Currently, I am sitting in my comfortable home at the end of my day reading about the horrific circumstances unfolding thousands of miles away in Lebanon and Israel. Now that I've had a nice meal and put my children to bed with stories of talking animals I feel the need, like many in the blogosphere, to weigh in on this issue. (sarcasm intended)
It does not matter who is right and who is wrong. It does not matter who kicked sand in who's face or who's soldiers shot at who's soldiers first or who launched rockets or who dropped bombs. This is an affront to civilized people of all walks of life and of all political, racial, religious and philosophical points of view. What is going on is wrong. It's as simple as that; it is wrong.
Hezbollah is a terrorist organization with a singular purpose; to destroy Israel. The are going to continue to launch rockets, and when they run out of rockets, shoot guns, and when they run out of bullets, throw rocks until Israel picks up and moves to Madagascar. It is expected behaviour of thugs. It is repugnant and terribly sad. It would seem that they have no respect for humanity, no respect for life. As long as whatever they are doing furthers their goal, it is ok. If that means hiding behind (mostly) uninvolved civillians, so be it. They feel wronged and that gives them the right to do whatever furthers their endgame.
Israel is a (seemingly) rational government that is under constant attack simply because they exist. The have to live in fear of the next rocket, the next belt bomb on a bus, the next discarded backpack at the disco. These are terrible conditions to live in on a daily basis. They must be absolutely sick with frustration over these conditions. A solution to this horrific situation must be found.
Once again, does any of this matter? No. It does not. Innocent people are being slaughtered. Simply because Israel is being attacked and suffering dozens of (mostly) military casualties, does not give them the moral high-ground to decimate the living space and lives of hundreds and thousands of innocent people. They are matching thuggery with thuggery and no matter how you slice it it makes them thugs. Thugs with the comfort of knowing "he started it" but thugs nonetheless.
I don't have a solution, and maybe I shouldn't be pontificating without one. But, I think it's important to see this for what it is, the slaughter of innocents. To be more clear, this is the killing of human beings simply because they are in the way of a greater goal. In my mind that makes Israel, in this case, no better or worse than Hezbollah. Instead they have merely become the opposite side of the same, too easily spent, coin.
It's time, as convenient as diapers are, it's time to get BB into her big girl panties. BB is ready too, she gets it. And she knows that she can't go to school until she's 100% diaper non-dependant.
The whole potty training process is bizarre. About every 20 minutes or so my house erupts in activity as BB announces at the top of her lungs that she has to go. Then, the whole family stops what they're doing and dashes off to the nearest bathroom to cheer her on. Of course, most of these little screaming parades end in a non-event. But, every now and then she hits pay dirt and the house REALLY winds it up in celebratory whooping and high-fiving (after all impacted hands are washed, of course). Then comes the BIG payoff. For each successful jaunt to the potty BB gets a good ole US sawbuck. That's right, one dollar per pee. Nice huh? How proud she will be when she graduates from college debt free becuase she is potty trained. (We haven't figured out when to shut this money train down yet)
Another motivation for BB to stay dry is her devotion to the Disney Princesses. You know the ones, Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Belle. BB has brand new big girl panties with their faces emblazoned on them. So, when we put them on her, we remind her not to wet on
Man I love my girls!!!