Nanotechnology: The biggest new thing that no one knows about…

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Perhaps my title is a bit judgemental and harsh, you may be familiar with the term nanotechnology.  However, I’m willing to bet that most of the American public has heard the word but doesn’t really understand what’s involved.  For instance, many hollywood movies and sitcoms have touched on the subject.

Personally I was unawares about nanotechnology until 2003 while on a flight from Florida en route Washington, D.C. and a gentleman beside me struck up small talk.  We swapped career stories, I had just landed a position on Capitol Hill for my local congressman in Florida and he was going to the Pentagon representing his company with a new product idea for the Department of Defense (DoD).

I kid you not, this man was explaining to me that they were working on ‘forcefield’ technology–yes, the kind we think of when watching our favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation episode with Captain Jean-Luc Picard says “Shields up!” (yes, I admit, I am slightly a Trekkie!)

When advising my congressman on how he should vote on a bill that contained funding for nanotechnology-related subjects, I always tried to convey that this will be a big subject eventually.  Unfortunately, even though I would include the latest articles regarding nano-type discoveries/breakthroughs in his weekly reading, I know it was not a real hot topic for him or most of our Members of Congress (unless they were entrenched in the science world).  Ironically the name seems to fit its popularity or public domain knowledge regarding it: very small.

Nevertheless, it was infectious to me, the notion that our science community was now delving into an area even smaller than what we all looked at in our microscopes in science labs as children.  I’m not even sure where nanotechnology began but it certainly seems to be an inexhaustible area of study.  For parents out there: think along the lines of Dr. Suess’ “Horton Hears a Who.”

While working in Congress I had the opportunity to look over bill language and as my legislative portfolio grew, it encompassed the area that is devoted to education and the sciences.  Our budget every year for the federal government includes funding that goes toward “research and development” of nanotechnology.  Unless you are a scientist or a huge Discovery fan, you don’t realize that your tax dollars are funneled every year toward this new branch of science and technology.

In fact, many of us may already be using products that harness nanotechnology.  Samsung, for example, has clothes washers and refrigerators that use silver nanoparticles to help kill bacteria and lessen odors. 

There is a simple website online that tries to explain nanotechnology in simple terms: “Nanotechnology is the study and use of structures between 1 nanometer and 100 nanometers in size. To give you an idea of just how small that is, it would take eight hundred 100-nanometer particles placed side by side to equal the width of a human hair.” sourced: www.understandingnano.com

A short article in Discover magazine’s April 2010 issue states: “Genetic Medicine Goes Nano”-It seems a cancer researcher, chemical engineer and their colleagues have teamed up to investigate how biodegradable nanoparticlels can deliver gene therapy for ovarian cancer cells.  Their treatment study utilizes the gene for diphtheria toxin (causes cell death) but they say that attaching a specific DNA sequence to the gene helps “ensure that it targets only cancerous cells, killing them while leaving healthy ones unharmed.”  Now although that idea certainly seems wonderful alternative to chemotherapy that can harm healthy cells and has nasty side effects like nausea, loss of hair, et cetera, I’m not sure about delving into an area that is so small, so amazingly tiny that something going wrong can be easily untracked. (article source: www.discovermagazine.com)

Thankfully many of these experiments, studies and so forth where nanotechnology and organisms are involved haven’t hit humans quite yet…but then again, I really don’t know that for certain either.  For one, I don’t keep up with the news updates on nanotechnology items-many times those stories are tucked in small blips in the newspaper, a random box in a magazine or a quick one-liner in the cable news ticker running along the bottom of the screen. And second point, altered nanoparticles and such could already be in our immediate environment and we may already be ingesting or coming in contact with them completely unbeknownst to us.

Ultimately, this study and exploration of nanotechnology is so young that we may come to discover that the world on a nano-level is in a constant state of being altered, adjusted, adapting and evolving.  I must remind myself to try to learn a little (no pun intended) about the current research and development in nanotechnology, not only for my own education but to help my son learn more about this new way of looking at the world.

RVSB

Note: You can all do your own research, but here’s another simple site in case you’re interested: www.nanotech-now.com

Can We Afford to Be “Granola”? (Part 2)

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In Part One of my essay series “Can We Afford to Be ‘Granola’?, I touched upon the environment and how most of the public can pitch in with helping preserve our resources by each doing our part with trash reduction and combating litter in public places like our shorelines.

I’ve thought about it over the past few days and have decided that our food choices and clothing options should be covered in Part Two.

We Are What We Eat

In the past decade there has been a clear divide forming between two main types of grocery consumers in our nation.  Those who must have mostly organic/locally produced products and those who cannot buy (literally) into this greener/sustainable streak and continue to purchase what they need at the lowest possible price regardless of content.

I’m one of the fence-sitters.  I really do want to have the pesticide-free produce.  I’d rather consume and give my family non-GMO wheat and soy products.  I like my cows to eat free-range and vegetarian instead of ground-up chick (as in baby chickens) meal and cloistered in smelly, stuffy conditions.  I do admit to buying “happy cow” milk like Horizon or Stonyfield Farm.

But practically speaking, it is very expensive to do this effectively-at least for my family’s checking account.  So how can we approach this problem with a compromise solution?

I do believe it is possible in most places to acquaint ourselves with what is locally available in our immediate geographical area.  For instance, I live in South Florida where I can actually pay less for much of my produce needs if I avoid going to the supermarket chain and instead visit the local produce stand off the side of the road or the green markets in local towns on the weekends. (check out www.localharvest.org)

For those of us unfamiliar, there are still programs like cheese (for Wisconsin residents example is: www.burnettdairy.com) and meat/poultry co-ops available whereby for a certain price you are able to receive a variety of products contingent on what’s seasonal.

Simple changes like using organic canned tomato sauce as a base for your pasta recipes instead of buying spaghetti sauce can be affordable and delicious.  It is also cheaper at times to purchase frozen veggies/fruits and still enjoy the flavors as they are frozen at their peak.

As for wheat and soy products, I have found it to be more cost-effective to eat less of those products overall so that we can afford to purchase the non-GMO types that I prefer to feed my son and husband.  That may be too far for you and of course that’s alright, these are the executive decisions we all must make for ourselves and our families based on what we believe is the best course of action.

Clothing Clutter

I don’t know if there’s ever been a poll or survey taken, but I’m curious to know how our wardrobes rank in our pack-rat tendencies in America.

After living a semi-gypsy life this past year, I’m still astounded by the amount of clothing that I possess.  I have tried to donate items and afterwards I spot something on sale or some item I must have and purchase more-ending up with the same amount.  So you can imagine my downright disillusionment when I noticed clothing that was ‘organic’ or made from ‘sustainable’ sources like bamboo.

Honestly, I haven’t delved enough into the area of textiles and how our clothing is made specifically.  Although I do sigh each time I notice that my clothing is made in China–I keep imagining sweatshops even though I don’t know how bad those places really are.

Funny enough, “granola” people seem to have this stereotypical image that they always dress in neutral colors like oatmeal, brown, beige and grays.  But if there is a true granola way of dressing, what would it be?

My theory is still in drafting mode as I am struggling to reduce my amount of clothing, but I will share it with you:  First step is what I’ve been saying, take a survey of your wardrobe and note what you haven’t worn in at least 6 months-one year’s time.  Those items should be the first you pull out for possible donation/Ebay/yard sale.  However, you may have an emotional attachment to some; write that down and read it back to yourself and ponder whether you’re truly that attached (if you are, no shame, I still own the dress my husband met me in 13 years ago!).

Next, evaluate your turnover status with your clothes on a daily basis.  In other words, do you wear an outfit just once and then throw it in the hamper even if there are no stains/noxious smells?  Consider wearing some clothing more than once if possible and professional.  I found in the past that the dryer and the iron did wonders for my suits and other items that I wore often.  Of course, this course of action excludes certain items like socks and intimates (although it has been recently surveyed that many women wear their bras more often than they should between washings-eek!)

Applying even just these two main actions-reducing wardrobe and laundry loads-can dramatically help cut down on the energy spent on cleaning and cost of clothing overall.  Once again, this would truly make a “green footprint’ if everyone participated in such an overhaul in clothing habits.  This of all my “granola” pointers has to be the most difficult for us. In the latter part of the 20th century and now early 21st century, we have no idea what it’s like for us to  have-to make our own clothing-we can buy it so cheaply at Walmart or even a garage sale.

By delving into areas like our physical environment, our grocery consumption and our clothing I have come to the yeoman’s conclusion that we all can afford to be “granola”–except that the cost is still pretty steep for us as it takes discipline and personal accountability.  These traits are tough to be consistent with when we are battered with our never-ending responsibilities and unforeseen stresses.

Perhaps if you’ve taken the extra few minutes to read this you’ll think about what you can do and apply it slowly to your daily habits until it takes root like a seed that’s sprouted slowly and thoroughly in the soil after constant care.

RVSB

Can We Afford to Be “Granola”? (Part 1)

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What is Granola?

I believe it was about 5 years ago when one of my friends mentioned the state of being a “granola mom” when recalling her birthing experiences with her two children.  At the time I thought it was a pretty corny way of describing being “earthy”, “natural” and the tendency to lean toward products labeled “organic”.

As usual, in life we sometimes end up swallowing our own sarcasm as we walk right into the realm of possibilities we earlier thought ourselves immune.  I currently refer to myself as a “granola mom” but with a stipulation that I aim for the 80/20 rule (80% of the time I try to do the best for my family in terms of food and home purchases–that’s not to say I actually make that goal consistently).

In recent years as “living green” and propaganda films like former Vice-President Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” have become common jargon and an underlying mantra for Americans and other citizens of planet Earth.  Yet, I have noted flaws in the system of environmentally friendly living that set up many folks for failure when they try do better for themselves and their families.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Let’s begin with one of the most ominous terms; the connotation is so heavy and complicated when we dwell on the word: environment.

As compelling as “The Inconvenient Truth” may have been to some of us and other programs by local groups or cable networks like Discovery and History Channel, these messages have rarely been able to mobilize the majority of those who view them.  My guess is that although books and media presentations can espouse protecting the environment, saving the environment and such as strong messages, they lack the simple instructions that the everyday person truly needs.  How can I, a mother, a father, a single person help to save the environment?  Forget owning a Toyota Prius, it has to be more involved than just one major purchase.

Here’s one idea, how about our personal waste habits?  I’m not just talking about having your multicolored recycling bins–although that is a start for many who still just throw everything into the same trash bag at home.  Picture this if you can’t get motivated:  take a shovel and dig a hole in your backyard (if you have one, if not, imagine a large open trash bin outside your door).  After digging the hole, proceed to dump your daily trash into that hole and watch it pile up over the course of the week.  In addition to the stench and attraction of bugs, et cetera, you may be getting the idea of how this will go without actually doing it.

That’s what we are all doing every week: we are dumping all of our trash into a big pile in our soil, the soil that feeds us, feeds all the animals around us, some of which we eat, some of which fertilize the other living things called plants that you eat if you are a vegetarian or a vegan.

So my offering is that perhaps all of us (including my flawed self) should actually do something we have sincere control over.  Let’s minimize our trash.  It costs us next to nothing to do so.  It just means we have to be more (gasp!) accountable to ourselves and make the extra effort.  Maybe we buy less products that aren’t already packaged in recyclable materials.  For those more ambitious, you can email or send snail mail to those companies who don’t use recycled or recyclable packaging.  Get your children involved in how they discard trash, they are much more adaptable than us rigid adults–perhaps they could show us the better example!

Another simple instruction that I can envision most people being capable of evolving as a part of their daily habits is directed to those who live near bodies of water used for recreation: beaches, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, lakes and the like.

I love taking my son T.A. to the beach, I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of land and water life crashing into each other on the shores.  As I’ve grown older I’ve become highly sensitive to the amount of trash found on the sand at public and private beaches: even the millionaire Palm Beach island is not immune to this tainted condition.

After several years of personal “tsk-tsking” and so-called goals to attend the next annual beach cleaning event (which I NEVER get around to), I finally found initiative after my son tangled himself in beach trash as an infant last year.  I grabbed one of my plastic grocery bags usually reserved for the surprise #2 item diaper and used it as both a glove and trash receptacle to pick up the trash around us.  A sense of peace descended on me as the sand finally was free of trash around and the bag was chock full of discards.

As I left the beach that fateful day, I looked back as we walked up the stairs to the street level and saw that a young woman was seating herself where we had been and was sitting in what seemed to be the start of a yoga meditation.  My heart warmed that we had helped someone else enjoy the beach for their personal purposes without the stress of enduring unnecessary trash.

Ever since I always pick up trash with my son during our beach visits, I know it may not make a huge difference in the big scheme of things.  However, imagine the possibilities if everyone who stepped foot onto a beach around the world either picked up trash or avoided littering?  The sad reality is that even my beloved Greece’s postcard-worthy beaches are becoming shore landfills with sometimes up to an inch thick of junk on the rocky and sandy shores.

Again, it doesn’t take throwing hundreds and thousands of dollars into drives to clean the beaches and advertising beach cleanup days that even the independently wealthy scarcely attend.  It simply takes you and I not allowing ourselves to trash or to ignore the trash by our water hole of choice.

To be continued…in Can We Afford to Be “Granola”? (Part 2)

Personal Reflection: Politics and Poisonous Speech

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In my life I have had the honor of working in the U.S. Congress as a legislative aide and in a Presidential Administration as a humble political appointee.  During those ‘working bee’ years, I came to understand how our nation’s legislation is written, enacted and executed.  Admittedly, I came in pretty ignorant…I actually kept a book at my desk that broke down what we all should have learned in our Social Studies/Government Civics classes in grammar school.  Alas, nothing is a better education than being immersed in the daily grind of it all, down to the most mundane amendments written for bills on the House Floor.

However, my personal work experience in DC Beltway politics also served to affect me in a negative way.  One of my bosses went down in an ill-gotten scandal and although I already had garnered a jaded chip on my shoulder about politicians on both sides of the aisle–this one was pretty jolting.

My first inclination was to walk away altogether from politics for a while, but I did enjoy carrying out and interacting with ‘the people’ that have the power to elect and vote out these lawmakers.  Thus, when opportunity knocked to become a political appointee and work at the U.S. Department of Treasury, I leapt into it.

I can truly say that my post at Treasury was the hardest I had ever worked in an office environment in my career so far.  The people I met and worked with were among the highest caliber and yet I also came in contact with some who were so power-hungry and obsessed with subjects not necessarily in our nation’s best interests.  My political and bureaucratic education was once more expanded and it was extremely difficult to avoid becoming disillusioned further–again, both political parties to blame, neither better than the other.

Is the answer to abolish our heavily two-party system?  No offense to Independents, Libertarians, Green Party and so forth, but the Democrats and Republicans do have the most members and money of all our other political parties in this country.

Although the speeches between the politicians, the pundits and even the public has become so poisonous at times, I cannot believe that getting rid of the balance of powers would ever work for our nation.  Just as I can debate with my husband, my family, my friends and even strangers, I think it makes me a better person and perhaps more open to other ideas than just my self-formulated ones.

Many recent politicians, even our current President, have attempted to deliver a new way, a “hope for change” if you will.  Please understand that sort of promise in action is challenging in the present political halls of power.  Having worked with others who believe in compromising and working things out for the best of our people’s interests, even those persons in powerful positions have run and still run into the wall of “the way thing are”.

Having said all of this, I still firmly believe that our system of checks and balances in our government is the best for our time in our nation.  Another solution to consider is personal responsibility for everyone involved: the voting public, the worker bees in government, the lawmakers and elected officials.  Just as if we all simply let someone pass in front of us while we drive on the road this week, everyone would enjoy driving much more than the common ‘road rage’ many of us endure daily–we should consider that if everyone did their active part for our nation’s local and federal governments, there would be less griping about ‘the system’ because the system simply deconstructed is designed for “the People, by the People.”

Note:  A trip to Epcot with my son and a close friend yesterday yielded this thought tangent after viewing the Presidential show in the United States section–random but true:-)

RVSB

Our children and networking websites: a glimpse of the future

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Yesterday I walked into my local U.S. Post Office with my son T.A. in my arms while balancing the 4 small packages I was endeavoring to send off Priority Mail style.  Which, by the way, kudos to our USPS for putting these self-service kiosks in along with standard mail supplies so people like parents of small children can get stuff done without necessarily waiting in that long, winding line in the main area.

I set my son on one of the work tables and held him with one arm as I addressed and sealed my packages with my free hand.  All the while I am feeling proud of myself for getting this minor task done without a meltdown or acting-out by my 21 month old. 

My happy-go-lucky soundtrack in my mind is suddenly shattered by the one-way conversation I overheard as a lady walks up talking on her cell phone.  “Well, you know they are going to ask us soon enough to have a Facebook account as they’ll be 10 and 11 years old soon, and well we will have to deal with it but yeah, there is just so much danger with these things that they don’t realize…”

If she said anything further I didn’t hear the words,  had already tuned the lady out as I begin to dwell on the idea of my child wanting to have his own link to a networking site one day when he is an adolescent, a bulging teenager.  The very thought jarred me completely, I was weighed down by the realization that the challenges continue to get more complicated as our beloved children grow.

My son argues with me nowadays with grunts and wordless syllables that can most easily be pacified by a food treat or changing the subject.  What will it be like when he is going back and forth with me in long sentence diatribes about how unfair I am to keep him from connecting to the internet unfettered.

Is it so far-fetched of me to think that allowing kids to log on to the internet with no supervision is much worse than letting them drive cars at 16 years old?  Why do we as parents feel that we must accept computers and the internet as the new norm for our children? 

Maybe I’m just a dinosaur when it comes to technology, but I just don’t think that developing bodies and minds should become so dependent on them.  Should they know how to use them–of course!  Should they use the internet for all their research projects?  I truly believe the answer should be no but am willing to permit perhaps 25% from that source.  It’s not helpful to guide the next generation to get all their answers to life and interactions in friendship and love through these silly keyboards and mouse clickers.

I know some of you may be angered by my opinion and it is understandable if your knee-jerk reaction is to say, “Oh yeah? Just you wait until you have to deal with this issue from your child.”  But I also know that we as parents can stick to what we believe is right for our children. 

For instance, my husband and I agreed that it was important to us that we avoid having our son watch commercial TV prior to me giving birth to him.  21 months later and I can honestly say that we have succeeded with a couple concessions, in the last few months we have allowed him to see us watching our Alma Mater college football games and we started a couple bilingual videos that he watches every other day and sometimes daily.  We also had to cut back our own viewing of TV in order to accomplish this and feel we have benefited from it as well.

It’s by no means easy to be a parent, especially in the 21st century when technology can be a useful tool and yet also a divisive instrument that can alienate families in their own home (picture family evening with dad with blackberry, child with Ipod, child with laptop, mom with cell phone texting, etc).

Ultimately, you make the choice as to what’s appropriate whether it be to allow a Facebook page for your son or daughter–I hope for you it is the choice that makes you feel at peace as you raise your child(ren).

RSVB

Cleaning Products: It’s Not Just About the Environment Anymore

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As I approach my tenth wedding anniversary this summer, I can laugh at the evolution of my cleaning product entourage.  We tend to follow in the footsteps of our parents shortly after our departure to college or post-high school living-on-our-own.

If you have ever watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, you may appreciate the fact that there those of us that grew up with Windex being the product of choice–even if for some crazy things like a cut on your finger or dusting the houseplants (I don’t personally recommend any of those, but I did get much mileage out of experimenting with the product as a child on many objects).

Windex, Bleach and Comet…that was it in my childhood. Very simple and in my college days I stuck to Windex out of cost savings and preference for the simple spray bottle.

Fast forward to now and I have tried most cleaning products out there at least once.  I remember having picked up Murphy’s Oil Wood Cleaner for kicks and feeling so sophisticated.

Then a few years ago I received news that I was pregnant and suddenly I started to pay close mind to what cleaning products I was inhaling inadvertently during my intense cleaning modes.

Before I really did any research I automatically began to cut back on the amount of cleaners I was using.  And yes, I returned to Windex as my tried and true product of choice.  I also tried to limit use of antibacterial gels and switched my dishwashing liquid to just plain Palmolive.

As I delved deeper to try to find out what I should avoid during my pregnancy in ’07-’08, I found more information about what I should stick to.  Turns out that most of our cleaning products on the supermarket shelf start with a basic recipe that we can concoct ourselves if we have basic items like baking soda and vinegar.  I remember my mother telling me as a teenager that a quick way I could clean my silver jewelry was to make a paste out of baking soda and water…in my cheap collegiate days, I went on to desperately use toothpaste a few times to do the same thing that somehow worked well.

Perhaps we are caught up in the era of convenience we live in where anything we want can be found at a store in-person or online, but it is possible lessen our dependence on receiving instant gratification.  Moreover, maybe by deconstructing what our cleaning products are made of, we may find that we can put together more simple homemade products that are not only less damaging to the Earth’s biochemistry but also more safe and healthy for ourselves.

As cancer has become an ever constant word in our vocabulary and unfortunately for family and friends a reality to battle, there are doctors, scientists and regular folks that are asking is there something we can do better to help our bodies not be so vulnerable.  Besides altering our diets (another blog post, another time), it has been speculated and studies are being conducted on the effect of exposure to cleaning chemical agents over a prolonged amount of time.

As with anything we use on a daily or hopefully weekly basis, the choice will ultimately be yours on how to clean your home.  I have come to a peace that I will do my best to choose Earth-friendly products, however, that doesn’t mean I have to buy the pricey Whole Foods grade items either–unless I want to (ah, the freedom we have as consumers in America for better or worse).

Yet, I do admit that the Earth’s ecology is not the only factor in my cleaning product choices and not even the major one.  I now do sense that we may be overloading our complex bodies with too much synthetics that occasionally may not cause harm, but over time may very well be creating havoc with our enzymes and overall functionality of our human organism beings.

Note:  Google may be your guide or your parents, friends, et cetera.  Here are a couple of sites if you only have a moment to indulge that I found to be fun and helpful:  www.thegoodhuman.com , www.care2.com, www.modernmermaids.com

RVSB

Capturing the Moment…Present to be Exact

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Is this not the ever-constant battle for us human souls on this Earth?  How can we truly be empowered in the mystery of being joyful in the present moment?

No matter if you’re a parent or single without children, we all struggle with our individual obsessions with what has occurred in the past and what we hope to see in the future.  All the while, we procrastinate the potential of the present.  We are utterly paralyzed with our anxious aftermaths and our frantic desires for what lies ahead.

It suddenly struck me today as I randomly decided to follow my son onto the trampoline at a playground (as you may pick up in future posts, my little guy LOVES activity, thank God for playgrounds of all shapes and sizes).  So I approached him and begin to mimic his enthusiasm and physical  tenacity on this trampoline.  Would you believe I actually began to enjoy myself?  No longer was I just a mom, I was like a kid going bonkers on a trampoline and laughing with my joy of joys son T.A.

It was further confirmed to me that I had radically changed in that hour’s time as another boy, about 4 years old I’d venture, asked me if I’d play with him on a puzzle. “Does he think I work here?” I thought.  Then after I answered him that sure my “son and I” can help you work on a puzzle, he followed up with a speech-halting, “Where is your mommy?”  Turns out his grandmother was on the other end of the playground and somehow his young mind thought that I was either a kid or child worker of this playground….wow, I really must look like I’m having fun, and truth be told I was having a blast.

As I watched my son drink up the moments of pure, innocent fun running around, jumping and doing whatever fun activity this place offered, I wondered:  Why are we as parents always so weighed down?  Is it guilt?  Is it a feeling of inadequacy?  The euphoria I felt just playing with my child was so wonderful, I can look back on this day and know it was a success…even if I didn’t get to file my taxes yet or organize the sham of a bedroom my family resides in currently.

It is so important to try to focus on this very moment, even as you read my words, just remember, we are the most effective and the most alive in the present…the past in this earthen plane is already written and though the future may have its predictions, it is no guarantee…but nothing and no one can steal this moment from us, I hope you can capture it wherever you are at in your life.

RVSB

Boomerang Babies Survival Tips…

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Some of you may know what the latest title of being a “Boomerang kid” means.  Many of us who were born in the late 1970s and early 1980s have recently landed facedown into the mud that is called “Moving Back in with the Parent(s)”. I like to think of us as the “Boomerang Babies” generation, a weak comeback to the ever-suffering and complaining “Baby Boomers”.

For reference purposes, I have selected Oxford University Press’ definition of the word found on their website http://www.oup.com :  boomerang kid (also 'boomerang child) noun an adult child who returns home to live with his or her parents after being away for some time: With the country in tough economic times, more young American adults, over age 18, are returning to the family nest.

The reason(s) for this influx of Boomerang babies can be anything from mismanaged credit card debt, a blown-up relationship, loss of job, lack of employment opportunities or upside-down mortgages.

In my husband and I’s case, about a year ago we moved back to my home state after the loss of his job in a political environment that had changed and the recent birth of our son.  Given the unfortunate job and housing market, both of which we were hard hit in, we decided it would be better to try to figure things out in a familiar environment with family on both sides near.

It seemed a good idea at the time:  move into my mother’s house, weather the storm of uncertainty until my husband could find work. Six months later, thankfully new job in hand for my husband but still reeling from draining our savings and retirement–we couldn’t move out on our own yet.  However, we’d exhausted our stay at my mother’s since our son was approaching toddler-time and was systematically taking apart her un-childproofed home, so we moved in with my grandparent-in-laws: what were we thinking?

We were following the logic that most of us Boomerang Babies are slapped with when the bills start pouring in and we realize that we cannot afford our lifestyles on our own.  How rude of a letdown. We’re not talking about shattered dreams here.  We’re raised to go fly on our own and we end up trying to take off with clipped wings. Thank you dot.com bubble burst. Thank you 9-11 terrorists.  Thank you real estate boom and KA-BOOM.  Thank you TARP bill.

Here are some Boomerang Babies survival tips that I hope you find at least amusing if not helpful, the order of tips is not important:

  • Make a hopeful list of “unbudgeables”, in short, what do you want in your new post-Boomerang phase of life in your much-fantasized own home that you will not budge on? For example: I must have the pots and pans hanging from the ceiling in my own kitchen one day.
  • When parent/family member who owns the home you are staying in approaches you with a request like, “Can you please make sure to return the magazines in their proper order on the coffee table?”, smile sweetly and happily concede to them while doing your best not to show exasperation in your face for fielding over a dozen of these command/requests daily from them.
  • Remember: This is not your home, these are their rules that you must follow while under their roof–proof of your adult age doesn’t matter one iota, neither does having a demanding infant(s).
  • You pay for your stay in your family’s home one way or another: try to select that payback by offering to pay the electric bill or for groceries…otherwise you’ll be blindsided by annoying side expenses left and right–some of which could include infuriating indulgences for your said family member.
  • Just think to yourself: You will NEVER take having your own place for granted again, at least in this lifetime.
  • Do something kind for your family member every week, like bringing flowers home to your mom or picking up a six-pack for your dad: whatever little pleasures they enjoy, doing so for them will soften you from being too harsh when faced with the humbling effect of having to live with them again as an adult.
  • Read some historical novels, especially if you are out of work and have free time on your hands.  Cost shouldn’t be an issue as public libraries do still exist and even some free books are available online.  These historical novels should include story lines that will remind you that this boomerang phase was how most families lived back in the day–sometimes three generations residing under one roof.
  • You are blessed: I don’t care if you an atheist, you are blessed to have a home to stay in, people who love you enough to take you in irregardless of how you got in this position. This is a hard fact to remember when facedown in the humiliation of this boomerang moment in your life, but try.
  • To lighten the mood on those dark days, just think of the “Annie” song, “It’s a hard knock life for us…”
  • If TV watching is a scheduling hassle in the household, try to rely on sites like www.hulu.com for your sitcoms fix.
  • If no internet service, try local library, coffee shop or Kmart for your logon needs.
  • Try to take pre-emptive action in household chores: the more like a Cinderella you act, the less nagging you’ll weather…trust me on this one.
  • Take up a low-cost, old or new hobby. It will help you to do something that is exclusively yours as you are now living in an environment that is NOT your own.
  • Recall the 1980s feel-good theme song: “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.
  • Write your friends, don’t just Facebook or text them, actually take a pen and write freehand on a piece of paper or in a card…it is good to send them a personal note as if you are writing from a war battlefield far away called Your Pride.
  • Exercise.  It does a body, mind and heart good.  The soul benefits as well.
  • Consider blogging, I’ve resisted the notion for nearly a year now, but I’m glad to be sharing with the cyberworld now.

We are still living the gypsy life as I prefer to call it.  If you trace back to the ancient days, nomadic living was the norm.  Perhaps I should just take it a day at a time and in the meantime focus on the things that are most important: my relationship with my Maker, my husband, my son, my family and friends…these are not material things as a dwelling is, these are entities, loves and souls–eternal things not restrained by seasons of life like being a Boomerang Baby.

RVSB

Introductory Inclinations…

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A Mom's Solitary Moment: Harvest Moon October 2009

My husband has once again acted the muse to my literary desires: I am attempting to relaunch a blog site via www.WordPress.com My intentions in this matter are part selfish and part wanting to share with others what a 21st century homemaker encounters and accomplishes.  There are so many complications and outright adventures to being what I personally regard as CEO of the Home.  

The epiphany moment to finally start posting to the blogosphere came just yesterday when I found myself facedown in a foam pit at Palm Beach Gardens’ A Latte Fun indoor playground with my son T.A .  I was straining to hear my lost cellphone’s ring with crazy kiddy music and dozens of children aged 6 years and younger squealing in the background.  Suddenly a little girl came down the slide and landed squarely on my neck, her mother simultaneously chiding her and asking me if I’m okay.   Still no phone to be found, I had to resign and wait until closing time when my dear husband made his way there to help the gracious employees empty half the pit to reveal my forlorn technology device linking me with the rest of the world as I know my friends and family.

I hope you can find laughter here.  Also, perhaps gather some pointers in the merchant business as you shop for yourself and others.  Find fun website links that I recommend as you plan things for you and your family or sharing with your loved ones who are also in the wonderful season of life that is ‘raising a family’.  This site is not meant to judge anyone especially if you are a parent who works multiple jobs…I already personally categorize being a parent as a full-time, on-call 24/7 career with no retirement package but the yielding of unconditional love that is priceless.  So if you work beyond that in an office, another field, et cetera, then I respect that even more than simply being CEO of the Home and I truly wish to be helpful with the information in this site as you are constantly pressed for time. 

As a Renaissance woman, I want to share my mini-discoveries and latest tidbits from my personal research that may assist parents in their own paths whether it be secular or spiritual.  Subjects ranging from what are good foods to feed your family to where is the best reading hour locally on the weekends.

Finally, I disclose the fact that I am a first generation Greek-American, proud University of Florida Gator Alumni and an Orthodox Christian with an open mind and heart.  

Thank you for your readership and patience as this site grows and evolves.  By all means, feel free to share the link to my site with anyone you think could benefit from and enjoy its contents.  As always, I am a writer that is open to constructive criticism or unsolicited advice.

 RVSB