Do something!

I want to dedicate todays post to an issue weighing heavily on my mind. I have a teenage boy who has been dealing with relationship issues for a couple of years now. I can look at it only from where I stand...and it seems he has been on the receiving end so far. He's had to deal with several little girls who want to play emotional games and he ends up getting hurt because he's the "nice" guy. I try to listen carefully and read between the lines because I want to make sure he's as healthy emotionally as we can possibly influence. I want to make sure he's not doing the hurting...if he has to break up with someone I don't want him to do it in an abusive way. I've tried to teach him that words can have a profound effect on people, young or old, for his sake and the people he will come across in his relationships. We can't always help or fix things for our kids...but we can make sure they have the tools to deal with issues whenever we can. I've always tried to teach my boys and nephews to use words and not their fists. But I also refuse to allow them to become verbal sparring partners or punching bags for some. My babies also have a right to defend themselves. My oldest had early lessons with a bully in third grade. A big kid kept picking on my scrawny baby with glasses. The bully was constantly making fun of him and we talked with the teacher and principal, which only angered the kid. The issue escalated and the kid started pushing and tripping my son at every chance he found. One day the kid was pushing my son on the playground, behind the slide and out of sight of the "group" of playground monitors that should've been individuals walking around so there weren't "blind spots". Kiddo had enough and punched the boy in the mouth. Guess who got sent home for fighting. I insisted on a meeting with the teacher, parents and principal. During the meeting it came out that this was far from the first time that this little boy was in trouble for being a bully. The parents were very defensive and I could see where the kid got his attitude. Short story...we pulled kiddo out of the school and homeschooled him until they did something about the bully. Several months later the superintendent called and asked if we'd bring kiddo back. The family had moved and bully was no longer in kiddo's class. But he's still out there somewhere.

I had a story idea about six months ago for a young adult/teen book about domestic violence. But my current WIP's are front and center at the moment and I haven't had the time or desire to start something new. Teenage domestic violence has been a talked about issue recently and tragically brought into the spotlight with the news reports about the Chris Brown/Rhianna altercation. The Today Show on NBC had a short segment on the issue this morning so I want to send out the link in case anyone is interested. Dosomething.org galvanizes teens/tweens to take action. There is a section on violence and bullying but it also just encourages teens to become active at a young age with issues we all deal with.

I was devastated to hear that one in three teens will be abused in peer relationships whether it's physical, mental or online. It's easy to say they've learned this through environment but that's not always the case. I remember how emotional I was in high school when it came to my first real love. I thought I would DIE when we broke up. Don't ask me the specifics because I can't remember all the drama behind it...I was the one that did the heartbreaking but wanted him back the second he started dating someone else. But between hormones and teenage angst...I'm sure it was made out to be more than it should've been. I even had a boy slap me once. ONCE. Little did he know that my mama raised me to be strong and independent and I had had enough crap in my young life to deal with for some silly little boy trying to put his hands on me. He left my house with the thought that I was a star player on my softball team and knew how to use my bat. Looking back...it could've turned out really bad.

Education is the key. We've got to remember that regardless of age, color or financial status...we all have the right to live our lives without the fear of someone hurting us, emotionally or physically.

Good day...

Today was a bit relaxing even though I accomplished alot. I think I'm just happy that I'm not having to drive anywhere. Tomorrow will be another busy day because I'll be pulling out all of my candle, soap and lotion supplies to do an inventory. We're thinking that the restaurant is too risky to try right now with the economy in the toilet.

Anyhoo... My family has agreed that the safest way to start a business right now is to finish the website and start out small. As soon as we see things that work or don't work, we can tweak our product line and not have a high overhead. I need to start making products and figure out what we'll start with. The website has to be designed/programmed and products packaged so I can take pictures. Our plan is to have the website up and running by the end of April. My handmade bars of soap need at least 30 days to cure.

The problem is that I can envision a brick and mortar shop. I can see the building and how I think it should look. It's not really a problem I guess because if the website does well we can start funneling the money into renovating the building and not borrow money. The whole point is that we DO NOT want to borrow money. We have made it our personal mission to pay off ALL of our loans and credit cards. No more debt. This way our overhead will be at a minimum and if we have a slow week or month, we won't be freaking out and worried about making ends meet. But if I can't have my southern comfort food...I can see a little sweet shop with goodies and shelves filled with pretty bling things.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'll be thinking about you when I'm playing scientist and mixing my potions;)

I'm baaaaack!

*huge sigh* Feels good to be home and not planning on what needs to be packed for the next trip. At least not in the immediate future. We'll join hubby in Louisiana on the 30th with the new travel trailer. I'll have to buy dishes and linens to stock it but at least those are things that won't have to be packed and moved with every new jobsite. I had a nice relaxing lunch with a friend today and he unloaded some work stress. His job is pretty fascinating to me so it was really interesting just hearing him vent. Grey's Anatomy was good tonight, and next week's episode looks just as promising.

Right now? I'm working on catching up with my crit partners. Hopefully by Monday I'll be ready to work on my WIP without wanting to peek at everyone else's story. That's definitely an issue when I get sucked into the creative world of my writing buddies.

Hope everyone has been productive?!