“Wrapping each other up in towels and cramming themselves into the laundry baskets may be fun, but it’s not really sustainable fun.”
My sister and I were talking about our Thanksgiving dinner but I found I had to keep raising my voice to be heard over the mayhem occurring in the background of her house. As usual, with a family of six, there was a stack of laundry that needed sorting and folding. However from what I could hear on my end of the phone it sounded like every time she made a pile, one of the kids or family pets would ruin it. Definitely not sustainable fun! I was intrigued by this phrase though, wondering if it might capture a whole new parenting vocabulary. Not just sustainable fun but also sustainable work or schedule or communication or friendship. At my daughter’s age of eight few ideas stay sustainable. For example, she recently decided to help feed our dog. In concept, fantastic. In reality, one forgotten meal and the plan was dumped. Definitely not sustainable. Or we decided at one point that rather than argue about things that made her unhappy we would pay attention when she raised her hand and discuss it logically, reaching a decision after hearing from her. I think it was the conversation that went something like; “It’s time to,” hand raised and discussion. “I was not going to say homework, I was going to say brush hair,” hand raised and discussion. “If you are willing to go out like that,”hand raised and discussion. “Yes, we still have to go to church.” Hand raised and discussion. … You get the idea. After half an hour of this I had completely forgotten my original request, we were late to church, and she still didn’t have her hair brushed or know what the consequence would be. Definitely not a sustainable plan. Sustainability, whether in our energy plans or in our families, takes a future view that is not always easy to see through the murk of our everyday lives. We want what we want when we want it. Still, it is a goal worth pursuing. A sustainable goal, if you will. My sister eventually did make it out of her house, ready for an activity that wouldn’t leave her house in shambles or one of her children in tears. The laundry, however, is still sitting there.
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“This election is a joke.”
It is election day, and around the country people (who haven’t already) are attempting to cast their ballots. It isn’t only the federal election that demands participation. On a state and local level the battles are just as serious and ferocious. I suppose that is why, though it might be a joke, no one is laughing. So I thought I would add a little bi-partisan humor to your day; something to make you smile as you waited in line to vote or, anxiously, for the results to be tallied. You might be a…. Republican if: - You’ve named your kids, deduction one and deduction two. - The only union you support is the baseball players, because heck, they’re richer than you are. - You don’t think “The Simpsons” is all that funny but you watch it because that Flanders fellow makes a lot of sense. - When people say Marx, you think Groucho. Democrat if: - You own something that says, “Dukakis for President,” and still display it. - You’ve never been mugged; you give it away. - You got teary-eyed during the film, “The American President.” - Your house smells like a garbage dump because of your commitment to recycling. The Secret of Success… is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made. All I ask… is the chance to show that money won’t make me happy. (Ashleigh Brilliant) I wanted to go to… the paranoids anonymous meeting; but they wouldn’t tell me where it was. (For all you conspiracy theorists out there.) If all the world is… a stage, then where is the audience sitting? Everything should be made…as simple as possible, but no simpler. Why isn’t there a tax… on stuff I don’t like? And finally… Everything is controlled by…a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one we know belongs. Voting is not a joke… it is a right and a privilege. So GO! Appreciate this gift of democracy. (This blog is dedicated to my brother, Michael Sprinkle, for getting involved. Good Luck, Michael!) |
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June 2020
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