The Economy

I have been, along with the rest of the country, concerned about the current economic situation.  I've made some attempts to understand the situation, and here are my thoughts so far.

I've lived in a socialist country-- the Netherlands (aka Holland).  Although people are people wherever you go, there are some clear differences between life in the Netherlands vs the US, caused by differences in government.

In the Netherlands people rely on the government to provide for most of their needs.  While this may seem lovely and charitable in a Robin Hood sort of way, the reality is that they have a disincentive to work.  Trying to find a plumber when your bathroom is spouting water can be a huge challenge.  Why?  After earning a certain amount each year, the rest is taxed 100%.  By the end of the year, most workers have earned all they are allowed to keep, so why work anymore?  For the common good?  Yeah, right.

If you need to go to the doctor, you have one choice only-- the doctor the government has assigned to your neighborhood.  (Think public schools in the US.  You go where you are assigned.)  Charming idea-- neighborhood doctors.  But what if the guy assigned to your neighborhood barely passed medical school? Oh well.  And since doctors are paid by the government a set salary, they have no incentive to actually cure anyone, no need to attract patients.  Whether you get better or not, they are paid the same.  And since their clients are assigned to them, nice bedside manners are completely optional.  (It may seem they are in the US, too.  But at least we have choices.  If Dr. One is a total jerk, we can go see Dr. Two.)  

So what does all this have to do with the US economy?

Well, I happen to believe that the government should govern.  Not run our lives.  Because I think things run more smoothly when the bureaucrats keep their paws out of the stew.  I don't want the government taking control of our companies, our money, and our lives any more than they already have.  In fact, if they'd back off a bit, I'd be thrilled.

If all this has been caused by debt-- families unable to pay their mountains of debt, homes going into foreclosure, companies failing because of too much debt-- then why would we want to pass this all along to our government?  If families, mortgage holders, and huge Wall Street companies can fall from excess debt, then so can governments.  And, flawed as it may be, I am rather partial to the US government.  I really don't want them to collapse financially.  And I really don't want to set a precedent for the government owning, and bailing out, private companies.  (Go ahead, say the precedent has already been set.  But if we've made a mistake in the past, does that mean we should keep making it?)

I'm relieved the $700 billion deal didn't go through.  To be honest, I'm disgusted with Bush's repeated grabs for more power.  An unnecessary war, NCLB, and now the government soaking up debt for private companies-- this has got to stop.  I think the $700B deal is an attempt to stop the economy from failing on his watch-- "Just patch things together long enough for me to get out of office, and then let them collapse."  We, as individuals, companies, and a country, have made some bad choices, and now we are facing the consequences of our actions. 

Rebecca

-who does, btw, support a resolution to the situation in Iraq.  We can't just destroy another government and an entire country and then go home.  We have to help clean up. 

  

Ok... one more thing...

Take a look at Sadie's blog-- linked at the right, a little down, under family sites.  (She's my sister, in case you don't know, and was recently seen in Saving LiZZy Fish, the hit movie.)  She has posted the cutest pictures of my girls at BYU!  And herself, too!  I have such cute kids and sisters!  Not to brag, of course.  I'm just stating the obvious.  

A slide show test run

But also...

My apologies.  I think I got a bit negative with that last post.  (And if you're reading this on the blog, you're reading the new post before the old post.  Forgive me.  Technology.)

Sometimes life is hard, that's true.  But sometimes it's also wonderful.

Sometimes your daughters call from college to tell you about a cool new dance, and just to talk, and you can tell they love you.  Sometimes your son gets to work on a historic ship right here in northern VA, without the drive to Jamestown, and it doesn't start to rain till he's done.  Sometimes the pharmacy is still open at night when your son really needs his kidney meds.  Sometimes not only do you get to visit with your friend, but your kids play nicely-- without fighting!-- right where you can see them.  Sometimes your daughter comes home from play practice bubbling with happiness and excitement.  Sometimes you have all the ingredients to make bagel pizzas for lunch, even all-natural pepperoni.  Sometimes your teen-aged son helps cook dinner for the girls at church, all of his own accord.  And sometimes your kids cheerfully take care of themselves and are kind to each other while you run to the pharmacy.

All in one day!

Yes... what's a girl to do?

After ranting on her blog about how hard life can be, she might just feel better and notice that life can also be pretty darn good.  

But she'll still take that Mom's Night Out.     

Sometimes

Sometimes life is just hard.

Sometimes the other kids snub your child.  You forget important appointments.  Your doctor calls to tell you your tests are all normal so there's nothing wrong-- even though you feel like you've been trampled by elephants.  It rains-- reminding you your car tires have No tread left as you skid on wet pavement.  You come home to that flooded-basement smell.  Again.  Your son's kidney stone is making him cry.  And when you finally reach your husband by phone at 9 pm, it's on his office phone.  

All in one day!

What's a girl to do?

My current ideas:

Tell those goody-goody tweens who snubbed your daughter that their jeans look ridiculous, and you're sorry about their Really Bad hair day.

You can avoid all missed appointments if you just stop making appointments!  Who needs appointments?

Pull that doctor's diploma-- frame and all-- off the wall, and hide it under a stack of those flimsy, too-short, paper gowns while he's chatting with the nurse.  Flatly refuse to tell where it is until he figures out what the heck is causing the elephant stampede.  (This won't be during an appointment, of course.  You'll be a walk-in.)

Just quit driving.  Since you've given up appointments, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.  Order out for groceries.

Move to Texas.  They don't have basements.  (Oh, yes.  hurricanes.  Move inland.)  

And finally, call the top generals at the Pentagon and let then know, in no uncertain terms, that the whole $7 billion Congress is debating won't be enough to cover your husband's overtime, but you guess you'd be willing to let them start there.  Assuming they let your husband deliver the check to you in person.  Tonight.

And finally, schedule a Mom's Night Out.

I have now revealed my list of things to do tomorrow.  And at least one of them I'm actually going to do.

I'll let you guess which.

 

Princess Ben

She's fat, somewhat of a slob, interested only in herself, and a princess.  And I finished reading the book about her in about 24 hours.  In fact, when I woke up this morning I laid there and thought, "...morning... yawn... should get up.... Princess Ben!"  And I was out of bed, flying to the shower so I could get in a minute of reading before driving the kids to violin.  I laughed and cried and reread sections thinking, "Did she just say that?  Ha!  She did!"  It's a fairy tale worth reading.  Five stars.

DNA

While researching ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, I came across a very bizarre, but somewhat useful website on the Sumerian pantheon.  While it had lots of useful insights to Sumerian mythology and connections to other mythologies and religions around the world, it also proposed a somewhat unusual idea:  That humans on earth are the result of a genetic experiment by aliens from other planets, and that the experiment will end in the year 2012.  My first thought was- "The presidential elections are even more useless than I thought they were!"  Compared to the alien genetic experiment ending, Obama and McCain are nothing.

Phew!  That's a relief.

This did present a whole host of other questions the web site did not address, like What will the aliens do with us when their experiment is over?  And, Are the experimentees who are aware of their fate planing to do anything about it?  Build a spaceship and leave?  Beg the aliens for a little more time?  Join them?  Hmmm...  so many possibilities to consider.

But I digress.  What I really wanted to talk about was DNA.  The above mentioned web site also proposed that the ancient symbol of health-- two snakes twined about a pole-- was actually a representation of DNA left behind by the aliens.  What an idea.

Perhaps this stuck in my head because I've been thinking a lot about DNA recently.  Have you ever considered the pros and cons of being built from DNA?  Pros: You are a composite of your ancestors' DNA, including (most likely) their health, IQs, food choices (which can alter DNA), toxic exposures, etc.  Cons:  You are a composite of your ancestors' DNA, including their health, IQs, food choices, toxic exposures, etc.

How is this a pro?  Well, for one thing, as a parent raising biological offspring, you know what ballpark your child will be in.  You may think they are in left field sometimes, but at least they're not in a different solar system.  If Johnny gets sick you know to consider Uncle Joe's diabetes and Aunt Edith's paranoia.  Suzy's IQ may floor you, but you're at least likely to be able to carry on a conversation with her.  

How is this a con?  Well, that toxic lab you or your parents worked in years ago may manifest itself in Johnny's health.  And Grandpa Smith's tobacco addiction may haunt your whole family for generations to come.  And like it or not, what ever is wrong with your DNA is likely to be wrong with your kids' as well.

Then of course, if you adopt a child there is no "insert new family's DNA here" port, so when Johnny is in the hospital with odd symptoms-- good luck!  And talking to Suzy may be like trying to discuss the baseball game only to find out she's playing in a hockey rink up in Siberia.

And what about evolution?  (Disclaimer: I am a creationist who believes in evolution.  While you'd think this would endear you to everyone, it actually just ticks everyone off.)  I am completely certain that God created the universe, and that he's still alive and well and running the show.  I also know that even the most die-hard anti-evolutionists can't argue with the fact that over-use of antibiotics has led to changes in the germs we're trying to avoid.  This is evolution right before our very eyes, folks.  I'm sorry, but you just have to deal with it.  It's real.

So, why is it still the Theory of evolution?  Why not the Law of evolution?  Like gravity? Because there are actually two parts to the Theory.  

1) Living organisms can change and evolve to better suit their environment.  Proven.  Again and Again and again.  The antibiotic example is only one of many.

2) Living organisms can change and evolve so much that they become entirely different living organisms.  Theory.  While it may follow (somewhat) logically from #1, we have no direct evidence for this type of evolution at all.  Forget the "missing link", we're actually looking for any links. 

But what about DNA?  Don't we share huge amounts of DNA with palm trees?  Doesn't this prove something?  

Yes, we do.  And undoubtedly it does.  But what, exactly?  Looking at it from a purely scientific standpoint, it is still Just A Theory.  We can like the theory all we want, but that doesn't make it real.  Because, like it or not...

truth exists.

It always has.  It always will.   

Galileo proposed that the earth went around the sun.  (Which was not a new idea, btw.  It was a very old one being re-proposed.)  This didn't fit with the current politically correct (or religiously correct) view point, but it was still true, and all the arguments against it couldn't change the truth.

And the fact is, God either did create everything, or he didn't.  He either exists, or her doesn't.  We either evolved from plankton, or we didn't.  We are either the result of an alien genetic experiment or we're not.  And all the wanting and wishing and debating in the world can't change the truth.  

Truth exists.

We can just do our investigations in hopes that we come know what is true.   Sometimes, like Galileo with the earth, we hit it right on.  Sometimes we don't.  Sometimes the world loves us for getting it right.  Sometimes it doesn't.  But none of that changes what is true.  Truth exists.

Which brings me to the question:  How do we really know something?  But that is a topic for another day.  (Go ahead-- sigh with relief.)  

Rebecca

who forgot to mention that you have DNA both in the nucleus of each cell and in your mitochondria-- and they are not the same.  Cool, huh?  And they are passed along in different ways, too.  But that is also a topic for another day.

        

Writing

The other day I spent hours trying to find my old blog.  I tried everything I could think of, including Googling myself (which brought up some interesting results, by the way, none of which were relevant) and trying to hack into my own site.  I ended up just cursing my stupid brain and deciding there was nothing to be done.  The blog was lost.  

Then a few moments ago I logged onto this blog and noticed again the other blogs I have access to, including some of my kids' and, for some reason I don't totally understand, one of my friend's, and HEY!  There was my old blog!  Right There!  Right in front of me.  Waiting to be accessed.  And I just have to wonder... What really is wrong with my brain?  How could I have Not Thought of That?  Humph.  You'd think I was getting older or something.

Tonight Mike came home early.  Meaning before 11 pm.  My kids looked up and-- after taking a moment to remember who he was-- said, "Dad!  What are you doing home?"  Like he doesn't live here.  Mike asked if he could fix dinner (bless the man!) and suggested I take some time off from single parenting and go write.  Then it was my turn to take a moment to register.  Write?  You mean, like a book?  I did used to do that, didn't I?  And then I felt that moment of panic.

Now if you happen to be a writer yourself, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.  You've had a few weeks when, for whatever reason, you have not been able to write.  (Like maybe your spouse has been living at the office and you've been running life single-handedly.  Just for instance.)  And then the thing you have been aching for-- time to write, to get back to that character that has been following you around while you fold laundry-- presents itself, and you freeze.  Can I still write?  What if I can't?  What if the characters won't talk to me after I have ignored them for so long?  What if they have gone back to wherever they came from, along with my muse, and I just stare at a blank screen? ...Maybe I should just fold some more laundry.  

But Mike was home, and that was a miracle in itself.  Perchance other miracles could happen, too.  Perhaps I could still write.

So I took my laptop and went to Borders where-- miracles Do occur!-- I found a seat in one of those comfy chairs in a warm spot and opened the manuscript I had been working on weeks ago.  It was still there, and I must admit, I still liked the characters.  I edited a bit and moved into the real writing when

Ding ding ding, Ring ring ring!

my cell phone rang.  And there was Mike, my sweet husband who was home with the kids, letting me know he could not pick up the Panera bread donations because we had left his car at the commuter lot that evening.

Ugh.

I saved my work, shut down the computer, and rushed to Panera to pick up the donations for Lakeridge this week.  They let me in, even though I was there a few minutes late, which was very kind of them.  And they gave me bags and bags of bread for hungry people to eat, which is very, very kind of them.  But I swear I could see little Annabelle, destined to overthrow the kingdom when she grows up, wearing her soft slippers and new green dress and scowling at me.  She's been waiting weeks to grow up, to get out of the garden where she spoke of her true identity to her uncle, the king's spy and-- although they don't know it yet-- were overheard by someone who stood in the shadows of the garden door.  But she will have to wait, although she's not patient by nature, because my children are ready to read scriptures before they go to bed and Mike is home and I should really spend some time with him, too. 

Rebecca

who finished reading Aurelia by Anne Osterlund recently-- was it yesterday?-- and enjoyed it quite a bit.  =)     

Winner!

Yes!!!

For the first time ever, I did it!  I beat my computer at the game Hex!  Go ahead.  Give it a try.

See if you can win. 

(But if you do, and if it's on your first try, just don't tell me, ok?  I don't want to hear about it.)

And hey!  no fair reading the hints before you give it a try.  I've been working on this in my rare free moments for a while now, and finally gave in a read the strategy hints tonight while waiting up for Josh to come home. Not that that had anything to do with my finally beating my computer.  The two were totally unrelated.  

Now, just as I was typing my phone rang and guess what?  It was Josh, ready to be picked up.  huh.  I thought they were dropping him off.  

I guess I'll go.

Rebecca  =)

proud winner of Hex    

Real Life

When I was younger-- like junior high age (middle school hadn't been invented yet)-- I used to cut out pictures from magazines and catalogs and create pictures of my future life.  I would glue the pictures onto sheets of paper to make maps of my future home.  These beautiful french doors will lead to my garden... This cute blond girl will be my daughter named Alice (after the Wonderland heroine).... This huge and immaculate kitchen will be in the west wing of my house.... and this tower will be just off the master bedroom suite, so I can have the smaller library of my favorite books close at hand.  I tried to find a picture of a husband that looked as much as possible like Joel, a boy in my school that I had a terrible crush on, but to whom I had never actually  spoken.  He would clearly make a wonderful husband.  After all, he had really nice hair. 

I thought of this the other day after the basement had flooded.  Everything non-perishable from the storage room was in the garage, our food storage was all over the dining room, and one of our cats had begun boycotting the litter box.  (From what I read online, rearranging furniture can be stressful to cats.  I figured the whole flooded basement situation probably qualified.)  I was fed up with not being able to use the garage or the dining room, with not being able to find anything (think construction zone mixed with a house just after moving) and with the smell of cat urine everywhere.

I tried cleaning the house, but everywhere I went to put something away I found another thing the cat had urinated on.  My cheerful "let's clean up the house!" attitude turned into something more like, "What are you all doing just sitting there?  Can't you see there is a disaster here?  Get up!  Work!  Be feverishly cleaning!"  My children started watching me carefully out of the corners of their eyes while scrubbing and saying things like, "It's ok, mom.  Don't hyperventilate.  We'll get it clean."  I bagged up smelly backpacks, stinky tennis shoes, and anything else that was unfortunate enough to be in my path.  But when I got to the garage with the trash, I opened the door and stopped.  Others had taken the trash out before me, and --unable to find a path through the piles of stuff to the trash can-- they had dumped bags of trash on top of the piles and all around the garage door.  I tried hitting the garage door opener so I could sidestep the mess, but it wouldn't open.  

One of my kids found me just then, and seeing the look in my eye, suggested this might be a good time for me to go get in the shower.  I dropped the trash bag onto the pile and went upstairs.  But when I opened my bathroom door, there were two huge Rubbermaid boxes full of Legos soaking in water and urine deodorizer-- one in the shower, the other just inside the door-- blocking my entrance to the room.  

I called to Joshua to ask how I was supposed to get in the shower with his Legos in my bathroom.  He pointed out that we have two showers in the house.  

oh yes.  

I gathered up my towel, shower cap, and a change of clothes and made my way to the kids' bathroom.  (When I told Rachel about this later, she groaned at this point, knowing the usual state of the kids bathroom.)  Let me just say, a couple of boxes of Legos were nothing compared to the swimsuits, soggy towels, hair brushes and clumps of wet dog hair I found in the kids' bathroom.  At least someone had bathed the dog.  

At this point I suddenly remembered those collage houses I had made in junior high... The french doors, the library tower, and the immaculate kitchen... Where had I gone wrong?  How had I gotten into this mess?

As I leaned my head against the bathroom door post and cried my kids came up the stairs and someone put their arms around me.  "It's ok, mom.  Just step over the wet towels and ignore the dog hair.  That's what we do."  

I did have a very long shower that day.  And by the time I got out, the kids' shower was sparkling like it hasn't been since we bought this house.   

We have since put about half the stuff back in the storage room, reclaimed our dining room (but not our garage), consulted a cat psychologist online and found a non-lethal solution to the urine problem, and put the fresh-smelling Legos back in Joshua's room.  Last night I gave the dog a bath myself and cleaned up the kids' bathroom-- which really didn't need all that much work-- when I was done.  As soon as I finish writing this I plan to have a shower in my own bathroom.  

And I guess I'll keep my kids (none of whom are named Alice), and my husband (who looks nothing like Joel, especially in the hair category) and make due with my square Colonial house without either a west wing or a tower.  But we Do have a library, so all is not lost.  And I don't know who that blond girl in the catalog was, but she can't possibly be as wonderful as my real kids.  Besides, since she was only slightly younger than me at the time, she is undoubtedly raising her own kids right now, perhaps also with cats, dogs and flooded basements.

Rebecca  =)

   

Hurricane Hannah, Homeschool and Health

One of my kids' vocabulary words this week was alliteration.  thus the title.  =)

On the hurricane front, we're getting rained on, but nothing serious.  Dan (my brother) is in southern VA on the coast, and I suspect he's seeing more action than we are up here.  My only hope?  I'm praying for a dry basement.  Although, considering that we have not really fixed anything yet, Einstein's definition of insanity comes to mind.  "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."  Yes... well... 

We started homeschooling this week!  With only four kids home now.   The last time we had four kids living at home was the turn of the century.  (Doesn't that sound ancient?  Like we should have been riding in horse-drawn buggies and wearing long skirts!)   

This year Josh is taking Latin online, Greek Mythology online, astronomy, Geometry/pre-calc, English, and is hoping to get a job.  (He applied at Parkway Automotive and will probably have a job as soon as he turns 16.)  

Bethany is taking astronomy, pre-calc, English online, French, History of the Ancient World, and Physical Science from BYU (university class).  Hopefully also ASL from Jennifer H.  

Peter and Naomi have all the usual classes, including French with BBC's Muzzy (wonderful!) and Song School Latin (very fun!).  

And this year we are trying to actually do P.E.  For anyone who knows me, yes... this is a stretch.  But the kids are begging for active stuff.  So we'll give it a try.  We're going swimming once a week (Peter is taking swimming lessons, which he needs, and the others will do open swim during his lessons), we will try to hit the open gym, and I'm looking into a kids' track team in the area.  

Which brings me to the Health bit.  Naomi's EEG was normal, which does not mean she doesn't have epilepsy, it just means she didn't have a seizure during the test.  (Which I already knew.  I watched the test.)  It does mean she is at a pretty low risk for developing other types of seizures.  Some kids who have absance (or petit mal) seizures develop other types of seizures as they get older.  Apparently the kids who go on to have have types are more likely to have seizures triggered during the EEG.  So that's good news.  And she is clearly outgrowing the absance seizures.  So hopefully it will all just fade away.  

One interesting bit (don't remember if I posted this or not... sorry if I did) is that 25% of all kids who are autistic also have epilepsy.  When I first heard that, I thought "No way.  I know a bunch of autistic people, and almost no one with epilepsy."  But then I started counting, and guess what?  Exactly 25% of the people I know who are on the autism spectrum, also have epilepsy.  Weird, huh?  I thought it was.

Peter has been sick this week.  Coughing, coughing, coughing so much that it's hard for him to do much else.  Sleeping and just laying on the couch a lot.  And for the last two days having a low grade fever that gets up to 103/104 in the afternoons.  He's also passing another kidney stone. Poor kid.  And last night he threw up.  I think from the kidney stone.  All in all, he's not feeling well.

And I'm struggling to keep my blood sugar in the normal range.  I apparently haven't been doing so well, and on Wednesday I spent a good chunk of the day in a confused state of semi consciousness, wandering around trying to make my brain work and wondering what was going on.  I didn't see the obvious solution:  Eat!  After Mike talked to me on the phone he called back and told Peter to bring me a Vitamin Water.  I couldn't figure out what to do with it, but Peter helped me out. 

So I'm making a huge effort to get the wildly keeling ship back to a steady forward motion.  I'm eating something small (crackers and cheese, a bit of meat and an apple slice, etc) every hour on the hour.  Isn't it amazing how much better our bodies work when they have fuel?  aahhh... the wonderful feeling of being able to complete a thought.... and still have energy left over to communicate the thought!  =) 

Happy Birthday to my sister, Polly!  

Rebecca  =)