More Than I Thought They Could Handle

Yesterday my mother called at about 1:00 to tell me to turn on Sundance Channel and see these little boys in Africa doing some kind of routine involving dumbbells. Well, I missed it, but I left the TV on that channel, and left to clean my room. I popped in and saw that Josie was watching a sub titled program about illegal immigrants called "Wetback". It showed young people from Central America who were trying to cross into Mexico. Touching on police brutality, the dangers of jumping trains, rampant urban crime and gangs.

Of course it was Sundance, so the sympathy was for the illegal immigrants, some that crossed the Rio Grande at the end, and we talked about that sympathy, and how important it is to be compassionate to people who suffer. We also talked about how these people were breaking the law, and that sometimes laws seem harsh, but they are there to protect us. I told her some of the bad people who were hurting the good people in Mexico and Central America can come over our border too, so that's why our border patrol sends people back. The program was favorable to our border patrol, showed them to be respectful to the people they detain, as opposed to the Mexican police who beat and robbed two of the immigrants in the documentary.

Anyway, I was shocked she sat through the whole thing and really took it in.

Later some friends came over and we watched the show about Oprah's school for girls in South Africa. I'm not sure any of the kids understood the significance of the school to the little girls, or how those girls suffered in their own lives. We were trying to make the point to our children that they should appreciate their blessings. When you have a daughter who breaks into tears because you tell her it's time to go to the grocery store, you need a bit of ammuniton too. Maybe the show will marinate in their subconcious for a while and come out in a couple of years when they're developmentally able to understand it.

I went to Blockbuster and picked up "The Prestige" and we all watched it. Yes, Grandparents, the children sat through the whole thing. I'm certain they didn't get all the plot twists (I sure didn't), but afterwards Jake was talking his head off about electricity. He was a little outraged at one point during the movie asserting that "Magic is not real!" When it was apparent some real magic had occured.

I never expect my kids to have any attention span. That's unfortunate for them, because if I whittle down their education to suit what I believe they can handle, then it's like I'm spoonfeeding them. That's starving my children.

P.S. Dharma's coming over today to help me Feng Shui my house. I've been reading a book, and apparently I'm cutting the Chi's all over the place.