I want to address something that I think the show missed as a huge opportunity on this week's episode.
The matriarch of the family just died of a drug overdose due to an addiction that the family knew nothing about. This week, we watched Becky admit that she couldn't go an entire day without drinking. Instead of Dan taking this chance to offer help with an addiction, he told her that he'd have to let her go from the construction site if she didn't correct the issue in a specified amount of time.
What a missed opportunity. She's telling you she has a drinking problem. She's telling you that she's an addict. Instead of addressing any of the number of ways or programs that she could get help with that addiction, he just puts a timeline on it.
I thought that the drug overdose of the previous main character was well done. I hoped that with Becky's indications on that episode (where she pockets the pills and declares that's the only thing in her mom's closet that she wanted), there would be a great discussion on the horrors of addiction. I had hoped that when Becky said she couldn't go through this again after losing her husband (who also died of addiction although I'm not sure if that was just in real-life or if that's what they say happened to him on the show), the show would take advantage of this huge platform that they have to address the real-life struggles with addiction.
I'm disappointed that they didn't. I do hope that this week's episode is really over yet. I hope that they take the opportunity that they have been given and go a little deeper and talk about addiction and resources. The show has an audience that can handle these issues. The show has never shied away from hard topics before. A comedy show can address real-life issues while still being funny. Isn't that what the whole premise of the original show was about?
Friday, October 26, 2018
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
A New Schooling Journey
Every child has different needs.
Every child learns differently.
So we are now the parents of a home schooler. I had always wanted to home school the kids when they were younger but financially it wasn't an option and honestly, the older they got, the smarter they got and there was little that I could teach them anymore. I love public schools. I do. I have some wonderful family members who teach and we have had a really great experience with most of the teachers that have come into our lives.
It's not a secret that G has some major anxiety issues. It's not a secret that those anxiety issues cause some pretty big issues for her emotionally and create some serious self-safety concerns. The school has been great in trying to help us find solutions that will logically work for her. Even in the decision to home school her, we have had great support from them.
We don't think this is the answer for all of our kids. We don't think this will solve all of G's anxiety issues. (If you truly know anxiety disorder, you know it's never just as simple as that.) We are hopeful that it will provide a relief for her.
G still gets up every morning when we do, she has a schedule and a routine, she has course and school expectations. She has responsibilities and she has to complete so many hours of school work a day. She is doing an online high school for all of her common core classes and we throw in other stuff. It's only been a few days so I'm sure that there will be a lot of little adjustments and maybe even a few big ones that will need to be made.
Steve said, "what if the other kids want to home school too?" I said, "well, we'd have to decide if that was the best answer for them." We have never treated all of our children exactly the same. We never will. There are some general rules they all must follow but each child has different needs and so they all have different expectations to meet. There's no "that's unfair" at our house because what's fair for one is not fair for another.
This is the new journey we are on. Thanks for prayers and support!
Every child learns differently.
So we are now the parents of a home schooler. I had always wanted to home school the kids when they were younger but financially it wasn't an option and honestly, the older they got, the smarter they got and there was little that I could teach them anymore. I love public schools. I do. I have some wonderful family members who teach and we have had a really great experience with most of the teachers that have come into our lives.
It's not a secret that G has some major anxiety issues. It's not a secret that those anxiety issues cause some pretty big issues for her emotionally and create some serious self-safety concerns. The school has been great in trying to help us find solutions that will logically work for her. Even in the decision to home school her, we have had great support from them.
We don't think this is the answer for all of our kids. We don't think this will solve all of G's anxiety issues. (If you truly know anxiety disorder, you know it's never just as simple as that.) We are hopeful that it will provide a relief for her.
G still gets up every morning when we do, she has a schedule and a routine, she has course and school expectations. She has responsibilities and she has to complete so many hours of school work a day. She is doing an online high school for all of her common core classes and we throw in other stuff. It's only been a few days so I'm sure that there will be a lot of little adjustments and maybe even a few big ones that will need to be made.
Steve said, "what if the other kids want to home school too?" I said, "well, we'd have to decide if that was the best answer for them." We have never treated all of our children exactly the same. We never will. There are some general rules they all must follow but each child has different needs and so they all have different expectations to meet. There's no "that's unfair" at our house because what's fair for one is not fair for another.
This is the new journey we are on. Thanks for prayers and support!
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Not a Bad Day at the Office
Sometimes, especially when you're in an administrative position, it feels really good to just get out and connect with our mission.
The YWCA was able to take part in Project Homeless Connect today. This event brings a TON of people together to coordinate resources for the people in our communities who need it the most. It's like a one-stop resource shopping place for those in our community. DHHS was there, Dept. of Education was there. There were doctors, foot care clinics, people to do hair and nails, clothes, food. Information about where to find jobs, where to find childcare, library cards, JobCorp, the Homeless Coalition, bus passes, daily health information.
One of the programs that the YWCA offers is called Job Outfitters. This program assists those who are actively seeking employment and need clothes for an interview, or for people who have a job and need appropriate clothing to do that job. We partner with Goodwill and provide vouchers for those people to go and get the clothes they need.
In a span of 2 1/2 hours, we were able to provide over 20 people with vouchers totaling over $400. These vouchers, and clothes, will make a huge difference to people looking for jobs and people just starting out in the work force.
I was met with gratitude, kindness, embarrassment, and hopefulness. Every person I saw had a story. Some shared their story with me and others didn't say much. I was reminded how incredibly blessed I am. It wasn't that many years ago that I was sitting on the other side of the table needing clothes to start my first professional job.
I am blessed because I am able to work with an agency that provides so much to our underserved populations. I am blessed because I was able to maybe brighten a few people's day. I am blessed because some chose to share their story with me. I am blessed because one woman was thankful and completely shocked at the generosity of the agency that sat with her for 40 minutes and helped prepare her for her job interview this week and she just couldn't believe that with our assistance, she was going to have clothes to wear to it as well. (I will be praying for her on Thursday because I know that's when she has her interview.) I am blessed.
Not a bad day at the office when you're reminded how blessed you are.
The YWCA was able to take part in Project Homeless Connect today. This event brings a TON of people together to coordinate resources for the people in our communities who need it the most. It's like a one-stop resource shopping place for those in our community. DHHS was there, Dept. of Education was there. There were doctors, foot care clinics, people to do hair and nails, clothes, food. Information about where to find jobs, where to find childcare, library cards, JobCorp, the Homeless Coalition, bus passes, daily health information.
One of the programs that the YWCA offers is called Job Outfitters. This program assists those who are actively seeking employment and need clothes for an interview, or for people who have a job and need appropriate clothing to do that job. We partner with Goodwill and provide vouchers for those people to go and get the clothes they need.
In a span of 2 1/2 hours, we were able to provide over 20 people with vouchers totaling over $400. These vouchers, and clothes, will make a huge difference to people looking for jobs and people just starting out in the work force.
I was met with gratitude, kindness, embarrassment, and hopefulness. Every person I saw had a story. Some shared their story with me and others didn't say much. I was reminded how incredibly blessed I am. It wasn't that many years ago that I was sitting on the other side of the table needing clothes to start my first professional job.
I am blessed because I am able to work with an agency that provides so much to our underserved populations. I am blessed because I was able to maybe brighten a few people's day. I am blessed because some chose to share their story with me. I am blessed because one woman was thankful and completely shocked at the generosity of the agency that sat with her for 40 minutes and helped prepare her for her job interview this week and she just couldn't believe that with our assistance, she was going to have clothes to wear to it as well. (I will be praying for her on Thursday because I know that's when she has her interview.) I am blessed.
Not a bad day at the office when you're reminded how blessed you are.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
Quotes
"Do not judge my story by the chapter that you walked in on." - I don't know who said this. I got it from a good friend of mine.
How beautiful is that? How true is that? How many times do we judge other people's story by the one chapter that we walked in on? Gosh, there are so many chapters of mine that I would hate to be judged by!
As my wonderful G pointed out last night, "the only perfect people are Jax (the girl seriously loves her dog) and Jesus!"
I certainly have not lived every chapter of my life gracefully. I certainly have had some not so stellar chapters that I wish I could re-write. Although, if I did re-write them, I might not be exactly where I am or exactly where I'm meant to be. So then maybe all those ugly chapters actually helped create the chapter I want to be judged in?
As long as a person is still living chapters, there is hope for a better one. If you don't like the chapter that you are living right now, start a new one. The only time it's too late to write a new chapter is when you're gone. It's not always easy, in fact it can be downright grueling. To that I quote one my G's quotes that she lives by, "don't quit fighting; just fight the right fight."
I'm surrounded by some pretty amazing, inspiring people who continuously remind me to "fight the right fight."
One more quote from my G, "when you can't run, crawl. When you can't crawl, find someone to carry you."
How beautiful is that? How true is that? How many times do we judge other people's story by the one chapter that we walked in on? Gosh, there are so many chapters of mine that I would hate to be judged by!
As my wonderful G pointed out last night, "the only perfect people are Jax (the girl seriously loves her dog) and Jesus!"
I certainly have not lived every chapter of my life gracefully. I certainly have had some not so stellar chapters that I wish I could re-write. Although, if I did re-write them, I might not be exactly where I am or exactly where I'm meant to be. So then maybe all those ugly chapters actually helped create the chapter I want to be judged in?
As long as a person is still living chapters, there is hope for a better one. If you don't like the chapter that you are living right now, start a new one. The only time it's too late to write a new chapter is when you're gone. It's not always easy, in fact it can be downright grueling. To that I quote one my G's quotes that she lives by, "don't quit fighting; just fight the right fight."
I'm surrounded by some pretty amazing, inspiring people who continuously remind me to "fight the right fight."
One more quote from my G, "when you can't run, crawl. When you can't crawl, find someone to carry you."
Monday, October 1, 2018
#whyididn'ttell
I don't know if the Supreme Court Justice Nominee is guilty of sexual assault. I don't know if his accuser has named the right person, named the wrong person, made the whole thing up or if what she remembers is exactly what happened and she has named exactly the right person with exactly the right events. I don't know. I do know that I tend to believe the victim. I know the statistics about false reporting (doesn't happen as often as other people would have you believe). I do know that delayed reporting, not reporting at all, does not make any person's story less true. I do know that not remembering specific things while remembering other things, does not mean it didn't happen or that they are lying.
I was sexually assaulted at the age of 18.
I don't remember the exact day. I don't remember the time, other than it was middle of the night. I know the T.V. was on but I could not tell you what was on. I don't remember the color of the couch, or what I was wearing other than that it was shorts and a t-shirt. I cannot tell you the exact amount of time that passed as I was being assaulted.
I do remember the way that he smelled. I do remember where his hands were on my body. I do remember the temperature of the room (or what it felt like at least). I do remember that time seemed to stand still. I do remember the sound of his voice. I do remember feeling terrified and panicked.
I didn't tell because I didn't have anywhere to go. I didn't tell because I felt like it was my fault. I didn't tell because I didn't want anyone to know what had happened. I didn't tell because he was a dad and a husband and I didn't want his family to suffer because of his actions. I didn't tell because all I wanted to do was get out of the situation. I didn't tell because that was my home and I was far away from home. I didn't tell because there was no intercourse so I thought that I was being overly sensitive. I didn't tell because I didn't know if anyone would believe me.
So while I don't know if the accuser in this case is telling the truth, I do know that simply because she did not report when it happened, does not mean that it didn't happen. That's not a valid standard for disbelief in my book.
I was sexually assaulted at the age of 18.
I don't remember the exact day. I don't remember the time, other than it was middle of the night. I know the T.V. was on but I could not tell you what was on. I don't remember the color of the couch, or what I was wearing other than that it was shorts and a t-shirt. I cannot tell you the exact amount of time that passed as I was being assaulted.
I do remember the way that he smelled. I do remember where his hands were on my body. I do remember the temperature of the room (or what it felt like at least). I do remember that time seemed to stand still. I do remember the sound of his voice. I do remember feeling terrified and panicked.
I didn't tell because I didn't have anywhere to go. I didn't tell because I felt like it was my fault. I didn't tell because I didn't want anyone to know what had happened. I didn't tell because he was a dad and a husband and I didn't want his family to suffer because of his actions. I didn't tell because all I wanted to do was get out of the situation. I didn't tell because that was my home and I was far away from home. I didn't tell because there was no intercourse so I thought that I was being overly sensitive. I didn't tell because I didn't know if anyone would believe me.
So while I don't know if the accuser in this case is telling the truth, I do know that simply because she did not report when it happened, does not mean that it didn't happen. That's not a valid standard for disbelief in my book.
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