Looking for a job.....

I'll be honest I've been looking for a job for 2 years. I've never had a career except motherhood, which is worth squat in the job market. But I have worked some good jobs in my past. My bitch today is about job applications. In this age of computer and the internet what is the deal with these companies and their stupid worthless job apps.? I tried getting a job, not a career, just a J.O.B. at a chain pet store. They had 36 pages of the stupidest questions ever. Would you ever get mad at a co-worker? Would you ever get angry at a customer? Is the customer always right? Would you ever steal from your employer? By the time I hit page 16 I realized I had lied more than I had ever lied in my entire life. There is no right answers to these questions. I realize that they are in place to weed out certain people, who I don't know. But really no one and I mean NO ONE is that perfect. Do I think I have a temper? No I don't, but do my children think I have a temper? Sure they think I'm the wicked witch of the Northeast. But what really makes me mad is that some teenager is going to breeze through that 36 pages of questions, lying the whole way, without a care in the world and get that job washing dogs. All the while I'll still be trying to fill out these forms and struggling with my conscience.

Change

Well this blog didn't become what I wanted it to. So I am are going to change direction. Every day my 17 yr old comes home from school and asks the same questions. "Who let Mom on the internet? Why are you watching the news channels? You know I'm going to come home from school one day to find you dead on the floor from a stroke."

I'm fed up! And I need a place to vent, and if no one ever sees this or comments, no big deal. Maybe it will keep me from having a stroke and have the 17 yr old from finding my dead body being gnawed on by the dogs.

Today I was reading a blog and the writer said that the economy was on the up rise, except the state of Michigan. And that we should all be grateful that this year long nightmare is over.....I live in Michigan, our source of income comes from the auto industry. ( The company that didn't take a bail out) And we like most families in the state have cease to live, we are just existing. For most of us this nightmare has lasted a hell of a lot longer than a year. Our house is two and half years in to it. We have a house we can't afford or sell. We did not buy over our heads. We just never thought that we would be living on a third of our income. Our oldest children have little or no job opportunities, even with college degrees. They will have to move out of state in order to find work. As a mother this makes me sad, but I understand what they have to do. I can't find a job. I was a stay at home mom for the last 24 yrs. I've worked off and on for the Christmas season or just to get out of the house. Now I'm competing for jobs at the local stores with people who are engineers and managers of Fortune 500 companies just for a chance to become a cashier.
So here is my proposal....come here and vent.....just keep it clean and respectful, I am a Mom after all. And if this doesn't work I'll go back to gripping at the 17 yr. old until the dogs get to me........

Back to School

Good Morning to all us parents who had to get the kids out the door this morning!! As a parent of school age children you know that this is the easy week. They are excited to get to their new classes, see the friend that haven't been around all summer and find out if there locker com works. Next week is when it starts to become a grind. This year is the Senior year of my 3rd son and 7th grade for my youngest son. We are going to be busy, but I am very aware that this time next year will be a whole new ball game. It's been 18 years since I've only had one child in school. It's going to be weird.

So on this first day of the new school year, I raise my mug full of tea to you in salute. We made it through the summer!!

How Did They Get So Old???

Today is my oldest's 23rd birthday.How did that happen? Sometimes I think we forget to take a step back and realize everything we've gone through. We are so busy with the day to day stuff that the over all picture gets lost. So today I'm going to do that.
Reflect on the good things, the funny moments, the scary moments. ( Remember the sled?or the roll over accident?)Then tomorrow it's back to the same old grind. Oh wait, tomorrow the second one turns 20....guess the grind will have to wait.

So what do you want to talk about?

This is suppose to be a blog about peoples problems and adventures having older kids, but I seem to be doing all the talking. If anyone else has a topic or questions that they want to talk about feel free to do so. Though with my kids there is plenty to talk about!!

What are you going to do??

At some point, before your ready for it, your older teen is going to want to go away with his/her boyfriend/girlfriend. This is a hard one. Some parents have no problem with their over 18(and sometimes younger)child going on a little vacation with their partner. For some of us, it ain't that easy.

So what are you suppose to do? Most kids this age have jobs and cars and lead very busy lives. Some one once said to me that one of the hardest things to deal with as a parent is the knowledge that your children are sexual beings. Oh boy, this is so true!
Even after all the books and talks and hand puppets and screaming,(on their part)they are going to have sex. But in the timeless tradition of parenthood, I don't need to know about it. As in most things that we teach our kids, you can only hope that they listened and go from there.

What I think I'm trying to say is they may be ready for this but you never will be. Yes, you will get use to them going off on little weekend getaways, camping trips and full blown vacations. Of course by then, the next kid will be ready to start the whole thing over again.....

Perfection....

As you can tell from my last post, spelling is not something I'm very good at. We all have little things that we just don't do well. So why is it, in today's world we expect our kids to be perfect? Just like that perfect family photos that come in the mail every Christmas. I confess, every year I line up my kids on the stairs and try for the perfect picture. It never works out the way you think it will. Kind of like raising kids.

Why do we expect such perfection in our children? Perfect students with perfect grades, perfect in whatever sport they play or instrument they lug around. Perfection in the way they look and act, all the time. I don't know about you but I would crumble under all that pressure.
Maybe our parents were right when they said "try your best". I don't remember anyone when I was younger telling me to be perfect. Be good,yes, but not perfect.

I give up.....what I mean is I don't expect perfection from people anymore, least of all my children. I expect them to be good human beings. Helpful, kind, understanding and fair. I think that's hard enough to achieve, don't you???