Middle School vs Electronics

Why do so many people complain about electronics and video games yet they continue to let their children use them so often?  My oldest son Liam (11 yrs old) has voiced his great concern several times over the last couple of weeks that people are excluding him because he doesn’t have a phone to get texts on and no one will call him, that he doesn’t have Instagram so he’s missing out and the latest is to get Fortnite and Xbox live so he can play with his friends and know what they are talking about.  


I constantly hear people complain about this, post about it and share articles.  Yet, here we are fighting the fight against electronics and somehow creating a kid who is excluded from things because of his lack of electronics.


We have a home phone for our kids to get phone calls and make phone calls to their friends (and of course my mother!)   It’s getting harder and harder for him to get a hold of his friends because there are no home phones and lots of time parents are out and about.  He only has a few cell numbers and most of the time no one answers.


What are we doing to our kids?  Why are we creating kids who only communicate via text?  Who would rather stay home and play a video game against someone else in another house than hang out together?  And adding the stress of Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and a whole host of other social media things I know nothing about to our 11, 12, 13 year olds who can’t handle the emotions they have before those things!


We are in no way saying we are amazing parents but this is one fight we are trying to stay on course.  Our kids have an Xbox (not live, yet), they share one old phone (mostly for music and sometimes games, they share one tablet that barely has room for anything but can play some games and they watch TV.  However, they do not have their own tablets, cell phones, Fortnite or unlimited access to any of it.


He’s in grade 6, we plan to stick with this fight for as long as we can but it’s going to get harder and harder if he keeps getting excluded.


This is exhausting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here we go again!

I had another blog and someday I might go back to it but this time I have some different thoughts, I figured that deserved a different blog.

Things change all the time.  I know they change for everyone, I know I am not special but this blog is going to be about the change that is happening in my world.

I am hoping it will help me and perhaps make a few people laugh and maybe help to know the struggle is real for everyone!

My family has had a business in our city for the last 73 years, my grandfather started it and my dad took it over with his brothers and built a wonderful business.  My cousin and I bought it in 2012 and did a good job at running but made the decision to shut it down.  The industry has changed and we both simply did not have the desire to continue it on.

The guilt I have is insane, I have worked there for most of my adult life and then ran it for the last 5 1/2 years.  And yes I am letting it go.  I am taking down a legacy.  My hope is that we have managed to do this in the best possible way, we have maintained the good name of our family and simply closed down a business.

I have either worked for my dad or myself for the past 13 years.  Basically without a job title and just a Jill of all trades.  Doing whatever was necessary.

So now I have to go back out into the work place and try to figure out what a job on the outside looks like.  I am terrified that I won't be any good, that I won't find a job or that I won't like working for someone else.

Who knows what this next chapter will bring but let the adventure begin!