I remember when you had to get off the couch to turn on the tv or change the channel. In fact, if you wanted to turn the channel you actually turned a dial for one of the three networks. There was a second dial that you could turn for UHF...and you had to actually tune in the station like you did with the radio.
I remember when you had to tune in the radio by turning a dial and not just hitting a button.
I remember when the microwaves started to become a common thing. Before that we had to wait up to 9 or 10 minutes for a meal.
We'd have to buy these special little plastic roundish inserts that you'd place in your 45 so you could listen to a single. You had to take it off the record player and flip it over to hear the B side. If you had an 8 track, you'd hit a "next" button and it'd play the next song somewhere in the song...you didn't have any control over whether or not it started at the beginning.
I also remember when it had to snow out for them to cancel school. We'd wait and complain because we still had to go to school when there was three or four inches of snow....and now it just has to be cold outside?
I remember when you had to tune in the radio by turning a dial and not just hitting a button.
I remember when the microwaves started to become a common thing. Before that we had to wait up to 9 or 10 minutes for a meal.
We'd have to buy these special little plastic roundish inserts that you'd place in your 45 so you could listen to a single. You had to take it off the record player and flip it over to hear the B side. If you had an 8 track, you'd hit a "next" button and it'd play the next song somewhere in the song...you didn't have any control over whether or not it started at the beginning.
I also remember when it had to snow out for them to cancel school. We'd wait and complain because we still had to go to school when there was three or four inches of snow....and now it just has to be cold outside?
I can't remember those days... I must be getting old.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of those days. Though my first car, a 1984 Tempo, came from the factory with AM radio only. No air conditioning was installed. And cruise control was a dream to be had by the rich and famous.
ReplyDelete*I started driving in '96
**I milked that car until '03
back off the snowdays - it is awesome.
ReplyDeletethat's just it...it's not a snowday if there isn't any snow
ReplyDeleteI finally agree with Murph about something. This is just silly. Back in my day (yikes), we would get 6 or 7 inches and still have school. I just can't see the rationale for calling off school today, but I REALLY can't see the rationale behind school delays! Ok, so at 7:30am it's 5 degrees. And two hours later it's 10 degress. What?! What difference does that make? If anything, they should have had an early release, since it's supposed to snow around 1:00pm.
ReplyDeleteStupid.
Little kids with skinny legs + low temperatures + parents who refuse to make their kids wear coats/ snowpants = hypothermia. The school district is trying to protect kids from hypothermia. I support it. I agree that there is little difference between 5 degrees at 8am and 10 degrees at 10 am.
ReplyDeleteAnd this coming from a girl who was forced to wear a uniform (little plaid skirt with knee socks- no pants allowed). I really did walk two miles home from school, sometimes in a foot of snow. And it was horrible. Not a character builder, just horrible.
"I survived- why can't they?". What kind of attitude is that? Don't you want your kids lives to be better than yours was?
School delays are better than snow days because you don't have to make them up at the end of the year (and parents only have to take a half day off of work instead of a full day).
An easier life doesn't mean a better life. Adversity builds character.
ReplyDeleteI disagree about the whole character builder argument. It is a character builder.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that kids today have become conditioned to the idea that any little inconvenience is grounds for a free ticket out of responsibility.
I'm not going to name names, but someone I know has received a billion emails in regards to canceling class tomorrow because it snowed tonight.
Character is built when one faces the inconvenience and goes to school anyway. And yeah, I walked to school too. Regardless of the rain, cold, or snow. Was it a pain, yeah, but it forced me to do my homework the night before bc I knew my rear end had to show it in class the next day.
There's something left to be desired when asking today's kids to show some responsibility. I wonder why we don't see enough of it...
i don't take stock in any comments published as "anonymous".
ReplyDeleteooops. that was me.
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I pity your kids.
ReplyDeleteUnmerciful parents yield unmerciful kids.
ReplyDeleteit's sad that the most judgmental condemning comments tend to be from folks that aren't willing to stand behind their comments with their name....
ReplyDeleteI really think it takes the credibility out of what they have to say....no one respects the drive by insult/comments
Who said I was unmerciful? Who said my parents were unmerciful? In fact, what my parents taught me was that responsibility and preparedness is required to be successful in life.
ReplyDeleteIt's cold outside? Oh, so I better wear a coat. It's raining really hard? Oh, I better carry an umbrella and maybe wear a coat.
Not, it's cold outside? Sweet, I can shirk off this project another day because I'll obviously have the day off tomorrow.
Mercy and Responsibility can coexist together without sacrificing the other.
No, Murph. The judgmental crown goes to you.
ReplyDeleteYou can teach kids to be responsible in other ways than giving them hypothermia.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteYou're just silly. Do you even know Sean? Find me another 2 people on this planet who consider him judgmental and I have a crisp one hundred dollar bill with your name on it.
I used to really get angry with people like you...now I just feel really sorry for you. You must really be hurting inside to lash out the way you do. If you ever want to hang out and talk through your junk, I'd be more than happy to buy you a beverage of your choice.
wow. just wow. that's all i got.
ReplyDeletei never once got hypothermia walking to school in the cold or the rain. i never once got the flu. i never once had any health issues.
maybe you, anonymous, should get a clue and realize that your baby isn't really all that fragile.
but just for the sake of argument, if it's possible for you, tell us how many times you got hypothermia, the flu, a cold, etc. when you walked to school in your skirt and stockings?
You guys seem to be victims of the backlash against the self-esteem (child-centered) movement. A group of people decided that all this country's current ills were caused by parents who were more worried about their kids self-esteem than about personal responsibility. These parents were, in turn, backlashing against their perception of their parents being way too hard on them and expecting them to be "little adults".
ReplyDeleteBeing child-centered is not a bad thing nor is expecting them to carry some personal responsibility.
The problem is, with any backlash, society tries to throw away all the good that came with each ideology. You have to analyze if you're just part of "group think" reacting too extremely to a perceived bad ideology.
As with all things, balance is key.
I forgot, schools also don't want to be the school district that lands on the national news: "Child in critical condition due to standing at bus stop in below zero temperatures" or "Bus skids off road due to black ice. Kills 3". Like it or not we are a litigious society. Many people are greedy and love a crash and burn headline.
WT...?
ReplyDeleteI get that you didn't think it was fair. I didn't think it was fair. But hows about now you look at how that experience changed who you are.
The fact that you bring up the litigious society tells me that you would be the first to bang on a courtroom door when your kid catches a cold because he/she was splashed at sea world during the whale show.
Seriously, how much time did you spend in the care of a medical professional when you had to walk to school? Why would you then assume that your kid(s) are any different in their ability to fight infections-unless they have some serious medical condition (i.e. leukemia)-but I have a feeling this conversation would be very different should that be the case.
Life isn't fair. Allowing the environment to give you permission to quit because it will be more difficult or dangerous (answered by dressing appropriately) would be the saddest conclusion to this story.
Actually, I am very anti-litigation. Mediation is better. Don't pretend to know me or what I would do.
ReplyDeleteI remember being cold.
My parents raised me to care about those less fortunate than me by role modeling this behavior. Having a friend who was homeless helped me to appreciate the roof over my head, the clothes on my back and the food on my table. Struggling through advanced placement classes helped build my self-discipline. Having a sibling with mental retardation and watching her struggle to feed herself also built my character. Being cold- not so much.
Adversity is a natural part of life. You can't avoid it. Life isn't fair for anyone. You're right. Why put obstacles in your child's path that don't need to be there? Life is full of natural obstacles. Life, itself, is hard enough.
I don't understand what the problem is with tempering personal responsibility with mercy.
i remember back when i was in middle school there was a rule that we weren't allowed to wear shorts between the dates Oct. 1 and March 1.
ReplyDeleteMarch 1 rolled around one year and I decided that I was going to wear shorts that day, regardless of what my parents said.
Funny thing about Cincinnati in March...
I froze my tiny berries and couldn't say anything in response to the teachers who asked why I would do that.
My parents warned me. The staff warned the students previous to March 1. I didn't heed those warnings and I learned a valuable lesson. Does that mean my parents were unmerciful or that they allowed me to learn a lesson based upon my judgment skills?
Sometimes tough love is more necessary and i believe that is showing mercy in a controlled environment. i certainly wouldn't allow a child to play with a loaded gun in the same experience-based model.
so why are you hiding behind the anonymous tag if this is your belief? you certainly feel you have parenting down to a tee (read by your tone and style of writing) and now your philosophy is being challenged. You certainly have the right to challenge me and question my philosophies, but as it was mentioned earlier, it doesn't count for much since you can't speak with authority over your own beliefs.
Maybe steve is right, you are just cowardly and feeling sorry for you is the right answer...
Or maybe you're a group of people who don't like their tenuous beliefs being challenged. It's too bad that most of you can't venture outside of your little house of cards.
ReplyDeleteFeel sorry for yourselves. It is when people challenge you and you allow yourself to listen (and retort occasionally) that you grow.
Try challenging yourself on a blog where everyone doesn't agree with you. It's a lot more stimulating.
You've introduced me to the world of evangelical Christians. I hope you feel you've represented well.
Watch out, though. The Pentacostals are the fastest growing religion now.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me why blog debates are so stupid. I needed that. Happy searching. :)
And here I thought that you, Steve, were the one outside the box thinker. I guess Stepford got to lyloyou. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteYou say don't pretend to know who I am...don't you DARE to pretend to know who Murph is either. You have nerve like I have never seen to question him as a father.
And, Madame Anonymous, stay hidden and be mean or step up and take responsibility for your words.
Do you have children? Have you parented a child-centered child? Tell me how that works for you. When he says I want jellybeans for breakfast, do you indulge? The child is the center. When he throws a fit in the store for the game you said no to, I guess you give in because he is the center. When he wants to sleep in your bed, you tell your husband, "Your on the couch, he wants in our bed and he is the center." Sounds awesome. I dare you to enter a parenting debate with me. I in no way have it figured out but have read about every book I can get to on parenting. I may not have much figured out but challenge our parenting and I promise, we win.
I think evangelical Christians as you say, take a bad rap in what Fuller so correctly called stupid blog debates. I think the anger and frustration comes from you seemingly assume you are the only outside the box thinker. As far as I know, we have never had a conversation so you have no idea what my thinking is in or out of the box.
Forget it, I am frustrated. I am going to talk to Sean about how to best give our kids hypothermia.
I got a freezer they can play in.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI think things get a little out of control through blogs. People miscommunicate and it's difficult to clarify ourselves.
Sean began by questioning why schools are now closing/delaying because of the cold (since this seems to be a new development). You seemed to decode that as Sean (and others that agreed with him) saying that we should put children in harm's way. I know Sean and Annie, and of course they would never want to harm their children. But we all agree that adversity can build character. It's ok to disagree on what we consider acceptable adversity.
Mercy is a good thing. Giving your kids a good life is a good thing. Building character in kids is a good thing. I'm not a parent, but I can imagine how difficult it would be to balance all of that in raising the people you love more than anything else in the world.
I think parents might get a little upset when you say you "pity their kids." That's not fair. Other than that, you're allowed to have your opinion. And you might be right. But taking a low blow like that is going to hurt people. Not much mercy in that.
I like to think I do think outside of the box. But it feels like you want me to think inside YOUR box. I hear what you're saying, but I still disagree with delaying school because of the cold. And it's ok to disagree.
Have a good week. :)
Retract your claws sweetie.
ReplyDeleteChild centered doesn't mean indulgent. It just means you don't treat your kids as disrespectfully as Dr. Dobson convinces you to.
oh hell girlfriend...
ReplyDeletei'd like to meet your children. i can see them now as being very similar to the kids I taught last year. the ones who believe they are entitled to a cell phone conversation during class time because mom and dad (if he's in the picture) turn the other way during disrespectful behaviors because that hurts the kid's psyche.
See, i may or may not know you (that's the decision you have made by standing behind the fence and lobbing insulting and destructive rhetoric at those on this side of the fence who will stand behind the thought processes and philosophies we have decided to buy into). But I have met plenty of individuals who speak and act in the manor you buy into and the result is the same. Bad environments for others who genuinely want positive things. Unfortunately though, it's not a society where one individual (your child) is more important than the others in the same environment.
But back to the point at hand. If you don't like the cold weather and wish to not subject your child to it, hows about you just move to a better climate? I hear Southern California is nice this time of year. Problem solved. I can raise my kids (when I have them) with my beliefs while supporting the parenting decisions of my friends who have made theirs.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteDo you realize how condescending and offensive you sound? Sweetie? Really?
Child centered doesn't mean indulgent so you say but it certainly doesn't mean parent directed. Children aren't little adults now but I am not risking them going to be grow up to be big children. I honestly don't know how you can assume I raise my children according to Dr. Dobson. Maybe that is the problem. Assuming that he "has convinced" me to? Again with the assuming I have no brain but you do. I have to argue that saying he tauts disrespecting your children? That is irresponsible on your part.
Please answer, do you have children? Do you know what you are speaking to?
I still have a freezer if anyone wants to let me babysit for a while...
ReplyDelete