Made-up holidays, nosey neighbors, and loser acquaintances

Hello again, blogfans!

As you can tell from the title, I'm venting today!

#1 Those of you who read here often know I can't STAND made-up holidays! The very word, "holiday" was derived from the two separate words "Holy" and "Day," which means that they were intended to be celebrations of a religious nature. You know - Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, etc. Naturally, we took the "holy" out of it and turned it into any excuse for a day off, or, even more prevalent, an excuse to go out and buy gifts for people. Retailers LOVE holidays of any description, which is why more and more of them keep popping up!

I can't STAND made up holidays!

It's not that I don't like holidays. I really do. What I DON'T like is the ulterior commercial motive behind them. Why should we need an excuse to go out and be nice to people we supposedly love? Oh, I get it all right; we'd all be broke continually if we went out and bought stuff for people every day as we do on holidays, but that's not the point. The point is, it shouldn't take a holiday for the people you love to know how you feel, that's all.

That said, MDB went out and did several things for me for Father's Day. She's so SWEET to me! She got my silver chain fixed, so it's back around my neck again and then, she went to Academy and bought me 3 new shirts and a new pair of shorts! They all FIT, too! She's awesome, but she didn't have to do it. She's the embodiment of what I was talking about above. I know EVERY DAY that she loves me just by the way she talks to me and the things she does for me!

#2 Yesterday I was out in the front yard mowing, edging, and blowing away the chaff just as I do every weekend this time of year. As I was blowing, a lady came at me from across the street. It was the first time I'd ever seen her, so my first impression was that she was one of those magazine salesmen, or a senior citizen trying to win a trip to Hawaii, or a Jehovah's Witness, so I shut off the blower to see what she had to say. "I've been watching you!" she said, and every time you mow, you blow all of your grass into your neighbor's yard! Why don't you blow it the other direction or, better yet, why don't you sweep it up and not blow it anywhere?! Your next-door-neighbor is trying to sell his house! Do you think it helps to show it with all of your grass in the street in front of it?" So I said (holding my moistened finger in the air as if I didn't already know where the wind was coming from), "Uh...it wouldn't do any good to blow it that way, the wind is coming from that direction. Secondly, I'm blowing it out into the street, not into anyone else's yard in particular. I'm sorry you don't approve," and then I cranked it back up and continued to blow the grass into the street. As is usually the case, this was a missed opportunity. Oh, I wasn't ugly to her; just matter of fact. Here are a few things I SHOULD have said:

1. "Ma'am, I don't know you and I've never seen you before. Perhaps you'd like to start over. 'Hi! My name's Dan. I've lived across the street for over a year and I suppose it would have been neighborly of you to come over here and introduce yourself, but I guess you were too busy watching and waiting for an opportunity to come over here and introduce yourself THIS way. Practice what you preach, lady!"
2. "Ma'am, my neighbor is a big boy. If he had a problem with how I do my yard, I would think he could come to me himself and tell me, man to man. I wouldn't have any problem helping him out if he asked me nicely."
3. "Ma'am, if you'd like to see my grass swept up, be my guest. There's a broom, a dust-pan, and a can to put it in."
4. "Ma'am, if you've been 'watching me' perhaps it's time to look into getting yourself a life! Have you watched any of the professional lawn services do yards around here? Did you happen to notice what THEY do with their loose grass then they finished? They blow it into the street, just as I'm doing!"

Oh well. I guess some people just have to be stirring things up for their own happiness. Stir away, lady! If it's not illegal, immoral, or unethical, I don't see that you have any grounds for whining!

#3 Loser acquaintances. I guess we all know someone who has essentially sold their soul to the devil in the name of their children. They claw, and scratch, and burn bridges, and cajole and harass, all to get their children a leg up (supposedly). What they fail to realize, it seems, is that they're doing their children a grave disservice, for a couple of reasons. First, their kids never learn to fight any of their own battles. Mom is always there to fight them in their stead. So, when the kids DO need to stand up for themselves, they don't have the skill OR the backbone, so they fail. Second, these kids may need some of those people who've been stepped on during their ascension. Who's going to give them a recommendation? Who's going to offer them after-school employment? Who's going to sponsor them for scholarships?

Exactly.

Moms, let your kids try what they want to try, but let them fail if that's their destiny. Help them with their skills, teach them how to do things that they need to know and be their advocate if someone's trying to take unfair advantage of them. Other than that, stay OUT of it! If your kids aren't gifted in this thing or that, they SHOULDN'T succeed in that thing! Let them find what they ARE gifted in and let them pursue those things that THEY enjoy. If they enjoy something, they'll probably excel in that thing. They'll have to sink or swim on their own eventually; give them the experience sooner than later!