Author: Michele Minehart (Page 140 of 311)

One of my favorite things about being the youngest in a group is hearing about “kids these days.” I tend to enjoy a good social science experiment so I don’t write it off to crotchety old women, but rather compare their observations to my experience. 
A recent complaint centered around foul language and its frequent use in society. The women in my group felt most sensitive about the use of the Lord’s name and the frequency in which they heard it used as an expression of frustration or even disbelief. I have to agree that our casual approach in our culture has crept into language. Just last night KLM told me an outrageous story about a man wearing a shirt (in public, with his 8-year-old son in tow) that dropped the F*bomb in an ignorant fashion.
So I ponder: why the increased use? How do many  younger generations become insensitive to words that used to make others blush? My hypothesis centers around the large amount of noise in our society, which leads to individuals simply not being heard.
As the mother of 2 kids who have impaired hearing, I know the frustration that comes from being ignored, intentional and otherwise (they are toddlers, so selective hearing is also the cause). More than once I’ve stomped my feet when my words fly past them unnoticed. My family resource people tell me that often background noise causes part of this; we need to make sure the TV is off and limit other sources of interference. This works fine at home, but we don’t always have control of those variables in the real world.
I wonder if individuals who use offensive words are verbally stomping their feet, kicking and screaming. Foul language meets a need: to add emphasis. People are trying to show that they mean it. When someone says “Jesus, that was fun!” what they mean is “We had a really, really good time.” Their feelings lack language to express the depth. And because they feel something strongly, they want it heard. “We had a nice time” gets glossed over in our culture because we rarely stop to really explore what another person thinks or feels. We care too little if someone had a good time. But they feel it and they want to share about it and a popular tool is to use words that aren’t fair representations of their emotions, but it’s familiar and easily available.
I don’t think it’s fair to ask others not to use language that others finds offensive without putting in the hard work of hearing what they have to say. Perhaps flagrant words appear frequently because they become habit; but perhaps they became habit because the person was habitually ignored.
Like most societal trends, instead of pointing out the ways in which someone lives opposite our standards and sticking a label of blame upon them, we could benefit – dare I suggest even rectify? – by asking what put them in that position in the first place. Yes, perhaps it’s a choice or preference. Or it could be their reaction to something much deeper, much more systemic. Perhaps the energy we put forth in judgment could be better used toward understanding. 

After what LBW calls a good “pin binging” (weeks of nothing and then all of a sudden I can’t stop), I became fully aware of the ways in which this site makes my life difficult. 

Christmas. Not only am I aware of the gifts I must give people in my life, but now I must make them all by hand. With printable tags. Wrapped in burlap. Do you know what Pinterest is doing to the price of burlap?

Printables. Apparently I’m no longer allowed to label with dry erase marker or the old tape-on-with-paper method? I must instead find a cute tag, print it with high-quality resolution colored ink and cut along the dotted lines? Most recent fail: LUNCH NOTE printables. Seriously does the kid hate bad fonts as much as I do? And if so, why are printables using TNR? I resist these out of principle. If you’re going to write a note to your kid, write a note. Not a mad lib.

Food. We’re making it harder than it needs to be, people. You’re making us all look bad when it’s not enough just to celebrate the simple act of making cookies. It seems making them edible isn’t enough (even with the added layer: gluten-free, refined-sugar free, some other form of reducing guilt). Apparently now I have to stamp them to make them pretty? I think the cookies sitting on the plate make them pretty enough.

Upcycling. I love the concept. In theory. The problem is that I never have the supplies on hand. Projects requiring old tshirts and the like? If they’re able to be “upcycled” it means that they lack 3 square inches without stains. Especially the furniture upcycles. I simply don’t have old pallets or bookshelves sitting around in my backyard. To upcycle will actually cost me money. Thus defeating the purpose.

Birthday parties. We were fortunate to have one for Baby C this year. Her first. We ended up with cake, plates and people showed up. Total win in my book. But apparently I missed the mark. I didn’t have a build-your-own station, nor was anything celebratory hanging from the chandelier. (I did however blow up 20 balloons. I think they liked them better than the pom-pom letters, right?) And favors? Pshhh. I THREW A PARTY. YOU ATE CAKE. I’LL BE CLEANING FOR 3 DAYS AFTER YOU LEAVE. (*Thanks, Jen Hatmaker, for blowing the lid off that party foul).