Chronicles of Nana

Ok, I’m mad!! I am coughing up a lung over all the BS Politicin’ gonin’ on… November isn’t coming soon enough. Don’t you think it is a little coincidental that Halloween comes just before election time? All the spooks and ghosts come out to play…and nowadays they play pretty dirty..!.

IT SUCKS..

I could care less how much Sarah Palin’s clothes cost or if Barrack Obama dances with Ellen. I am looking at two presidential candidates who will become the US president and a continuing senator. I am looking at a US congress who have passed the biggest finanicial “disbelief” package in our country’s history and still can’t make it work…they want more!!

WHERE’S THE PLAN?…

Like most things American we become reactionary…with little thought of the outcome and future. So we and our children  have been saddled with the deepest debt we have ever known with no prospect of a positive solution. Did you know the last few years the Congress has been dominated and controled by the democrats..?

I am puzzled and astounded that the voting public isn’t aware that it was these democrats who placed this horrid millstone around our necks? Voters should go to the polls and vote the bums out…all of them!

GET A JOB…

Instead it will be the republicians who will be voted out just in time to hit the pavement to seek jobs in a no-win economy with the prospect of their hard earned money (if they get a job) going to the pool of “spreading the wealth around.” This whole situation is crazy…

DO THE MATH!

We have a general public who seem not to be able to do the math. Forty percent of Americans do not pay taxes, yet they will receive relief checks (free money) for maintaining a low income status. I thought America was founded upon free enterprise, that means we have the freedoms to achieve our dreams..give us the opportunities to master and control our own wealth and success…

Yeah, there are millions of people better off than me…but I made my choices in life and I am satisfied with my decisions. Regardless of where I am now…I still have the hope that an entrapenural(sp?) idea will come along and lift me up higher. I can still hold that dream..we all can.

Democrats mantra has always been government involvement into every aspect of life. They prefer to spend and control and decide where the funds go ..that’s like putting Brittney Spears inside the mall and telling her to go for it…HOW DUMB IS THAT1

So, as I see it…we are putting our money into the hands of the spenders, while we live with the inconveniences, sacrifices and restrictions that they dictate. I can just imagine the spending spree that Pelosi, Barney, Dodd and Obama will do on us…like bend over and grab your ankles!

I fear we will be frightfully haunted by the decisions we make this November.

Trick or treat anyone…?

Was once the day I could hit the bed and rest my weary head upon my pillow and know all is well with the world. As the world would have it, things changed to a restless sleep with concerns over family and money. The world of today has opened many sleepless nights with great uneasiness…worldly concerns of far off wars, terrorism, stock market crashes and political discontend. Who could possibly sleep well…nowadays?

MAD, MAD AND MORE MAD…

I find that on a daily basis I get mad. All I have to do is turn on the TV set. If Leno and the late night gangs aren’t bashing something, then the news media is making semi-truthful commentary about political and business power mongers. Then there are the floating lies of an inept Congress and the finger pointing episodes that follow…oh…how “free” they are with our money…

WHO BROKE THE PIGGY BANK?

We have semi-acknowledged that fact throughout the years but never NEVER has it hit more home than this year…election year! Suddenly we have realized our pensions, retirements and mortgages have less value, if value at all. We have become a reactionary people and nation. There seems to be alot of hasty knee jerk reactions to some real intense national events…

WHO RAIDED THE HEN HOUSE?

Here we have been John Q. Public trusting the US financial structures to protect our nest eggs and in a matter of one week someone has raided the hen’s nest. Thus, leaving the general public stunned and hurting. For some it will mean starting over, for others it is left for them to turn on a dime and move into the kid’s basement or become a walmart greeter at the age over 65…

WHERE’S THE GOOD LIFE?

In reality we have lived a very good life…but the future now demands not only resilence but mind reset and hard work. Americans have been known to take adversity and spit in it’s eye. At it’s lowest points in history the public has risen up to meet the challenge. The charmed good life has softened our gut and perhaps has hardened our heart. Can we change our mindset?…

The political comotion these days hasn’t helped with the bitter pill we are asked to swallow. Lies, enuendos, hidden truths and deception has made many to doubt our very core beliefs. Government has deeply disappointed us. Never has there been more need for individual faith and re-energized commitment. Our faith in the American dream has been shaken..hard!

Scary times for a blessed people…perhaps, it is time that we return to the basics. How about the following for a start:

                                  1. A family garden.

                                  2. One major meal where the family is all present daily.

                                  3. Pre-arranged meal planning weekly.

                                  4. Community envolvement.

                                  5. Go back to church or find a spiritual tie.

                                  6. Introduce prayer into the home.

                                  7. Give service to the poor.

                                  8. Manage your health.

                                  9. Mend broken family relationships.

                                  10. Make some time for yourself.

                                  11. Give generous hugs.

                                  12. Say I love you more often.

In the meantime hang on tight… it’s going to be a wild unpredictible ride…

It’s an E ticket for sure!!

 

Never has the world been more open to women…circumstances have created  a new independence now available to females in most situations in life, Doors have been opened to womanhood…slowly as it has come.

CHOICES…

Occupations have opened to women that a few decades ago were behind closed locked doors. Educational opportunities abound and employment seeks the hands of the velvet glove. Motherhood is still the mainstay of a women’s existence should they chooe it…some choose to do both and they do it very well. Motherhood prepares females for life that no man can relate to. Nurturing softly and disciplining sternly at best prepares females to meet a man’s world squarely in the eye. Reality for women is real..and sometimes it sucks!

WOMEN’S AGENDAS…

That is why I am so confused and dismayed by the growing divide that exists among women who maintain the home and the feminists who seek worldly advantage and acknowledgment. So many women are doing both beautifully. Why is there not a universal peace sought among women at large? I have always considered  myself a quiet feminist..demanding equal opportunity but having my own free agency to decide and think and do for myself…

A MAN’S WORLD..

I know what it like to be manipulated, forced and abused because of my womanhood. I have lived too long in trying to please people especially those I love possibly too much. It was a long row to hoe in discovering that my desire to please others took the very life out of my soul. In the long run I had to discover that pleasing others didn’t really matter at all.  When the chips were down those I sought acceptance from just were not there for me. A hard lesson and such a waste of my precious time…

ACCEPTING ONESELF…

Once this was realized I needed to accept myself…change what I could and develop a continuing plan to correct my faults. I have never been totally satisfied with how I look but seeking contentment within has gotten me to know my heart and my soul. I am okay with it  and it would behoove those who touch my life to know that..and accept who I am. What they see… is me!

LIVING TOGETHER…

I have had to adjust the relationship with my husband…he is from mars too! In discovering who he is, I have come to know myself better. There have been many times when there have been “periods of adjustments” and cautious proceeding down life’s unknown roads. If my better half and I where totally alike we would not tolerate what we see. Being different is okay …really! I think in realizing that… one expects to develop an acceptance and tolerance that make life palitiable, lively and even content. We have learned to not only expect our own space but to respect the space of others also. 

BEING DIFFERENT IS A GOOD THING…

One of my mantras to my grandchildren has been…”being different is okay. If Heavenly Father expected us to be all alike we’d all look like Chatty Cathy.” We all have different, wonderful imprints to place in the earth of this world.

As I have become older, I find I become discontent with the discontent…women worldwide need to tolerate their differences and delight in unifying our strengths and gifts. This can possibly help spread and  unite the world. In the very least, we can strenthen our families which, of course, is the hope of the future.

May you do so with grit, love and a velvet glove…

Grandad and I have said that we are either ten years too early or 10 years too late..we  just never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. We call ourselves the “bridge” generation, caught between what was or what will be. Our current generation lives in the present..the now. Our space seems to be caught between..

THE LONG HAUL…

We never have completely been empty nesters, our children seem to be part of the boomerang kids. We have passed through the concerns and caring for our elder parents thing. As a matter of fact, we are fast approaching that stage in life ourselves.. and it feels uncomfortable…

WHAT WE WERE WHEN…

We were value programed by depression era parents. We can grow a garden and can can our own food…but only if we have to. Principles, honesty and respect for others were pounded into our heads and was expected to be seen in our  daily behaviors. We know criticism and accountability. Home was our security and family meals together brought communications and solidarity into unifying our family base. We had chores and were taught to earn our allowances and we were introduced to saving accounts and checkbooks.

INDEPENDENCE…

 We were introduced to roll n’ roll, diverse teenage rebellion and adult experimentation with all kinds of mind bending stuff that would alter our outlook on life. Divorce became normal and accepted. The term Latchkey kid was invented. Babysitting was turned over to the television, video games and loud obcene music…

CHANGES…

Man, in the space of a few decades, life has changed considerably…what was, is no more. That in itself would shake anyone’s tree. Genealogy is the search for our ancestral past. We are the sum total of our parents and the search we seek in the present for ourselves..

TWIX AND BETWEEN..

Grandad and I are, indeed, caught in the middle… again. We can see the technology changes that so influence this newer generation. We see how stress and concerns have pushed people to live in the moment and push the envelop beyond cautious reason. We see people going no where and doing so..too fast. The meaning of family now connotes differing styles in life and different kinds of relationships.

RULES HAVE CHANGED…

Some where alone the way some rules have changed…the one constant in life.  I have pondered during my recuperation and I have concluded;

                        First generation and as parents we are in control.

                       Second generation we become grandparents and have some influence.

                      Third generation we become great grandparents and feel lucky we get

                      invited to a birthday party!

Oh…let’s face it, Grandad and I have become ole’ poops!!

It is late at night and the house is asleep…I am in my lazyboy in my make-shift bedroom flipping the channel between the news and QVC. It has been some time since I have written a personal blog…after all, what can an old lady say since she is confined to the house and watching the paint peel on four walls?…

LEARNING TO WALK AGAIN…

I did go to my 12 weeks consultation with the orthopedist. My injury has healed, at least that is what the xrays show. Must be those Croatian bones of mine. I got the lecture…now, at your age you have put alot of stress on those knees and legs. Loose some weight and exercise…the cure all for all ailments…

So, I have been using the cane but still have not done the stairs yet. Frankly I am scared since I have fallen twice now. I wanted to get back upstairs but the family is not ready for me to go there…I have a feeling I might be upset at what I will see there. I just hope it’s not wet and moldy…

REFLECTION…

I have reflected alot about my children and grandchildren lately. There are two special ladies that if I had my way I would wrap my old arms around them in a soft, caring hug. I long to do that. My youngest daughter lost her husband last January and last week would have been their 11th anniversary. She and her daughter live with us now and she is still in the throughs of settling affairs, like trying to sell her home. With today’s market woes it’s not likely to sell anytime soon. She finds it stressful to go and mow the lawn. Memories flood her mind and her situation just plainly stinks…life is no longer the same.

I have a young grandaughter who after 5 months lost her baby before her birth in September. I guess as women this is a common but tragic event. One blindly passes through the process with nothing to hold or love. The sting of unfulfillment and the tears that streak the face does not make life comfortable…at these times our guilt and thoughts become our worse enemies.

WANTING TO HELP..HELPLESS TO DO SO..

So, I silently sit here feeling their pain and anguish. My thoughts are with them everyday. What can I possibly say except I am sorry. Two words that can’t possible explain my own feelings. I have been fortunate to watch these two ladies be born, I watched their moments of joy and have been blessed by their love for life and the adventures it brings…

No one wishes bad things to happen especially to family members. But it is said that… there must be opposition in all things and at my age, I have found that life can be horribly unfair. It is not the deed by which we are tested but the grace in enduring to the end…

To these beautiful ladies, I love you so dearly. Your strength and grace through hardships inspire me.

I give you my heart…always and forever!

Mom and Nana

I have wonder to believe that what was once new is old; what once was bad is good and anything in between is gone…

HARD TO BELIEVE…

We have Obama who is soo over the hill liberally that he’s sliding into socialism. We have Biden who is an oldtime politician who has been willing to change his spots to beat the drum of liberalism and now take back what he has once said and believed…

We have McCain an undisputed hero who holds so completely to his dedication to country that he nearly has pushed himself back into history and out of the race. And then, we have Palin who is such a free spirit who should be allowed to fly and learn….

TIMELY FLIP-FLOP…

We have a Congress that flip flops on a bailout bill for Wall Street..”First I didn’t vote for, then I did.” We have politicians who fall all over themselves, bombast their nays and yeas and then point fingers of failure and steadfast success…talking heads with blindfolds on.

DRINK LESS AND DO MORE..

Then there is Joe 6-pack mired in his own debts and fears who can’t see the forrest for the trees. We have now taxed our children and grandchildren into unbelievable debt and servitude to government control…

Have we become too accustomed to easy credit and entitlements? Have we become so inmerged in a pool of financial obligations that we have no longer the freedom to say “screw you”? Whatever happened to frugality? Living within our means…can that possibly be done nowadays? Could we even tolerate the time we would have on our hands? We pack every minute of each day with activitie$..always having to do something. I mean power naps, where did that come from?…

LEARNING FROM THE PAST…

We have been warned by the past, that to retain our freedoms doesn’t mean inaction and caving in but has to be earned…What has Congress just done..?

As parents we see too keenly how our caving in has produced spoiled, always dependant adult children and here we are now with Congress, add-on tax credits, Wall Street crooks being bail out by us..is our money easy come, easy go…YOU WORK HARD FOR THE MONEY! And Congress just fleeced and scammed your last dime…

Still, we screwed ourselves!

And you want these political numbnuts to pick up the pieces, they still have their heads up their butts…

 

The vice presidential debate last night has redeemed Sarah Palin and restrained Senator Biden and both came out looking pretty good…

Having said that I don’t know if anyone was persuaded to change their vote or opinions. The general public seem to be polarized with both parties claiming victory and so the race goes on..

BIDEN…

Senator Biden kept it low-key which is highly unusual for him. He tends to be bombastic and verbose. After more than 30 years experience it is understandable that Biden’s expertise would stand out. But then again, he is old guard Washington, isn’t he? It irritated me that between comments of Governor Palin he would smile and prune up his expression. The fact that he “contained” himself was the biggest plus of the evening. I did appreciate his emotion during his single dad comment. In a way, I would like to see his partner, Senator Obama, to show the same tenderness but then again he lacks experience in that area as well.

PALIN…

Governor Palin has been stripped bare by the mainstream media. Last night she lifted herself up and bit back. There is no question that she has been governing her state to know all the answers concerning national affairs and the economy. However, the economy in Alaska seems to be fairing quite well. To think she has been plucked out of the “wilderness” just 5 weeks ago and can hold her own speaks well for her.

BIAS…

I still assert that there exists an eastern bias…the east coast is the cradle of democracy and has held forever the seats of power. There also exists an east coast media bias. There appears that there is nothing of worth that happens in the west…I have felt this ever since I first visited my home state New York many years ago…Katy Couric’s interview with Sarah Palin was a 2 hour episode that was spliced and diced to show Palin’s weak moments… Have we seen this kind of journaliam before..? Don’t get me going concerning the deteriating aspects of the written and spoken word…that is another story.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

Commentator Ifill did an admirable job with the questioning. However, I feel a full disclosure of her impending new book concerning the new upcoming black politicians would have been appropriate. Should Obama win she will pocket alot of cash. But who hasn’t written a book lately?

Will Congress restrain and redeem themselves as they float us down the river?

All I can say is thank goodness there is no longer debtors prison?

I’d be banging on the bars!

Oh…pleease, gag me with a spoon! I have become so tired with the political circus that is preforming between our party candidates…same ole’ stuff I have heard for years depicting change and bla, bla,bla…

SMOKING HOT…

In the meantime the nation is smokin’… drowning in a sink hole callapsed from within with corporate greed, government entities fighting among themselves and  Mom and Pop businesses headed for the graveyard.

All the glorious remedies are profound sweet talk and we the general public are expected to swallow it hook, line and sinker…yeah, and I have a bridge that goes nowhere to sell ya’…

THE OBAMA SHELL GAME…

Obama wants to take his tax policy to the America entrepreneurs who have become wealthy. He wants HIS high tax rates to trickle down to the hard hit middle class and give hope and opportunities to the poor. What makes him think these wealthy people would even entertain such an idea..? They are going to take their money, business and residency to Europe like so many have already done…check out some of those Hollywood celebrities… He wants to take us back to 1996 and even I know we cannot live in the past. The world and our nation has changed. We cannot move forward by going backward. September 11 proved that in spades…

And Biden has shown up with his slick willy smile and wants to introduce taxing patriotism to the well-to-do. If not readily accepted he will just yell it down their throats! This political duo tetters frightenly close to socialism. Engaging smiles just don’t make it with me…I am a show me your credentials kind of person…These two want me to show them my money so they can take it and spend, spend and spend it. That’s the democratic way…

WHAT BOTHERS ME…

I am bothered by the lack of immigration reform and border control. Terrorists, whom we must take note of, can just walked about the border and slip in unnoticed. I do not like seeing my state being overrun by illegals who take jobs away from the legals, crowd the emergency rooms with no insurance and think nothing to bring crime to our streets that were once safe.

As a middle class citizen I live among the muck…I haven’t the money to escape away on vacations while there are escalating bills stacked on the kitchen table. As a senior citizen, I worry about my fixed income that can’t possible pay for the medications needed. I fear that one hospital visit could ruin my family financially and the burden my age will bring to them.

BITE ME… 

The big bite has always been placed upon the middle class and we have taken it silently and with stoic determination. This past year has been perhaps one of my hardest to endure. Confined and constrained by injury, I have thought alot about the future for me, my family and our nation. But the goings on with all the governmental blunders, the national disasters and the corporate greed have left me to doubt. The folding of banks, insurance companies and the downward and irratic movements of the stock market have left me with little confidence.

The Wall Street bailout package stinks…and hurray to the general public for all the calls and emails who have voiced their disapproval. Why is it I feel hoodwinked? A bill rejected by the House passed to the Senate who improved it with add-ons and now back to the House as the same bill packed with pork. These elder statesmen have been dicking with our money so long they naturally assume we have no train of thought and common sense to know 700 billion is less than 800 plus billion. Needless to say we are still struggling with our own dimes and nickels…

In the meantime..

America, land that I love, where are you?