It's been a while since I've been in the mood, or had the time to write. Seems like this summer, especially towards the end got really really busy. I did make time for things that I feel are important in life though and one of those was spending some time with my mother in the kitchen. Mothers and daughters can either be very close or very far apart. I am happy to say I am very close with my mother and I enjoy spending time with her. I don't see any resemblance in the way we live our lives, but we always find away to communicate and enjoy ourselves. My mother by all means is the most peace loving and honest person you will ever meet in your entire life. She loves everyone and I can honestly say I've only seen her angry a couple of times in my life. She can work my nerves like no one else though. I think there is just some genetic code out there that lets a mother get under her daughters skin and move around. I know often times she doesn't mean to, but she does. I have no doubts I probably work her nerves some too. (NO eye rolling there for those of you that know me.) I've watched as my mother's disease has taken her back slowly over the past couple of years. My mom has Parkinson's and there are many things she will have to face with the disease. She's all ready having some problems talking. She loses her voice or has a weak voice often and she blames it on allergies but I've read on the disease and it is just what it is. Her shaking has some bad days, but luckily for all of us she still has some really good days. She's walking very very slow these days unless you put her behind a shopping cart. You would not believe how fast that woman can walk behind a shopping cart. I've tried to tell her she might want to at least think of using a cane to steady herself when not behind a cart but she is stubborn. That is definitely one thing she and I have in common. She has a hard time getting up and down and she stoops a little when standing. She's still my mom but it's heart breaking to see a woman so full of life and so willing to go on having these issues. She does exercises every day and eats well. She doesn't intend to go down without a fight. That is the fabric my mother is made of. So as I've watched my mother become more feeble the realization that she won't always be around has become ever so more real to me. I recently realized I didn't know how to make half the foods she cooks and that this knowledge would be lost unless I did something. I plan to try to learn as many of her food recipes as I can, but that won't be easy as my mother doesn't measure anything. She simply walks into a kitchen grabs this or that and tosses it in. Last year I tried several recipes for Peanut Butter Fudge that I found online. None of them could touch my mothers so recently I had her show me how she makes hers and I then made some for friends. It wasn't easy, but she went slow and I watched and tried to figure out measurements and took notes. I got it right I believe as my last batch I took friends should attest. There are so many things she makes I want to know how though. Like her cornbread. Now northern folks think that corn muffin stuff is corn bread. It's not. Cornbread is not sweet by any means. Cornbread is salty and very very good in a glass of milk when warmed. It generally is made in a cast iron skillet in the bottom of the stove. Other than that I can't help you on figuring it out, but I plan to. Isn't this the way it's suppose to be? I mean mothers pass things like this down to their daughters don't they? At least they use to. I think a lot of this type of thing is lost these days with technology and that is too bad. Either way you slice it there is nothing better than the bond between mothers and daughters. I love my mom very much and I've been very blessed to have had her in my life.
Is there such a thing as politically correct? I mean if you just sit and think about it these days we are catering to the few to spite the many. I suppose you want an example. There are a million examples to be given. We live in the United States of America. There are foreigners in our country and I’m good with that, what I am not good with is not flying our flag or saying the pledge of allegiance because we might offend them. I say offend them, if they don’t like it they can go home. This is AMERICA and it is our flag and our pledge of allegiance. Thinking of the pledge of allegiance, whose bright idea, was it to take God out of it? It offended a few so we take it out? What about the many who believe without God our country would perish? What about those who are proud to say it and offended us would leave it out? Then there is prayer in school. Now I’m not advocating making it mandatory and I’m not saying it should be school led, but if little Johnny wants to get on his knees and say a morning prayer he should be able to and it shouldn’t matter that someone else doesn’t like it. They don’t have to join and they don’t have to watch. There are lots of things that are offensive to me that I see as someone else choice and none of my business. Like putting Budweiser beer lights on a Christmas tree I find offensive. That is me though. If I’m in Johnny’s house and he likes it I have the choice of leaving or closing my mouth. I also find it offensive that people want to start calling Christmas tree’s, holiday trees. I don’t desecrate their holiday items by renaming it because a few people got their panties in a wad and I’d prefer they not do it to mine. I don’t care if the court house wants to put up a menorah. I’m cool with it. There is diversity. It’s something we need to embrace not throw out. Why is it ok to have celebrations for anything as long as it’s not a Christian Holiday? I’ll tell you one thing; the Christian people need to start speaking up. The reason the few are getting their way is because like spoiled little brats (yes I said it) they are throwing a fit and the government and all the other people out there who sit quietly are giving them what they want rather than say buck up it’s part of life. It’s like watching a parent in the stores and a child is throwing a fit so the parent gives it candy or a toy and buys it for them to get them to be quiet. The good parent would watch them throw the fit and then pick them up and leave the store and buy nothing. Why are we catering to stupidity? Sorry folks but I’m wound up. We are raising our children to be soft. We don’t want our teachers to tell them they are doing something wrong or poorly? Are you serious? I do. I mean how does it help little Johnny not to learn life lessons? If he doesn’t learn them as he grows he’s in for a shock when he hits the real world and he isn’t going to be prepared to handle it. When I was a child if you back talked a teacher and your parents found out you were getting a tanning and your parents were apologizing to the teacher. Now days if a child does that the parent wants the teacher to take it and say nothing and the parent won’t either. I can’t believe this is what we are coming to. I remember when swats in school were the norm and if you got one you were getting one when you got home too. I don’t advocate leaving bruises but I don’t see anything wrong with punishment and a little spanking. I survived and I wasn’t abused. You wonder why we have 
more kids growing up and committing suicide, well maybe we should consider that life is too tough for them because we aren’t teaching them to be tough or what the real world is as they are growing up. I lead a fairly sheltered life, but school taught me to be tough. I was shocked by a lot of stuff but prepared to deal with it because I had dealt with adversity growing up in school. Life is hard enough without being painted the pretty picture of life is great when you’re a child. We all know there are children out there that have it tough. There are children living in homes they shouldn’t which could be a whole topic of its own. The government watches what happens at school and slaps teachers for trying to teach respect and honor and pride, but when it comes to the home life they don’t care as long as the parent is providing a roof and food and clothing? Seriously there are so many things that are wrong and the more people say they are trying to fix them, the more they seem to F*** them up if you ask me. I guess I am just tired of a few people deciding what everyone of us should think, say and feel. I mean really we need to start speaking up. Those of us who don’t like to cause waves need to learn to surf the waters and bring in the tide. Do you even know who decides? Do you sit and say my opinion doesn’t count or who cares really? If we don’t take control of this soon our country is going to just keep getting in worse and worse shape. If you and I don’t decide then who does? 