Growing Up Kaitlyn is, well, growing up

I've been writing this blog for a year now. Kind of hard to believe.

I started because it's kind of boring being semi-retired. I needed something to consume my time. I needed a creative outlet. I needed to get out of the funk of not having a job.

I had Michelle. I had Kaitlyn. I had friends and family who were supportive. But there was something missing. Besides money. A sense of accomplishment maybe, which (no matter what Michelle continued to say) wasn't satiated by dusting, laundry or ironing.

So I started writing. Heck, I was getting paid as much as my days as an actual journalist (zing!). There wasn't anything worth writing about except fantasy football poker legality in North Carolina Family Guy Michelle and Kaitlyn.

Katy Perry too sexy for Sesame Street

Today's post is brought to you by the letters OMG.

So Katy Perry decided to make her guest appearance not only with Elmo, but two of her close friends, which apparently will get you booted off Sesame Street.

According to news reports, parents of the longtime children's show have complained to the network, PBS, that Katy's outfit was a little much for their toddlers' eyes. In a statement, the show said that:

...In light of the feedback we've received on the Katy Perry music video which was released on You Tube only, we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers...

According to the PBS standards guidebook, "Morbid or sensational details, or material that is gratuitously offensive to general taste or manners (e.g., extreme violence, racial epithets, strong language, nudity, sexism), should not be included unless it is necessary to an understanding of the matter at hand."

(It also says that the station will not subject people to "technical trickery," which could mean that Katy's bosom buddies were altered. But if you've seen her California Gurls video, you know that not to be the case. Anyway, I digress.)

Katy is taking it all in stride, even calling out "Tag you're it, Elmo" on Twitter. So tell me your thoughts after viewing the video:

Aunt Shannon's getting hitched today

We've got a wedding on this great fall day, as our wonderful Aunt Shannon is getting hitched. In honor of her, here's an oldie, but goodie.

A preemptive congrats to the happy couple.

Daredevil Kaitlyn

Someone's got a little daredevil in her. It freaks Mommy out a bit. And to be honest, to see some of the things she does, it kind of makes me a little nervous, too.

At first, it was the typical jump on Mommy and Daddy. Then she graduated to jumping on the bed. Then, from the couch to the floor. Then the whole Tumblebus craze hit and she started somersaulting and rolling and even more jumping. Finally, the Little Gym birthday party just pushed it all over the top.

               

There's been no stopping her since. Jumping off the ottoman, leaping from the stairs, hurling herself over the couch.

I'm not saying I was any better.

I still remember playing in my basement growing up, we used to have those old-timey school desks. You know, the all-metal, four-legged, drawer-on-the-inside desks that stood about three feet tall. Well, we didn't play school with those things.

We played "Let's see who can leap from desk to desk the most times." Because nothing says "playtime" like jumping from one lopsided perch to another lopsided perch with nothing but an undeveloped skeletal bone protecting your brain from the cold, hard, barren cement floor.

But, you know, kids bounce. I'm just hoping Kaitlyn learns that trick. Soon.

Umizoomi Hell

First came the Gabba Coma. Then came the pure love-fest for Dora. Now, we have Umizoomi.

If you haven't had the pleasure of watching Team Umizoomi on (what else?) Nick Jr., here's the basic setup: Milli, Geo and Bot are a team of heroes who help kids with their daily problems using their "mighty, mighty math powers." Yup -- solving today's problems with math. If only Wall Street and the Fed were able to use that creed, we might not be in the current financial situation we're in. But I digress.

So these three fly around and solve problems like trying to find a kite, looking for a stuffed animal, helping an airplane land and fixing a butterfly costume by identifying shapes, finding patterns and counting. Riiiiiiiight.

For some reason, the kids LOVE this show. For Kaitlyn, it's like Dora, Diego and Mickey rolled into one. She can't get enough of it: on TV, in the stores. Hell, there's even an app for that. I thought kids hated math. Apparently, as long as it's wrapped up in bubble-gum songs and bright colors, they'll eat anything up.

Making sense

"Perhaps God tires of calling

the aged to His fold,

So He picks a rosebud

before it can grow old ..."

I don't understand a lot of things in this world. The origins of the universe. All 9,833 sections of the Internal Revenue Code. How to calculate a quarterback's Passer Rating.

Most of the things I don't understand, someone can sit me down and teach me. Or at least have some semblance of an explanation. Whether I can understand said explanation is a different story, but the explanation is more than likely reasonable, something the semi-educated person can grasp.

I don't understand the death of a child.

People can stop many things in this world. People can explain many problems. People can heal many illnesses. When a child passes, people cannot do any of those things. Cannot stop grieving. Cannot explain sorrow. Cannot heal broken hearts. Only time can do those things. And in this saddest of circumstances, time is against us.

We want time to pass more quickly: to begin our healing, end our grieving, explain our sorrow. Sadly, it doesn't. Everything moves in slow motion; every second feels like an hour, every hour a day, and so on.

All we can do is sit and wait for time to catch up to us, a race that can't be won.

When an adult dies, there's the expectation that person lived their life -- played their first tee ball game, had their first kiss, went on their first date, owned their first car, had their first job. That person had experiences that can be reflected upon. When a child dies, there are only what-ifs.

We can think about the joy children bring us, the beauty that pours out of them. We can think of all of the happiness they filled the world with in their short time here. We can tell stories and show pictures and laugh and cry and laugh some more.

But then there's the silence. Then, the tears. Lather, rinse, repeat.

You might be able to give me reasons for why a child dies, but you can't ever explain it. It's one of those things in this world I will never fully understand.

"...So when a little child departs,

we who are left behind

Must realize God loves children --

Angels are hard to find."