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TO: All Toy Manufacturers FROM: A Parent and Toy Purchaser RE: The Best Toys Don't worry, this is not a complaint. Just an observation... As you are in the busiest time of your manufacturing year, I can't help but notice that my kids spend quite a bit of time playing with anything but the toys that fill their rooms. Just this past week, my 6 yr. old fashioned a "needle & thread" from a paper clip and a balloon string and "sewed" a piece of paper. A few days before that, my 9 yr. old and my 6 yr. old spent several hours making a chain of all the paper clips they could find in the house. When they tired of dragging the chain around and measuring it against various things in the house, they used it for a tail while one of them was pretending to be a cat. They routinely rescue boxes and cardboard drink holders from the recycling can to use for their "projects" and "games". So far this week, I have been gifted with a "rug" made from leftover craft pompoms and tape as well as a calendar drawn on the back of a recycled piece of paper. When we travel to visit our family for Christmas, they will play in a large refrigerator box that they won't let my mother throw away. It's their "house" and the first place they go when we arrive. Be assured that their Christmas lists are full of "traditional" toys that will greet them on Christmas morning. We have done our part to stimulate the economy (i.e. your bottom line). The question I have to ask myself now is "Why?" From where I sit, it turns out the "best" toys may not really be toys at all. Merry Christmas!
TO: Me FROM: Me RE: Small Voices Please make a note of the voices you hear coming from the children's bathroom while they are showering at night. They don't realize you can hear every word! You'll notice the oldest one (almost 9) is singing "The Old Rugged Cross". He's proud to have heard it in the worship service yesterday after having learned it at camp last summer. The youngest (6) is paying no attention to the fact that you don't start playing Christmas music until AFTER Thanksgiving. She's already in the holiday spirit and she's belting out "Silent Night" to prove it. Remember to be thankful for those special, small voices.
TO: My Old Job FROM: A Mom RE: Staying Home It's been 9 years since I walked away from you for the last time. Long before that day came, I knew it was the best decision for me. I was never under any illusions that you wouldn't be just fine without me and that everything would run smoothly once I left. What I wasn't sure about was me. I was leaving something that I KNEW I was good at for something I had no idea about...motherhood! Today, I can't claim that I know all there is to know about motherhood. I never will. What I can say is thank you. Being successful with you helped me realize I could be successful staying home too. Now, I get to be here when my kids leave for school in the morning and I am the 1st person they see after the last bell rings in the afternoon. I'd be lying if I said that I have NEVER missed the job I used to get paid for. But I have been blessed beyond measure by staying home and I will always be thankful for that!
TO: School Teachers & Staff FROM: A Thankful Parent RE: Morning As you begin another day & week of educating my children, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for greeting my children by name each day. Thank you for making their needs your priority. Thank you for creating a place they want to be. Thank you for showing them that learning is exciting. Thank you for being patient on their "off" days. Thank you for continuing to learn yourself. Without a doubt, you make getting off to school each day something special. For that, I am truly thankful!
TO: My children (currently ages 8 and 6) FROM: Mom (and Daddy) RE: Your driving, SOMEDAY! Even though we have talked about this before, I want you to see it in writing. I know it doesn't mean as much to you now as it will when WHEELS are all you can think of. That's OK. This way, you will have plenty of time to understand come to terms with our position. So, here it is...you will NOT get your own car on your 16th birthday. This is not a punishment or a lack of trust or an overreaction to the way our parents treated us when we were that age. It is, purely and simply, what we believe is the safest, most responsible way to handle you learning to drive. Without a doubt, driving is one, if not the most liberating thing you will ever learn to do. Unfortunately, it also has the potential to be the most dangerous thing you ever do. Yes, we understand we cannot protect you from everything that might be difficult, painful, or dangerous. We accept that. At the same time, we would not be doing our job as your (notice we are not concerned with what your friends parents are doing) parents if we handed you the keys to a car and quit asking questions about where you are and who you are with just after you have blown out 16 candles. So, we won't. Instead, this is what we will do...
We will teach you to drive safely, responsibly, and in
accordance with the laws of our state.
We will make sure you have access to a car.
We will make some specific rules regarding that car.
We will allow you to contribute $ toward car maintenance.
We will ask you where you are going.
We will expect you to be there and only there.
We will limit the number of passengers you can have.
We will limit and/or remove driving PRIVILEGES if you
give us a reason to.
We will enforce your curfew.
We will ask for the keys when you get home.
We will take the hit to our “popularity” in the short term to
keep you safe in the long term.
You won’t understand our side of this story until you have
your own children, someday. That’s OK. You can thank us
then!
TO: IOC Voting Members FROM: A Thankful American RE: 2016 Summer Games I expect you may receive LOTS of thank yous from people in Brazil but I would feel bad if you didn't get at least one from the U.S. On behalf of many of my fellow citizens, including too many to count in Chicago, thank you for awarding the games to someone else. Honestly, we have too many other things going on to worry about getting ready for that! When organized correctly, the Olympics is a wonderful celebration and an unparalleled showcase for the world's most talented athletes. Quite honestly, if that event was held in Chicago (or anywhere in the U.S. right now), the focus would be on anything but the competition and the accomplishments. I fear, all eyes would be pointed toward the money and the politics and the possibility of terrorism on our soil, AGAIN. Frankly, that already fills too much of our conversation. Don't misunderstand me. I love America and the Olympics. I would be proud to have the world's athletes come here to see the best of what this country has to offer. The problem is that what we can offer the world right now isn't our best. We have serious work to do to fix some serious problems. I have faith that we WILL fix the things that are wrong. When we do, someday, I hope you'll find us worthy to host the most honorable sporting event there is. If you do, I can assure you there won't be a better showcase anywhere!
TO: Chip Kelly, The University of Oregon Football Coach FROM: Rachel Langston, Parent & Sports Fan RE: Player Suspension I can't thank you enough for taking such quick, decisive action following the unfortunate incident after your football game last Thursday night. I did not see the game but, while traveling on Friday evening, my family and I saw the replay on the TV in the restaurant. At first, my 8 yr. old son, a baseball player, thought what he saw was "kinda cool". Thanks to your timely handling of the situation, I was able to tell my son about the consequences the player will have to pay for his inappropriate actions. What a pleasure it was to be able to talk about what happened as an example of why self-control is important INSTEAD of having to figure out a way to "spin" an athletes actions to explain why they can get away with behavior that is not allowed for others! I know suspending a senior, leading player on your team was not easy. Certainly, in some circles, it is a decision that won't be popular. Thank you for making it anyway, because it was right! I hope that, in the long run, it will prove to be a learning experience for all your players. Until then, please know that it was definitely a learning experience for my young athlete. For that, I will always be grateful!
TO: TFOH Readers (if there are any left)
FROM: Rachel Langston (TFOH Writer)
RE: Changes to TFOH
To be honest, I didn't intend to take a summer long break from blogging.
It just worked out that way.While I wasn't blogging, though, I was
thinking about blogging and I decided to make some changes.
I hope they will streamline the blog and the information you find
here. I am confident that they will make writing it a little more
straightforward for me.
If you would, please let me know what you think. Not just about
what I write but the format that I use to share it with you.
If the changes don't translate to a better experience for you,
I need to keep thinking until I come up with something that will!
Here are some changes you'll notice:
1) More posts - I am aiming to post SOMETHING every day.
It may take me a few weeks to work up to that but it's my goal.
2) Daily Themes - My mind works better with a specific focus.
So, I have decided on a different focus for each day of the week.
The posts for each day will follow that theme. These are the themes
I will start with.
MONDAY MEMO
TUESDAY TASK
WEDNESDAY WORSHIP, WEDNESDAY WRITING or WEDNESDAY WONDERINGS
THURSDAY THOUGHTS
FRIDAY FINANCES or FRIDAY FREE-FOR-ALL
SATURDAY SHOWCASE
SUNDAY REST
3) More outbound links - Much of the enjoyment I get from blogging
(and the Internet in general) comes from finding and reading other
blogs. As I find things that appeal to me, I plan to share them
with you!
If you like what you read here, please let me know and share
the link with someone else that may enjoy it! If you don't,
please let me know your ideas about how I might improve the
site.
Thanks,
Rachel
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