This and That and Nothing Much

I had no idea it's been so long since I blogged! Good grief! Life has been quite busy. 'Tis the season, you know! No, not the holiday season. I mean the school season. When school is in full swing, I barely find time to breathe, much less blog. To be honest, I haven't even had as much time to read as I'd like (gasp!).
 
I've actually been opting to read middle school books lately, as I'm always on the hunt for good book club books for my middle school students. I'll review some of them on here over Christmas break, once I have a few more under my brain. It's not always easy for me to review middle school books. I don't always agree with the messages.
 
(Now, here's where I start sounding old...)
 
You know, it used to be that most books had a good message. And, the way I figure it, life sucks enough without reading a book that just agrees with that theory. Life doesn't really suck, it's all in the way you look at things. Believe it or not, kids aren't as optimistic as they used to be. In fact, I venture to say there is much more depression among pre-teens and teenagers now than there was when I was growing up. It concerns me...a lot.
 
I don't think it helps that a certain series of books made vampires popular literature for teenagers. As if anyone would actually want to follow some undead guy around, fall in love with him, and have his baby. Really?? I mean, guys have their issues (don't we all?), but I'll take a warm-blooded man over a dead guy any day! Did I mention she wants to be dead, too, just to be with him? Now, I ask you, WHAT kind of messed-up message is that to send to young teenage girls? Especially girls who are already depressed? Let's think this through, folks. Seriously.

And another thing...

Just because paranormal books have become so popular doesn't mean they are well-written. I'm really getting tired of seeing all the vampire books floating around my school's library. I try not to be critical without sampling a few, so...I sampled...and spit them back out. Yuck. Shouldn't there be some standard for what publishers dish-out to pre-teens and younger teenagers? Are good editors in short supply these days?No wonder kids aren't reading if they think this junk is what passes for good books!

(Sigh)

I seem to be sighing a good bit these days. It's mostly because I see that people don't know what they're missing. Sometimes by 'people,' I mean my students. Other times, I mean adults. There is such a vast, wonderful world of great books out there that I get a bit discouraged when the only books anyone claims to read are the ones that are movies. Really?

I'm beginning to feel like I belong to the lost generation of people who actually read books to learn more about myself and others and the world around me...

Wait.

No, we wouldn't be classified as 'the lost generation' - it's the generation that doesn't read that is lost.

Do me a favor, would you? Please read to a child today. Do voices for the characters, and show them the pictures in the book. Talk about the story. Help them understand it. Grow a good reader. You'll make the world a better place. :)

Happy reading!
 

Need A Good Cry?

"As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

I avoid books that make me cry. I just...don't care to go there. That isn't to say I don't read books that have sad parts, even depressing parts sometimes, but - as a rule - I try to stay away from books I think will just absolutely break my heart. 

A couple of weeks ago, I began seeing quotes pop up on Facebook for a book titled The Fault In Our Stars. I liked the quotes I saw, so I looked the book up. I quickly found that it was a young adult book and the narrator is a sixteen-year-old girl with cancer. I immediately scratched it off my "maybe I want to read it" list. I knew my heart could not take reading that book.

A couple of days ago, however, I just couldn't get some of the quotes I'd seen for the book out of my head. I looked the book up on Amazon and found I could download it on my Kindle Fire for $3.99. At that price, it was hard for me to pass up. I didn't want to buy it, though, if I wasn't going to really read it. I finally decided I would make it my first read over my Thanksgiving break from school, so I would have time to read another book or two after it to ease the heartache I felt sure the book would give me.

I downloaded the book on Friday night, and I finished it this morning. I even 'scheduled' the crying I knew would come. When I was about seventy percent done with the book, I could tell I was going to start getting emotional. I stopped reading last night and decided to finish the book this morning when I would be all alone in my house, and no one would question my tears, or ask me to explain, or wonder what the book touched off in me that would send me in to sobs.

And that is exactly what I did - bawled my eyes out for a bit. (It's OK, though, I was overdue for a good cry.) And if you think I'm giving anything away by saying that, you'd be wrong.  

Am I recommending the book? Oh, absolutely. It may have a couple of sad parts, but it has happy parts, too - along with great sarcasm and intelligence. I can't resist a book with good banter between characters. This one has a good bit of that. I promise you will smile and laugh and smirk more than anything else.

While the book is listed as "young adult," I will let you know it has some mature language in it here and there. It is appropriate (and not gratuitous), in my opinion, given the ages of the main characters and the fact that they are having to deal with some serious life issues. That being said, I wouldn't recommend it to one of my sixth graders, but I think it would be good for older teenagers. Amazon lists it as age appropriate for fourteen and up.

The book isn't long, only 318 pages in the hardcover edition. It packs a good punch, though, and makes you think,...which is exactly what a good book should do. I liked the book, and I am glad I read it. I am especially glad I read it before it becomes a movie, which is currently in the works. 

Nothing ruins a good book like a movie...

About Facebook Friends

Once upon a time, in the Summer of 1981, I was fifteen years old. It was that summer that I learned a very valuable lesson from my dad...

(I know, you're wondering what could this possibly have to do with Facebook when the founders of Facebook weren't even born in 1981...and the internet, as we know it, didn't even exist. Hang in there with me, I promise it'll all make sense.) 

That particular summer, I had just finished my first year of high school (which was 10th grade, back then), and I had certainly had my share of first love heartache. I was glad to get away from home for awhile and spend some time at Myrtle Beach. My dad and stepmom chose to stay at a nice campground on this particular trip, and it had its own video game pavilion and other fun things to do around the campground.

Shortly after we arrived, I met this boy (isn't that the way teenage summer romances go?), and he seemed very sweet and funny and smart. Did I mention cute? Ah, yes, he was very cute. Most importantly, he seemed to like me a lot. Now, for a girl still trying to mend a broken heart, it's quite flattering and healing to have another guy pay you some attention and want to get to know you better.

The boy and I spent some time at the beach together during the day and, as evening came around, he asked me to meet him at a place near our camper and promised he'd show me the video game pavilion. He told me that his family had camped there since he was little, and he knew everything about the place and where everything was. He wanted to show me around. Again, I was flattered.

Once we met up that night, we began talking and walking around. It was pretty dark and, after we'd been walking a bit, I mentioned that I felt sure we should've gotten to the pavilion some time ago. He assured me we were almost there. Just about the time we had taken two more steps, bright headlights from a car threw a spotlight on us. You can imagine my surprise when the car came to a sudden halt, the car door opened, and I heard my dad's deep voice say, "Kim, get in the car."

Now, when my dad told you do something, you didn't ask questions. Aside from the fact he was my dad, he was also a police officer. I knew from his tone he wasn't happy. I was embarrassed in front of my new crush, of course, but I knew not to question my dad. I turned to the boy and said, "Sorry, I gotta go," and quickly walked over to the car and got in.

Once I was in the car, my dad drove back to the camper. He asked me who the boy was and where I was going. I told him we were going to the pavilion, that we were almost there when he stopped us. My dad grunted a tense, aggravated sound (something he does when he's unhappy). I told him I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. He told me that I wasn't, but the boy was. I didn't understand. I'll never forget the look on my dad's face or his next words, "Kim, I've been looking for you. You two weren't anywhere near the pavilion. I don't know where he was taking you, but it sure as hell wasn't the pavilion."

Now, I don't want to make some sixteen-year-old boy seem sinister. Maybe all he wanted to do was steal a kiss? I'll never know. I wouldn't want to know,...and I never saw the boy again. Lucky for the boy, my dad never saw him again either. Lucky for me, I gained some insight that night, and I learned not to be so naive.

The next day, some friends of mine showed up and asked my dad if I could go with them for awhile. A bunch of them were staying at a hotel not far from the campground. We headed back to their hotel to hang out on the beach and swim. I had a great time hanging out with my friends! You know, with people I actually knew and could trust.

What does this have to do with Facebook friends? Well, let's just say that after all these years, the lesson I learned that night at Myrtle Beach still sticks with me. I don't ever go places with people I don't know, and...I don't allow people I don't know to become my Facebook friends. Every friend I have on my Facebook is someone I know - and not because of the internet. I use Facebook as a way to connect to people I know, not meet people I don't know...who can appear to be anything they'd like to be over the internet. I share pictures of my family and friends on my facebook page, and I tell about my life. Why would I open that personal information up to someone I don't know?

At the camper
with my little brother, Chris
Summer of 1981

It dumbfounds me that people think it isn't a big deal to open up their life to a perfect stranger. I am amazed at the number of people who get on the internet and don't educate themselves on how to use it safely. Facebook has tutorials, folks! It tells you all about your privacy settings and how to limit or block certain information.

You wouldn't walk in a dangerous part of town, all alone, in the middle of the night, unguarded and unprotected,...but you'll play on the internet uneducated?! That kind of ignorance reminds me of myself in the Summer of 1981...

(P.S. Thank you, Daddy, for watching out for me!)

A Room of My Own

I have always valued the different stages of my life, and you can mark them by Saturday mornings...

When my oldest daughter was a baby, I loved Saturday mornings when nothing was rushed. I could spend as much time as I wanted holding her, nuzzling her neck, and singing to her. With each daughter that came after her, it only added to the sweet time on Saturday mornings. It meant holding a baby and having unforgettable conversations with little ones about everything from Cinderella to possible pet options for our home.

When all my children were past the baby stage, there was no sweeter sound than hearing them wake up in the mornings, usually whispering to each other or shuffling their feet down the hallway. There was nothing more precious than having them crawl into our bed to have cuddle time (and, sometimes, tickle time) before getting up to start our day. I can still remember how much I loved to kiss their cheeks in the mornings, and I always told them, "Morning sugar is always the best!"

As time passed, and the girls grew up, Saturday mornings became a cross between all of us desperately wanting a day off to sleep late and someone always having somewhere they had to be. Of course, that meant I needed to be there, too. We went through our Saturdays of birthday parties, play dates, gymnastics, sports tournaments, a variety of competitions, babysitting gigs and the like. Those were the busy years.

I should note that I raised my girls with a certain...philosophy. I believe to be mentally healthy we all need one day a week when we can stay in our pajamas until noon. Now, that doesn't mean you must stay in them, but you should always have one day a week where it's an option. During the "busy years," we all longed for those days off. We enjoyed all the things we did, but we missed our relax time together, and - of course - the older my daughters got, the harder it was to have us all together.

The next stage was when everyone began liking boys, dating, getting driver's licenses, and going to college. Saturday mornings, back then, were punctuated with loud music booming from three different bedrooms. Of course, I didn't mind,...since they got the 'loud music gene' from me. I just preferred when they agreed upon their "getting ready" music instead of those occasions when it felt like 'battle of the bands'! Those years, while filled with more music - and more worry, weren't quite as busy for me. The girls were becoming independent, and I took great joy in seeing them become who they were meant to be. I had no real worries about my daughters through this stage. At this time, I had never met a boyfriend I couldn't run off. ;)

Now, my daughters are all grown up (19, 22, and soon-to-be 25). All my girls are different and, while they certainly aren't perfect, I love them for who they are. While I may not always agree with them, I respect them and their opinions. While I do tell them, they have no idea how much I love them and value them as people. How could they? They haven't yet reached the stage in their lives of being parents themselves.

Today, on this Saturday morning, you can tell my life has reached a another stage. I am sitting in a room of my own, something I didn't know I always wanted. My oldest daughter designed it for me, and my husband made it come true. Everything I ever wanted in a library/sitting room is here for my pleasure.

I am sitting on a beautiful, red couch with a hot cup of coffee, a favorite book, and my laptop. I have candles burning...just because I love the way they look. My favorite blanket keeps me warm on this chilly morning. It's a beautiful day outside, and the sun's beams through the windows are beginning to warm the room. I look through the front window to see the water fountain flowing with just a little frosting on its edges. I survey my new room, and it makes me smile and gives me peace. The house is quiet, and my room invites me to read.

Life is good.

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." ~ Virginia Woolf

(OK, Virginia, I have the first two, just give me a little time on the third. I'll get there...)