Give some
love to three blog posts you’ve read and loved in the past week, and tell us
why they’re worth reading.
1. The Dirtbag Way: April 3, 2015 Post-Let
the Adventure Begin
For any of
us who have ever yearned to not have to work a 9 to 5 job, 5 days a week for
25+ years and love to travel, this blog is for you!! My brother and his friend
started this blog to chronicle the lives of those who live what they call, “The
Dirtbag Way,” working here and there to make enough money to fund their 6 week
plus adventures every few months. It’s
also in an effort to share how they do this with others who would like to live
in a similar manner.
I
particularly want to comment on the April 3rd post because it gives
the raw, unvarnished truth of what living this life entails…giving up most of
your earthly possessions to go out into the world in search of outdoor
adventures with no assurance of where the next paycheck will come from. I
admire my brother, his wife, and all their friends who do this. I apply for other jobs here and there and
honestly, I find myself quite often thinking about what type of job, business,
etc…I could have that would allow my family to live the life and have the
freedom we wish to have without all the strings, a life with purpose and
adventure, and I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I am content with where we
are at now, but I don’t feel that it is our final destination by a long shot,
and I do wonder where will we go next and when.
And I don’t know if I could so easily drop what we have now to seek that
unknown horizon as my brother and sister-in-law are doing and have done more
than once in their lives. Heck, the last
adventure I took lasted 17 years. Hopefully, we will be a little braver this
time and able to step out of our comfort zone sooner, but for now, we’re here,
racking up and adventures and memories of our time in the NW, but if you are
curious about the life of the Dirtbag Way and how they live it, check out the
blog link above!
2. Rocket City Mom: April 6, 2015 Post-To My Wise Little Girl
This is a
blog I have not been regularly following, but the article from April 6 was
shared by a good friend of mine from the Rocket City (Huntsville, AL-where I
grew up). I often read what she shares because she doesn’t “share lightly.”
What I mean by this is she is not sharing anything and everything under the sun
that she comes across on social media. When she shares, it’s something close to
her heart, something that others can learn from to help them become healthier,
more informed parents and people. This
particular post was written by a dad (also something I don’t see as often as
posts by moms) who has 2 children, one with autism, one without. It’s a letter of sorts to his daughter about
what he imagines she must go through having a sibling with autism, but it’s
also about how much she has taught her dad and made him proud of both his
children. It’s very heart-felt and
honest. I do love that about blogging
and social media. For some reason, we all feel that we can completely let it
all out when we write it up online. Maybe it’s because we feel anonymous, even
though we are not, but whatever it is, I am all for it. It’s so hard to know anymore when you meet
someone if they are being genuine, and it’s scary. When you can read someone’s
“heart” online, it renews your faith in people, in this crazy, chaotic, often
evil world. It shows we are all in the
same boat, dealing the best we can with what life has dealt us. These type of
articles and blogs are what keep me honest too…if they can share their most
painful trials and successes online with the world, why can’t I? Check this article out…it will bring tears to
you eyes.
3. Four Hens
and a Roster: October 7, 2013 Post-7 Simple Rules for Living in Our House
I have never
read this blog before today. I found it through another website (http://whattheflicka.com/7-rules/)
it was posted on and then shared on Facebook by a friend just today. (Amazing,
huh? The wonders of social media and how far and wide it reaches, even after
almost 3 years-original post was in 2013.) Anyway, it’s a post I found myself
relating to because it’s the statements my husband and I are frequently quoting
to my 11 year old.
“You don’t
get paid for everything,” and “You do not tell us what you are going to do” are
things this blog author list as part of the rules of her house, and it’s the
same things we’ve said to our son. And the terrible part is that when these
things are said, I feel guilty about it. Do you know why? Yes, you’re right, it’s because I have fallen
prey to the parenting advice of this generation, but my husband and bloggers
like this have helped me to realize that I am not doing my son any favors by
coddling him and rewarding him for every little thing. There are important life
skills he needs to learn to be out on his own, and it’s our job to teach him.
Unfortunately,
this is not the view of most parents today. I just had a conversation with
friends and co-workers the other day about how lax parents have gotten in their
parenting and how they now often expect their child’s day care providers and
teachers to parent for them. Since my
job has involved working in child care for the last 8 plus years, I can say
this is truly happening. Potty training, manners, self-help skills, taking
responsibility for our own actions…that’s the teacher’s job, not the parents.
“They will do it when they are ready” is a common refrain. I admire childcare
providers in the rooms with today’s children for 8, 10, and sometimes almost 12
hours a day more than I ever have before!! It’s not an easy job. It’s a joy to work with the children, but
sometimes working with the parents is the hardest part. That’s why I appreciate
what the mother in this blog is advocating.
This is how
close to home it has hit for me lately. I mentioned to the other soccer moms a
couple weeks ago how I told my son he would need to wash his own soccer socks
if he expected them to be clean on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday for all his
practices and games because I would not be doing that for him 3 times a week,
and I got a really strange look from the other moms (to clarify, I had just ordered a second pair
of socks and was considering picking up one more pair, and my son was arguing
this with me saying we could just wash them after every practice and game). I
continued by saying, “he knows how to wash his own clothes. It’s one of his
chores I ask him to do.” I got back a “wow”
for a response. I forgot for a moment
that most of the rest of the parenting world no longer makes their children do
chores anymore or if they do, they are paid handsomely for it. The funny thing is that conversation actually
made me feel less guilty about my house rules because I realized my son would
be better able to take care of himself in the world outside our home than many
of his teammates, and that’s my goal…for him to be independent,
self-sufficient, and able to resolve his own problems and take responsibility
for his own actions. That’s not so terrible, is it? The mom at Four Hens and a Roster wouldn’t
think so. J
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