Demand

So, let’s say you can’t have children.  Or maybe you don’t want children.  One is a lack of ability, the other a choice.  

And now, let’s pretend that the government mandates that everyone must have at least one child and if you don’t have at least one child, you’ll be fined or put in prison.  

This poses several problems as I see it:  The people who can’t have children must either adopt (what if they don’t meet the qualifications?) or go through painful and expensive medical procedures to conceive a child (they still may not be able to conceive a child).  The people who don’t want children are being forced to care for and maintain something they don’t desire. It’s also a problem that assumes that everyone is qualified to be a parent and that being a parent is a need for the populace.

Of course then there’s the question of complying with the law:  does every person need to have a child; or just each ‘family’?  What constitutes a family?  Does blood or genetics or marriage (civil or otherwise) make a family?  Can you provide a child for a member of your family up to a certain age (i.e. it is not their child, but your ‘extra children’ cover their need)?  Are there age limits – will you need to have a child if you are 50?  60?  70?  

And there is the question of who pays?  Who pays for the procedures, the medical and educational needs?  Does everyone pay the same amount?  Will people that are proven as unsafe to children be exempt from the mandate?  Will they still have to pay?

Seem unfair?  Socialistic?  Intrusive? 

Demanding that every person have healthcare is much like requiring everyone to have a child.  Some people don’t want health care at all, some want more and some want less.  Some don’t qualify for coverage and some qualify for everything but don’t need it all.  And some wouldn’t go to the doctor even if they had coverage.  

Should everyone have healthcare?  Yes.  Is it a right?  No.  Requiring health coverage is as absurd as demanding that every person have a car or a pet or a mortgage.  Or a child.

Trapped

The Plan:            Spend 30 minutes outside, soaking up some sun while letting the “kids” (7 mos and 2 years) play outside AND pruning back four bushes (or as much as I could get done in 30 minutes).

The Reality:        10 minutes to put on two coats and walk one downstairs, then bring the exersaucer and baby down in another trip.  Spend 5 minutes finding the appropriate tool and pruning only to have the phone ring and my son (who cannot leave a ringing phone be answered by the answering machine) brings it to me.  Spend 10 minutes on the phone (after walking back inside the house because the cordless “connection” won’t reach outside).  End phone call because the two year old is crying.  I don’t know why.  Calm the 2 year old down, go inside to get a Kleenex to wipe up the runny nose, re-position the two year old to play somewhere else (he’s still whining), and return to pruning.

Two year old starts crying again.  Re-direct the two year old to his favorite toy (after getting a hand broom so he can “sweep”).  Return to pruning.

Baby starts fussing and two year old is crying again.  Take baby, exersaucer and two year old inside.  Change diaper and put two year old down for nap.

Sum total time spent pruning 10 minutes. 

Trips up and down the stairs:  6

# of bushes actually pruned:  1/3 of 1 bush.

This is why I feel trapped.  This is why I sit at Facebook all day long.  Because the moment I start something, I have to tend to some other needy person (usually MY children or MY husband) and have to leave my project out in the open (subjecting said project to being destroyed or re-organized by other hands) or put my project away (meaning I have to start all over again).

Seriously.

Through My Eyes Book Review

Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker

It’s a known fact that I profess not to like the memoir/autobiography genre much; but it’s becoming kind of passé as I’ve found several in the last year that I’ve really enjoyed (The Vow, Rob Lowe) and a few that I’ve not (Untied).  Maybe it’s that I’ve moved past the dislike and maybe it’s just that sometimes people’s lives are interesting no matter how long they’ve lived.

I like football and consider myself a “fan” but not a “fanatic”.  I’ll admit I can follow the game, know some of the strategy; the details, plays and statistics are not the part of the game that I enjoy, let alone pay attention to.  I don’t remember from year to year who won the Super Bowl; the college Bowl games, the Heisman trophies or how many yards so and so rushed or passed to pass a record.  I simply enjoy the game for the game itself:  the competition, battle between teams, fun to watch and vent my anxieties at and choosing who my favorites are.

I watch football (and moreover sports in general) because I like what I like and don’t what I don’t.  I have favorite players and teams and players and teams I can't stand – for a variety of reasons that I’ll neither try to explain or defend in this post.  But I’ll give you some examples.

I despise Michael Vick for everything he’s done in his personal life that shows me the true character of his professional life.  He had no compassion for creatures that were in his care and I have no compassion for him.  For this reason, I also despise the Philadelphia Eagles, Subway and Nike as they have encouraged his celebrity and diminished the horror of his crime by giving him money for being who he is.

I like Eli and Peyton Manning, Dave Craig and had a huge crush on Art Schlichter (Ohio State, Indianapolis).  Yeah, I like quarterbacks -- I didn’t say I had a perfect selection system, I just like what I like.  

I have a pretty big hate vote for Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.  I’ve “met” them both in person and was less than impressed with their character which, eventually, became evident to the world in a HUGE way. 

But, this isn’t a post about fan picks, fantasy sports teams, mended ways or 2^nd chances, this is a book review; so I’ll get to it.

I love Tim Tebow.  Not in a crush kind of way where I think he’s cute (which he is) but because I think he is a fantastic role model for people of all ages.  He has a walk with God and a life that represents what our Christian Life should be; he’s the same in person that he is in private and he puts God and his family first before everything else.  I knew all of this before I read the book.  You can see it in his face, in his press conferences, on the sidelines, in his advertisements, in almost every (positive) media article that’s written about him.

And then I read the book.  It’s filled with references to God and family and discipline and service to others.  I don’t recommend you read the book if you find any of those things offensive or over the top.  He is very clear about his walk with God, his obligation to his family and his love of people:  Kids, coaches, siblings, teammates.  He has no problem listing his shortcomings, laughing at himself, pointing out his failures; he mentions on almost every page his understanding that God has his back, holds his hands, has his future all planned out.  Tim has no problem understanding and accepting that his “higher power” is in control and that it’s okay if “Timmy” doesn’t have a clue how it’s going to all turn out. 

Sure, He’s only been out of college a couple of years; but he’s got a life store in those couple of decades that easily filled the pages of this book.  His parents were told to abort him, his mother prayed and prayed and successfully carried him to term.  He has four older siblings; all of them home-schooled and all of them happy and serving God.  He graduated from college with a 3.66 GPA and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Family, Youth and Community Services.  He has a charitable foundation named after him, volunteers his time in the Philippines at an orphanage and is not afraid to show his faith and Christianity everywhere he goes, even on the football field.

And, he talks about football and baseball and basketball and golf.  He writes about how his story is his ‘platform’, given to him by God and he’s just as happy to do whatever it is that God has in store for him (but he’d prefer it be football, or something to do with kids).  He talks in detail about his football games; the backyard plays with his brothers, High School, College and his first year with the Denver Broncos.  He doesn’t gloss over his mistakes and he takes responsibility for them too; he expects nothing from his teammates that he doesn’t do himself.    He talks about the Eye Black Bible verses, college selection process, the crazy (and aggressive) games against some teams (whose fans should really get a grip on reality!), and playing through injuries (even though he admits and admonishes that NO ONE should ever do that).

This is a young man that has a lot of life yet to experience and I have no doubt that God will bless him no matter what he does, regardless of whether he’s a football player or just a player in the daily grind of life.

It was a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone:  football fans, Christians, those searching for God and anyone that wants proof that God has a plan for everyone’s life.

It’s a Book Review, It’s a Movie Review, it’s a rant! (The Vow)

I love to read, I love to watch movies and I’ve progressed in my adulthood that I will try to watch movies made from books with an open mind.  There are some exceptions, for instance I have never read “Gone With the Wind” but I’ve seen the movie about 20 times.  I’ve also not read all of the Harry Potter books (I do own them; but then I haven’t seen all the movies either) and I’ve never read Lord of the Rings or anything by Tolkien.  I’ll wait for you to pick yourself off the floor.

I used to have this rule that I never watched a movie if I’d read the book (or vice-versa) as I knew one or the other would disappoint me horribly.  As I’ve matured (snicker), I realize how difficult it is to translate the written word with all its subtleties, descriptors and imagery to the screen.  A great case in point is the Twilight series (which I’ve read in entirety, but have only seen the first three movies).  A book needs to provide everything for the reader:  the color, the sound, the emotions, the future, the past, the present of the story; a movie needs to only provide the visual and the audio for the viewer.

So, now to my reviews…

My friends wanted a Girls day out and we decided on a day, then a place to eat, then a time and finally which movie to see.  I have a friend whose convictions about entertainment are more honorable than mine, so, after reading the movie review  she decided she wouldn’t see the movie (read: she puts her morals into action, whereas I just watch what I like).  I completely support her convictions and her choices and well, she tolerates my lack of conviction.

The Movie Review

I didn’t even realize this was a movie “based on a true life story” until I read the review, but I have to admit to a LOT of skepticism because of my history with reading books made into movies and, well, see the first two paragraphs.  I basically went to see the movie because Channing Tatum was the actor and I like him.  Yeah, I’m a real movie critic with exacting principles of exceedingly high quality.  I’ll wait until you’re through laughing.

The movie was disappointing on so many levels that, even before I’d read the book, I was pretty sure that Hollywood had thrown out the best part of the story for ticket sales.  If you’d read the book first, you’d find that the only part of the story that remained the same was that the couple were married and in a car accident where she lost her memory of their relationship altogether.  That’s the sum total of what they took from the book and transmitted onto the screen.  End of movie review. 

Okay, not really.   I have a couple of bones to pick with the movie itself, beginning with my opinion that if you’re going to say the movie is “based on a true life story”, it really ought to closely resemble that true life story.  The movie changed the names of the main characters, the lifestyles of everyone, the location, the end result of the relationship and every positive feature of the main characters so that the movie was completely unrecognizable as the book.  But, of course, if you hadn’t read the book, you wouldn’t know that and you’d think it was a pretty good (not great) movie with a “real-life” ending.  I left the movie and came home to immediately order the book from the library.

The Book Review

The book is written by Kim and Krickett Carpenter with Dana Wilkerson and has over 180 pages including acknowledgements.  It’s a quick read, although a bit gruesome in the accident and some of the hospital sections.  The book in NO WAY resembles the movie.  I’ll say that again.  The book is not even a close approximation to the movie and it made me wonder, more than once, just what is so wrong with true love and happily ever after endings where the hero and the heroine stay together even though it’s tough.

Kimmer (Kim) Carpenter and Krickett Pappas met when Kim called to order a coaching jacket from the sportswear company she worked at.  They had a long-distance phone and letter relationship for months before actually meeting in person (before email and cell phones).  They focused on their relationship with each other and God first before they even talked about marriage.  They were married before they had sex.  Her parents like and respected him; Krickett had a great relationship with her family.  They make several references in the book about how they could not have made it through this struggle without God’s grace, the love of their families and the support of their friends.  They were both athletic, healthy, Christian young people who married and THEN moved in together.  They were married just a few weeks when they were in a car accident on their way to visit family for Thanksgiving.  Their passenger had minor injuries; Kim had cuts, back injuries and serious facial injuries while Krickett had to be extracted from the car and had extensive and long-term injuries to her body and her brain.  The remainder of the book deals with her rehabilitation and the challenges they faced as they had to re-build a forgotten relationship.  They remain married and have two children.  Sorry for the spoiler.

My Rant

  The movie showed us that Paige (Krickett) had a difficult and estranged relationship from her parents, who encouraged her to divorce Leo (Kim).  Paige’s father had an affair which was part of the tension in the family; but it’s glossed over as her mother chose to stay with her faithless husband no matter what – completely inconsistent with the message to their daughter on the subject of staying married to her “stranger” husband.  Leo and Paige do divorce in the movie, which I found very disturbing as Paige’s attitude was that even if Leo knew they were married, she just didn’t want to make the effort to remember him as a part of her life.  The movie ends with Paige and Leo going a date to create new memories instead of trying to remember the old ones, but it was a sad alternate to the beauty of the reality of the genuine story.  

In real life, many of us struggle with our marriages and, although our struggles don’t involve a near-fatal accident or life-altering events, we believe in the sanctity of that vow and find a way to make it work, just like the real-life Kim and Krickett.  This movie was just one more way that Hollywood tries to legitimize their blackened morality by making it okay to give up when the going gets rough because life should be easy, simple and fun.  

My recommendation

Skip the movie, read the book.

Randoms Part Deux

I’m completely okay with amnesty for all the illegal aliens presently residing in our country.  All they have to do is sign up for a four-year period in any one of our armed forces.  

A new requirement for the President of the United States of America is that they MUST have served at least 4 years in one branch of the military.  They must also show allegiance to the flag of THIS country by saluting the flag at every ceremony, every time.  

If competition is bad, then why do we still have awards shows?  If it’s not a competition, why keep track of record or ticket sales, award someone “Entertainer of the Year”, “Best Actor”?  Why have shows like “Biggest Loser” and “Amazing Race”?  A competition always means that someone will lose, while someone wins.  

I work 10-12 hours a day, 5 days a week (not counting “mom” time); no wonder I’m exhausted.

If something has been used incorrectly or illegally for a long period of time; does that use supersede what the correct use is or should be? After a certain time, does it no longer become illegal because it’s been accepted by avoidance?

If there is no value to religion in morality; then what is used as the basis of value for right vs. wrong?  Who decides what is good or bad?  

If you know something is wrong and let an authority know, is that the end of your responsibility?  

I don’t think my right to bear arms has anything to do with my right to observe my religion or speak my mind.  I don’t think you need to be religious to carry a gun or carry a gun to be religious.

I never thought I’d see the day when it was illegal to pray in school or public, yet legal for two people of the same gender to marry. 

I am confused why I’m not allowed to choose the school I want to have my child(ren) attend, but I’m forced pay for other people’s choices over abortion, birth control and education for illegal immigrants.

I never thought I’d be alive during a time when it’s illegal to smoke (and kill yourself if you want to) but it’s legal to kill a baby with a heartbeat (because you don’t want it).  

Has decided that it’s okay to be a friend with someone that you just can’t be “That Friend” with.

Remember when “Pa” and “Ma” Ingalls got tired of working their stuff out and “Pa” moved into town so he could have a fling with some girl that worked at the general store?  And they lived apart for years while the kids spent every other weekend and two week days in shared custody? Yeah, me neither.