Search Results for: blog ignorant comments

Surviving the Holidays with Dysfunctional Family: Tactless Comments and Rude Behavior

So you’ve prepared for the battle zone knowing you don’t go it alone, but with Christ in your heart. Fear and anxiety overcome you as your vehicle rolls up to your family’s home. You say a quick prayer, “Lord Jesus, go before me now; help me to speak only what You would have me speak. Help me to see these people through Your eyes.” You walk in the door and are greeted by smiles and a couple hugs. Seems everyone has made themselves at home chatting, eating their deviled eggs and veggie assortment; yes, everyone seems comfortable and content except … Continue reading →

Ignorant Comments

Until my husband and I adopted, neither of us had given much thought about political correctness in reference to adoption. Prior to our adoptions, I made the same kinds of comments that I now hear from others. Some of these comments include” “You mean they aren’t yours?” “Where is their real mom?” “Are they real brothers?” “My (so-and-so) couldn’t have children of their own either.” There are a couple different ways of handling these cases. You can choose to be offended, or you can recognize that the person really doesn’t understand, and be the one to educate them. The day … Continue reading →

What Makes a Mother?

(Am I a “real” mom?) “It feels like you’re really officially, really truly a mother when you have two kids.” Really? I’m pretty sure actress Jessica Alba regrets having uttered those words during an interview with PEOPLE magazine. Then again, maybe she stands behind each and every syllable. Alba’s comment went viral months ago, yet whenever I conduct an online search for information about transitioning from a one-child household to a two-child home, the Hollywood mom’s infamous quote still pops up. Seems as though parents of singletons don’t much care for the movie star’s opinion on what it takes to … Continue reading →

Pet Blessings and Ministries Spreading

Every year the county rescue for which I volunteer holds an Animal Fair. It’s a day in May down at the county fairgrounds where one can bring one’s pets on a leash (so mostly dogs, but you do see the rare cat or two) and partake in fun events to raise money for the rescue. There’s a parade, an owner/dog partnered pie-eating contest, demonstrations by the local K9 police force, and more. And there’s one thing that I’d never heard before: the blessing of the pets. I live in a very Catholic area; it’s the part of Maryland that was … Continue reading →

Dealing with Adult Bullies

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When we send our kids off to school, we are fully aware that bullies will be lurking there. Kids can be cruel. However, when we head out in public with our special needs children and it is the adults that stare and make rude comments, what is a parent to do? Parents of special needs children often complain about the rudeness of strangers. Stares and comments are directed at children who are autistic, who use wheelchairs or who have medical equipment attached to them. No matter what the disability or medical issue a child has, there is never an excuse … Continue reading →

Adoption is Plan A

When I was in elementary school one of my best friends was adopted. My understanding of adoption was pretty much what I gleaned from Disney’s The Rescuers. I thought babies just waited in basinets for someone to come and take them home. The message to adoptees was always that they were chosen. That didn’t seem all that special, though, in the cruelty of children when being adopted was hurled as an insult In high school I had a creative writing assignment to write about something I had never told anyone. I wrote about how I thought I was adopted. I … Continue reading →

An Alternative (Please!) to the Adoption of the Month Club

In my last blog, referring to various obituaries written about Patrick Swayze, I talked about how calling attention to a person’s adoption without reason can seem to make a false distinction between permanently adopted family members and other permanent family members. Respect for the concept of permanence is also why I was a bit sad to receive a catalog in the mail yesterday. The National Wildlife Foundation suggests giving your child an “adoption kit” for Christmas. This will include a stuffed animal (size dependent on the price level you choose). In a more “deluxe adoption”, you will receive a book … Continue reading →

Reasons I am Glad We Homeschool: School Bus Incidents

For the last couple of days an instance of school bus violence has dominated education news and blogs. Basically, a white student got on the school bus and no one would allow him to sit down next to them. (There where both white and black kids on the bus refusing him.) The driver yelled for the kids to sit down so he moved the book bag of a black kid and sat down. Other students began to instigate and the black boy who he sat next to attacked him. A few minutes later it appeared that the first attacker had … Continue reading →

Why So Many Parents Homeschool “Problem” Children

A teacher of a five year old boy is recorded calling the child “pathetic”, “selfish”, and “ignorant” and discouraging other kids from being his friend. The teachers union saying that the teacher’s rights have been violated. A Kindergarten teacher stands one child in front of the classroom and one by one has them tell him what they don’t like about him and have them vote on whether or not he deserves to be in the classroom. The teacher is unapologetic. Both of these incidents hit the national news in the past month. What is worse than these incidents is the … Continue reading →

Politics 101: Introduction and My Goal

“Okay kids, who can tell me whose running for President?” I asked my study group at the inner city tutoring center where I volunteer. “Someone named GOP!” “No, you’re dumb. . .it’s some black guy. We’re going to vote for him because he’s black.” The comments went on for another 5 minutes as to why you should vote for a woman instead of an African American or whether or not the old guy named “GOP” was an animal rights activist because one of the kids keeps seeing his picture with an elephant next to it. If these were little kids, … Continue reading →