Dependent on Running Gags

Hi Patricia,

Sorry for my delays of late. On Monday of this week, I took Anna to a children's playroom while Elsa was in school.  That night, I fell victim to one of the most horrendous and debilitating stomach bugs I have ever had.  

I would like to start by discussing the complete unfairness of this.  While at the play place, Anna took to licking the walls, the floor, other people, testing the flavor of the paint, and generally experiencing the place through her face. She was fine.

Musings on Marriage... or Divorce, Kuwaiti Syle

Hi Ray,

To quote one of the best films ever:  "Mawwiage.  Mawwiage is what bwings us togevah today."

 
Or, more generally, marriage and divorce.  I read an article recently about a woman in Kuwait who divorced her husband on the grounds that he had offensive table manners.  Seems the chap eats his peas by grabbing them up with a piece of bread.  I have to admit, I am kind of the Table Manners Police at my house - wanting the kids to at least know what is appropriate in "polite company" before they decide whether to keep or abandon such things as adults. Still, I give the Kuwaiti husband a small tip of my hat.  Chasing peas around your plate with a fork can turn into quite the Keystone Kop routine and he seems to have found a solution.

Generational wealth

Hi Patricia,

I was listening to a sports show the other day, and they were discussing rookie contracts in the NFL.  A couple years ago, the league put a limit on the amount rookies could get paid, and now everyone is happy.  Top players are still getting big bucks (just not as big) for taking severe blows to the head and billionaires get to keep their lips firmly around the money spigot.

That's not the important part.  One of the commenters on the show used the term "generational wealth".  Having sat through a couple of estate planning seminars in my day, the term had been tossed around before.  Its general meaning is a secure amount of money that is significant enough to retire comfortably and have extra for passing down to kids and grandkids (with a minimum cut taken by Uncle Sam).  It's something we're all supposed to aspire to. 

When Did Groceries Become Such a Grave Decision?

Hi Ray,

I have been struggling lately with the tension between wanting to buy only organic, pesticide-free, un-BPA poisoned or hormone-injected food and the fact that it is usually at least 2x the cost and we, like most families, are facing financial challenges.  I find it stressful to have to make choices like whether to buy the organic kale at $5.99 for 6 ounces or the regular kale at $2.49 for 12 ounces.  In that recent example, I just didn’t buy kale at all because I couldn’t feel okay about not getting organic.