OK. I said it. Losing a few football games is not the end of the world!

My son is a Senior at the University of Georgia and like most students, he sits in the student section at all the home games and supports his Dawgs.  He was hoping for a winning season; but right now, the Dawgs aren't doing so well.  UGA is currently 1-3.  One only has to read the local sports section to understand that there are a lot of unhappy fans out there.  So the Dawgs may not have a winning season.  They may not even go to a bowl game this year.  But more important than football ....

Will the players (and other students associated with the football program) stay focused on their studies in spite of their losses?   

You may be a football enthusiast.  But for the students that are part of the football program, they are also pursuing their educational goals.  While they want their team to win every football game, it won't be the worst thing that will happen if they don't have a winning season.  Ensuring the players receive their college degrees must outweigh a couple of hours playing football on Saturdays in the fall.  Except for a rare few who may end up playing football professionally, winning a game over Arkansas or South Carolina will only be memories discussed with their families over Thanksgiving dinner in ten or twenty years.  Finishing school will impact their livelihood for years to come. 

Education first and football second.  Let's not lose sight in what is really important.  

College sports give many players the opportunity to continue their education through scholarships.  It boosts the town's revenue when there are home games.  A college athletic program does have its advantages.  But losing a few games is not the end of the world.  Sports fans, get a grip.  There is always next year.  Pull for your Dawgs and enjoy the popcorn, beer, and the opportunity to scream at the TV for a few hours.  But in the end, let's be sure that these players get educated and do well in life in spite of losing a few games of football.

Go Dawgs!!  

What does football and decorating have in common?

One of my favorite networks is HGTV, specifically the shows that deal with buying, selling, and renovating homes.  Not only do you get to peek into the lives of other families as they make some of the same decisions that you make for your family, you also get to glimpse into the geographical location that they live.  It can be mind-boggling at times on how the housing market can be vastly different from East Coast to West Coast, but particularly abroad.   

I find myself watching the credits at the end to see exactly when the episodes were taped.  Was it before or after the housing market tanked?  What families pay for homes with so few modern conveniences makes me appreciate living in the good ol' U.S. of A.  What we call middle class would be considered luxury living compared to how some families live in other countries, while paying the same price for their homes.    

Just like sports fans who scream at the players and coaches from their sofas, I find myself shouting out comments to home buyers such as:

"Are you kidding? That isn't a large closet!"
"Oh, my gosh! That house is way too small for that price tag...good view or not."
"OK...a ceiling fan is not a big investment, but replacing those outdated cabinets will be."
"That is NOT a large back yard!"

So what does football and house hunting have in common?  Mostly wasted time, but very enjoyable wasted time!  For all you football enthusiasts that spend hours watching men tackle one another over chasing a ball every weekend, you can now make fun of me for spending hours looking at real estate, decorating tips, and home renovations that I may never put to good use as well.

Are we even?

Well....I may eventually get that outdoor fireplace,
as long as I don't ask my husband to install it
during football season!

Would you allow your child to go to college at age 16?

A few months ago, Steve and I visited the Advanced Academy at the University of West Georgia, the local college about 10 miles from our home.  Our youngest son, Bart, who was 16 years old and a Sophomore in high school at that time, came home from school all fired up about starting to college two years sooner.  Whoa--stop. My baby going to college at 16?  Sounds like a disaster in the making....but is it?

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education showed only about 5% of high schoolers participating in this program.  A 2007 study from the Community College Research Center concluded that dual enrollment programs have a positive effect on high school graduation rates, besides early progress in obtaining a college degree.  In fact, my own husband participated in dual enrollment back in the mid 70's before he graduated from high school and it certainly didn't hurt him.  This is not a new concept.  It just wasn't something I had considered for Bart. So the question at that time was....

Is Bart ready for college at 16?  Are students ready for college even at 18? 

You hear all the horror stories about college life.  My husband and I met when we were both students in college and he and I have already sent our two older sons to college.  We know a little about college life...then and now.  Our oldest son, Ben, was shipped clear across the country to California for his first semester away from home.  Our middle son, Brant, is now a Senior at the University of Georgia, just named by the Princeton Review as the #1 party school in the nation!  From all indications, Brant would not be a winner if accolades were given to those that made this "award" possible.  But nonetheless, no one will disagree that ALL colleges include in their freshmen orientation the rules about under-age drinking, drugs, making good choices, etc.  

So what should a parent do?  The good news is that students today are given options.  If you are a first-time high school parent, meet with the school counselors and find out about the curriculum and options your child will have.  If you feel like the counselor isn't giving you sufficient information, do your own homework and keep asking questions.  As parents, it is ultimately our responsibility to ensure that we help our children forge through the educational, technical, and vocational paths to jobs and careers one day. 

We looked at all the options Bart had if he continued to stay in high school. We are 99% sure that Bart's major in college will be something in the engineering or technology fields. So we looked at what classes were offered at the vocational high school that would compliment his college resume along with his honors classes.  Taking some computer technology classes were a logical and valid option for him.

Bart has already begun his Junior year and for now, he has placed early college entrance on the backburner.  Steve and I can breathe a sigh of relief while we enjoy our "baby" for at least one more year! We'll see what happens next Spring!

A Room with a Flue

As I type this, I'm listening to the constant chirping and fluttering of chimney swifts who have made their home in the Jones family chimney. At first, only the softest of sounds are heard until someone will stop and say, "What's that noise?" before we realize our bird friends are back.  Then right before they leave their nest, they get so loud that you even have to crank up the television volume over their flutterings and chirpings! Although it's probably not more than four or five baby chirpers with their parents, it will sound like a flock or two nesting in our chimney!     

Some bird lovers actually build chimney swift towers in their attempts to entice the birds to their chimneys. While we didn't do that, I have considered why they took up residence in our chimney.  Looking back to when they first arrived, adding the pool to the back yard may have been the catalyst. The pool not only attracts small insects that these insectivores ingest, it is a short flight away from an ample water supply. Our back yard provides them with plenty of mosquitoes, flies, and other small critters that are part of their diets.  They are actually good boarders since they are part of housekeeping! That's more than I can say about the boys that live in this household!

Chimney Swifts are declining in numbers in the U.S., partially because homeowners cap their chimneys without consideration to our feathered friends. There were several years that we considered it, too.  But it's a small price to pay knowing we are helping preserve wildlife.  They only require about a foot of chimney space that certainly isn't used in the sweltering heat of Georgia every summer. The least my family can do is allow them a sanctuary for about 30-40 days while their babies hatch and then fly the coop...or chimney in this case!  If they can tolerate all the household noises coming from the Jones family, then a little loud chirping right before the baby birds leave their nest seems like a fair trade-off.

To read more about chimney swifts, you can go to www.chimneyswifts.org.

Do you think marijuana laws are outdated?

Close your eyes. When I say "death of a drug user," what image comes to mind? Most likely, it is an image of a young adult wasted on some kind of illegal drug use such as meth, cocaine, or heroin.  Your image would be partially wrong. Slightly more Americans die every day from legal drug abuse than illegal.  But by far, tobacco is the number one killer.  Take a look: 

Annual American Deaths from:

• Tobacco - 400,000
• Alcohol - 100,000
• All Legal Drugs - 20,000
• All Illegal Drugs - 15,000
• Caffeine - 2,000
• Aspirin - 500
• Marijuana - 0

Were you surprised?  Not one death from smoking too much weed.  In fact, it's actually impossible to overdose on marijuana.  Yet an American is busted every 37 seconds in the U.S. for pot, the least offensive recreational drug out there.  Does anyone else see this as an injustice in the land of the free?   

Our legal system is still based on the ideology that if we stop the pot-smoker, we have saved a life wasted on drug abuse. Marijuana can be smoked responsibly in the same way someone drinks a couple glasses of wine at dinner or has a beer while watching a football game.  Instead, we criminalize the pot smoker.  Are we locking up everyone that drinks alcohol? Smokes cigarettes? Drinks a few too many cups of coffee every morning?  No.  Common sense prevails. But there is no common sense regarding pot usage. 

When it comes to marijuana, we have allowed the government to fill our heads with years of outdated, unproven, and even flat-out wrong data regarding marijuana usage.  Anyone that reads any medical or scientific data on marijuana today knows that it even has medicinal value, specifically for those with chronic pain.     

Should marijuana be a controlled substance?  Absolutely!  It isn't totally harmless.  It is a drug.  It shouldn't be in the hands of children and no one should drive intoxicated while under the influence of any drugs, including pot.  But just as adults choose to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes legally as controlled substances, so should the marijuana smoker.  Certainly no one should go to jail just because they are in possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. 

If you have come to the conclusion that I am a pothead, you would be mistaken.  I have never smoked pot even once.  But I have experienced first-hand the injustices that smoking marijuana has caused my son, more specifically this past year.  Because we live in the state of Georgia, marijuana usage is not recognized even for medicinal purposes.  

To learn more about marijuana, its history, current laws, and the newest medical usage, visit the website for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, norml.com, especially if your state is considering a vote for legalizing marijuana.  Be an informed voter!   

Things I will stop complaining about!

Do you ever get tired of hearing the same old complaints over and over?  Me, too.  Here are a few I'm gonna stop complaining about.....

Too much rain

I have yet to walk around my house in knee-deep water.  I also remember a time when we were begging for rain.  So no more griping about wet weekends.

Going to work

Considering 14.8 million workers were unemployed in January, about 10% nationally, I should be jumping for joy that I have somehow managed to hold on to my job. So when I'm hitting the snooze button a couple of times, I need to be thankful I have a job that requires me to rise and shine! 

Household chores

No one likes to clean house; but worse is if you can't physically perform mundane household chores.  From now on, I'm gonna be thankful that I can bend over, sort the laundry, and throw a load in!

 Problems with the housing market

Is this picture of Haiti enough of an explanation?

High cost of gas

Every summer gas increases.  Maybe if I stop complaining, it will stop climbing!  Gas is also cheaper in the U.S. than in many other countries.  I also don't want to have to start riding a bicycle to work everyday!

Poor road conditions

OK...so I have to dodge a pot hole here and there.  At least I have pavement everywhere I need to go.  

Wearing contacts to read

One of the downfalls of aging is wearing glasses or contacts to read.  I should be thankful that all I have to do is place a pair of contacts in my eyes and my problem is over. 

When my husband spends too 
much time hunting.

 At least he's hunting the four-legged variety!!

  

  

  





 







 

Top 10 causes of death in America

For the first time in my life, I experienced the real possibility of a life and death situation.  Since I'm still driving a mini van, my wheels would have ended in the picture of the mini van above, with my youngest child just turning 16.  I would have missed out on the next four wheels of life, although I can't say that I'm looking forward to that last ride if it is going to be in a wheelchair. But I am willing to accept it if it means I get to experience all the other productive years before then.   

I am a sucker for a statistic, so I had to look up the fatality rate for accidental deaths.  I was surprised to see that accidents are the 5th leading cause of deaths!  OK...so it wasn't exactly outside the realm of possibility that I really could have died!!

Here are the top 10 causes of death in America (from 2006) from the Centers for Disease Control:   

1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases
5. Accidents (or unintentional injuries)
6. Diabetes
7. Alzheimer's Disease
8. Flu and Pneumonia
9. Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome, and Nephrosis  (kidney diseases and illnesses)
10. Septecemia  (bacterial infections usually associated with severe diseases)

This list explains why our government has taken the outbreak of swine flu so seriously. I do not have problems with my heart or high blood pressure; and as far as I know, I do not have any kinds of cancer (knock on wood).  I have never smoked and do not live or work in areas that would cause me to have higher risks of respiratory problems including pneumonia.  I have no signs of diabetes, kidney issues, or any other diseases that would interfere in my ability to maintain good health.  Dying from an accident was probably the only area that made sense if I were to die right now at age 50.

Reducing risk factors will help you enjoy a long and productive life!  

We hear these messages all the time now.  Don't smoke, don't drink to excess, don't abuse drugs, exercise, and eat right.  There are reasons why we are constantly barraged with these health tips.  It prevents not only early deaths, but healthy choices allow us to live without chronic sicknesses and diseases that we can control when we finally reach those glorious senior adult years. 

I hope this "Top Ten" list will help you consider your current lifestyle choices.  Take care of yourself so that you can enjoy your life to the very end!!  You only get this wonderful gift called life once!!