Gunning for a fight

I was gunning for a fight I just didn't get the one I was looking for.

I'm very angry about the number of guns showing up in schools. What do we do about it?

ALL life IS sacred.  

I started a fight on Facebook. As we've proven in my fb posts, people get FIRED UP when it comes to the rights of the unborn and you should! I promise I can sympathize with both sides and will continue that discussion if you want but I want to know what we are going to do, as a nation, to protect the people who have already been born and should be SAFE at school!

A few weeks ago, a student at an alternative high school near my teens' high school brought a gun to school. No one was hurt and it was a blip in the local news.

Last Monday, a student at a large high school very near the alternative brought a gun to school in his backpack. Still just blocks from my kids' school. No one was hurt, thank God, so just another blip in the news. Two days later, at that same school, two students spray-painted threats in a school bathroom saying there would be a shooting "like Columbine." They were caught and hadn't planned actual violence but after hearing about the gun at their school, thought their threat would cause school to be closed for a day. They just wanted a day off and over 300 students were kept home, just in case.
I'm angry that CHILDREN have GUNS in their BACKPACKS.
I am very angry that CHILDREN HAVE GUNS IN THEIR BACKPACKS.

No one was hurt in these cases and no one made a big fuss.

But CHILDREN have GUNS in their BACKPACKS.
In a Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, people were killed. They weren't "children" but every one of them was someone's child. My oldest attends our local community college in the mornings before she goes to high school. It's far away from Oregon but the tragedy still hit close to home.

Today, we had two school shootings. TWO shootings on college campuses on one day.

If you bother to look at the national statistics, somebody's child is shot every day in this country. Every day. Shootings on a school campus should be shocking! Any shooting should be a wake-up call but TWO in ONE day? We cannot afford to just shake our heads and light candles. We should pray, of course! All of us should be praying right now but my prayer includes a plea that someone has an idea. Maybe not THE answer but AN answer!
A bunch of moms got together after too many children were killed as a result of drunk driving. MADD is now a national organization that has saved countless lives. Yes, we still have drunk drivers. But they didn't ignore the problem. Someone stood up and did something.
We need to do something. Gun registration for all is a start. My car is a lethal weapon and I must register it and have a license to drive it, even though I don't plan to run anyone down with it. People buying handguns may hope they don't use them but they aren't buying them for any other purpose than to aim them at another human being. Register those suckers. Lock them up. I'm not trying to take them away from you but I want you to keep them from your children. Please!
I'm not asking hunters to give up their rifles. I'm not asking people who have that gun by their bed to give it up. I am asking you to put it away. In the unlikely event an intruder enters your home, it is far more likely that you or your family will be hurt by that weapon than the intruder. But that is another argument, too.
Children have guns. Teens have guns. Young adults have guns. America, our children are armed and dangerous. It is time to take action.

Parental guidance 2

One of my big challenges in parenting is recognizing that my child may not be able to be ANYTHING they want and guiding them towards areas that are similar to the skills and talents I see in them.

Having said that, my children can be anything they want to be.  I stand by that.
Having said that, some careers are going to be much easier than others.

Tonight, I heard myself say to my son, "There is no successful career path out there where you can procrastinate, find the loopholes around the work you should be doing and blame your mistakes on others."

As I shook my head (hoping he thought it was in dismay over the as-yet-not-completed homework), I realized that there is a career path where one can succeed with that particular skill set. And my son is charming enough to get enough people to vote for him.

I Can See Clearly Now

It is time to accept that the Mid-Life-Conflict is a battle I can't win.

In other news, the resolution and clarity on both my laptop and phone are amazingly clear.  Who knew?

LoryKC: 1 MLC: 5

Just when I think I am through with the ubiquitous Mid-Life Crisis, I find that there is yet another inning to be played.

I thought it was over and I had made it through to the other side.  Then I bought a pair of skinny jeans and a revised GRE prep book.  Clearly, the battle has only just begun.

This afternoon, while wearing my new jeans, I opened the book, found the information needed to take a diagnostic test online and sat down to face Question One.  I was asked to write an essay question and had 29 minutes and 54 seconds to write it.  I read, and then typed over, the instructions on how to save often and how to "delete" (using the command key and "x" if typing on a Mac) and typed my first few words.  I used the delete/backspace key immediately and was kicked back to the login page.  Right.  I took a deep breath and started again.  This time, I saved the directions at the top of my page, planning to delete them when I was done, but leaving them there as a reminder not to hit the delete key the moment I mistyped a word.  A typo followed not three seconds later and my fingers automatically hit the delete key before I knew what had happened...and I was back at the login screen.  This went on numerous times.  (At least, by the third time, I had managed to save what progress I had made, so I was able to "resume" my test rather than starting again.)

Finally, with three minutes to spare, I had a convincing 5-paragraph essay complete with examples and a quote from Harper Lee.  I read it and clicked on the option to "grade my essay."  It asked ME to grade MY essay.  Huh?

I went back and clicked on the little bubble indicating that I had completed my essay.  Then sat there and watched the timer continue to count down.  Oh!  Right!  I needed to click the next button.  Except I was to click "next section" (as it had indicated there was only one essay question in this section).  I did not, of course.  I clicked the "next" button, which took me to a screen which reminded me that there was only one question in this section and then gave me 29 minutes and 54 seconds with which to write my essay--on a completely NEW Question ONE.

I think I will try again tomorrow.  And pray that if and when I do take this test again for realz--it is on a PC.  Because my shiny little laptop?  Oh, she is a pretty computer but she is no PC--and clearly she is not in this fight with me!

I'm not really from here

My backyard backs up to a corn field.  I live in Orville Redenbacher's home state.  I have no idea how long an ear of corn can last before, you know, things fall apart.

My son has to build a grasshopper for a science project.  (Each student has to research an insect, write a report and build a model).  We were thinking of using an ear of corn to make the grasshopper but my daughter reminded me that it will sit in a display case for "a while."  I have no idea how long that grasshopper would survive on display before it began to deteriorate.   I feel like I should know.

Looks like we're going with Plan B.  Or C.

Olly olly oxen free!

My three-year-old still puts his hands over his eyes so that you cannot see him. He puts his head under pillows and, every Tuesday and Thursday, puts his head inside the back of my shirt as he walks into preschool.  (I have to spin rather quickly to "find" him!)  His actions are cute but not are not effective means of hiding.

I started this blog under a pseudo-anonymous name.  I thought if it didn't turn out too well, or if I posted something I shouldn't have, only a handful of people would really know it was me.  Over the years, I've shared the link in a few places so now it comes up as soon as you Google my name.  This was not an effective way to hide.

I say I need a critique group but I don't do the work to find one or start one.  It has been so long now--I hate to admit to anyone how long it's been since I have participated in such a group but waiting a little longer is not an effective solution.

Earlier this week, I impulsively commented on a facebook post from a local bookstore.  This store happens to be my new favorite place to sit and write.  I love going on Thursday mornings and often have the place to myself!  (As a writer, the peace and quiet amidst shelves of books is perfect; as a mom, the peace and quiet is priceless!)  Another writer was enjoying the space yesterday but posted on the site that she would love for other writers to join her.  I spoke up--on facebook--using my real name.

A little pick-me up

Only two mugs of coffee into my busy morning, I stopped at Starbucks for a little more help.

This afternoon, after picking the kids up from school, they all asked to stop at Starbucks for their after-school snack. So I got yet another latte--with this suggestion, wrapped around it! :)

We all have work to do!

My deadline is fast approaching--and I haven't made it very far, yet!
We taught the dog to "drop the ball" yesterday and she was great at it! Today, she is looking at me like I am speaking Dutch.
My son wants to watch an episode of a tv show AGAIN so I paused it and told him we can resume the show as soon as he can tell me what six times seven is. He left, to go play in his room.
It seems we all have a bit of work to do!

Deadlines and assistance

OK, I would love to have assistants but since I can't justify or afford even one of those, I will settle for some assistance.

It seems I am eternally working on the WIP but never making much progress, unless I have a deadline. (Self-imposed deadlines do not seem to work too well!)

I have decided to attend a writing conference this year, vowing to bring a polished MS with me, just to give me a deadline so I will have to get it done.

At this point, it is far from polished. At this point, it is still a mess. I should set an earlier deadline to make it somewhat coherent, at least. To that end, I am giving myself 30 days (a self-imposed deadline) but I am posting the deadline here to make me stick to it.

Y'all will hold me to it, right?