Thursday, September 15, 2011

Updates and Controvery

You may recall that my grandma fell a few weeks ago and had a spiral fracture in her leg. She's been in swing bed rehab at the nursing home since her discharge from the hospital. Yesterday Mom got her 3 days notice that Grandma was going to be discharged from rehab due to lack of progress/participation. This wasn't a shock and Mom had already made arrangements for a permanent room in the regular nursing home. It's been obvious since she arrived at rehab that Grandma doesn't really have any faith that she'll get better, and isn't interested in doing the work to get there. I get it. She's been a seriously strong independent woman for 85 years and she's tired. She's never going to live in her house again, and she's depressed. It makes me sad to see it, but it is what it is. Her fracture is healing great, but she doesn't even want to try to walk on it. The PT people have been making her walk some but she fights it. At this point she will likely not walk again, even assisted, and won't even try to build the strength to transfer herself from the bed to the wheelchair. I'm hoping she'll do better once she gets settled, but I'm not holding my breath.

In other news, remember how we moved Kaycie to her new room and I was having major regret about doing it so soon because she wasn't adjusting well? Well, she's doing better. She's going to bed with a minimal of fuss now and there's no more screaming for hours. However, she's still getting up anywhere from 1-3 hours earlier than she used to. This is killing her mama, who isn't sleeping well due to a number of factors including but not limited to being sick and coughing myself awake multiple times a night. And despite the bed situation improving, she's going through a thing. I'm guessing it's a massive developmental leap, because she's showing the classic signs - crying for no reason, uber-clingy, and basic regression in any number of areas. I suspect when this works itself out she'll start doing multiplication tables.

And I recently mentioned my BFF Sharonda was having yet more issue with her pregnancy. This week she'd progressed a bit further despite the meds and bed rest and the doc said she hoped to get another 1-2 weeks before Baby Mason arrives, but she's made it to 34 1/2 weeks now so it's not quite as panicky as it was. All I know is that I'm leaving for the beach next Thursday, so Baby Mason has 7 days to arrive or else he better make himself at home for another week! Meanwhile, we're having her shower on Sunday and I'm stoked about it. I kinda like baby showers when I'm not the guest of honor. And she's getting some good stuff, just based on what's piled up in MicroTot's room right now!

And finally the controversy. I should start with a disclaimer - I don't watch Dancing With the... er... Bumping and Grinding with the Stars. Never have. Won't start this season. When I have 2 minutes of uninterrupted adult time in front of the TV, I'd rather work through season 4 of Battlestar Galactica on Netflix streaming or playing Monopoly on the Wii with Greg. But whatever, people like the show and more power to them. But with the recent Chaz Bono controversy I find myself fascinated; not in the story itself so much as the public responses. I saw this article posted on Facebook today and after seeing a couple of the public comments I felt compelled to read the article. And I won't lie, I agreed with it. If you have a problem with your kid watching it, don't let them watch it. But if you have a moral problem with Chaz being on the show, how could you stomach the Kardashians? Or the outfits? And isn't there an openly gay man on there? And the "air sex"? THAT's ok to have your kids watch, but not a somewhat overweight man that is trying his hand at physical activity? 'Cause let's face it people, most kids won't know who Chaz Bono is any more than they know most of the so-called celebrities on the show, unless somebody explains it to them. And even then, saying, "His mom was a singer about 164 years go," would probably be enough for most kids if the rest of media would let it go. I'm still now sure how Chaz or the Kardashians became celebrities in their own right, but apparently they did.

I did find one of the comments on FB quite telling. In the middle of a religion/hypocrisy debate one woman pointed out that Jesus would probably be found hanging around with Chaz. He was almost always hanging out with the underdogs. Now, I'm not sure that "hanging around" is the best phrase, or "underdog" for that matter, but the overall idea is pretty spot on. Jesus didn't hang out with the "right" people. He hung out with those that needed him the most. Perhaps we should stop slapping people around for their sins and be a little more accepting. Leading people to Jesus does not mean we wash them of their sins, it means we help them get to a place where they ask God to do that. So with that in mind, I don't care if Chaz is on TV or not, but I do hope he has some strong people around him helping him find his way.



2 comments:

Allison said...

Well, I didn't read the article so I'm not going to say a whole lot there. Except that I HAVE let Mini-me watch DWTS. Mainly because, she loves dance. Period. And shiny costumes. I've questioned myself off and on about that decision, but ultimately, I have let her watch it.

When the Chaz thing came up, I was really upset. I mean, they've been pushing the limits with the show for a while and I felt the need to finally draw the line. Not because of him/her exactly, but the fact that I knew they show would absolutely make the sex change an issue and cover it in depth. They get personal with the stars and you learn all kinds of things about them. So I knew it was gonna come up.

I know that you can't shield your kids from everything, and I certainly don't want to breed any kind of hatred in my daughter, but there IS a right and wrong and some things are just not good for discussing with someone her age right now. I mean, I just EXPLAINED the difference between boys and girls. Imagine how THAT would confuse her!!!

I hope your grandma finds some resolve and peace. It's sad when they are sick - and it's even sadder when it's like they've given up.

I hope that Sharonda makes it as close to full term as she can and I am SO glad Kaycie is adjusting to the bed situation. I'm sure it will continue to improve. And if it doesn't, it's never too early to teach her how to use the remote. HAHA!

Susan said...

Oh I totally agree with not letting younger kids watch it, I've just had that issue with it long before now. To me this is just an extension of the sexuality they've always made a point to promote on a lot those type of shows. And my problem would be more with the way they approach it on the show than the fact of it. I also think it should totally be a parent's choice based on the individual kid and their ability to process that kind of thing (because it ignoring it won't make the realities of this world go away if the kid's mature enough to understand sexuality in general). Too much of the coverage has focused on attacking him as an individual, which isn't going to help anything.