If you want to know what it’s like to be a parent, let me give you some insight.
Tonight we were putting up the Christmas tree. It is old & the top 3rd didn’t all completely light up last year. I did sort of attempt to fix the problem to no avail. Again this year with a replacement bulb to no avail.
Because the kids were excited, we continued to decorate. About 95% done, I remarked aloud (my mistake?) that we should get a new tree. So, everyone got out of their PJ’s into regular clothes and we ended up going to Home Depot. Excitement was off the charts.
At Home Depot, there were a bunch of great trees for all kinds of price ranges. All four of us finally settled on a tree that we liked. (It’s really cool… pre-lit, and can be all white or different colors!)
Looking for the tree on the shelf, of course they didn’t have one. Neither did any of the other local stores. We bought the floor model for a slight discount but the caveat was that there was no box.
The kids managed to bounce around the store with Christmas Spirit like Will Ferrell in Elf while sort of processing that this was the only tree if we wanted that tree.
Us purchasing the tree from the floor was apparently the most exciting thing we have ever done and we (well, half of us) danced to the checkout with 3 shopping carts in tow… the useless race car one because we can never not get it, and two regular orange carts, one with 2/3 of a tree and one with the remaining 1/3 & stand.
I had wanted to get a rubbermaid tote for it, but the ants in our pants had grown great in their numbers and were humming the chorus to “Ode to Joy.” We checked out and came home with the plan that we could continue the tree decoration process tomorrow.
So of course, once in the house, we promptly assembled & started to decorate the new tree while un-decorating the old tree. Oh the excitement was uncontainable!
Being that garbage collection was pushed back a day due to Thanksgiving, I wanted to put the old tree on the curb.
I told the kids to say goodbye to the old tree and Ian looked like I just told him we were going to skin and eat Butterscotch (our cat) after roasting her over an open flame. Once the crocodile tear rolled down his cheek, it set Molly into big sister sympathy tears mode.
We had talked before about getting a second tree for the dining room because it looks nice in that window from outside.
Guess who is going to try harder to fix that Christmas tree because he is a sucker for recently overjoyed and now crying children?
Well. They’re not all Halloween themed. But they’re all mazes. I messed around with some of them in PicsArt and Instagram.
Try a few. Get the solutions on your social media of choice. Tag me in it. I’m always @AiXeLsyD13 unless someone is being a butthole and takes it first for some reason even though it’s my handle across all platforms.
I wish I could follow that advice. Wading through the temperamental pool that is social media, one occasionally finds a bright spot in a news story. I thought I found that with an article posted by a local news channel notifying those that aren’t already in the know about the significance of teal pumpkins. It subtly linked to this cool little video:
Some people are garbage. I mean, I know that is harsh, and I know what we are supposed to be kind to everyone, but that can be a struggle when people out themselves as disgusting human beings. Did these people not ever watch Mister Rogers?
I think this is why they are teaching kids these days to “Be The Iin Kind” or to Be the kind kid. They’re not going to pick it up at home if these are the mentoring adults.
Lesson Learned: Cross-contamination is not a real issue.
Lesson Learned: Halloween is for candy, not liberal tears.
Lesson Learned: Peanut butter cup propagation is more important than life itself.
Lesson Learned: Compassion is useless.
Lesson Learned: Don’t expect to not die when trying to have fun.
Lesson Learned: Refuse to accept new information as it is presented to you.
Lesson Learned: Live in a bubble.
Lesson Learned: Killing kids is funny.
Lesson Learned: Trump doesn’t believe in food allergies.
Lesson Learned: Liberals are ruining Halloween.
Lesson Learned: Kids with food allergies are entitled pricks.
I had a few replies that still stand.
To some nut job making this political:
Just so I can understand, how do any of the following (totally optional) things ruin your holiday, and just exactly how are they associated with liberals?
1. Putting out a symbol to indicate that your house is safe for food allergies.
2. Providing nut and/or gluten free treats, and maybe even non-food treats in addition to whatever you normally provide.
3. Displaying compassion and empathy to others already afflicted with a life-altering medical condition.
4. Teaching others by example how to be kind to others.
I never did get a direct reply there.
To the uniformed, absolutely resisting this new information:
No one is forcing you to buy a teal pumpkin or to pass out allergen safe treats. The article is just to inform you of the meaning so you don’t buy one as a decoration just because it matches your cold frozen emotionless heart.
Just some more advice:
We have been doing this for years. Having food allergies myself, dining out, social gatherings, and many events can be a harrowing experience.
We have 3 separate bowls… traditional things like Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, nut-free stuff like Smarties, and a bowl of totally non-food treats like pencils, stickers, little toys, etc.
We help spread awareness, the toys go as well as the candy, and hopefully we teach a bit of kindness and empathy.
I don’t even have the energy to get into the “it’s been a tradition for hundreds of years” comment. I think candy and trick or treating weren’t a thing until about the 1920’s in the United States… so that’s ONE hundred years ago at best. The push for chocolate was after WWII’s rationing… So, kick it back to 70 or so years. Earlier Celtic/Samhain traditions probably didn’t involve candy, but what do I know?
So please, this year, show a little compassion, empathy, and kindness. Pass the word along to your friends, family, and neighbors. You don’t have to preach about it, but you can lead by example. Also, learn to recognize the signs of an allergic reaction for yourself, your friends, and your community. You may help save someone’s life! That is, if it doesn’t inconvenience you in any way or support the grand liberal agenda.
