Ice Cream for Breakfast

 It's  symptomatic of the state of the world that I had chocolate chip ice cream for breakfast last week.

I've never done that before but the state of the world was so bad I didn't know what else to do.  

I come from a family of stress eaters. When we are out of control the refrigerator is our friend.  I was very proud of the fact that I managed not to gain weight during our state's COVID-19 shutdown but slowly the pounds have been creeping up on me and I know it's pickle we are in that's doing it. 

I don't know what else I can do.   I did everything I was supposed to do to break the back of the pandemic and for the  whole month of July I was sort of living free from fear. But now we are back in the soup with people yelling and holding signs and calling each other names. Again.  

The wildfires rage on the West Coast. There's flooding on the East Coast.  Air pollution, tainted water; it's as if the Earth is trying to get rid of us.  And now there's the mess in Afganistan. More yelling, more name calling, more arguing about who is at fault.

As if assigning responsibility will make the problem go away. The sad truth to be faced is that the problems won't go away and that most of us live our day to day lives feeling like we can't change anything. We are helpless as we watch the world suffer. Oh, we make donations but deep down we don't think it will really do any good. 

The only book I am reading right now is James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small.  It's escapist literature, I know, but I simply can't handle any more "being a responsible citizen and doing my part".

I have no control over any of what is happening on the world stage. Anne Lamott writes of a friend who, when he despairs of the state of the world, walks the neighborhood picking up dog poop and litter because that's all he can do to make the world a little better place. 

So following his example I take the following oath: 

 I will  only read the sports section and the comics in my newspaper.

 I will ignore my news feed. 

I will stay away from Facebook and Instagram.

I will plant drought tolerant plants in my garden, use drip irrigation and recycle to the best of my ability. 

I will keep the bird feeders filled and make sure there's clean water in the bird bath. 

I will keep putting extra food in the Little Free Pantry outside our church. 

And I will pick up dog poop and litter.  

Because that's all I can do. 

Parenting Is No Picnic These Days

 "It's a tough time to be a parent." My husband said. 

He was talking about the Robin family that set up housekeeping under our portale.  Mom and Dad Robin are tag teaming to keep a young Cooper's Hawk from getting too close to the nestlings who need another two or three weeks before they are ready to leave home. 

It struck me he could have been talking about the human parents who are struggling trying to protect their own nestlings as the American school year starts amid the increase of COVID-19 cases and no vaccine for people under 12. 

I can only imagine the discussions going on at breakfast counters and  dinner tables around the country. How do we do this?  What's the best way? To wear masks? Not wear masks? Are the grown ups going to be vaccinated?  Are they going to wear masks? Do we let the kids take the bus or drive them ourselves?

At least these conversations replace the ongoing,  never-ending arguments about smartphones at the table.

No one wants to go back to remote learning. And I'm pretty sure the kids want to go to school but do they get to have a vote? I wouldn't want to spend another school day in front of a computer screen if I was a kid and I'm an introvert who usually read a book in the library at recess. 

And the kids are not immune from noticing and being affected by all the shouting the adults are doing.  The news is full of pictures and sounds of screaming adults carrying signs and threatening each other. Parents bring children too young to read to protests and have them carry signs that describe mask wearing as child abuse. It makes for a great picture on the evening news. Most disturbing were the parents threatening the doctors, parents themselves, who were called to give a school board meeting information.  One of them was recorded saying "We know who you are. We know where you live." as the doctor was trying to drive away from the meeting. What does this man's child learn from his threatening behavior?

What has happened to critical thinking?  I remember having discussions with my husband about what kind of education we wanted our children to have.  Committed to public schools, we wanted our kids to learn how to think and how to learn to solve problems, not simply score high on  standardized tests.  This was an important discussion at our house because in Silicon Valley standardized testing scores are regarded as the be-all end-all of higher education (not to mention property values). Parents spend a lot of time and money trying to game the Educational Testing Service.

Are the young Gen X  & Y  parents  I see protesting outside school board meetings the product of schools which didn't teach them how to think? Are we reaping the failure of the American education system to teach people the ability to look at evidence and come to reasonable, truthful conclusions? That's all I can come up with because otherwise what I am seeing and hearing makes no sense. 

The words "empowerment" and "personal choice" are being thrown around ad nauseum. But I think what is really going on is that certain parents want to take advantage of the free daycare that school provides.  Employers are starting to require in- office presence so these parents want their kids in school but they want them in school in a certain way. They stomp their feet like entitled toddlers and demand that the public domain give them what they want and media amplifies their tantrums because it makes a story.  But experienced parents know the best way to stop a tantrum is to ignore it. 

Start acting like parents, not toddlers. If you don't want your child wearing a mask in school, then keep them at home. Similarly, if you don't want to wear a mask in a public place or in a business then don't go to the public place or patronize the business. You have that right. You are empowered to make that choice.  And know there are consequences to your actions and choices.

But heaven help and protect the children.