I Don't Get It

(sigh)

I don't get it. I really don't get it. What is wrong with the youth of America today? I don't think I've ever seen a more entitled and demanding group of people. I think I've become more aware of it now that I'm a parent.....I don't know, maybe not. Maybe I'm more aware of it because I'm not blind or deaf. It's really something. And you know what makes it worse? I think 99% of the attitude comes from the parents. The parents are the ones showing these kids how to act and how to behave. These parents are training their kids to be obnoxious. It's appalling to me.

On the flip side, I know some really really great kids. I know some kids who are polite (and know how to use thank you notes) and respectful and have character. Granted, these kids go to my church, but I have to ask, where are more of these kids? Where are the Trevors, Tiffanys, Jessicas, Shanes and Brians of the world?

I wish that I could gather up all of the entitled kids and put them in a room and lecture them all day. Wanna know what I would tell them?:

• You are NOT the center of everyone's universe.....perhaps your parents', but not everyone's.
• We get it......you're dramatic because you need and crave attention and being dramatic gives you exactly what you want: people staring at you. Guess what? When you finally grow up and get into the real world, people are going to laugh in your face. You have a really long road ahead of you with this attitude.
• There's nothing authentic about you. You don't even know who you are. You're one person at school, you're one person at church, you're one person with your "friends"......it's a sad place to be in when you don't know who you are, so really, I pity you.
• You're not the first person to accomplish anything. There have always been and will always be people who accomplish more than you. You are not the smartest, you are not the first kid attending college, you are not the first kid graduating from college, you are not the first kid getting married, you are not the best at everything. There are people who are smarter, prettier and all-around just better than you, so get off your high horse and come back to reality.

I know this post seems harsh. It's not intended to be, okay, maybe it is. But I can honestly say, it's not geared toward one person. It's just a combination of things I've observed over the past three months. I want parents to stand up and be the parent. It can't be mom-the-girlfriend or dad-the-buddy. Parents have to be parents and parents need to show their children how to be good, honest, authentic, respectful, loyal, courteous and humble human beings.

The future of our country depends on it.

First Shots

10:30 AM. Celie's first shots at the pediatrician's office.

We knew this probably wasn't going to be a day-o-fun. I was nervous and so was Sarah. Celie was so happy today, smiling at us all the time, playing with her bunny....***sidebar, "bunny" is an actual bunny rabbit, well, not actual like a living bunny, but a stuffed animal bunny that hangs from her overhead mirror in her papazan bouncy seat. She LOVES this bunny. At times we think she loves this bunny more than she loves us, but that's a different post.***

All I could think about was how this day was going to end up. Post shots that is. I had basically worked myself up to the point of nausea, which is great. So we go in, talk to the Dr. who says that Celie looked great to her. She weighed in at just under 13 pounds, 23.5 inches long and an equally large head, but proportional to her body, THANK GOD.

As we talked, we discussed SIDS, Autism, Chicken Pox, Celie's legs, spitting up (which Celie has only done about 4 times her entire life), sitting up, tummy time and introducing food to the formula (not now of course). Let me stop and say how terrified I am of SIDS. It's the craziest thing. You see, Celie sleeps on her stomach (gasp and call the department of children and families) and so the very thought of that terrifies me. So after learning that Celie was in the 90th percentile for her size, it was time for the shots.

The nurse came in and Sarah immediately left the building - literally. I laid Celie down and the next thing I know the nurse is telling me to pin her arms down. HUH???? I'm like, what is about to go down here? So I do it and I see three, seemingly gigantic needles come out and into my sweet baby's legs. She looked at me in complete panic. One second she's smiling at me and the next screaming. I felt so bad because I couldn't warn her. I knew it was coming and she didn't and that's not fair. She had no idea what was about to happen. Then she screamed for about 21 seconds and I immediately grabbed her up while restraining my own tears.

She eventually calmed down and went to her mommy. She went straight to sleep when she got home. I'm hoping that her little legs aren't sore or bruised or that she doesn't get a fever. How can something that's supposedly so good for you be so bad?

I don't want to relive that again, but I know I will in about two more months.

Ugh.