Let Them Be Kids

Halloween…

Not my favorite day, but my kids make it enjoyable. Every year, they come up with some great costume ideas, and I love that!

In 2005, the kids wanted to go as Star Wars characters, and we had certain things, but Jim finished off the costumes in a perfect way. He made them out of painted cardboard. The only problem was they didn’t bend… So walking up stairs and bending their legs was a little tough.

I have heard some people say that teenagers are too old for trick-or-treating, but I have to ask this… WHY?

We expect these kids to grow up way too fast, and what’s wrong with letting them be kids for a night? What’s wrong with them having a little bit of fun and forgetting their responsibilities for the evening?

I don’t know if some adults remember being that age.

My kids loved wearing costumes at home, too!

 

Let kids be kids as long as they can. Let them use their imaginations and walk through neighborhoods and eat candy and laugh. 

And this is my husband when he was a Theatre Manager... He was in his 20s!

 

 

These are some of the very best moments in life. We should enjoy them!

 

 

 

Honestly, don't we all dress up in costumes as adults, too? School choir concerts, weddings, church, dates, going to work...

Homecoming!

Being a grown-up comes way too soon. I will always pass out candy to those who dare to dress up in costumes and come to our house on Halloween.

(Except I will not give candy to a creepy man who hid in the corner of my porch until I opened the door. Then came towards me in a threatening manner until I could get back inside - I think his kid was one of the trick-or-treaters... But his scary mask and demeanor scared me to death.)

Homeless in October

Have you ever been homeless?

I mean the kind of homeless where you don’t have any place to call your own. Where you don’t even have a friend’s sofa to sleep on at night. Where you can’t even take a shower, or curl up in a blanket to get warm.

Homeless.

Looking at me now, you would probably never guess that I was actually homeless for a period of time in my “former life.” (My former life is when I was a young adult involved in a violent and abusive relationship.)

I lost my job because I called in sick too much.

I was very good at my job, but I called in too much.

After I was fired, I went back to a part-time job working for a stationery store at the mall for $3.35/hour. I worked four miles from my apartment and didn’t have a car. I walked home alone in the dark. And after I couldn’t pay my rent, my grandma was kind enough to take me and my boyfriend (who wouldn’t get a job) in to live with her in Oklahoma. As much as I loved her, I’m glad it didn’t last long before I was offered a job back in Kansas.

His mother let us stay with them for a couple of weeks because I had a job. I got up early, walked to the bus stop, got off the bus near work, and then walked another 3 blocks to the bus stop after work, and took the bus back to their house each night.

I was too proud to call my parents and ask for help.

I was too proud to walk away and say I was wrong about him.

One Friday night, after I got off work and got back to the house, his mom told me we would have to leave because her husband didn’t want us there anymore. Apparently, my boyfriend (her son) slept all day and didn’t make any attempt to get a job. That’s the way he was.

She later said she hoped I would call my parents and go home to get my life back on track because she knew he treated me terribly.

Most of our stuff was in storage.

Anyway, that night, as we were walking down a busy street with everything we had in our hands, on our backs, etc., he blamed me for our predicament, hit me in the head, and pushed me down onto the ground. On concrete. And I was crying because I was hurt, it was cold, I was exhausted, and I wondered how I would be able to keep my new job if I couldn’t even take a shower.

After spending the night running from barking dogs and anything/one else that was running around outside that night, I made a couple of phone calls… One to my sister (who was engaged), and one to one of my best and oldest friends. I didn’t tell either of them I was homeless. I was too embarrassed.

Anyway, we had a friend who let us stay with her and her family. They weren’t wealthy at all monetarily, but they gave what they had. And I appreciated it. They let us stay long enough for me to get a paycheck. And a place to live. It was only a week or two.

So every year in October, I think about the homeless people out there. I think about those people who are cold and wonder where their next meal will come from. Those people who don’t have blankets…or coats…or showers. Or anyone to love them. Or any hope.

Jesus loves those people! In fact, he gravitated towards those who were needy. He loved the sick and destitute because they needed Him.

And I needed Him.

There are people out there who think Christians are “crazy” for their beliefs, but I can say, without a doubt, the only reason I am alive today is because Jesus had a plan for my life. He would never let me go, and He protected me from worse things than those I willingly walked into. And He even rescued me from those.

I am so grateful for all I have been blessed with.

The story about me being homeless is true. It happened almost 30 years ago, October of 1985.

One thing I try to do, though it’s becoming increasingly more difficult at times, is remember that every person is going through something. While they might lash out at me, they are probably going through something that has nothing to do with me.

Just a reminder to all of us – Be grateful for what you have today because we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Let’s be an encouragement to each other and help where and when we can.

Hebrews 3:12-13 – “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." 

 

"8 Things No Kid Should Leave Home Without" - A Great Book by Joe McGee

I’m always curious to read books about parenting… for obvious reasons.

And I do love a good bargain.

So, when I was shopping at Mardel’s a few months ago, I found a book on the clearance shelf by someone I’d never heard of, Joe McGee. And I bought it. It’s called 8 Things No Kid Should Leave Home Without.

Having kids who are growing up too fast, I was intrigued by what this book would tell me. And let me say that it didn’t disappoint.

The blurb about Joe McGee on the back cover told of his expertise in parenting, as he has 6 children of his own, is a former school administrator, and has been married to the same woman for 36 years. He’s got the authority I’m looking for.

These are common sense things for parents who want to equip their children for adult life. As a mom, I have tried to instill these things in my kids… all except one. One of the 8 things is (drum roll please) “A Love of Math.”

What?

I mean, come on! Some people are good with math, and some aren’t. While I won’t say that I’m a math genius, because that would be a big lie, I do enjoy math. I’ll admit that I like balancing a checkbook, coming up with a budget (though it doesn’t usually work completely), and figuring (and announcing) the total amount of a grocery shopping trip before the register computes it.

I am usually within one dollar.

I don’t say that to brag on my abilities, but it’s something I’m good at. I, however, am not great with Algebra or figuring out story problems.

The good thing is I have kids (several of them) who are acing their math classes. In fact, Jonah has a 92 in Pre-Calculus. That is seriously a miracle because he comes from a mom who loves reading and writing and a dad who is a theatre teacher. We usually laugh when talking about our math abilities.

Isn’t that awesome, though?

Joe gives some good reasons why we should instill a love of math, and I wish I would have thought about it 18 years ago. There’s no time like the present!

I’m not going to give the contents of the book away, but I would strongly suggest reading it and maybe putting some of these suggestions into practice.

The time with our kids goes so fast, and I can’t believe mine are almost grown.

I hope they look back at us, their mom and dad, and see that we did the best we could as parents. We may not have a lot of money or material things that some people see as important. But we are grateful for the blessings God has given us, and I want to be able to say that I lived my life with an attitude of thankfulness.

Teaching our kids how to be productive and responsible members of society is our responsibility.

Putting those things into practice is up to them.