Ladies and Gentlemen, We are going down......

Imagine, you are on an airplane, and just resting, or reading, and your child is happily sitting next to you, and you hear this over the intercoms...
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN< AND WE ARE IN SOME TROUBLE.... 

You've flown before, you have seen the drill, how to buckle your seat belt, what to do when the mask falls from the ceiling..but do you really know what you would do?
If the plane is going down, and that mask drops...who gets one first? 
Most parents will say the kid, right? Wrong~~
If you don't put yours on first, in a true emergency, you might perish before you can even get theirs on them.
And then what...
Yeah.
There are several different analogies for this scenario in real life...
 ~Put your own oxygen mask on first,
 ~You have to look after yourself first in order to have something to offer others,
 ~There is a fountain inside you, don't walk around with an empty bucket,
 ~Sometimes you don't realize that you are drowning, because you are trying so hard to be everyone else's anchor,
 ~It all begins with you, If you do not take care of yourself first, you will not be strong enough to take care of anything in your life,
 ~You can't help others if you don't look after your self first, you get the idea, right?
 The bottom line in life is You can not fill someone else's cup, if yours is empty.
PERIOD
 So many times people want to do and do and do for others, but they end up neglecting themselves. This is so bad, and tragic. This is so very true when you have kids in your life. Or maybe you are a caregiver to a special needs child, or maybe its an adult, with memory care issues, my advice to you is find a way to give yourself ME TIME EVERY DAY,, away from your charges...take a drive, take a bath, read at bedtime, have a dance party alone, work out, go for a run, sneak into the pantry to have a snack, watch tv, have a glass of wine, read your Bible, call a friend.
 I get that they are always around, but that's okay, you need to prioritize finding time to just regroup and focus and fill that cup.
 You must...I hate to think of all of those out there who are on a crashing plane, who didn't put on their own oxygen mask first.

Beginning

I am blessed. I mean that truly. I have a wonderful husband, and great kids. I have a good job, and I live in a nice home. I am close with my sister and parents, and I have friends, good long term friends and some great acquaintances.

I have nothing for which I should be unhappy, and for the most part, I am happy, so there is that.

I read a lot about situations where folks have kids, who clearly should not have, but for whatever reason, they did..and they neglect them, or abuse them, or teach them hate and prejudice.

It really is heartbreaking.

If I could take all the abused, abandoned, and unloved kids I hear about into my house and just hug them and tell them how God wanted them here, and try to love the hurt away, I would, in a heartbeat.

It pains me to read stories where parents lock the kids in rooms and let them starve, while other children in the home live happily. Or parents who leave the kids in the car while they go into the bar to drink, and then drive home drunk, endangering the lives of those kids, who are really gifts…

I don’t understand how a mom, could feel a child growing inside her, kicking, moving around, and seeing that precious, fragile infant right after birth, and then turn around and throw that life, that same gift away, like trash. Or Foster parents who abuse and neglect already abused and neglected children.

I am not here on a soap box to preach, I just wanted to start a place where I can offer advice, or information I have gathered over the years about kids, parenting, and education and health for kids.

When to call the doctor,

When to call 911,

How to install a car seat, and how long to use it.

When to worry and when to relax.

Crossing the midline

Nutrition

Sleep hygiene

The list goes on.

I have several friends who are in the medical fields, or the car seat safety field, and more, and I can use them to help me, get the word out, that these kids, are indeed gifts.

I will preface my blog with this: I am a christian, I am pro life, and pro vaccine. I will NOT judge you for your parenting choices, but I will call out those who abuse kids, or hurt them, or neglect them. If I can offer anyone, even one person some advice that will help them be a better parent, or make an informed choice about the education of their child, then what I set out to do is done.

I am not the ultimate judge, God is, so I will leave that job to Him.

I will pray for you if you like, I will cry with you if you are stressed out, I will listen to you if you can’t take another thing...lean on me, please..I genuinely want to help all parents, and their counterparts, with knowledge I have gathered over 30 years. I want to share it. It’s not mine to keep.

I want to laugh with you, cry with you, be angry with you, and yell with you. I want to share your joys, and successes, and help you overcome failures.

I am not perfect, and I won’t ever claim to know it all, if I don’t know, I will tell you so.

I see this blog as a way to share the information I have, and the title is latin for Iron Sharpens Iron. And that is my goal, to sharpen others with what I know.

It is my hope to help others, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters ,brothers, grandparents, teachers, anyone..to allow them to love children the way I do. To embrace the gift that is childhood. The innocence of youth, the carefree laugh of children who are genuinely loved.

It won’t all be serious, I do have a sense of humor...but I hope you will come here for insight, and information and a good read.

Thank you, and please share!!