| Life in progress

May 7, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 28 Comments

#SoCS – Apparently a parent

What makes one a parent? Is it the simple act of creating another life? Or is it having days like the one I’m having today? It started with coming out of my bedroom to find the kid at the top of the stairs holding a dog biscuit up above his head and the dog about to jump up at him from the stair above (the kid was one step down from the top) and about to knock him down the entire flight backwards.

Said kid has been frustrated all day by one thing after another, and screaming his head off (as he is now) and testing my limits as he does it.

The second time he tried to kill himself today (I’m saying this is the second, because things come in threes and I want it to be over already) he decided he wasn’t going to eat today. At all. I had visions of him ending up in hospital hooked up to an IV because his heart can’t handle dehydration.

And then (you’ll really get a kick out of this one) he pulled the power cord out of his laptop (still plugged into the wall) and decided it might be yummy. He actually put it in his mouth before I noticed. !!!!!

If being stressed out means being a parent to a child who doesn’t realize how self-destructive he’s being, and actually staying with him while he practically kills me, then apparently I’m a parent.

I actually thought about recording him but I don’t want my audience to hate me. You’re welcome.

P.S. In case you’re not sure how to take this post, I’m still smiling. Smile with me. We’re all still alive.

This ~~madness~~ post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and join in today! https://lindaghill.com/2016/05/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-716/

May 6, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 41 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 7/16

Hey! Hi there! It’s Friday! That means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt! Despite all the exclamation marks, I’m not really that energetic. But sometimes ya just gotta pretend, right? Here in North America, and possibly in India, it’s Mother’s Day this weekend. In celebration, I thought I’d give everyone the opportunity (or not) to post about it for SoCS. Here’s the prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “apparent/a parent.” Use either one or both. You choose. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

May 4, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 28 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Freedom

Our freedom depends on others, no matter who we are.

Lest we forget.

____________________________________________________________________________

Anyone who would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our new, very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

May 2, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 23 Comments

Cosmic Photo Challenge – Hot Beach

This picture was taken at sunset on a dull, rainy night at Jolly Beach, Antigua, January 23, 2013.

Reality

By first lightening the photo, and then enhancing the reds and blues, and decreasing the greens, I ended up with a much more stunning sunset than I saw in reality.

On fire

Which do you prefer?

This post is part of K’lee and Dale’s Cosmic Photo Challenge! This week’s theme is beaches. Click the link and learn what to do to join in! https://diaryofaninternetnobody.com/2016/05/02/klee-and-dales-cosmic-photo-challenge-7/

May 2, 2016
by Linda G. Hill

Criticizing a Caricature

On my recent blog post on Donald Trump, ( https://lindaghill.com/2016/03/22/trump/ ) I’ve had a counterpoint made in response by the dear Mr. Jack Sutter. I have to admit that since I wrote it, I’ve heard Mr. Trump speak on the issues of allowing people in to the country by way of more rigorous screening, and I agree, it’s something that needs to be handled. However.
Donald Trump has proven himself to be a Narcissist of epic proportions. Anyone who has known a Narcissist and been manipulated by one, can attest to the fact that they are both untrustworthy and dangerous. Therefore, one must conclude that what Mr. Trump says now, may or may not be what he would carry out as president. For anyone who has not known a Narcissist personally, I urge you to research Narcissistic Personality Disorder, both for the sake of identifying Mr. Trump and for the event that you might meet one in person.
Jack points out that my statement about not building walls, and instead standing together and being brave means we are doing nothing. I’d like to clarify as best I can. By standing together as a society, we can best find ways to protect ourselves. In the spirit of finding an example, consider this on a smaller scale. If we box ourselves up inside our own four walls with our family, and listen only to the radio to discover what is going on outside, we learn only what the radio tells us. However, if we go out and talk to real people, with real diversity, we learn so much more. We find that we have things in common. Things that the radio doesn’t tell us about because they WANT us to be fearful. It’s their way of controlling us. Once we get out, we can plan to live side-by-side, and do what is best for our communities, and only then can we find the best way to defend ourselves if necessary, using the strength we have in numbers.
When Jack talks about Cold War tactics in his post, he makes a very good point again. Except we have to come back to Mr. Trump’s untrustworthiness. Yes, he might be “just saying” he’ll wipe out the families of terrorists, but he might not. And if he does, then what? You can bet the terrorists will double their efforts.
Again, Jack makes a good point about putting a timetable on taking out the terrorists. But if it’s to be done, it has to be done right, no matter who does it.
And finally, Jack says that Mr. Trump is protecting American Muslims. I counter with this: he’s talking about sending every immigrant back to where they came from, and making them reapply for citizenship. Sending them back to war-torn countries is hardly protecting them.
My main concern is that Donald Trump is a pathological Narcissist. Look it up. He’s the poster boy. If he’s a caricature at all, it’s of himself.
Please visit Jack Sutter’s post to comment, and please keep it civil. Thank you.

Empire of Sludge

Donald Trump is not the monster his critics make him out to be.

That’s not an opinion, it’s a statement of fact.

Most of the criticisms leveled at him – or that you yourself may have even leveled at him if you’re a critic – are based on a caricature. Not on the man himself though, nor on his actual policies or rhetoric. This is verifiable for anyone who wants to look through transcripts of his speeches or listen to them in videos to see what he’s actually said, and to anyone willing to go to his website and actually read his policies. The following, a comment I left on Linda’s post about Trump…

Is a slightly edited response to one of the criticisms I’m describing…

“But how do we fight fear? By being brave and standing together. Not building walls and hiding within them, never letting anyone else in.”

View original post 1,152 more words

May 1, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 14 Comments

Song-Lyric Sunday – On The Turning Away by Pink Floyd

I was lucky enough to see Pink Floyd live in Toronto, in the summer of 1994. It was an outdoor concert on a beautiful evening; a soft breeze blew and the music was absolutely heart-wrenchingly wonderful. I was about six months pregnant at the time, and the baby, my eldest son, did somersaults to the beat of the bass guitar. This was one of the songs they played.

I dream there will be a day when it’s no longer relevant. In the meantime, there is no better reminder.

Copied and pasted from AZLyrics.com:

“On The Turning Away”

On the turning away
From the pale and downtrodden
And the words they say
Which we won’t understand
“Don’t accept that what’s happening
Is just a case of others’ suffering
Or you’ll find that you’re joining in
The turning away”
It’s a sin that somehow
Light is changing to shadow
And casting it’s shroud
Over all we have known
Unaware how the ranks have grown
Driven on by a heart of stone
We could find that we’re all alone
In the dream of the proud
On the wings of the night
As the daytime is stirring
Where the speechless unite
In a silent accord
Using words you will find are strange
Mesmerised as they light the flame
Feel the new wind of change
On the wings of the night
No more turning away
From the weak and the weary
No more turning away
From the coldness inside
Just a world that we all must share
It’s not enough just to stand and stare
Is it only a dream that there’ll be
No more turning away?

Lyrics: David Gilmour and Anthony Moore

This post is part of Song-Lyric Sunday! Click the link for all the details: https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/song-lyric-sunday-lost-in-darkness-by-escape-the-fate/ and join in Helen’s fantastic prompt!

April 30, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 27 Comments

Zip – #AtoZ Challenge

Do you remember those infant’s toys that demonstrate the sounds all the animals make? Maybe you still have one laying around the house. Loads of fun, and a great teaching tool as well.

My first two kids played with one of those things until I was ready to strangle the turkey and eat it for dinner. Yet strangely, when Alex was born, I missed being able to add the detail of what an animal sounded like to its name. Or its sign, as was the case.

This has transferred to everyday life. The word, “zip” makes no sense to him in an onomatopoeic way. He processes impacts such as “bang” and “clap” in a very different way to those of us who can hear. He feels them.

Having said all that, Winston has a very loud bark indeed. Loud enough that it penetrates Alex’s profound, though not complete, hearing loss. I can finally have fun with, “The dog says, ‘Woof!'” once again.

Winston and Alex

April 30, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 25 Comments

#SoCS – Zoos

I’ve been to quite a few zoos in my time. The ones I can remember off the top of my head are the London Zoo, the Toronto Zoo, and the African Lion Safari. The link for the latter one is here: http://www.lionsafari.com/ Just looking at their site makes me want to go back. I think I might do that this summer with the kids.

Strangely enough, the thing I remember most about the Toronto Zoo is that, when I went there with my friends when we were in high school, there was a McDonald’s in the park but they didn’t allow straws. Nor did they allow plastic cutlery. I assume it was because people would throw them into the animal enclosures and the animals would choke on them. (Stupid people.) But do you have any idea how hard it is to drink a McDonald’s milkshake without a straw… or a spoon?

Why do stupid people ruin things for everyone else? Do you ever wonder? We just accept the restrictions we have on ourselves – restrictions which we know are in place to protect stupid people and the things stupid people affect. For the life of me, I can’t think of another example, but you know what I mean. If you can think of one, mention it in the comments, would you? Thanks.

What if we had zoos full of stupid people? We could stare at them behind glass enclosures and laugh at the things they do. Maybe they could share the monkey exhibits… We could throw them straws and watch them stick them up their noses. Give them hot coffee to pour on themselves… oh wait. There are warnings on cups.

Actually, we already do this, in a way. We have America’s Funniest Videos.

I’d better stop before I get myself into trouble.

Have you ever noticed that this stream of consciousness thing is kind of like being drunk? You say whatever comes to mind…

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2016/04/29/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-3016/

April 29, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 33 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS April 30/16

It’s Friday! Already! That means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s also the last day of April tomorrow, which means this is the final time this year that I’ll revolve the prompt around the letter of the day for those participating in the A to Z Challenge. I think it’s gone pretty well, despite that little inconvenience (or convenience as the case may be), don’t you? Here’s your prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “zoo.” Use the word zoo, or find a word that contains it. Have fun!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

April 29, 2016
by Linda G. Hill 14 Comments

Yielding – #AtoZ Challenge

In my post yesterday, about how difficult it is for my son, Alex, to play with the neighbourhood children, I mentioned that part of his problem is my fault. Thing is, the other kids tend to play from one side of the street to the other and up and down both sides. Kids, being kids, sometimes run across the street to beat the traffic. If Alex follows them but doesn’t see the car, (and of course he doesn’t hear it) the results are literally the stuff of nightmares for me. The traffic on my street should be going at 40km/h (25mph) but occasionally people speed down it as though they were the only ones on the road. On that account I’ve tried to get the city to put up signs, but they refused, saying they deal only with signs that meet provincial standards.

The signs I’ve seen in this province, in various towns and cities, include “Elderly Persons Crossing,” “Children at Play,” “Turtle Crossing,” and “Duck Crossing.” But they won’t put one up for my Deaf son. There are actually a couple of “Deaf Children at Play,” signs across town, but they won’t put one up here. They told me that perhaps they’ve been there since the guidelines were changed.

As parents, we all have to advocate for our kids, whether for their schooling, the services they need, their health… The list goes on. This is just one of the many I have to deal with. I need to find help, I think.

What have you advocated for on your family’s behalf and succeeded?

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