Today I am going to write from a part of me that I dont venture to that often. I am writing from my past. I try not to dwell in the past because it cant be changed. The best part of my past of course are things like meeting my dream girl, having my kids, becoming a Christian...good things like that make me smile. However, a part of my past reared its ugly head today and made me a bit upset.
I had always been hurt that my fathers mother, my paternal grandmother Beatrice, doted on my older brother from the day he was born until the day she died. She gave him things, even left him in her will to recieve a good portion of her estate. Now before I go on, she was not some old rich woman but she did leave land that had worth. Back to the point...it bothered me. It made me upset that my grandmother, my fathers mother, would place me below my sibling. So of course, with the lack of attention I recieved I felt that grandparents should either treat each grandchild equally or dis-regard them all together. Which brings me to today.
I have five children (in case you didnt know) and I love them all equally. Their treatments may be different only becuase I try to meet each at their own individual personallity. But my love remains un-altered. My two oldest are from a previous legal arrangement (duh, I was married once before). I split with thier mother and retained full custody of them. For some weird reason, it was known that my oldest child was given special treatment for some reason by my ex's grandparents. However, the "things" each child got seemed to be even. My oldest moved out a few years ago and so began the slow seperation of me and my 2nd oldest from the grandparents. Pretty soon neither one even called him. Never again was he invited to Christmas get togethers, Thanksgiving feasts and pretty soon even his birthday was not acknowledged. Not once did either of us get an explanation of this treatment.
My oldest is living in a house owned by his grandparents. He drives a vehicle given to him by his grandparents...you see where I am going with this? Now I find out that he has been given yet another (No. 3) vehicle from his grandparents! My 2nd oldest is about to celebrate his 16th birthday and this is the treatment he gets?? Not to mention that my oldest child with my wife also fell in love with my ex's grandparents. They treated her like a princess at first, but then it just ended!
I am not looking for anything from them. I will take care of my children as I always have. But when it is shoved in my kids face that they mean little to nothing to those who are supposed to love them dearly, that makes me angry. My 2nd oldest is an A-B student. He loves God. He loves to help people. He is a great big brother and son. I am just floored that he is the one being treated like an outcast. I really dont care that much that his bio-carrier has totally cut him from her life; my wife is the only mom he wants or needs. But he did nothing to deserve this treatment. I hope they see what they have missed.

your not entitled to entitlement...

Today I get to go to work late. Its one of those little "ahhh" moments I don't get to take advantage of often. So I get to catch up on things. I get to make some cheesy taters for my loving wife so she can take them to her school team. I will run by the Italian Restaurant that my son wants to work at and pick him up an application. Those things I cant do because of my job, you know?
I also get to catch up on current events and to tell you the truth, I wish I had not. I get to see Alec Baldwin getting kicked off of a plane for being mouthy with a flight attendant. Of course there are many ways to look at this. Through the eyes of the attendant, there are rules and regulations that all must follow. Turn off mobile devices, bring your seat to an upright position...you know the drill. So she has instructed Mr. Baldwin to deactivate his Ipad and he refuses. She in turn (because acting weird on a plane has now become taboo) openly lets Mr. Baldwin know that he MUST turn off his Ipad. Mr. Baldwin is said to have exchanged rude words and is "thrown" off of the plane. Through the eyes of the media, Mr. Baldwin has succumb to losing his status as a big star and rich guy. He is taught a lesson that he can not use his fame to get his way. Great job middle class attendant, you taught that bow-hard a lesson he will never forget!
Through the eyes of Mr. Baldwin. Here is a guy who is used to cameras and media being in his face all the time. Sometimes its annoying and sometimes its nice. Because he is a "known" person he feels that he is being singled out by this attendant. Was he? Maybe, but he did say that others were tweeting about the incident on their phones the entire time he was being instructed to turn off the Ipad. He feels the airline was giving terrible service.
Lets look at the overall stance of our beloved country. Because of the media and the current administration, the rich and famous have become flamboyant toys that no one wants to play with any longer. It used to be cool to say "I waited on Bill Cosby today" or " I got an autograph from George Strait". Not any more. Look on Ebay. An autographed guitar by Gene Simmons is worth less than the same guitar with nothing written on it. The middle and lower class just does not care.
I think its because so many people feel that because we live in America, we ALL deserve to be rich and famous. Many do not want to work for their riches, they want it handed to them.
However, this blog is about entitlement and rules. The main thing to understand is that no matter who you are, the rules apply to you. No one is exempt from the rule. Yes, maybe in certain instances, certain circles and at certain places you have been led to believe "that rule does not apply to me" however, to the person in front of you that has NEVER met you before...you are nothing more than a new face that will adhere to rules and policies just like everyone else. Try to remember this. If you have ever been given a pass on following a rule others must follow, don't you feel that they have been discriminated against?
Just your morning coffee, enjoy!