samuel Jackson. While it was a decent movie, it left me feeling like there was something missing. I would recommend waiting for DVD for this one.

Saturday the weather turned frigidly cold and wet. Jenn bough tickets for us to see "Rent" in Norfolk for the afternoon performance, so we ventured out in it. Needless to say, it was WELL worth it! We had great seats and both sat in awe as we tried to take everything in. The people who performed had the most amazing, moving voices I have possibly ever heard. I was so excited to be there.

Last night, we went with Jenn and Scott over to Natalie and Marshall's house for dinner/boardgames/cards. It was a lot of fun. Joe and Jen were there with there kids, too, but didn't stay long as everyone had been battling colds all week. We had a good time getting to know Natalie and Marshall and it looks like this will turn into a monthly "Get together" until Jenn and Scott and Joe and Jen move away. At least we're making more friends so we're not completely alone when they move!

Patrick has work off tomorrow while I have to sit at work and bang my head against the keyboard because NO ONE knows we'll be at work tomorrow. UGH!

Be Mine

Alas, it is February 14 again, which means the stores are filled with heart shaped boxes of chocolate, discounts on perfume, exorbitant prices on flowers, and those "last minute" gifts for the husbands that forgot what today is.  Valentines Day, much like Christmas, has been over commercialized and has forced men to run to buy those heart shaped pendants, rings, or earrings for their significant others.  Why is it that we need a national holiday to be forced to remind those we love how much we mean to them?  Thank goodness, I am married to a fantastic man who reminds me every day how much he loves me, and doesn't need a date on a calendar to do so.

 

I, for one, am not into jewelry or expensive gifts -- and I think an anniversary is much more to celebrate than a day that everyone else shares.  I would rather my husband rub my feet while watching TV than bring me some piece of jewelry that 20,000 other women will have.  Thankfully, I have a thoughtful husband who will make me French Toast on a Sunday morning, complete with a glass of Grapefruit juice because he knows it's my favorite - and not because he is forced to compete with the other men on the planet trying to prove their love. 

 

The best Valentine's Day we've had, though, was our first one.  We were broke, engaged, and as completely head over heels for each other as we are now.  Patrick's mom was either out of town, or working, I can't remember, so we had the whole house to ourselves.  Patrick made me a wonderful dinner, and he made a picinic in front of the fireplace.  He brought melted chocolate, whip cream and strawberries for us to "snack" on for dessert.  Of course, this was all supposed to be romantic, but romance was taken over by laughter as we turned the dessert into the chance to have a whip cream and chocolate fight.  We were covered from head to toe and enjoyed every moment of it. 

 

Tonight, we will get our portaits taken for the church directory, and then we will go out to a nice dinner - not because we have to, but because we want to, not because Patrick wants to impress me, but because we both love food so much!  The best thing about this Valentine's Day is that, 6 years later, my husband still gives me butterflies when he looks at me, I still want to spend all of my free time with him, I can't get enough of him and him of me, and that he's the best thing that ever happened to me.  That, to me, is the kind of gift money can't buy, and it's the best gift of all.

Silent Lunch

Picture 200 second graders in a crowded room.  Now, imagine it's lunchtime and all hell has broken loose as children run around, scream, and throw food at each other.  Now, imagine the underpaid, overworked, stressed out staff that has to tolerate this behavior.  What would you do to seize management of the situation?

 

With the amount of disrespect that happens in school, why would a parent ever question the reason for a "Silent Lunch" to gain control over unruly students?  The consequence fits the crime - you act civil while in the building eating or you will be punished by having to sit with your head down.  Plain and simple.  There is no corporal punishment.  There is no humiliation. 

 

So, where is the harm in giving a punishment for those who choose to break the rules?  You'd bet your ass that if my child acted like a monkey during lunch, or at any other point in time, I would be more than happy for you to punish my kid, especially with something as minimal as a silent lunch.

 

This used to happen to us in school all the time.  Recess would be taken away if we acted up.  We'd have to keep our heads down while other classes would participate in school functions.  It taught us that if we didn't act right, we'd be in trouble.  And we wonder why, as a society, our children are becoming more badly behaved by each year.  We wonder why we have no control over our kids as we sit by and let them run rampant over any ounce of respect we ever hoped of teaching them.

 

There isn't enough cause and effect punishment in today's world.  The longer we "baby" our children and let them get away with misbehaving without reprimand, the longer we'll have to deal with generations of thankless, rude, and unruly people -- who will someday rule this world.  Scary, isn't it?

Horsin' Around

We spent the weekend in Thurmond, NC visiting with Patrick's Aunt Elaine who was there visiting her dear friend, Audrey. Audrey and Aunt Elaine have known each other just about 60 years and have the unfortunate tragedy of becoming widows this past fall...within weeks of each other. Audrey told Aunt Elaine to invite us down so we could see her, so we made the 5.5 hour trek to spend the weekend on the farm with them.

We had such a good time catching up with Aunt Elaine, who we haven't seen since our wedding day 5.5 years ago! This is an amazing woman, she has been through so much adversity in her life, yet she still shines like the sun. It's amazing how resilient we humans are - in the face of tragedy we can still perservere and make it through. We still get up every day, brush our teeth, get dressed and keep breathing. She is a true testament to the human spirit.

Besides the awesome candle sale we went to (at the candle factory where I got 100 candles for $60!) the best part of the weekend was my very own, private riding lesson from Audrey. I've been on a horse twice before for trail rides, but the instructors/guides never spent more than 3 minutes explaining how to handle the horse and I would cry tears of complete fear when the horse did anything more than a "mosey". I have always loved horses and knew if I got the chance to learn more about them I would be good with them.

Audrey said I was a "natural" in the saddle and that my posture was that of someone who had been riding all their lives. I rode Raisin around the house several times while I learned how to properly hold the reigns and direct her which way I wanted to go. Each time we got behind the house where Audrey could no longer see, Raisin took it upon herself to go into a trot -- but I didn't panic. I calmly made her stop so we could continue on without incident. I had such an amazing time on that horse, and Audrey has invited us down for more riding lessons whenever we want. This weekend made us decide that our retirement will be planned with horses in mind.

The weekend and the visit were much too short, but it was exciting to be with Aunt Elaine nonetheless. Hopefully, we can get to Kansas City sometime soon so that we can spend some more time with her - and not let 5.5 years pass before we see each other again!