If I was the Grandmother of Blue Ivy

If I was the grandmother of Beyonce and Jay-Z's new baby girl, the first thing I would do is sit down and have a long, and not-so-nice Parenting 101 lesson with them.

I'd tell them how foolish I think they are to spend over a million dollars to seal off a wing of the hospital to assure their privacy. If they wanted privacy, they could've paid for a PRIVATE facility with PRIVATE everything else.

I'd tell them how inconsiderate they are to keep other new parents from having access to their own newborns in the neonatal care unit of the hospital. One father took his complaints to the media---and we all know how that gets blown up.

I'd tell them they could've donated that $1.3 million they spent on hospital privacy and security to different organizations to ensure that less fortunate mothers could get good prenatal care.

These are the things I would say if I were the grandmother of Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby girl. I'm just wondering what their own mothers said---if anything.

Parents Children and Guns Don't Mix

While preparing for my radio show this morning, I decided to do some research and talk about some of the most bizarre stories of 2011. During my search, I came across what has to be not only bizarre but one of the most ridiculous stories I've ever heard of in my life!

A 17-year-old Florida girl reportedly pistol-whipped her mother because the mother refused to sign a car loan for her. On top of that, the daughter held the gun to her mother's head and forced her to drive to the dealership, where her mother decided to sign the car loan. The daughter then drove off in her new Nissan 350Z.

Oh---and it gets worse. THE MOTHER REFUSED TO PRESS CHARGES BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT TO JEOPARDIZE HER DAUGHTER'S IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES AND SCHOLARSHIPS.

Seriously???!!!

This is obviously the case of a spoiled brat who has lived a life of privilege. Her mother (and probably others) have catered to her every whim and the one time her mother decided to put her foot down, the daughter just wasn't having it.

This is definitely the extreme, but believe it or not more and more young people today live in a world of entitlment. Why? Because baby boomer and millennial parents have set a new definition for raising children.

Parents reach for their checkbooks whenever their grown children ask for money to pay their credit-card bills, parking tickets, real estate agent fees, medical expenses and insurance premiums. They buy them clothes, condos, new cars and vacations--and welcome them home again to live without asking them to pay rent.

As much as I thought I'd hate saying it, I am thankful for old school parents, who made me appreciate what it means to work hard to earn what I want.

There is no way in hell that a child should demand that a parent do anything for them. And the fact that this child threatened to kill her mother over a car makes me question the lack of parental guidance.

I wish my daughter would try to threaten me with some nonsense. I'll be calling the police and the undertaker.

Holy Cow Batman Santa Claus is Black

When I was growing up, I always believed santa claus was a fat, old white man with a fake beard and a red suit because that's the only image I ever saw at the mall or on TV.

You can imagine my surprise when the Hayti Heritage Center announced it was bringing a black santa to Durham, NC for the first time ever. I had to see it for myself. But more importantly, I wanted by five-year-old grandson to see an image that looked more like him.

Last year, my grandson asked me if santa claus was going to bring him some presents. Without hesitation, I told him no and then proceeded to explain that his mom, grandparents, nana and papa and other family members are the ones who buy him gifts.

I didn't want my grandson to get it in his head that if he was good all year, some jolly old white man would come and bring him presents. It just didn't seem right.

Now I know someone reading this is going to think I'm being racist but I would argue the whole idea of promoting santa claus as white is racist. It's something that's been embedded in our minds for years with movies, TV specials and in practically every mall in America.

Just like I thought I'd never live to see the day we'd have a black President, I never thought I'd see a black santa claus on public display.

##!@Holy Freakin' Cow Batman!@#!!$@! KA-BOOM!

Grandma Learns Her Colors

I thought I knew my colors but obviously I didn't know them as well as I thought I did---until today. I received a valuable lesson at the grocery store about color-coding, which I thought was worth sharing.

While looking for bread, my grandson quickly noticed that the twists were different colors and he wanted me to explain why. I didn't have an answer but, fortunately, there was an employee standing nearby who was willing to share the information.

He said if you want to know how fresh the bread is in your grocery store, look at the tie that is holding the wrapper closed. Bread is delivered five days a week, Monday Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and the bread maker puts a different colored tie on to designate which day of the week the bread was baked:

Monday - Blue

Tuesday - Green

Thursday - Red

Friday - White

Saturday - Yellow

So, if you go to the grocery store on a Saturday, you should look for bread with the yellow twist or even the white twist since that was just delivered the day before. On the other hand, if you arbitrarily pick up bread with a blue twist on a Saturday, you can bet that bread has been sitting on the shelf for at least five days.

And to think, I've been color blind all these years.

Being a Grandma Blogger Has Privileges

Last week I received an email from a PR firm out of Chicago, which read:

"I wanted to invite you to be a part of an upcoming event in High Point. I’ve been reading your blog Baby Boomer Talk & Other Stuff and saw that you’ve been taking care of your grandson while your daughter is in school and thought this might be great fun for the both of you. On Saturday, Oct. 29 at YWCA High Point community members will team up with Humana, to build a multi-generational playground that will benefit children, adults and seniors.

For those of you who don't know, High Point is about 90 minutes from where I live and it's not a place I've ever visited so, while I was flattered for the invite and that she was reading my blog, I wasn't quite sure I wanted to make the trip.

But then she added a nugget: Former UNC Basketball Player Brendan Haywood would be there. I knew my grandson would get a kick out of meeting an NBA player up close and personal but it was even more special for me because I was acquainted with Brendan long before he went to the NBA. While a UNC student, he attended the same church as me and we always sat together in the balcony. I would affectionately call him "my son" and encourage him to not only to do well on the basketball court but to also shine in the classroom. I remember him being very quiet and respectful.

My grandson and I braved the cold temperatures and high-tailed it to High Point. Although Brendan was scheduled to leave by 11am, he was kind enough to wait for our arrival. He and my grandson participated in a video shoot for my TV show, while I watched as volunteers came together, despite the cold, rain and mud, to build the playground. Simply amazing!

Here's what I got out of that trip:

• I witnessed the true spirit of teamwork, in spite of the weather-related obstacles.
• People are really reading my blog and being influenced in some way by it.
• My grandson thinks I'm "the coolest."
• The pleasure of seeing Brendan again and seeing that success hasn't changed him. He's still quiet and respectful.

My Grandson the Medial Examiner

The other day as my grandson was getting dressed for school, he noticed I had the news on and the coverage was about the doctor accused of murdering Michael Jackson.

While I'm in the bathroom brushing my teeth he comes in and announces he knows how Michael Jackson died.

"How?" I asked.

He replied, "Michael Jackson took some pills that made him white and that's why he died. He's supposed to be black like his brothers."

OK---so this is why we spent $500 to get him into kindergarten as an early entry so he could start practicing his medical examiner theories.

The mind of a kindergartener!

Why Aren't You Singing for Jesus in the Choir Grandma

Whenever we take my (now five-year-old) grandson to church, we can always expect him to say or do something that will either entertain or embarrass us. Today was no exception.

Shortly after we arrived, my grandson immediately peeled his eyes on the choir, looking for his godmother, who is a member. As we were listening to them sing, Jarod looked at me and said, "Grandma go sit with Tasha in the choir and sing." I told him I don't sing in the choir to which he responded, "Don't you think Jesus will be mad at you if you don't want to sing for him?" My response, "Jesus loves you know matter where you sing. It doesn't have to be in the choir. I can sing right where I am"

Of course, he had to have the last word: "Well, you're not singing very loud. I'm glad I sing in the choir because I know He can hear me there."