Prayers for your sons and all our soldiers! nm
Posted By: trose on 2007-10-16
In Reply to: SILLY STRING - Mary
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Mary, I offer my prayers for the safety of your sons. SM
I thought brothers could not be in battle zones at the same time. Did they choose to?
Longstanding campaign to help soldiers
There was a shipment today from NJ of about 80,000 cases of silly string. The soldiers shoot it out in front of them and it hangs on the trip wires. I don't know who the lady had to get permission from, but she has been collecting for this for months. It all began when she asked her son what she could do to help the soldiers in Iraq and he told her about the silly string. It's actually been hard to find it on the shelves of NJ for quite a while. It's really been a motivating campaign.
Tell that to the soldiers using food stamps at the commissary.
nm
News about silly string to soldiers
in Iraq. A NJ mom has gotten the approval to send silly string to troops that would help detect hidden trip wires that they cannot see otherwise. Who would have thunk it.
It really is infuriating to me too! Yes, they also picket soldiers' funerals (sm)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church_(Topeka)
They protest many funerals and memorial services of innocent people. It just makes me so sick.
My sons are 18 and 20.
One lives at college and the other is living at home while attending college. When they were both at home and under 18 I had the same rules as you, basically. During the week, except for their activity obligations of school, sports, scouts, they didn't do any "hang out" time. It did help that their high school was in the next county, and most of their school friends lived some distance away. When girlfriends came along, life was a little different. My oldest dated a girl who lived down the street. My youngest dated a girl who lived a good 30-minute drive away. Lucky for me, their parents had the same rules for hanging out. It was pretty much weekends only. My boys accepted it all in stride. But I have to say that I've been pretty strict about their attitude all of their lives. Since they first began to speak, they learned not to give attitude to their parents. In return, we always treated them with respect. The few times that they did raise their voices as teenagers, our conversation came to an end, and their requests were denied with no chance for a reversal of that decision. Worked nicely. But, again, I have to say we were very lucky in that most of their friends weren't right in our neighborhood and their girlfriends had the same rules.
The payoff is that now as responsible young adults, they've developed a good work ethic. Even my son living at college does well managing his free time, and will be an RA in his dorm next year, partly because he's shown maturity and isn't goofing off at college. (And I'm glad not to have to pay all of the room and board! Hooray!)
Sons
Boy this is sounding real familiar. I have a son who is a lot like yours. He is 16, very smart, but no motivation or willingness to work for good grades. I have wondered if part of his problem was that school came too easy for him in the early grades. He never had to study for spelling tests, etc. Now that he is in high school, he doesn't have the habit of studying. It is almost as though he doesn't even think about it. When I remind him that he has a test, he will study for a few minutes and get an A or B. If he really works at it, he can Ace the test. He doesn't really think grades are all that important. (I was used to my daughter's straight As and am trying to refrain from comparing the two kids.) I'm looking for ways to motivate him, and so far a lot of positive reinforcement is starting to help. Maybe visiting with the school counselor would help. My son is also looking for a job--I think he has too much time on his hands! The more time they have, the less they get done. Good luck.
Sons in Military - Thank You
Thanks, next time I hear from either one of my children, I'll ask them about this. I wonder why the military just doesn't supply them with it ????? Thanks so much.
Both of my sons are in college now.
It's very easy to become overwhelmed quickly during the search. My husband and I approached the process a little differently. We didn't do anything like the other parents and high school juniors/seniors were doing. We did pretty much... well nothing. We let our kids lead in the process. We didn't even look at the applications unless our sons asked us to. We felt that our job was to guide them and to keep them from getting caught up in the college search mania that seems to grip everyone during those last two years in high school.
My husband and I went to the same, very large university (Temple U). Back all those years ago, it just seemed that there wasn't quite so much pressure on kids and parents when it came to college searches. We both chose Temple because it offered degree programs that we wanted and that we could afford. The campus wasn't pretty and it was a commuter school then, which meant that the "college experience" for us was living at home and going to school. College was more of a practical work-and-study experience for us. And we received very good educations.
Fast forward to our own children. We told both of our sons that they should think of their college experience as the preliminary work for their careers. They didn't look at it as a means to move away from home or be on their own. (No college student is really on their own when living in a dorm, anyway.) They needed to determine what area they were interested in studying and then choose a school that offered a good program and that we could afford. The affordability factor was a big one for us. No one wants to have huge loans at the end of this "experience".
Our oldest son was not quite sure what he wanted to do, so he wisely chose to spend a year at the local community college. We were thrilled! It cost us less than his high school tuition! He checked out different options and settled on a meteorology major. With that decided, he discovered that there was only one school that we could afford and that had a great program. He applied, was accepted, and his community college credits transferred. He is now a junior.
Our younger son wants to be an engineer, though he's not sure what kind of an engineer. He is leaning towards civil engineering. He decided to live at home to save money. That narrowed his decision down to just two schools, Drexel and Temple, both a short train ride from our home. He applied to only those two schools, was accepted at both, and received decent scholarship offers from both. In the end, Temple was far more affordable, and so now our youngest walks the campus of our alma mater. Our friends and neighbors were shocked that our oldest applied to just one school, and our youngest applied to just two. They were amazed that we weren't on constant campus tours or worried about "options" and "fits".
Why such a long post that seems a bit off-topic? Well, because I see so many people stress over this decision. It really isn't the end of the world. It's four short years of a person's life. They're important years, to be sure. But they don't have to be make or break years. Most college students will change majors at some point, many will transfer to other schools. These decisions can be re-made later on. You are in the market for a product, just as if you were shopping for a car or other big ticket item. Try to keep calm about it so that your student doesn't pick up on the stress. It is stressful, but if you keep it all in perspective, the stress doesn't have to feel so overwhelming.
And for the short answer: We liked visiting the schools at open house to get a general feel for the place. At that point you can usually tell if the school is a viable option or not. If not, no reason to revisit. If yes, then visit again and make an appointment for a personal tour and/or interview.
Don't worry! You'll survive!
We only buy for our two sons, and they are older.
The youngest (18) wants a decent digital camera, so I think about $250 to $300 range plus some stocking stuffers. Oldest son is easily pleased. He's big into hats, and I bought him a leather "Indiana Jones" style hat, and a book so far. We may round out his gifts with cash, since he's a starving college student. Husband and I do not exchange gifts. My birthday is the day after Christmas, and that is just dinner out for the two of us. Our 24th anniversary is in January, and I already know that I want to get him an iPod. His 50th birthday is in April, and I would love to have a party for him. I'm definitely saving up for that, but it will be a relaxed party.
While are Christmas will be fairly simple, looking ahead, I'm trying to budget for some other things.
Trained my sons to help sm
Since I was a working mom, I always told my sons to expect to help around the house. They didn't do it for me that often, but now that they're married, they cook, iron, babysit and go to the market without complaining. I think I did a good job. My husband also helped around the house, so they had a good example of what it takes to make it work when mom has to work. Whether you pay someone to help or ask for help around the house, it doesn't matter. I could not have offered my kids a college education if I did not work and save for it. Some men think it demasculinizes them and that's sad. I also shoveled snow,did what I could to help without gender bias if no one else was home. I did not feel strange doing what I could to help my husband either, as long as I could lift it, I did it. It takes a village. I used to sew, but I was lousy at it and that's why I quit. I never felt like what I did was good enough and wouldn't wear it. Curtains and drapes were okay but now you can buy them cheaper than what the material costs. Just IMHO.
I understand your fear! I have three sons between
17 and 20 years old. Now and then they talk about enlisting, and of course I worry about the draft. For selfish reasons, I want them always to stay close to home, where it seems to be safe. But it's a very high calling to serve one's country, and I would support that decision if my sons decided upon it. If the draft were brought back, I'd be terrified. I do not support this war. I don't think it was the right thing to do. But I do support the people who serve and respect their decisions and am incredibly grateful to them for their sacrifices. I will also continue to support them by doing whatever I can, small though it may be, to help bring them home AND keep peace for us all. I wish it were a simple thing.
As for our children, the fact is, once they are 18, they can make the decision to join without our consent. Talk to each other, love her and appreciate her. If she decides to serve her country, you do not want to part in anger, and trust me, you will want to support her in any way you can.
LOL! Love it! Thanks. I'll be using this on my 3 sons! nm
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My sons have been in Scouts for some time now...sm
My youngest (11 years old) was in Cub Scouts for about 3 years and crossed over into a newly chartered troop. My oldest son (17 years old) joined the troop also, mostly out of necessity (we needed his warm body in order to have enough boys to charter). My youngest loves it and my oldest is kind of lukewarm about it. I have also been a leader at the pack, troop, district and council level for over 4 years now. We are basically a scouting family and love it.
With that said, however, I will say that scouting is not for everyone, and everyone does not get out of scouting what is there for them to learn simply because everyone is not interested in learning those things or because of poor leadership within the scouting unit. In your case, it sounds to me as if the latter may be true.
You didn't say how old your son is or how long he has been in scouting, but it sounds to me like he has a very poor leader if he makes them camp this way. Some overly self-glorified scout leaders try to turn scouting into junior Army training which is not what it is meant to be. If there is another pack or troop in the area, you might consider changing and see if that improves his scouting experience by a new leader and better camping conditions. When we camp, each boy has his own tent (can be bought at Walmart for about $15) and we always have a campfire in a designated fire ring that burns pretty much all night. Each boy is safely enclosed in his own tent that zips up which greatly reduces the chances of spiders, snakes, bugs, etc. Of course the boys have to be trained to keep their tent flaps zipped closed at all times so that nothing gets in.
My advice from a scouter's viewpoint is to talk to your son and then you and your son and husband talk to the scout leader and see what can be done to improve the scouting experience for your son as well as the other boys in the unit. If the leader does not want to chanage his ways to more closely follow the scouting ideals, then find another troop or pack to join. Sounds like there is a LOT of room for improvement here.
Here is a link that may help, too. http://netcommish.com/askandy.asp
Those total sons of you-know-whats.
My situation was not QUITE the same.... It turned out I was the other woman; the guy I was dating and thought I was exclusive with turned out to have a fiance he didn't bother to tell me about. Looking back, there were a few hinky things I should have noticed, but they weren't the usual things, so I was thrown off my guard.
I do have a very good male friend whom I call my adopted big brother. (He's married, has been for decades, and his wife is aware that we are friends/business associates.) I asked him flat-out why men cheat, and he said (a) because they can, and (b) the thrill of the chase, or some bullhockey like that, that we testosterone-deficient females can't seem to understand, I guess. He also bluntly told me that I probably was not the only one, i.e. the only "other woman." I would not be surprised if that were true, but I never actually found out, since the SOB (and I do NOT mean 'short of breath') married the fiance and left town.
My best friend put it rather succinctly, when we were discussing another topic:
Men don't change, and women just learn to be abused gracefully. (Because this too is a form of abuse.)
My sons both learned that lesson the hard way
One had 1200 text messages in a month (I pay for 300) and the other did the same download thing. I wish there was some way you could block their phones after a certain amount of $$. Needless to say, both had a nice chunk of money to pay mom back.
Deeni, I respect your opinion, but I held both my sons during circumcision......sm
my dirtly little secret, I used to be an LPN and CMA, used to surgical technology. It takes seconds, and while I had silent tears and I worried and fretted, but they were fine, and Nola is not misinformed here, being in clinical practice for years, and working for general surgeons, I saw many men, some in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, who had infection after infection because they could not retract the foreskin the right way, phimosis is painful and can become precancerous, and yes, we had some gentlemen with penile cancer. As I said, I was able to snuggle and nurse my baby boys both times right after circumcision, no problems. Men's anatomy is so different (!!!!) from female's (duh), so you cannot compare the unsterile, crude labial circimcisions done in third world countries with what is done in hospital for our baby boys. Anatomy just dictates this. I was so glad when my daughter was born, it was not even anything to worry about!
My prayers are with you...sm.
God bless you for loving Misha and Sasha so much. I have a Sasha, too. She is almost 14 years old, and her sister from the same mom, Keesha, is also 14 years old. They are getting very feeble and I don't think they'll be here much longer, so I truly understand your loss. May God fill you with many wonderful memories of Sasha and Misha playing together, running, having fun, so that those days when you feel your heart is breaking, you can smile, knowing that you did everything humanly possible to provide for her. I can tell from your post that your animals are your fuzzy children, and God bless you for loving them so much. We have a saying in our household that our "puppies" are God's little angels sent to keep us focused on what is important in life. Your post was a very loving tribute to your angel, Misha, who you will see again. God bless.
Thank you for your prayers.
She only eats Special Kitty (in the pouch) from Wal-Mart. I've been feeding her this for the past two years or so. I stopped giving her the Special Kitty the day I heard about the recall and checked the website but it was too late. She must have eaten the tainted food. We noticed she was drinking more water on Saturday and took her to the vet yesterday. Her BUN is down significantly but her creatinine is still too high. It came down a bit today but not enough. The vet is hoping we can take her home by Friday but that is if she pulls through.
I'm so sorry. You will be in our prayers.
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you are in my prayers
If you cannot work and you took the necessary steps to inform them that you cannot, then don't. It is very rude that they did not respond to you. I am so sorry you are in this position. I cannot image having to go through that. I would take the time off and not worry about them. There are other jobs out there and obviously they are not worth working for NOR are they worth putting your life on the line. Take care.
prayers
Wow. It kind of makes you want to wrap your kids in plastic bubble wrap and never let them out of their room, doesn't it? What a tragedy for this family. I will definitely pray for them.
My prayers are with them (nm)
x
Prayers - sm
While I do not agree with the Senator's politics, I know how hard this diagnosis must be for him and his family. They are in my prayers.
prayers :(
how very sad
I'm totally confused at what the message is though, you cannot kiss your baby if you have a history of cold sores? I know that the sloughing usually starts when you feel the tingling and stuff before you get one. I dont have them but my boyfriend does, but they only flare up every now and then...
this is very scary and I will be aware some day if or when i have children.
Thanks for sharing and they are in my thoughts and prayers, and so is the poster below :(
prayers
I am sending prayers right now. God Bless them.
Prayers for both families
nm
Ditto... our prayers are with you.. nm
nm
Thanks for the update! Prayers were sent up for you! nm
:)
Sending You Prayers
I'm so sorry that you have to though this again if you did miscarry. My thoughts are prayers are with and your husband.
Prayers for you - I am a Christian and I truly believe (sm)
that she is with God. A person as good as she was certainly does not go for eternity anywhere other than in God's presence. I believe this with my whole heart, and I hope that you can too. Don't even think about the doctors' part in her death. Just think of it as God wanted her home, and so he took her.
Sorry to hear this. My prayers to you. nm
x
Thank God your son is okay! My prayers for those not so fortunate. nm
nm
Prayers going out to this little one and her family. nm
s
I think you asked also for prayers. Maybe it SM
went to another board.
prayers and doers
anonymously "helping" won't help. Go help her pack. That is way more compassionate, caring, helpful and supportive than praying for her.
I'm so sorry. Prayers for you and your dear family.
nm
Hey, all of our central FL MTs out there! Prayers for you and hoping sm
ya'll are doing fine! I just heard that some twisters produced winds of more than 300 mph. Unbelievable. Even stronger winds than a cat 5 hurricane.
Lots of people out there need our prayers and supupport. Let us remember them today at all of their devastating loss. May God give them rest and peace today........
Hugs and prayers to you. I know your pain right now and wish
there was something I could say or do to make it better for you. Just know that all of us here are keeping you in our hearts and prayers.
Dont have any secrets, just prayers for you.
how I quit. When my daughter was about 6 we were taking a small trip, and in the weeks prior (and as usual) when we would stop at the store or gas station she would ask for some candy or something. One day I said "you know, if you would stop asking for something every time we stopped, we would have more money for our trip" (and no, I didnt buy her something every time LOL). She thought for a moment and then said, "if you would not buy cigarettes, we would probably have more money too".
She was not a back talker or a smart mouth either, just very sincere and to the point.
Anyway, long story short, I quit cold turkey a couple of weeks later (after our trip).
Been thinking about you. Prayers to you and your family.
!
I absolutely would accept any and all prayers.
x
Yes, my prayers are with him and his family too. Just heard
it is a glioma type of brain tumor and stage IV. It is a very aggressive type of brain tumor. Afraid it does not look good, but hopefully he is strong enough to withstand the chemotherapy and radiation and possibly surgery or surgeries.
If receiving anonymous help, prayers,
painting him out to be a monster, talking to parishioner or WHATEVER contributes in any way to get her one more step toward out, then she should try it all. Things are simply not as cut and dried in the world of abuse as you would like to think. You never know what turn of a phrase or sense of inspirational support (even if it is coming from strangers) is going to do the trick, so anybody looking from the outside in should try everything they know. Also, especially with kids involved, this is no time to throw caution to the wind in such a volatile and potentially violent or, God forbid, fatal situation.
My prayers are with you and your son. You obviously have his best interests at heart regardless of
I agree that perhaps your son and/or you should talk to someone. If not a counselor, perhaps your preacher.
Good luck to you. Again, my prayers are with you both.
I got to get back to typing her but need special prayers
my DIL and grandson are in flight from Hawaii to LAX to be with her mother, his grandmother in the last few days of her life. Her name is Pat. She lives in Placentia. She is in the hospital right now but wants to come home when they get here. My son also in HI, scheduled to leave within 10-12 days to Iraq but he is having some medical issues. Please pray they will not be of a serious nature. Please pray, he is thinking his men will think he is faking this. It is just all the stress he is under....Thank you in advance
Thoughts and prayers to all of you from all of us in South Dakota...nm
nm
Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way. SM
I hope your son realizes we all make mistakes (including him) and that he finds it in his heart to forgive. Your grandchildren need to know you and vice versa. I truly hope it all works out for you. My dad and I were estranged even after I repeatedly attempted to reconcile and he died without ever meeting my children. So sad.
Prayers and good juju for Miss Lily
I hope the op goes smoothly and she is is soon home and feeling great! Have all the other problems cleared up? Poor thing has been through a rough patch lately but I'm so happy you are a good mom to her!
Glad your son is safe and sound. Prayers to those who aren't. nm
x
Definitaly sending prayers for your daughter and family. nm
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