Journal Post 06/30/2014

Crime, it’s all around us, the news stations love it. It occurs on a daily basis and whether we like it or not our days are usually impacted by it in one way or another. We might see a clip on the news about an armed robbery during our pre-work rituals or a break at lunch taken looking at SpringfieldMugShots.com to see if anyone from high school or a family member is in the tank. It is absolutely everywhere. My question is; can we do anything about it? It may just be me or the boom of social media letting everyone know about what all is going on in the world but I feel like crime is increasing. It is scary to think that our children are being pushed into this ever changing world of hate and violence. Where school shootings are just as horrific to hear about, but not as shell shocking as they once were. What is happening? Is it the video games, the movies? Is it bad parenting or drugs? No one can say for sure. There are studies everywhere blaming one of the things I listed above but nothing solid. So how can we battle a problem if we don’t know the cause is? We can’t, right? Wrong. Or at least I think so; we have been given some amazing tools in our lifetimes. Social media is becoming more than just a gossip zone, it is making people aware. It gives officers clues and in some incidences it has brought criminals to their appropriate punishments. We have to be proactive as citizens and parents. We have to use our voices and the tools in front of us. Otherwise we join the sheep in the stadium and watch helplessly, and one of these days we may not have the luxury of being sheep, instead we will be involved and we will surely wish our peers are doing the same for us.

Journal Post 06-29-2014

Braden’s Surgery: Sunday's are such gratifying days, filled with fun, outdoor activities and catching up on the things that weren't done before now. My son Braden, who is four, is the reason I get up in the morning. He is just a beam of light wherever he is and with whomever. I have always thought to myself, I probably shouldn't try for a second child because there is absolutely no way I could get this lucky twice. He was the perfect baby and the pattern has continued. As a newborn, he never cried. I was always amazed when I would wake up in the middle of the night to feed him and he would just be staring at me, trying to figure out who in the world I was and what I was doing and after I would feed him he would drift soundly back to sleep. This continued until he was about 4 months old, then he found his lungs, even with the new want to cry he was still perfect. Braden was born with a congenital disorder called PFFD, or Proximal Focal Femoral Deficiency. It has never been confirmed but I believe completely that it was caused by being under constant radiation of my job and not being as safe as I should have been with my lead apron. I didn't realize I was pregnant until almost six weeks into the pregnancy and had I known before I would have protected myself and my son more appropriately. It took me a very long time to forgive myself. In my own eyes I was the one who caused him this disability, something he would have to endure multiple surgeries over in the future. We are one surgery down and this child is a walking miracle. He underwent a seven hour hip surgery, referred to by his surgeon as a "Super-Hip" he did amazing. I can't even imagine the terror I would have had as a four year old going under the knife. Braden rarely complained and when he did, I always knew his pain was severe, the angel only cried twice over the entire three month recovery.

Journal Post 06-28-2014

Well, still no full nights sleep, but I am here at the library typing up this post. It is frustrating, I should be at home playing with my son and working on the lawn. Fortunately my super wonderful husband takes care of almost everything, including the cleaning of our house. I can't help but count my blessings, he is so incredibly wonderful and I don't know what I would do without his love and support. I don't know of any man out there that works harder than David. He usually has 16 hour days as a carpenter. Always in the middle of the weather, rain, snow, heat, etc. He just never complains. I am a lucky woman, no doubt about that!

I am hoping to be done with this homework within the hour. Why can’t work weeks be from Mon-Tuesday and the weekend be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday? That seems more fair. I mean I would still only work eight hour days I would just like to be paid for a forty hour work week. I suppose that will never happen. I guess I will just enjoy the weekend I have and make the two tiny days count. I am already thinking about next weekend, it will be one of those "great white buffalo" weekends where I actually get three days off instead of just two. I may dedicate one of those days specifically to sleeping. I can feel my eyes getting heavy even as I am typing this, and it’s not like I have a newborn in the house, I have just absolutely lost the ability to shut my mind off at night. It’s terrible and exhausting, but it is something I have always had to deal with this in one way or another. I think I am going to head to the store now and buy some melatonin. Until tomorrow my friends.

Know Your Audience Analysis Blog Post

My audience this semester is a group on inspired people. Based on the "Getting to Know Your Audience" discussion, I was captivated to read all the responses to my particular question. I laughed and sighed and got a little surprised when one of my classmates said that he didn’t really ever watch TV or movies. Then I thought, wow, how awesome is that? This guy is a do-er, it obviously does not sit down much and if he does he is expanding his mind in a book rather than mindless television. It made me think about how much time I waste in front of the tube, and so I asked my husband to time me when he thought about it one weekend to see how often I stopped in front of the TV and ‘checked out.” I do not even want to share the results with you all because it is so incredibly embarrassing! I just know that I dedicated my Saturdays strictly to my son, and there is only one hour of TV allowed in the house every Saturday. It has proven very effective and I think we are all much happier and energized on our weekends!

Secondly in regards to my “audience” I have noticed there is a significant number of family oriented people. I absolutely love that, in my mind there is nothing more important that family and friends. Without them we wouldn’t be the people we are today, and although not everyone is fortunate enough to have a strong family backing I would say that most of us are and that we are greatly blessed.

Lastly, this was probably stuck out to me the most, and probably because I feel so inferior, is the writing capabilities of everyone in this class. The writing my classmates do absolutely blow me out of the water. So elegant and descriptive, with perfect timing and flow. I could only hope to get as half as good by the end of this semester!

Journal Post 6-27-2014

I could not be more happy that it is Friday, after the week I have had at home, work and school, I am desperate for a break. There has been a lot of things happening. I found out this morning that my Uncle’s wife, Tammy, her father died while on the operating table at one of the major hospitals in town. It was nothing that could have been prevented as his heart just decided it was done working, and he went home to be with his wife that had died a few years earlier.

Now, I understand that this is a very difficult time in Tammy’s life, however the way she is using my own Grandmother (her mother-in-law) as her personal servant is truly getting under my skin. I watched her sit at a table for an hour this evening playing a video game on her phone as my grandmother did all of the dishes and cleaned her entire kitchen after feeding the entire heard of people that gathered to support the loss of this particular family member. I was packing up food and just in awe of the rudeness, she was laughing and carrying on with zero regards to what was going on around her. I know this sounds cold and like I should be giving her some slack, but it is usually worse than this, she never helps with anything, not even her own husband who has a fractured hip gets help bringing in all their luggage when they come in on the weekends.

I digress, I think the heat of the summer and the frustration of this week has made me just a touch cranky, and the fact I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in over a month. Summer classes may have added to my stress just a touch.