Canton Blogger

Advice: Everybody's Got It

I remember clearly as a newlywed all of the advice I was given by the married people around me.  Some of it was helpful, most of it was unsolicited, and much of it came from people whose marriage I had no intention of recreating.  But lots of folks had it to give.

As a pregnant woman and then a new mom, that experience was repeated tenfold.  It seems that EVERYONE has an opinion or idea about how I should raise my daughter.  Again, some of it is helpful, most of it is unsolicited and much of it comes from those whose children I hope NOT to recreate.  But so many people have it to give.  Family members, of course, are the best because not only are they brilliant and experienced in parenting, but they also know what an idiot everyone else is.  From ancient remedies for gas to the highly controversial issue of scheduling, their advice comes with few apologies. 

However, my favorite has to be the advice from those who have no idea who I am! Twice in our local Ingles I have been subject to advice from complete strangers.  Once, I was shopping with my 3 month old (still very much in the haze of new mommyhood) who had chosen to start crying just as I entered the deli meat section.  An older woman promptly came up to my cart and informed me that my little one was starving, I should probably feed her.  If I had been going on more sleep, I might have had the energy to smack the woman, well-intentioned though she may have been.  Then there was the rare positive experience.  In the same grocery store (my fave in Canton, by the way) I was trying to entertain my then 9 month old in the check out line.   Fumbling for my wallet, balancing a plump and squirmy baby, trying to maneuver a full grocery car, I was out of breath by the time I reached my car.  And that was when a kind lady came up to me just to tell me what a great job I was doing caring for my daughter.  Her advice was to enjoy her as the blessing she was, and it was very well received.

And now that my baby is approaching 1 1/2, I apparently feel qualified to dish out my own advice.  I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but while sitting in the waiting room of my pediatrician’s office, I turned into one of those parents who so often annoy me.  My daughter was being fairly well behaved as we sat across from parents of a brand-spanking-new baby.  They were exhausted and overwhelmed, looking generally like they had just been run over by a tiny but powerful semi-truck (ah, those were the days).  They were lamenting the fact that their little bundle was trying to sleep all day so she could stay up and keep them up all night.  That’s when it happened.   Before I could stop myself, the words “You know, when Piper was first born…” were already out of my mouth.  As I informed them of how I had deftly avoided the all night partying scenario I realized that my advice had not been asked for, nor was it necessarily going to be listened to.  I finished with a weak, “Of course, all babies are different.”  But it was too late.  I had joined the ranks of the perfect-stranger-advice-givers. 

Ah, becoming that which we so strongly dislike.  It is never fun, but maybe this experience will help me in the future, both to listen more patiently to well-meaning advice and to keep my mouth shut when I want to give my own.  Anyone have advice for how to do that???

Adoption Seminar

Canton Blogger is excited to announce an adoption seminar hosted by Hope for Adoption.  The seminar is FREE and will be held on Saturday, September 16th from 10am to noon at The Historic Canton Theatre in Downtown Canton.  This flyer has all the details and I strongly encourage your family to attend, even if you have only ever thought about adoption this seminar looks like it will answer a lot of questions.  Adoption is something very special to my wife and I as we have considered for years, also many of our closest friends have adopted children from Cambodia to Guatemala to right here in Georgia.  What a wonderful event for all Cantonites.  Hope to see you there!

Towne Mill = Community???

My wife and I enjoy the occasional drive around town and we like to walk around in the new homes being built in our city.  It is something different, we live in a pretty simple fully bricked house (3 bedrooms 2 baths) with an unfinished basement built in 1969, located in an established neighborhood. Last week, we took off for another adventure and it led us to Towne Mill off of the booming Fate Conn Rd (at the end of the Bluffs Pkwy.).  We have quickly noticed that the new homes/subdivisions are really trying to sell you the idea or least the concept of community.  Personally, I am far from buying into the idea (they are still subdivisions to me), and the lengths by which they pursue and the money they are spending on this concept is impressive.  Just a visit to the Towne Mill website and you quickly see the idea portrayed through a video of old times, kids jumping rope and throwing the ball outside and then a Hummer peeking through at the end.  I found that very funny and ironic, because nothing says good old times quite like kids playing on the sidewalk and a Hummer???  People are definitely buying into these concepts or they wouldn’t be using them.  I love the idea and concept of community and I really desire more of it.  If Towne Mill or other development can help foster and promote it, then more power to them.  But what are critical elements to real community?  How do we really care for one another outside of developments and institutions? 

BUSY but not forgotten

Well it has been awhile since I have posted on the Canton Blogger.  Truth is I have been far too busy with ministry.  Wait a second! That is what I am writing about.  Don’t you love it when people tell you how busy they are? One, like you really care about someone’s busyness.  Two, you know from experience it is always an excuse for not doing something else.   Three, you know good and well that you yourself are more than likely equally if not more busy, yet you don’t complain about it and you surely don’t bore others with your busy rants. As much as I hear about other’s busyness and the negative impact of such busyness, the more I am convinced that either most of us who rant about our busyness are incredibly sad people who miss most of life in pursuit of busyness, or we somehow feel some self-worth by trying to convince others that we are busy.  You know, we have really become a society that prides itself on busyness, maybe it really is because we are over caffeinated, over stimulated, and over stressed, or maybe our busyness is just another excuse for not investing time and energy into something more worthy. I don’t believe there is anything wrong in taking pride in your work and seeking excellence in all that you do, but sometimes it helps me to step back and discover the things that my “busyness” is really covering.  As I step back and take a look, man, I am too busy!  And I just wrote a post that has nothing to do with Canton, guess I will classify this one under “My Rants in Canton???"

By the way, my wife and I ate at Okinawa Japanese Steakhouse over the weekend and it is really excellent.  The idea of ordering Sushi in Canton still baffles me but nonetheless the Crunch Roll was great, and the Filet was fabulously tender and cooked perfect.

Primary Election Today!

I still believe you should exercise your vote no matter how futile it might seem.   It is a great freedom many do not have or cannot exercise freely and/or fairly.  Besides, voting at least gives you a right to complain as well as soothing the ole conscience within. 

I am in the D.R.

I am in the Dominican Republic from July 17-27.  I will be trying to journal my trip on my ministry blog at www.graceglob.com. I have also invited other guest bloggers to post entries here in my absence, so be looking for more from the Canton Blogger. 

Politicking

From the onset of this blog I stated it would not be about politics, and more specifically it would not be a place to campaign for votes, and while this post is somewhat of an exception, it is not about a specific candidate.  The fact is, Canton is approaching the primary and we are all being held captive by the media onslaught, so why not something a bit different, yet on that same topic.  I have learned quickly in life that the most inflammatory topics in the world are politics and religion.  I am intimately tied to the latter, being the director of a faith based organization in Cherokee county I have heard plenty of advice and opinions on issues of faith and religion, some of them quite useful, some of them very passionately communicated, and some of them just down right ignorant.  So I know a bit about inflammatory issues.    My question is not who are you voting for, but are there words, images, concepts, issues, that are on the forefront of your mind and heart as you vote?  For example, is honesty important (a somewhat ironic word when it comes to politicians, but I guess the same could be said for ministers as well)?  How about “illegal immigration”? That one seems really hot in Canton.  Do sound-bytes work and are the ones we are seeing and hearing working on you?

I know I have been flooded with sound-byte campaign mailings, and frankly it is out of control.  I know how much those things cost, and I know our organization and others could feed, clothe, and minister to a lot of families for what some spend slinging mud at one another. 

So tell us your frustrations as well, just don’t make them personal.  What is it that influences your vote?  Tell us what you want from your local politicians using adjectives and/or verbs.  No endorsements, no speeches, they will be removed.  This will be the only political post for this primary campaign season, so enjoy this exception.

Don’t forget to vote, Tuesday, July 18. 

On another unrelated note, Canton Blogger has exploded over the holiday with 84 views on the 4th.  Our stats show a doubling of visitors in seven days.  Thanks for all of you who have come and read, sent kind emails, and even the few of you who have joined the public discussion.  I am very excited about this form of community and hope it serves to further our city.  Keep telling your friends. 

Community Bible School

There will be a Community wide Bible School at Brown Park next week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 6:30-8:30pm.  The Community Bible School is a community project hosted by Grace to the Nations, a local nonprofit ministry of which I am director.  The city is not allowing us to place a sign in the park, which we have done the last two years, so I hope to inform you and others about this project.  Without the publicity (which the sign played a huge role in the past) this project is in great danger of poor attendance.  So please spread the word and bring your children and your neighbors  to the park for games, arts and crafts, singing, and Bible stories.   We have invited the Hispanic community and we will be providing lessons in English and Spanish.  This is a great way for us all to understand, educate, and connect with another culture.    I would also be honored to meet some of you and your families. 

By the way, it is all free!

AllAboutCanton.com

Canton has a new website that is a source full of great local information.  AllAboutCanton.com is a site for locating restaurants, shopping centers, schools, churches, and medical facilities, to name a few.  It offers an easy search web tool that allows you to find almost any local business, government agency, etc.  They also have many pictures and great interactive maps (that are also printable) that make locating your destination an easy and pleasurable experience.  Almost every listing has a physical address (with an easy link to map quest or those interactive maps), a website link, and a phone number.  Listings are filed under many different traits so finding what are looking for is super easy and super quick.  Whether you are looking for a local church or a local cooking school, it is here at AllAboutCanton.com.  I have talked to the creator and owner, Eddie Johnson, and he informed me that the website will also be featured in the current addition of Around Canton, the local magazine that is also a great resource for news and events around Canton (hence the name). Let me know how you like AllAboutCanton.com and I will be sure to share your thoughts with the creator. 

Lessons in Motherhood

I don’t know about you, but if there is a way to get out of cooking on Friday night, I will find it. I fed my daughter, Piper, her dinner of green beans and potatoes, but six o’clock rolled around and I hadn’t thought of anything for the grown ups to eat for dinner. My husband suggested we go out for pizza. “Sounds great,” was my reply. I’m easy when it involves someone else cooking. We perused our pizza choices within a 5 mile radius and settled on Johnnie’s. My daughter (who also likes to eat out on Friday) starting waving bye-bye as soon as we mentioned it and we happily settled in the car with her sippy cup.

She was even happier when we got there…Johnnie’s has ceiling fans! A detail often overlooked by those above the age of 2 but a constant amusement to my little girl. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any better the pizza showed up. Still all steamy and melty, it looked delicious. Piper thought so too and immediately began signing “Eat, please!” I pulled off some of my crust and put it on her plate. She looked at the steaming pie, thought for a second, and began to blow on it! Now, for those of you without small children you may be thinking, “And…” but for us, this was big! At 15 months old, Piper has seen me blow on her food that I warmed up just a tad too long and she has heard us say “Hot!” But, she had never taken it upon herself to do the same. Now, without any prompting she was imitating something she had seen us do many times.

That’s when it hit me. She was repeating what I do all the time. In this instance, it was cute and made us smile and think what a smart daughter we have. But what will it be next time? What else does she see me do every day that she will one day imitate? I hope, pray, that it will always be good, cute things that make me smile. But I’m sure one day it will be something that gets her in trouble. Then what will I do? This parenting stuff is not easy! So, for now, I marvel at the fact that my daughter knows to blow on hot pizza. And I store away the lesson that she is always watching me…hopefully it’s one that I’ll remember.