I don’t think there’s a person in our country who hasn’t heard about the Boston Marathon disaster today, but if you haven’t….

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/15/17764747-explosions-rock-finish-of-boston-marathon-2-killed-and-scores-injured?lite=

The story has been updating with more and more injured since it happened. It makes me sick.

It makes me mad.

It makes me mad as hell. A friend sent this to me to help calm me down…

Just go watch it. It will make you smile despite all the craziness in the world. And it will comfort you to know that even in the 70s, there were people recognizing the problems in the world.

So what do we do when we’re faced with something so horrific that will affect people on a global scale? I say global because people from countries all over the world come to Boston every year for this race. What can we do? Anything we want. Unfortunately, I have always found myself looking into the epicenter of the destruction, finding evidence of loss and grief. Then I saw something that just…made me look at every video differently.

I then watched the worst video I had seen yet with this quote in mind. I will be telling my kids this EVERY time they see something tragic. No parent can keep grief and horror from their kids. The news is everywhere. People always talk. What we CAN do, is teach them to look for the hope in a hopeless situation.

The only thing I have left to say, is that I truly hope our country will soon stop trying to fix a non issue. We don’t have a gun control issue. We don’t have a bomb issue. I can tell you why:

Not once will you ever hear it reported that Mr. Jones Perfect was of sound mind and body his entire life, never making a mistake and always the life of every event, went and blew up a marathon or shot up a school. It doesn’t happen.

What you will quite often hear is that a tragedy struck and, upon investigation and location of the culprit, it was found that responsible party has had a life long history of mental illness.

We need to stop ignoring mental illness in our country. We need to stop treating it with kid gloves. We need to stop letting mentally ill people who have shown improvement be left to their own devices. If a schizophrenic takes their meds and the voice go away, they logically think they’re cured. The second they stop taking the meds and voices return, they are no longer in enough control of their body to get back on the meds.

I don’t have the solution. Not one that anyone would like, anyway. But I see the problem. It’s a huge problem. Our country needs help. Our world needs help. We all need humanity.

 

This just makes me mad

I am starting off by saying a may offend a few people with this post. If you’re offended, stop reading it. I’m not twisting your arm to stick around.

What this post really comes down to is food, but I’m connecting it to school.

In one of the two elementary buildings I work in, I was informed a few weeks ago about a third grader who has already started her period. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I started in 6th grade, as did most of my friends. Some started later, but 5th and 6th grade was when it happened for my generation. So 3rd grade!?!? EGAD!! But that’s not all…

Today I was invited into a conversation with a small group of teachers who frequently encounter a different little girl. Apparently she has had several tests and her mother has been told she will have her first period ANY DAY. Here’s the crazy part; she’s 7. She’s in FIRST GRADE!!! And do you think the mother had talked to this little girl about what’s going to be happening to her body?? Nope!! So today she ran to her teacher in panic saying her “juices” were coming out. She has no idea what’s happening to her body. Oh, and she’s also experiencing cramps, but she’s not intellectually able to define or understand these occurrences.

Now, I know there are a ton of little girls across the country starting their period much earlier than in the past. The thing that gets me is parents continue to ignore the reason for all of this.

Let’s get real simple here. What causes a period to start? Hormones! What causes menstrual  symptoms, complications and onset? HORMONES! What do food producers constantly fill our food with?!?!?! Let me hear it! HORMONES!!!!!!

Now, I’m not saying you’re a bad parent if you take your kid to McDonald’s now and then, or anywhere else for that matter. However, I AM saying you’re a bad parent if fast food is a staple in your child’s diet. I know there are many other sources, but seriously, if you’re gonna take your kid to a fast food joint every day or even every other day, you might as well let them drink pure gasoline. It’ll have equally tragic consequences.

I am far from a health nut. I eat fast food sometimes. I drink alcohol. I put things in my body that I could easily so without. The trick is that I do all of this in moderation. I tell myself no. When I have kids, they’ll hear “no” frequently. It’s part of being a responsible adult and parent.

Oh, and just a little food for thought: early onset puberty is linked to early onset uterine, ovarian and breast cancer in girls. So stop feeding your children poison all the time and give their bodies a chance to thrive!!

Also, please use turn signals on the road.