Stop telling me what to do. I’m just reading the instructions, Nadia.
Simone, reading the fine print before playing with a new toy.
As I write this, Nadia is carrying around a fistful of change.
She has no plans for it. She just likes to carry it around. The other day I had to referee a battle between the girls. Nadia had given Simone 5 cents and she wanted the money back. Of course, Simone refused to give it back because Nadia gave the money to her. I avoided World War III by quickly finding two pennies and giving them to Nadia. Yes, we’re still working on what it means when you give an item to someone.
Simone has been asking a lot of questions about money. She is trying to wrap her mind around how debit cards and checks work. She sees me swipe my debit card or write a check to pay for items, but she isn’t sure how the store or utility gets the money from the bank. I’ve tried to explain, but I am not sure she gets it.
I’m thinking it’s time to open savings accounts for Simone and Nadia. Their grandparents like to give them money for birthdays and holidays and they should learn to appreciate it. They need to learn how to save money, use it for good, and spend it wisely.
How did you learn how to appreciate money? How are you teaching your children to handle money?
I have to admit I was very excited when Simone and Nadia were invited to a birthday skate party. I hadn’t been on skates in, um, almost a decade.
We arrived, laced up, and hit the rink. Simone can get around unassisted and Nadia needs a little coaching. Most of the kids at the party, though, were being led around the rink by their parents.
It looked so wrong.
As Simone skated by, a mother wondered whether it was her first time on skates. No, I said, she skates in our neighborhood.
“She has her own skates?”
“Yep.”
Three things. Number one, when did roller skates fall from must-have status? Number two, my parents never saw the inside of a roller rink. And number three, I don’t think anyone can learn how to skate by holding someone else’s hand because skating is all about balance.
This is not how childhood is supposed to play out. We won’t let our children get any skinned knees or elbows, let alone fall on their bottoms while learning how to skate.
When I was little, a girl on a military base in Texas taught me how to skate. She knew how to skate and I tried to keep up. I had the scabs to prove it. Back then — and I know I am dating myself here — I had a pair of white skates with metal wheels. Yes, metal. I don’t think you could go too fast on those things.
At the party, I wanted to race around the rink, but there were all these parents walking around the rink, holding their children’s hands. There were also a few kids who would wipeout without warning. It was enough to make me pine for an Adult Skate, a time when all wibbly-wobbly skaters had to take a seat.
It didn’t happen.
It’s true what they say. Once a skater, always a skater. A whole generation isn’t learning and doesn’t know what its missing.
Sure, this story needs a source or two who can verify what this woman is saying. It would be nice if it were her doctor or someone else versed in the how the body works. That said, this is a remarkable story. I’m sharing it, given our recent conversation about relaxers. Enjoy!
Richard F. Cebull, a federal judge in Montana, recently sent a racist joke to a few of his friends because he disagrees with President Obama’s policies.
Here’s what I want to know: Why, in 2012, people don’t know if you send an email to your friends that eventually it could go around the world, complete with all of the coding to trace it back to its origination? Why, in 2012, people don’t know racism and bestiality when they read it? Why, in 2012, would a federal judge so disagree with someone’s policies that he would start talking about that person’s mother? Why, in 2012, would such a person charged with being impartial show just how partial he is?
Those are my four questions. What are yours?
