I've been thinking about nursing homes lately. Then today I saw a commercial with Dennis Hopper telling us that when we are senior citizens things are going to be very different and that he doesn't see us baby boomers going to Bingo Night. I agree totally with that! I think by the time we baby boomers hit old age in record numbers, we will have a whole different gig going on. I predict we will be setting up communes with of course some medical staff coming in to take care of those kinds of concerns. A commune would have lots of advantages. We could all live together under one roof, pool our resources, and finally start living life with the goal of enjoying more and worrying less. I can just see us doing our part to keep the place running smoothly, gardening, writing music, poetry, books, listening to some good music on the sound system, sewing, cooking and enjoying good food, and engaging in as much fun as we are physically capable of.
As we have gotten older, we've longed for those carefree days. (I wasn't all that carefree, since I decided to get married and start a family at a young age). For me it will be my first chance at really being carefree, and going for the gusto in life. We could probably take some of the nursing homes now in existence and re-do them. Make them actually pleasant, and get some fun going on there. Friday night concerts would be good - or maybe an ongoing Karaoke bar right on the premises, and coffee houses with beat poetry being read. Fun, all of the time. No news shows on the television set - just re-runs of all of our favorite TV shows. Of course we would have the freedom to tune into the reality of life, but I doubt we would. We can for real drop out and turn on.
No horrible nursing home meals for us, no activity director - just good food cooked by the current residents, lots of Motown coming through the speakers - and an after-dinner glass of wine, just to make the night go a little better. Maybe we could even bus on over to some baby boomer version of Woodstock a couple of times a year. Dylan will still be there reinventing himself. And Mick Jagger will still be able to strut across the stage and he'll still be hot. We definitely have to get busy and get this stuff changed around before we get to that point. Who knows, maybe in the near future, we'll figure out how to live to be 150. We're getting there!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Chuck E. Cheese rocks! At least that is what my little grandson Cole thinks. We went there today, along with my sister - Auntie Jackie. First we all had to have our hands stamped with the same number, so that if by some fluke of nature one of the giant tv sets that are anchored to the ceiling should fall on both of us at the same time, no one could take advantage of that to sneak away with our little darling boy. When you leave you have to show that your number matches his, or it's no-go. You don't get past that little girl who is standing security at the door. Never mind she doesn't understand a word of English, she still would be a formidable obstacle I am sure, if she needed to be.
The pizza wasn't bad, the dinner entertainment, which consisted of a very large gray mouse looming over us, as music videos played on all of the monitors could have been better. They could have had that big mouse actually doing something, which would have been at least a little bit interesting. I remember the old Show Biz Pizza from when my kids were young, and in those days there were three stages filled with animatronic creatures of all kinds. There was music, there was comedy, and just great all around entertainment for the kids and their parents too. My kids loved it.
Little Cole however, doesn't know about Show Biz pizza, so he thought Chuck E. Cheese was just great, boring big gray mouse and all. He loved putting his coins in the machines and playing the little games - each one different, but surprisingly odd and hard to do for a little guy. Never mind! He did what he could do, and the tickets came out anyway. The Skee balls were way too heavy for him, and even though he gave it his best shot the darned things just kept rolling backwards and on to the floor - almost nailing a toe or two in the process. Grandma and Auntie Jackie had to help them along alittle.
The pizza wasn't bad - for us, a combination of Canadian Bacon and black olives. Cole loves him some black olives. The crust was pretty good - just a little sweetness - for a kid's tastes. And in the end we had around 60 tickets! Enough to get one of those little rainbow colored styrofoam airplanes that Grandma almost ruined in the process of constructing it. All of that fun and merriment for the low price of $$$. A good day for Cole though and that is what counts in the end, to this Grandma and the much loved Auntie Jackie.
The pizza wasn't bad, the dinner entertainment, which consisted of a very large gray mouse looming over us, as music videos played on all of the monitors could have been better. They could have had that big mouse actually doing something, which would have been at least a little bit interesting. I remember the old Show Biz Pizza from when my kids were young, and in those days there were three stages filled with animatronic creatures of all kinds. There was music, there was comedy, and just great all around entertainment for the kids and their parents too. My kids loved it.
Little Cole however, doesn't know about Show Biz pizza, so he thought Chuck E. Cheese was just great, boring big gray mouse and all. He loved putting his coins in the machines and playing the little games - each one different, but surprisingly odd and hard to do for a little guy. Never mind! He did what he could do, and the tickets came out anyway. The Skee balls were way too heavy for him, and even though he gave it his best shot the darned things just kept rolling backwards and on to the floor - almost nailing a toe or two in the process. Grandma and Auntie Jackie had to help them along alittle.
The pizza wasn't bad - for us, a combination of Canadian Bacon and black olives. Cole loves him some black olives. The crust was pretty good - just a little sweetness - for a kid's tastes. And in the end we had around 60 tickets! Enough to get one of those little rainbow colored styrofoam airplanes that Grandma almost ruined in the process of constructing it. All of that fun and merriment for the low price of $$$. A good day for Cole though and that is what counts in the end, to this Grandma and the much loved Auntie Jackie.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Nanny Deb is full of crap. If anyone has watched that popular television show lately, it would seem that if you are having any kind of trouble at all in dealing with a child, Nanny Deb will show you the way. Well, I tried about a dozen of her techniques today, and I beg to differ!!
My grandson has been spending a few days with me over the weekend, and we mostly do pretty well together. However today he was having a particularly active day, and Grandma wasn't getting going quickly enough to TARGET, his favorite place in his world - except for Disney World. He decided to spend the time while he was waiting for me raising as much hell as he possibly could in an effort to nudge the old girl along.
I usually don't get too much into the discipline end of his upbringing, because after all I am the Fairy Grandmother! Today though, I felt an obligation to set him in the "naughty spot" since his behavior was bordering on naughty. Now, I hasten to add naughty for him is nowhere near naughty for a lot of other four year olds, but as I said, I felt a bit of a responsibility to remind him that naughty wasn't going to get Grandma going any faster.
I sat him down on the naughty spot aka the bottom step, and he proceeded to turn into a jelly fish and quickly slither to the floor. I picked him up, set him down again, and reminded him that he was going to sit on the naughty spot for four minutes (one minute for every year of age). Slither and slide this time. After some quick thought, I decided to sit down directly in front of the little darling, and meet him eye to eye. Now there is the rub. When this boy does not want to look at you, he will not look at you. Those eyes that look absolutely adorable in any picture you see of him, went from left to right, up, down, around, and lots of directions I didn't even know eyes could move, but no way did they meet my eyes. I took his chin and said, "Look at me when I am talking to you." Nope no way Grandma. He looked nonchalant, staring upward as if his chubby little Grandma didn't even exist in his universe.
Time for the big guns. I took his little hands in mine, and held them in his lap, as I placed my hand on his chest. I spoke intently, kindly, succinctly, and with a great deal of authority as I gave him my best speech about how "Grandma has to tell you things sometimes to keep you safe, and it is very important for you to do what Grandma says at these times." Still no eye contact and the upward eye roll, following by a flick to the side. "Do you understand Grandma?" No response. Now this child is a normal kid, with all kinds of normal emotions, but man when he wants to stonewall you, and I have been stonewalled by a few, I can honestly say no one does it better than him. I'd like to see old Nanny Deb crack this one!!
My grandson has been spending a few days with me over the weekend, and we mostly do pretty well together. However today he was having a particularly active day, and Grandma wasn't getting going quickly enough to TARGET, his favorite place in his world - except for Disney World. He decided to spend the time while he was waiting for me raising as much hell as he possibly could in an effort to nudge the old girl along.
I usually don't get too much into the discipline end of his upbringing, because after all I am the Fairy Grandmother! Today though, I felt an obligation to set him in the "naughty spot" since his behavior was bordering on naughty. Now, I hasten to add naughty for him is nowhere near naughty for a lot of other four year olds, but as I said, I felt a bit of a responsibility to remind him that naughty wasn't going to get Grandma going any faster.
I sat him down on the naughty spot aka the bottom step, and he proceeded to turn into a jelly fish and quickly slither to the floor. I picked him up, set him down again, and reminded him that he was going to sit on the naughty spot for four minutes (one minute for every year of age). Slither and slide this time. After some quick thought, I decided to sit down directly in front of the little darling, and meet him eye to eye. Now there is the rub. When this boy does not want to look at you, he will not look at you. Those eyes that look absolutely adorable in any picture you see of him, went from left to right, up, down, around, and lots of directions I didn't even know eyes could move, but no way did they meet my eyes. I took his chin and said, "Look at me when I am talking to you." Nope no way Grandma. He looked nonchalant, staring upward as if his chubby little Grandma didn't even exist in his universe.
Time for the big guns. I took his little hands in mine, and held them in his lap, as I placed my hand on his chest. I spoke intently, kindly, succinctly, and with a great deal of authority as I gave him my best speech about how "Grandma has to tell you things sometimes to keep you safe, and it is very important for you to do what Grandma says at these times." Still no eye contact and the upward eye roll, following by a flick to the side. "Do you understand Grandma?" No response. Now this child is a normal kid, with all kinds of normal emotions, but man when he wants to stonewall you, and I have been stonewalled by a few, I can honestly say no one does it better than him. I'd like to see old Nanny Deb crack this one!!
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