10/6/2007 - Toys for tots? Try a box!

Toys, toys, toys. Walmart has them. Kmart has them. And of course the one-stop-toy-shop, Toys-R-Us.

You see it all the time. A new ad on the  t.v. screen begging our kids to buy the lastes video game or warning parents to return their tainted toy, because factories can't tell the difference between clean paint and lead paint.

Millions of toys sold all over the world. All infected with lead paint. All because Mattel can't make a decent

barbie doll or who knows what else.

Parents are forced to rip these priceless objects from the hands of curious and happy kids, who take joy

in these painted plastic wonders. What do we say to them? "Im sorry sweetie, but there's lead paint in that,

Mommy, doesn't want you to be sick. So give mommy your doll please." Oh that's encouraging. What do we do?

 Take away the one thing that makes them happy - - in hopes that they will someday understand, that by

taking away their birthday present is our way of protecting them? Or have the heart to watch their eyes light up

 as a smile sneaks across their face as they play?

It is obvious where we put our values. Kids value the fun of a toy. Parents value giving them safe ones. But isn't

there more value than just the fun and safety of  a toy?

I remember the old days. Where toys were safe and fun becaue they were hand made. Put a Elmo doll and a

cardboard box in front of a 2 year old. The choice is simple...the box. Why, you ask? The box is a limitless source

of creativity and imagination. An elmo doll can laugh for only so long, until his fur begins to fade, and the batteries

die. But a box? Kids are drawn to it. They don't see a box. They see possibilities. A space ship blasting in to space

on its way to the moon. A pirate ship lost at sea. A castle way up in the clouds protected by an evil dragon. What

happened to these kinds of toys? Simple toys put together inspired by young inqusitive minds. Somehow

building a bond between the innocence of children and the parents who love them. What great family time!

Family time. What a concept! That should be the purpose behind toys. Time spent together, laughing,

sharing, talking. Good wholesome time just to enjoy each other.

Family time is almost extinct in our society today. We shove our kids to living rooms in front of t.v. sets to

play violent video games and watch R rated movies because we are too busy to play and/or spend quality

time with them.

Toys are good yes. They keep our youngsters occupied and at times, educated. But aren't we  missing the bigger

picture here?

It's not the toy itself that matters. It's how you use it and who you use it with.

Board games have always been a big part of family time at my house. Afternoons spent with a game of scrabble

or uno. Moments when we fight over the game because someone took my triple word space with a 20 letter word - - somehow with Q,Z,X,and J in it. Or admitting the fact that I said uno first, before they did.

We need to start seeing toys for what they are. A means, NOT an end. We need to get our values in check,

and start encouraging our kids that is it important to express yourself in creative and imaginative ways.

Find value in time spent together building fun and building relationships. Remember to say yes when

your child asks "Play with me, mommy/daddy". Show interest and enthusiasm, for that is the first step

to having fun and building strong family relationships.  

9/11/2007 - Remembering 9/11: Patriotism, Terrorism, and War

6 years ago today, our country changed forever. 2 airplanes. 2 towers. The injured. The dead. Our co-workers, neighbors, friends, family. Our Heroes. Heroes who risked their lives and even died, trying to save others.

It was indeed a national tragedy. An act of terrorism. A moment in history that we will never forget.

We will never forget the pain, the tears, the questions. We will never forget the broken hearts and broken lives. But somehow, somewhere, through all this brokeness, we found healing by uniting together.

Anthems played. Flags were raised. The whole country became increasingly patriotic.

6 years have now passed. Where's the patriotism?

The anthems have stopped playing. Flags are no longer raised. Have we forgotten? The purpose. The meaning. The outcome. The end.

The 6 year long wound has healed. But the scar is still there. Reminding us of what we lost, reminders that our world is no longer safe.

We have lost our safety.  Bombs are going off. Guns are shooting. Our men and women in the armed forces are becoming injured or are dead. Why?

Dying for the sake of the country is noble and heroic. But who is protecting THEM?

Why must patriotism be associated with death? The death of our men and women. The death of a crumbling Iraq, too unstable for any militia to control.

I am not saying we should not continue to be patriotic by being supportive of our troops. But what I am saying is that we need to ask ourselves, why the war? Why now? Are we strong enough to continue? Or courageous enough to get out?

Perhaps terrorism is a religious war. A political war. A moral war. How can we fight something that's too big for ourselves? It's like pouring the ocean into a small cup. Your thirst is quenched, but you drown in the process.

Is our thirst quenched? Are our reasons justified? Or are we drowning in our own moral/political codes, begging to be rescued?

Terrorism cannot be fought with guns, ships, or bombs. It must be fought from the inside out. Starting with ME. Starting with YOU.

We will never have world peace, until we find peace within ourselves. Learn to accept one another, appreciate one another, tolerate one another. And above all... LOVE ONE ANOTHER. For that is the essences of who we are as people, as a city, as as state, as a nation, as a world.

We are not able to change the world. But we are able to change ourselves. One lesson...one experience...one day...one moment at a time.