Call Me Crazy

Yet another "national discussion" about guns is under way here, and it's so anti-rational, so politically cowardly, so …unbearably stupid that you have to wonder how a nation that has enlightened the world in so many other ways could wallow in this kind of delusion.
-Neil Macdonald

Like everyone in America, I'm in the midst of last minute holiday preparations, and trying desperately to process last Friday's school shooting in Connecticut.  

In recent days, I've stated to many people that, despite the reprehensible amount of gun violence that has taken place in this country in recent years, I have never entertained the idea that my kids are not safe when they're at school.  I guess it's the fact that many of those lives so unjustly cut short were so close in age to my own children, but this particular incident has left me with a feeling of vulnerability which I am not used to.  I am facing the reality that my kids, in fact, are not safe at school.  It's a hard pill for this mom to swallow.  

The harder pill for me to swallow, though, is the notion I'm repeatedly hearing that nothing can or should be done.  
It's not a gun issue, it's a mental health issue.
It's not a gun problem, it's a people problem.
I have constitutional rights... including owning an assault weapon.

I fully submit that what happened on Friday is a whole big can of messed up, made of more ingredients than I could shake a stick at.  

But...

While I would concede that perhaps it is true that stronger gun control laws would not have prevented this tragedy, you cannot convince me that it would not at least be worth a try.  Are we as a country really content to just throw our hands in the air and give up?  I know the argument.  'Crazy people are going to get their hands on guns no matter what the law says.'  True.  Just like people are going to commit murder, drive drunk, and commit countless other heinous acts that are against the law.  I would submit that it's still a good idea to have laws against those things in place.  No, they won't prevent all crime, but the law says that we as a country are not ok with this.  

Call me crazy, but I think it's time for us to say we as a country are not ok with mass killings.  Call me crazy, but I think my kids, and all the other school age kids, movie goers, mall shoppers, and other unarmed members of society, are worth trying to protect.  I think they're worth passing a law for... even if it won't work.  At least it would say that we as a society are NOT OK WITH THIS.  I love this country, and I think we're better than this.  I am sad.  I am frustrated.  I am emotional and admittedly not completely rational right now.  But my irrationality's got nothing on current gun culture in this country right now.  I guess I am selfish, because I just don't see how the right to bear arms 'designed for war, firing ultra-destructive bullets that travel at 3000 feet per second, designed to destroy human life as efficiently as possible, causing maximum internal damage' trumps my kids' rights to a long healthy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  

Time for My Annual Post

Wow... you write a woe is me post, blink twice, and nearly a year has gone by.  I don't think I was meant to document my life.  

Despite my whining of nearly a year ago, we had a pretty crazy good year.  Yes, we are still way too dang busy, and signed up for way too many activities, and don't enjoy nearly enough time of just 'being' as a family.  But, I offer up the serenity prayer and accept the things I cannot change.    OK... that's a lie.  There ARE things I could change, but I am outnumbered by the other three fine folks I co-habitate with.  So, I will give thanks for happy, healthy, active, smart, beautiful kids.  It's my blog, I can brag if I want to.

Jerod spent last winter playing house league basketball (his first year playing organized hoops).  Spring and summer were all about baseball, and fall consisted of more baseball and house league soccer.  The kid eats, sleeps, and breathes sports.  In addition to all this participation, he is an avid fan; and a student of all sports (particularly football, even though he doesn't play--Thank you sweet Jesus!).  In the fall he tried out for 'travel basketball' and made the B team.  He is love, love, loving it; and I have to say he's pretty good (again, it's my blog, I can brag).  

Elise enjoys gymnastics, soccer, and is currently enjoying the ski racing team she is part of.  As has been the case for her entire life, she continues to be an INTENSE and SPIRITED personality.  She keeps us on our toes and we love her gusto (even if we are unable to keep up).  

Both kids continue, against their will, taking piano lessons.  They hate it, and, truth be told, so do I.  It's a continual time consuming power struggle, but it's the one activity we require.  I do feel it's done their exceptional little brains a lot of good.  I often question how long we can keep it up, but for now, we trudge forward.  

One of my favorite moments of the year came in September, when my super fabulous, yet somewhat bullheaded husband came to the conclusion that we needed a second set of wheels (YA THINK HONEY???).    We are the proud lessees of a super sassy little Mazda 3 hatchback, complete with, wait for it... SEAT WARMERS.  I waited 36 years for such a luxury, and it's all I thought it would be!  The end of constant logistics wrangling about how to get two kids to 17 different places with one car has been every bit as fabulous as I anticipated.  

One of my least favorite moments came about three weeks after we brought the shiny new car home, when I proceeded to catch the front passenger bumper on the side of the house while backing out of the garage.  It was a bad, bad day.  I will spare you most of the details.  It is all fixed now.  The world can continue to turn.  

And... the really big news of 2012... Chris' brainchild website PatentCore.com has really taken off.  It's been tough and time consuming; but ultimately pretty stinking cool.  He still practices patent law, but has significantly scaled back his practice and spends most of his time running the company.  I could provide many, many details; but ultimately all you need to know is this:  He really, really loves the work he's doing, and is actually making a living doing it.  

That is pretty much the run down of our year.  The only things I left out are hip surgery for Chris and a couple of marathons for me.  Of course, I'm leaving out much more than those items I'm sure, but you get the idea.  There have, of course, been challenges before us.  Ultimately, though, we are blessed.  We have family, friends, faith and love.  Not too shabby.  Happy Holidays to my 3.2 readers!!