BIRTHDAY’S HOLIDAYS CELEBRATIONS – IS IT JUST ME OR CAN THEY OVERWHELMING?

redrose66 / June 26, 2015 / Crazy Thoughts

  I still haven’t caught up from my dwindling decline in finances during Christmastime, believe it or not! Not to mention my family has grown so large that I can’t even keep up with their birthdays anymore, unless it’s due to my age- but I’ll never tell.

 Anyways, it started off as just my parents and my five siblings then we started growing up. Both of my parents remarried each with step-children so then we wound up with a total of nine step-siblings. Okay now they each had children then the majority of them is grown up and has families of their own.

Backyard / Outside Play

redrose66 / June 24, 2015 / Family/ Just for Fun

Things are very different then it was when I grew up in the late 60’s-80’s when children found the time to have backyard fun looking for new games to play.

       

Grandparents

redrose66 / June 23, 2015 / Family

 The stereotype grandparents are generally pictured as either elderly or in their late fifties early sixties and often even older, but that’s not always the case.

 Personally, I birthed my first child at the age of 17 and he fathered his first child at age of 24; therefore I became a Nana at the age of 42. So in considering this I still probably have a little more stamina than my mother did when she had me at the age of 27. Now at the age of 48 I have a total of three grandchildren, (and two step-grandchildren but they don’t know me).

 One thing I enjoy about being a grandparent is that the little bears look forward to seeing you after not having seen you in awhile and thus look for you when you’re not around.

Thrombocytosis

redrose66 / June 19, 2015 / Health

Thrombocytosis (throm-boe-sie-TOE-sis) is a disorder in which your body produces too many platelets known as thrombocytes, which play an important role in blood clotting. The disorder is called reactive thrombocytosis when it’s caused by an underlying condition, such as an infection. Another medical term used for this condition or disorder is thrombocythemia.   

    In some patients the presence of high platelet counts in the blood, and can be either caused by a Myeloproliferative Disease. Although often symptomless, it can prompt thrombosis in some patients. Thrombosis can be defined as coagulation or clotting of the blood in a part of the circulatory system.

Toilet Paper Option A or B?

redrose66 / June 18, 2015 / For Fun

Think about your options. If you pick “A” have you thought about someone having dirty hands and maybe possibly being in a hurry and touching the wall thus spreading germs? What if the toilet paper touched the wall or your knuckles or hands and you picked up those nasty contaminants? Now you may have them on your privates or bottom side.

Family Ransom

redrose66 / June 17, 2015 / Family

Sometimes I wish that people were able to read my thoughts. It would take a lot of stress off of my trying to hold them in or worry if I would be hurting their feelings because I would be like an open book where some would read me and enjoy my thoughts while others would steer clear knowing that they themselves are mean, resentful, hurtful, or just plain evil and that they have pushed my patience too far and released an untamed beast.

Joy and Laughter

redrose66 / June 16, 2015 / Poems

Joy and laughter

Happiness ever after

Children playing

Backyard gaming

Lonely and Cold

redrose66 / June 16, 2015 / Poems

It’s lonely and cold

And feeling old

Let the story be told

Sometimes It May Be Wise To Put Down All Electronic Devices: Kids Need To Feel Loved At All Ages!

redrose66 / June 14, 2015 / Family / Encouragement

 It seems that everywhere you look someone is busy with their heads down in their little own world, regardless of where you go whether you’re walking, driving, watching a movie, or playing / watching a sporting event even if you stop and look around at the shopping malls, stores, and even restaurants the majority of the people are texting, listening to music, checking their e-mails, looking at social networking site, playing an application, internetting, or doing some sort of research on their cell phones, tablets, laptops or other networking  internet device.

 But where are their children during these social gatherings? Who’s minding them? Are the children getting the full attention they deserve? Are they working their own devices or is the family being sociable, interacting, and enjoying one another’s company? Some parents feel that if they take the children to public places that it’s enough on their part, but the parents may not have a clue what the child really feels about certain things, or if he’s having an issue with someone /something, if they are having a misunderstanding about something, or if they need help because there’s a lack of communication.

 Even at home the children are expected to be playing in their rooms, watching TV, or playing video games. The connection between child and parent has missing links leaving the child with less of an emotional attachment to the parent due to that void that’s been created. Where’s the fun creativity between the parents and child? The special quality bonding? That undivided attention that parents expect when they want a child’s attention? Respect goes both ways.

 Sometimes you see the children on these devices. There may be nothing wrong with that. Yes they’re quiet and not disturbing the adults, but at what cost?  Are they on them for a half hour, an hour, all day? Are they being monitored? The way I see it children have become less active, they have less patience, they tend to become more aggressive to other children due to the lack of social skills that isn’t being exercised because their too focused on their gaming devices, and less respectful with a limited amount of mannerism. Some of the games appear to be innocent but in actuality become “time robbers” taking away any potential quality time that could be better spent on quality family time , projects, outside activities, reading, learning to write or draw, or just plain ole kid fun playing chase, tag, climbing trees, even gardening or riding bikes.

I was at the park with my great nephew a couple weeks ago and noticed that the majority of the parents were on their cell phones doing whatever on them while the kiddos were out on the play area unsupervised. Now I understand that need to keep up with the latest this and new that, but the kids are not getting that bonding 101 with the family to be able to connect like they did when I grew up. It seems sad really.

 Even though I may not have had the best childhood,  I do have some fond memories of things that we as a family unit did that nobody can take away from me. For instance, when we were very young we all sang together while our parents played their guitars.  We would go to drive-in theaters and I would eat popcorn and fall asleep on the roof of our old green station wagon. We went swimming on base,at the school pool, and at Parker Park. A few times we went camping at Lake Mathis for the weekend. We took trips to Mexico and went shopping in Reynosa where my mother learned her Mexican Grito (yodel)  As teenagers we played tennis with my father on the tennis courts at Parker Park. We even went to Astroworld in Houston with some dear friends.

 Since my children were little tykes, I have always set aside a designated time (regardless of my schedule) that I rarely steer from because I hold it as a treasured time that I hold dear to my heart and that is my Family Night. That’s the night my husband, me, and my children all get the opportunity to sit and share a meal with no electronic devices or distractions. Just enjoy each other’s company without judgment. In addition to Family Night, anytime my husband and I get the opportunity, considering our children are adults now, we try and take the time to either go pick up a  ingredients and prepare a meal for the kiddos, pick up ice cream stuff, go to the movies, karaoke, have a few drinks,  play mini golf,  play at the race track, watch a Hooks game, go to a theme park, or maybe even plan a small gathering with them like a barbecue at the house or card night. We make an extra attempt to do anything that we can just to get the chance to spend time together. Because to me my children are a blessing and I love them and want to be able to spend as much time as I possibly can with them because they are my main reason for living. Considering my children are all adults now and have busy schedules it is awesome and makes us feel grateful that they still take time out to share those moments with us. Our daughter takes the time in hers and her husband’s busy schedule to come to town and visit us quiet often as well as we go and visit them as often as we are able to.

 I extend this family not to just my immediate family but to my parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, children, and grandchildren included. When we have social gatherings we try and include as many of them as we can when we can. Sometimes we all get together for breakfast at a convenient location near all of us, so we can all gather and share some laughs and enjoy spending time together. We would do it more often but each of us have our own families and lives thus preoccupying our time elsewhere. Everyone is busy these days so the time we do get together is precious. 

 I always enjoy spending time with the family as long as there is joy and laughter. Just wish that we could do some of the activities we used to do like playing cards, going to the beach, and sitting around for no other reason but just to spend time together. We have had some barbecues not too long ago, but recently time has been slipping away it seems. We will have to work on that.

 I feel this is what family is supposed to do, enjoy spending time together, helping each other in need (within reason), bonding, laughing, and having a great time just hanging out. I feel if more families spent less time taking for granted the kindness of others, spent more time taking responsibility for their own actions, less time judging each other, and more time loving each other everyone would get along with much more ease. Selfishness should never come between family members, and children should cherish their parents respecting them as should the parents return the favor, and never refrain or deny a parent  the chance to bond with their other children. There should not be barriers between children and parents and vise versa.

 Sometimes we just need to stop and see what’s right in front of us before it’s too late. Use your time wisely my friends and enjoy your children because there are no guarantees in life and we do not know what tomorrow will bring or take away till it does.

Copyright © 2015 by Josephine Rojas. All rights reserved.

Remember When?

redrose66 / June 14, 2015 / Life Happens

Do you remember when your kids were little and the phone was a rotary? You had to put your finger in the little designated holes on the center of the face of the phone with numbers under each cut out finger slot, and you had to rotate clockwise till you hit the metal bar? And that was only the first digit in the phone number, and you still had six more digits to dial (unless you were calling long distance in which you had to dial 1+area code + seven the digit number)?

 

                Tabletop                           Wall Mounted

Do you remember when we use to get excited to hear the vinyl records playing on the record player? All the crackles and pops and scratches that made the needle get stuck so you heard the same line over and over until you lifted the needle and skipped past it only to find another? Wasn’t that glorious?

Portable with 45 displayed   Equalizer installed with 33 displayed

Do you remember Reel-to-Reel’s? Some of you are probably thinking, what the heck is that? Well, my parents had one and we used it all the time to record ourselves as a family singing while my parents played their instruments, my father and his electric guitar and mom with her acoustic guitar. So many memories we had back then.

This was what our Reel-to-Reel looked like back when I was a kid.

  

    1965 Ralston Electric Guitar                              Martin Acoustic Guitar

These look exactly like the guitars my parents had back when I was a peewee in the late 60’s early 70’s.

 

We also had a console television that I was confused about because it always showed a lot of brown, green, grey and black n white. I didn’t understand since the world had so much color, but

I was only 3 years old.

 

This is what our RCA Color Console Television looked like in 1969-1970.

My mother use to like to write songs. Oh, how I wish I had those now. But anyways, she used a typewriter to type them up because computers were no where in sight. This is what one of the typewriters she had looked like (she had many):

 This was a newer version to hers though.

We also had a camera. It was a Polaroid Camera that would hold a cartridge of 8 pictures and after taking a picture it would immediately come out of the bottom front portion of the camera instantly. But it took like 2 minutes before the picture could be seen because it was a slow process.

   

Polaroid Instant Camera      Polaroid Pictures

My parents had an 8 track player in the house and one in the station wagon. These played 8 different songs and they were on tapes similar to the reel to reel tapes but these were in encased cartridges. These are what they looked like:

    

    8 Track Player at home           8 track Player for car

Isn’t it amazing how music has changed? Think about it for a minute.  

The Phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison on August 12, 1877.

Then in 1948 the LP records were a hit and moved on to better things. For instance music went from reel-to-reel in the 60’s to 8 tracks in the 70’s. Now let’s check out the 80’s.

My mom and step-father bought us girls each a walkman. It used cassettes. It was awesome and we thought we were so cool!

               

                           Sony Walkman                                    Cassettes

And we move on to the late 80’s early 90’s where the music age starts changing more drastically. This is where (CD)’s Compact Discs and MP3 players come into the picture. And movies can be played on (VCR)’s or Video Cassette Recorders. These were cartridges (VHS) Video Home System that you insert into a VCR that allows you to watch a movie on your TV. Here are some examples:

      

            Walkman                         CD                           VCR Player                            VHS

Then we welcome the Millennium Age where digital and technology hits the high wire. This is the computer age and upgrades to music to a whole different level.

Did you know that computer was actually invented in 1822 by Charles Babbage? But commercially the first computer wasn’t marketed till 1939 when Hewlett Packard was founded and invented the HP 200A and then sold 8 HP 200B to Walt Disney Productions for sound effects for the 1940’s movie “Fantasia”.

                                                                      

David Packard & Bill Hewlett in Palo Alto, California Garage in 1939.    1st Personal PC 1954 IBM-600 by John Lentz               

Since then computers have come a long way. Here are some pictures from different decades through the years up to today.

                                    

1960’s                                       1970’s                                  1980’s                                           1990’s

           

2000                                  2010 All in One                                   2015 Touch Screen All in One

 Now there are computers installed and surrounding us everywhere we turn now. They’re in TV’s, video game systems, even in cars! Cars that park themselves or slow down within a safe breaking distance from another vehicle in order to prevent a potential accident from occurring.

 There are drones, robots, and airplanes as well as the cell phones that have computers installed in them and can work on commands either by digital or voice commands that is.

 Cameras have come a long way as well, for instance they are installed in cell phones. Would you ever have thought that would’ve been a possibility back in say, the 60”s or 70’s or even in the 80’s?

 The world is changing and we’re forced to change with it in some ways. Hopefully it just keeps gets better; at least that’s the hope.

 Well I hope you enjoyed this blast from the past and maybe it made you remember when something exciting happened in your life or brought back some great memory that possibly you would like to share. 

Copyright © 2015 by Josephine Rojas. All rights reserved.