Local Art show

I went to Art in the Park today, an anual Boise, Idaho event. It was a lovely day and spent time with Bruce, my husband. I was greatful for the alone time. Eddy was off visiting with friends from his school. I always am happy to see him interact with others his age and so greatful he has social skills. I think of other kids who are awkward and gangly at his age and I am greatful he wants to be liked by others.
This post is not about Eddy though. It's about the need for Americans to buy local. I am greatful for Art in the park and when I am employed again, I fully intend on investing in all local art wear. I will blog on the irrational dependence we Americans have on cheap products later but for now I just wanted to write how happy I am we have local shows for local start up Artists of all types!

A new awakening

I fancy myself a lady and at times I can act deplorable but for some reason, recently, I don't know if it's due to my impending middle age status or just the fact I am older and less reserved but I have discovered a very  unlady like trait in me. I have developed a love for violence sports. That's right. Me, Araminta Self, once peaceful beatnik Hippy child who loathed any form of violence, has surcumbed to the notion that I have a boy who is now an impending teen ager. Anyone who looks at him realizes he comes from a long line of warrior bodied, fully aggressive, battle seeking, native raw rage; simmering deep with in him. He found his Comrads and his battle of choice. Football. He is 5'9" 147 pounds of raw defensive end. He is 12. I knew nothing about football. I hated that it attracted trashy, cliche Redneckoids. I hated that I was bullied by some football players in 8th grade. I hated that many guys get injured on the field when I watched the few Super Bowls I did back in High School trying to bond with my step dad. I just could not get into the boorish blood bath sport. I liked Hockey because Hockey was not really violent, it was coreagraphed fights on ice skates; High fluten icecapade without the foo foo.  And boxing was not really "senseless violence". It was more like a structured Jr. High smack down but instead of teachers breaking up a fight one is in each students' corner and the principal is refree.
Football, though,  was never a sport I could come to terms with. That is, Until this year. I saw how the Jr. High foot ball coach eye googled him, and when the coach found out Eddy was not a 9th grade the disappointment was obvious but has already avowed Eddy a position on the team and plans to start him. I will learn what "start" means. I was not too keen on him playing but I have to confess,I was the one who saw the "last day for Optimist sign ups" in the Treasure Vally Family Magazine last May. I knew in my heart, I needed to let him do a sport that would help him learn team work,help him vent some of that warrior bred, instinctive need to seek out a battle and join in. I was hoping hockey would be that sport as Eddy is an avid figure skater. Alas, he wanted none of that heavy gear burden. Figure skaters wear so little ya know and going from free flowing to heavy gear was not his thing. So, you can see my surprise when he told me that he wanted to try football. I explained that I hated the sport and besides that there was a lot of gear. He did not care. And this was not about me. It was about his needs to be part of a team.
  I have taken time to warm up to his sport of choice. I watched him at practice yesterday. I actually found myself, both enjoying watching him tackle his teammates; throwing them around like rag dolls AND fighting the urge to yell after him to be nice to those boys!
I will study football and learn to appreciate it. I still prefer Hocky but Football is his thing. Hmmm... Maybe I could create a whole new sport. Part football part Hocky, part Baseball. Oh, wait, that is called lacrosse!!! Hay, maybe Eddy will play that one day!
I could learn to live with that.

The dawn of the Smart Phone Over lords

I am writing my first of many blogs from a smart phone. I have since learned how really unsnarl these. Devices are. They don't fool me. I have darn neat threaten to kidnap the darn devices whole filter in order to get it to respond half the time. I digress. I have tried writing posts on home schilling a kid, both the home school  endeavor and the blogging failed. I thought about blogging about raising an ADHD kid or one like him but then I became a distracted mother to a distracted child. So now, here I am again almost two years later. I am not going to commit to any one topic for long. Instill change issues with the wind patterns. Tonight I want to blog about how insanely dependent we have become on  Electronic devices. I feel it all began with the Remote control.  We as a society were doing just fine until Zenith Radio Corporation unleashed the first of what would be generations of crippling dependency. This big ol wise Big Brother company decided people needed to stay on that couch and watch their TV until we were as mushy as our baked potato insides. Then came the calculator, a true brain pasifing machine, an invention I deeply love but inderstand the cost and detriment to my math knowledge. Finally, fast forward. A few decades and we have video games. Boys everywhere could pretend to partake on street gang fighting while drinking soda and eating Ding Dongs. Fast forward a few more decades and street fighting turns into zombie wars and car the theft all the while never risking jail time or Rabie bites. Now we are on the 21st Century and we not only have these potato mush remote controls and safe from Rabie bite Zombie games, we have phones that wipe our butts for us. My son takes his phone into the bathroom so I assume that is what he is doing with it?! Oh and the ADJD is cured since there is nothing more to focus on, the smart phone is a literal pacifier, an electronic pacifie. Do I worry my don will lose touch with reality? Nahhh! Because in 20 years reality will be subject to what a Smart Phone over lord deems rational.