How do we protect our kids from other kids?!!

I have been very protective of all 3 of my children. I don't drink in front of them (on the rare occasion that I drink at all), I quit smoking so when they decide to try it I won't be screaming about the health problems associated with it as I cough up a lung as proof! I don't let my kids stay away overnight except with their cousin across the street and I try to monitor their television viewing so they aren't exposed to all of the sex and nudity. But how in the world to you keep them from being exposed to the sexcapades of the kid's parents next door. There are only 5 kids in our neighborhood and we are so far from other kids that you have to plan a play date for them to play with others. The only one that is not related to us is the little 5 year old girl next door. Her parents have recently separated because Mom (if you want to call her that) decided she liked her boss better than Daddy and the daughter so she moved down the road with him. Now she only sees the daughter occasionally and obviously isn't 100% attentive when she does have her since the daughter is telling people that she has been watching mom and the new boyfriend having sex on the dining room table in the middle of the day! I am at a loss as to whether I should ban this child from playing with my children since she is probably telling my kids about the show she has been exposed to, or if I should (as I have been) continue to be the only positive female in her life. When I told her father about the incident he didn't seem surprised and wasn't nearly as mad as I was at what his daughter was exposed to. I really want to rip her head off so she can look at herself and see what she is doing! I am going to follow back up with the father and see what he is going to do and then take it from there. I sure HOPE someone in that household starts thinking about their child as much as I do!

A Fun Time

The reunion was great! Melinda did a great job finding people and getting everything organized. I think there were more people there this time. It was so good to see that everyone was doing well. Some people haven't changed too much and others had. We got updates on some that weren't able to make it and there are others that have just disappeared.(Maybe that was their plan! LOL)
I was glad to see that there had been changes in a few that didn't seem so well 10 years ago. I guess it takes time to get into the groove of life for some, or maybe they were just in a different groove than I was. Some of the update on others were troubling. We lost one classmate to an overdose, a few others have had troubles and have turned to alcohol to drown their problems. The one I was most surprised about was our class President. The good looking, smart, jock type that you just know is going to conquer the world and every woman in it, just kinda fell apart when his entourage of adoring fans weren't there to cheer him on. It is sad because I really thought the world of him. He was a nice guy even without the other stuff. I hope to see him at the next reunion because the update only gives him a few more years to live and that is just such a waste of a life.
I think everyone was married at least once, but several couples had been married at least 15 years and in todays world that's REALLY saying something. Mark and I were included in that group as the 2nd longest married couple of almost 19 years. I was proud of that fact, not in a boastfull way, but knowing the challenges that we have been through it is something to be proud of. We didn't take the easy way out and just go find the someone else to start over with. We just started over with each other when the world would knock us down and it has strengthened our bond of love and our endurance. I think at times we are like marathon runners that didn't train as well as we should have for the environment we will be taking on. We started out strong but when the hill came we lost some steam and had to walk for a while. When we caught our breath again we were off and running. We didn't anticipate that there would be alot of mountains to climb because we trained for the flat road that was sunny but cool and always had a nice tail wind. NOT!!!!! We have ran this marathon in the Gobi desert in the summer time and up Mt. Everest in the winter. We did have alot of nice weather and many miles of flat lands but those times of challenges were definately building our character and our marriage. I hope that all of this cross training we have been doing is going to pay off in the next 20 years of marathons!

20 Years already!!

Well, as I said when I started this blog I have been out of school for a while and my brain is going to mush. I guess that wasn't enough of a wake up call, but on Saturday I am going to my 20 year class reunion. I have stayed here in our small hometown and am raising my 3 sons with my husband. We have been fortunate that I have been able to stay at home and raise our kids, but I also feel like the odd man out since our society doesn't see the value of being a stay-at-home mom. I am worried that I will only have my husband, kids, and church to reminisce about since that has been my life for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and I wouldn't change it for anything, but you know the saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side". I guess I will just feel the grass between my toes for a few hours and then gladly jump back into my own backyard.