Parenting – Susie Strauss

October 30, 2015

Assisted Living: Pros and Cons

There comes a point in life when many people have to decide on whether to continue living independently, or transitioning to an assisted living facility. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it’s best to consider these before making what can be a life changing decision. Weighing the pros and cons is important.

Assisted living services for seniors can provide a number of benefits. One of those is flexibility. As we age, our bodies change, and so do our needs. Properly staffed facilities can help us at any stage of life. These facilities often have staff on hand that can make expert decisions on our health and give proper advice on conditions that could be considered ‘red flags.’ This staff is available full time, which means in emergencies, people can trust that they will receive critical attention.

There are a few cons, of course. The biggest concern people have is costs. Assisted living requires early planning on the part of a person so that they can afford the month to month costs. These costs can also increase as a person’s needs increase with age. For these reasons, it’s best to start making economic preparations sooner rather than later.

July 4, 2015

Happy Independence Day!!!

Family watching fireworks (free clip art)

I love the 4th of July!! We really go all out to decorate, well we do that for every holiday but there’s just something about Independence Day that I love!! We always have a huge community picnic type party with grilled hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixin’s and of course potato salad, baked beans and we can’t forget the banana pudding and homemade ice cream.

Then there’s the fireworks display. I love all of the laughter, ooohhh’s and aaahhh’s from the children when the fireworks start. It’s just a wonderful time for all!!! I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful 4th of July and remember what the celebration is all about, our independence!!!

May 10, 2015

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! I know that you may not BE a mother, but chances are you know someone who IS a mother! So, Happy, Happy Day to all!

December 22, 2014

Christmas Traditions Can Differ a Lot

When I was a kid, we had Christmas on just one day – Christmas Day – and it was a very busy day for us. We always woke up early and tore into the presents under our tree in the living room. Then we had brunch, got dressed up and visited my Grandmother at her house. We always took gifts to her house for her and she always had gifts for us waiting under her tree. We visited for a couple of hours and then left her house and went to my other grandparent’s house for a huge family party.

I am amazed to learn that many people open their gifts on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas morning. Some families hang stockings and some don’t. Some families don’t even have Santa come visit – I think that is sad. Even when the kids are grown, everyone still likes to get a little gift from Santa!

November 9, 2014

Celeste is free from her father

Since Celeste is 17 years old, she does not have to return to her parents as long as someone, me in other words, is appointed her legal guardian until she turned 18. Well I gladly accepted that responsibility. Since I have taken a restraining order out against her father, he can no longer come within 50 feet of my home and establishment. Celeste also took one out and now he can’t come within 50 feet of her anywhere she goes.

It’s a shame that such a beautiful and bright young woman should have to make such hard decisions about her own father but Celeste knows that she in turn must protect herself and her son. The law is on her side in all of this mess. Her hopes and dreams to be her own person, go to college and support herself and her son are what keep her going.

Life is hard at times and tough decisions are all a part of growing up. A 17 year old shouldn’t have to make such hard decisions but she has and has done it without malice or hatred in her heart. She will go far in life with her gentle and loving heart. I only can hope and pray she doesn’t develop a hard heart because of all of this. I honestly don’t think she will because we will surround her with love and respect here. I am so very proud of her.

November 3, 2014

Now I understand

It all became too clear this weekend why Celeste took Little Joe and left home. Her father found out where she was, got drunk and came beating on my door last night. I could smell the liquor on his breath as soon as I opened the door. He demanded to see his daughter and I told him that he was not welcome here and to leave. That didn’t go over very well.

This crazy man shoved me out of the way and started up the stairs yelling for Celeste to come down right that minute. Celeste locked herself in her room with Little Joe and Grace, my faithful friend and help around the house called 911 as soon as she heard what was going on. By the time the deputy sheriff got there, he was trying to break down Celeste’s door and I had my shot gun on him asking him to stop or I would shoot.

They got him cuffed and as they were taking him out of the house, he yelled to Celeste that she was not taking HIS grandson from him. He then called her every kind of low person you can imagine for having a baby as young as she was and not married. She was not only abused physically by her father but he was also abusing her emotionally. My heart stopped when it hit me. I went to the sheriff’s department and took a restraining order against him so he can’t come back.

Now to help Celeste and Little Joe never have to go back to that crazy man again. That is no kind of life to live! After a lot of tears and some talking, I told Celeste that I would take her to a lawyer and get custody of both her and Little Joe if that’s what she wanted so she would not have to go back there again. So we have an appointment with my lawyer today to see what we have to do to protect them.

October 28, 2014

Celeste

Late Friday night, there was a knock on my door. When I opened the door, there stood a young woman with a little boy. She said her name was Celeste and her little boys name was Joe. She didn’t have anywhere to go because her family had thrown her out that evening and she wondered if maybe I had a job she could do to pay for a room tonight and some food for her and Joe.

This is a 17 year old young woman with a 15 month old beautiful little boy. I invited her in and got her and Joe something to eat. I sat with her and talked to see what I was dealing with here. I sure didn’t need a teenager that was on drugs here but I didn’t see any signs of anything like that. All I saw that she had a bruise across her cheek that she had tried to hide with makeup but didn’t do a very good job of it.

She said her father was bad to get drunk and take everything out on her and her mother and she just couldn’t take it anymore. He had gotten angry about nothing and threw her out. She said she was still in high school and had someone that kept Joe for her to be able to go to school. She really wanted to stay around here so she could finish school and then hopefully go to college so she could take care of Joe and herself.

My heart almost broke as I listened to this beautiful young woman talk. I made a deal with her. I told her that she could clean the rooms and help with the other chores around there and she would have a place to live as long as she stayed in school and took care of her son herself. No male visitors to her room and no drugs or drinking. When I saw the tears swelling up in her eyes, I knew this was not a bad kid. Just a kid that had made a few mistakes and was trying to do right by them. I guess I now have somewhat of a daughter and grandson if all works out like I think it will. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

September 30, 2014

Public School Report Cards Already!

School has been in session for 5 weeks already, which means that school report cards come out next week for all the public school kids in this area. We do 6 week grading periods, and the first reports are supposed to be parent teacher conferences. I’m not sure they still do that in every school, but I sure used to hate the 6th week of school when I was a kid. My parents would go to the school and sit on these tiny chairs and listen to the teacher complain about me for 30 minutes, then they would come home and beat my butt for whatever holy sin I had been committing in class, like “not paying attention.”

Then the next 6 weeks would be hades, because I’d have lost all my privileges and was not allowed to watch TV or play outside with friends or do anything except homework or read library books. OMG! I hated my teacher AND my parents for those second 6 weeks.

But then, strangely, my next report card would always “show improvement”” and I would be not grounded any more and life would go back to normal. I don’t recall doing anything different during those 6 weeks except suffering – but I managed to get through it and my parents felt better about themselves for being “responsible parents” and my teacher would get her panties out of a knot and accept the fact that not every student is going to be a perfect student.

May 11, 2014

Caring For Floral Arrangements

It’s always nice to get flowers delivered to you. I love getting a big bouquet with a nice vase and a little card. I usually always get a bunch on Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. If I’m lucky I also get some flowers on my birthday. This year, for Mother’s Day, I got a lovely bouquet from the kids and my husband. I love the arrangement. It has gorgeous yellow lilies and violet and lavender additions to compliment the yellow.

I want to make sure that my flowers last for awhile so I’m taking special precautions as I care for them. I’ve given them plant food and fresh water. Once the water gets dirty I’ll change it and refill the vase with clean water. I’m making sure to keep the arrangement away from any heat source as well. So even though they might look great above my television set, I don’t want the heat to age the flowers prematurely. I sprayed the flowers with a floral preservative to help keep them as fresh as possible.

I know that if I follow these precautions, my floral arrangement should last awhile and I’ll be able to enjoy them for a few weeks.

January 11, 2014

Health Insurance

I don’t know about you, but I think that insurance is a very important thing to buy. Life insurance, automobile insurance, homeowner insurance, dental, vision, and health insurance. They are all very important things to have. So when Lucy told me that she didn’t have any health insurance for her, or her kids I was pretty passionate about encouraging her to contact a north carolina health insurance agent first thing Monday morning to get some price quotes on health insurance for her and her kids. I am a firm believer in insurance.