Soapbox...

A few things have been bothering me lately, so I am going to jump on my soapbox and get them off my chest. Growing up we were always able to find TV shows to watch as a family. Saturday mornings were full of "nice" cartoons and weekday prime time had plenty of family shows such as Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, etc. While TV is not the best way to interact with your children, it can be a nice downtime before bed. We always watched sporting events and award shows together too, including the Super Bowl. Athletes used to be heroes, ones that we could be proud of....

I would have been so upset to have children watching the Super Bowl this year. First, the players did not represent good role models for any kids. There was too many unsportsmanlike plays and fights. After seeing that, we were then subjected to some of the worst commercials that were in no way appropriate for kids of any age. Godaddy.com has had ads for the past few years and none of them are even relevant to a company that sells domain names. This year things went even further here in Texas; we actually saw an ad promoting ashleymadison.com. For those of you not familiar with this website, it is a website for married people to find someone to have an affair with. So they air this but refuse to air a pro life ad...

While I realize morals and values are almost non-existent in our country these days, I always have hopes that that might change. Many people blame it on the religious right, but I do not put myself in that group and I think I have a pretty darn good set of values.

If you do have kids, skip a few of those extracurricular activities; the most important thing you can do for them is sit down and have dinner with them and discuss the day's happenings. One more soccer game is not going to make that much of a difference, but listening and talking...those are priceless. Watch what your kids are doing, watching, seeing. Most TV shows are so out of touch now days and the Internet can be both good and bad. You have to be the one setting the boundaries and protecting your kids. Don't let technology raise your kids; that's why we are raising a generation of selfish, rude kids who end up having babies in middle school.

I do know that there are more good people out there than I realized. While going through all that we have been through over the past month, I have felt so loved and supported. I had given up on most of the world, thinking nobody cared about anyone else anymore. I was wrong. There are still many of you out there and I thank you. Please pass this caring attitude on to your kids. Let them see you giving and loving; get them to help you out now so they develop a kind, loving spirit. Thank all of you who have reached out to us. I hope I haven't offended anyone, but things are just getting so out of hand in this country and I fear that it will only get worse from here....