Serendipity

Does this look familiar? I realize this topic has seen a lot of play over the recent years, yet nothing seems to be getting done to change things. Why?  I admit, I am totally baffled. Yet I'm not. Exactly when did parenting skills start falling apart? Isn't that really what's going on? Parenting has changed, we as adults have changed. I found this on Facebook, believe it or not. Talk about perfect timing! But it says it all for the most part. Do you agree? My parents, especially my mother was pretty strict. When I had kids, I was fairly strict. My daughter is fairly strict. My sons not so much. The difference being that I was harder on my daughter because she was a girl. I didn't want her to make the mistakes I did. Now I'm not saying my sons are super lenient, they are not. But they give more leeway with their children than my daughter does. I will tell you that her children are well behaved and know respect and common sense is no stranger to them...

Halloween, in theory, is supposed to be 'fun' for children...and I know that as a child, it was for me. Times have changed though. Halloween is no longer the safe, carefree night of the year for children, it's now one where dangers lurk...and children can be cruel. My 12 year old niece, who loves this holiday, so looked forward to going out with friends trick or treating. Days before, she and a few friends, made plans to meet at a specific place at 6 p.m. and from there, walk through our little town. She had decided early-on in November that she wanted to be a dead bride...and so we spent the time to acquire a dress, and all the things we would need to make her look somewhat real. We 'shredded' the dress, made a veil out of an old slip, which I then hand sewed to a headband. We bought the fake makeup, complete with 'blood' (fake, of course) and proceeded to splatter it all over the items...even the little bunch of flowers she would carry. On her o...