My Rants

I am ducking as I write this, but I can be quiet no more. If my posted opinions offend you, well then, please don't read it :) Since it has been quite awhile since my last post, I want to start out with a list of personal rants. Once this is off my chest, I will make each post following light and happy :)


Shall I begin?

1. Stacked hairstyles: I will start off light and superficial. This trend seems to never end. Well actually it has ended, but many seem to not have gotten the memo. A cute, slightly angled cut is classic, but the severe inverted bob, or the long hair with the sudden stack in the back is overdone, agin and again. Hair stylists, why must you agree to beating this tired hair trend into the ground? Tell your client NO. It is over. Dead. Move on, please.

2. Friends: As I have aged, the definition of friendship between women has constantly evolved. Now that I am a mother and a wife, my free time is limited (hence the lack of blogging) therefore, after fulfilling my life's responsibilities, sometimes I don't really feel like giving anymore of myself. Selfish human nature. I have learned that, at this stage of my life, maintaining friendships are a choice, and a very necessary one in my case. Making aquaintances are how friendships are born and after time, if there is a common interest, you bond and the friendship develops. I have become careful in choosing which aquaintances to nurture into friendships. Like any pairing, the friendship is not always nurtured by both 50-50...sometimes its 40-60, and in some cases, 90-10. When a friendship becomes 90-10, it's time to reevaluate.

So, say your friend is a new mommy and calls you in despair. How do you react? Or say, you find out that a friends marriage is tragically ending, do you reach out to her? Or, do you refrain from contact because you "don't know what to say"? Recently, I have beared witness to both scenarios, with bittersweet outcomes. Women that, before the gloom, would happily agree to shop, lunch and meet for playdates, dropped the friendship ball when their duty called. Rather than supporting their friends in need cry for help and guidance, here's what happened: the post partum friend was told in her despair that, "their kids are just in different places now. Try walking to mall with your kids to get out". And the friend whose marriage was ending? The majority of her friends told her - nothing at all. They turned their heads and went along there way. Obviously, both women survived, with lessons learned. I was sad for both women but, what a blessing to see people for who they really are, when it matters. It's comforting to kow who your friends are, and I am grateful to God for mine.

3. White flip flops and purses: Ok, I admit this is wickedly superficial but, whatever, it can't all be serious. I see it all the time here in the desert... call me old fashioned, but I despise them. And yes, I dislike bright white accessories after labor day (I am well aware of 'winter whites' done tastefully) Why not try brown, bone or ecru? Then there are those that were the white belts, flip flips and purses and keep them dirty. Really? If you must wer them, please keep them clean and manicure your feet. Unless, you're going for the role of an extra in a Kid Rock video.



4. Parent/Child role reversal: I LOVE my boys. LOVE without end. I try so hard to raise them up to be strong, compassionate, and merciful little men. I strive to teach them the life lessons they should know in navigating through life. Cultivating a relationship with God, being honest, sharing, maintaining a healthy mind/body and being accountable are just a few of my key values that I want my boys to learn. Being a Southern mam, I have to enforce a respect for elders. I am only 4 years into motherhood and have much to learn about child rearing. As I do my best in raising my little boys, I accept that they are not perfect humans as, no one is. That said, there are the moms that literally worship there kids. Not love, but, worship. As in, the kid runs the house, the playground, the parents. The kid can do no wrong in the moms view. Now, we are all entitled to raise our children up in any way that we please, but, I have difficulty understanding why some moms pass off their childrens lack of manners with an adult as "Oh, they are having a bad day"...Seriously??? What happened to parents leading the household? And kids that come to the playground and blatantly won't share with other kids and the moms make excuses? Enough already! Be the parent, the leader, the role model. Afraid your kid won't like you because you enforce respect and manners? Not to worry, they will love you for it. ANd everyone else will too. H.G. Wells said "The path of least resistance is the path of the loser". I couldn't agree more. Raise your kids how you please. But those of you that let your kid rule the roost? You annoy everyone.

5. Money: Unless we are talking about inflation, oil prices, or business, I don't want to talk about money. Mine, yours, or my friend's. Please don't ask me how much my ring costs, how our friend could afford to aquire something or how someone can live a certain lifestyle. Don't waste your breath asking me about anyone's finances, because you will hit a wall. I don't care to know or discuss money at all. I am happy for everyone's wealth and could care less about how they get it. To me, discussing money is tacky, rude and bad manners. Ask me for a recipe, or the secret to my friends merengue? I can talk all day about it :)

6. Manners: Please, thank you, excuse me, I'm sorry, let me get the door for you, Ma'am, Yes Ma'am, No sir...sound familiar? Not anymore. Where have all the manners gone? I guess with kids running households, women acting like men and men acting like women, and elder abuse, the majority just wants everyone to be equal. I personally prefer to be the lady, the mom, the daughter, the feminine presence. It fits for me, and traditionally, it works. I address my elders with Ma'am and Sir unless they prefer otherwise. Why? Because I respect them. I fill out my rsvp card in the wedding invitation. Why? Because, someone is counting on it. I call when I am running late to an engagement for the same reason. I swipe on some blush and lip gloss for the school/Target run...why? It's just polite.

7. Be your own true self. Don't assume someone's identity as your own. It's creepy and annoying. I will run from you. Remember the movie, 'Single White Female'?

8. Facebook status updates. I am amazed at the people that post scathing details of there relationships, consistency of there cervical mucus and the centimeter measurement of their cervix (Yes, I am serious). And then there are those that bait us. The ones that say "I just want to curl up and cry in the corner" and the martyrd "Poor me". And then there are the ones that state the frequency of their gym attendance and the "I am now standing in line at Target", followed minutes later by, "Driving home from Target". Log off!

SO there are my biggest rants. What annoys you?