A Baby Boomer Lesson on Diversity

On Saturday, my grandson was invited to the birthday/halloween party of one of his classmates. Since I had never met Julianna's parents I wasn't sure what to expect.


What I discovered was Julianna's mother is black and her father is of Latin descent. The children who came to the party were from different racial and ethnic backgrounds and it was a beautiful sight to see.

For a three-hour period, the adults watched as their children played and shared without prejudice. For that moment in time no one saw race as an issue. Even the parents were laughing and joking with each other.

By the time children get to elementary school, they are aware of differences and some have already developed prejudices against people who are different because of the adults around them.

There are simple ways that parents and baby boomer grandparents can help their children and grandchildren understand differences in people and be tolerant of these differences:

Show that you value diversity through your friendships and business relationships. What you do is as important as what you say.

Make and enforce a firm rule that a person's ethnic background is never an acceptable reason for teasing or rejecting someone.

Provide opportunities for your children to interact with others who are racially or culturally different and with people who have disabilities. Look for opportunities in the neighborhood, school, after-school and weekend programs, church, camps, concerts, and other community events.

Respectfully listen to and answer your child's questions about people's differences. If you ignore questions, change the subject, sidestep, or scold your child for asking, you may suggest that the subject is bad or inappropriate.

Teach you child ways to think objectively about bias and discrimination and to witness against these injustices. Set an example by your own actions.

I will be having my own party on November 2 and have invited a diverse group of people to attend. I wonder if they will choose to show up or allow their own prejudices to hold them back.
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When Baby Boomer Married Minds Think Alike

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to the Carolina Ale House for our weekly "date night."  While enjoying our meal, I noticed a young mother with her two children (a boy and a girl).  They were sitting in a booth.  Both children were cuddled up to their mother as opposed to sitting on the opposite side.

As I watched their interaction, I couldn't help but notice the closeness they shared but I I also wondered was she a single parent?  Where was their dad?  Was she struggling to make ends meet?  At that moment something came over me that I can't explain.  I excused myself from the table, went out to the car and got my  credit card from my purse (which I left in the car).  When I came back inside, I told my husband I felt moved to pay for their meals and I didn't want him to try to talk me out of it.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), he said he was thinking about doing the same thing.  I called the waitress over, told her I wanted to pay their bill but didn't want them to know it until we left the restaurant.

After finishing our meal, my husband and I walked silently to our car knowing our hearts had been connected even more deeply by a mom and two children we may never see again.

North Carolina Dominos Pizza Trivia

The other day I was searching for a specific Dominos location to order some pizza. In addition to finding what I was looking for, I also came across some interesting information about the number of Dominos pizza locations in the United States.

Surprisingly, North Carolina ranks in the Top 5 for the most number of Dominos pizza locations.  OK, so here are the top five states with the total number of Dominos pizza locations:

1. California 643
2. Texas 565
3. Florida 507
4. NC 343
5. Ohio 338

The states with the least amount of Dominos locations:

5. Hawaii 21
4. District of Columbia 18
3. Montana 17
2. Vermont 15
1. Alaska 12

Something else that's relevant to this story:  Ranking of states by population

1.  California
2.  Texas
4.  Florida
7.  Ohio
10. NC

States that rank higher in population than NC but have FEWER Dominos locations:

3.  New York 279
5. Illinois 239
6. PA 253
8. Michigan 166
9. Georgia 269


Where does your state rank when it comes to Dominos pizza locations?

Are You a Cheerleader or Helicopter Grandparent

Ever since my grandson was three-years-old (he's now 5), he has wanted to play football. I think I may be responsible because I dominate the TV on the weekends to watch college and NFL football games and has witnessed the cheerleader in me getting pretty hyped whether my team is winning or losing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jarod is now eligible to play the sport he loves but grandma doesn't want him to. Why? Because I've heard and read too many stories about the serious injuries that can occur and to make matters worse, some players are doping to become stronger and even committing suicide. Why would I want my grandson to go down that road? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My daughter, on the other hand, says she wants her son to have EVERY OPPORTUNITY to do the things he loves---to experience all that life has to offer and that includes football. So, over my objection, she signed him up to play for the Durham Eagles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The other day I went to see him practice and here's what I discovered: 1) All of his team mates are the same age and just starting out so no one knows anymore than the other one---perhaps other than what they've seen on TV. 2) They're all practically the same size so no one has an advantage in that respect. A few are actually smaller than Jarod. 3) There's more to football than just the physical. It teaches discipline,respect and emphasizes the importance of listening. Lord knows, Jarod can work on that one! 4) It's an opportunity for young boys to have positive adult male role models. 5) The helmets are twice as big as their heads so its amazing they can do anything with them on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a grandparent, we should not be constantly hovering over our grandchildren to keep them out of harms way. Yes, I do want to shield and protect my grandson from the evils of this world but I also want to be one of his biggest advocates. Like his mom, I want him to experience all that life has to offer so while I'll be rooting for my Cleveland Browns this Fall, I'll also be cheering for the Smokin' Durham Eagles! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is video I shot right after his practice: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jail is not a Place for Grandmas

After picking up my five-year-old grandson from summer camp, I was driving home when I turned right on a red light. Just as I turned I noticed the sign said NO TURN ON RED. I said, "Oh no! I just ran a red light and I shouldn't have done that." My grandson asked me if the police were coming to put me in jail to which I responded, "I just hope they didn't see me." My grandson replied, "If you do have to go to jail, can you take me home first?"

Kindergarten is Over and Grandma Can Exhale

For those of you who have been following this blog you know my frustration last year over trying to get my grandson into kindergarten as an early entry due to the fact that his birthday falls six days after the cutoff date. Well, he did get in for $500, the amount we had to pay a psychologist to have him tested. Was he ready for kindergarten? Academically, yes. Socially, yes. Emotionally, maybe not. Jarod spent about half the school year in play mode meaning he still had a daycare mentality. What I learned was he spent way too much time playing in daycare than he did preparing for kindergarten. The structure of the daycare environment he was in was much different than a classroom setting. He had a lot of free time and free reign to just play and have fun. That thought pattern continued into the school environment, which took its toll on the teacher's nerve from time to time. In hindsight, I still believe we did the right thing by getting him tested as an early entry, however, if I had it to do over again, I would've looked more discriminately at the daycare providers. Meanwhile, it's on to First Grade.

Blueberries Are Good for Soccer

On the way to my grandson's soccer game today, I asked my grandson if he wanted some of the blueberries I was eating. Of course, he said yes and then proceeded to eat them all. After scoring the first goal of the game, he proudly told his coach that his grandma told him if he ate the blueberries, it would make him strong enough to kick some goals. Yes, I did say that and he listened. One of the things I love about young children is how trusting they are. That's why it is so important that we, as adults, give them the love and resources needed in order to help them grow up to be happy and healthy-minded. In an article titled 7 Strategies to Build Trust with Your Child, the writer says it's important to build a bond between you and your child by practicing what you preach. What that means to me is, if my grandson had not seen me eating (and enjoying) blueberries (as I often do), chances are he would not have been as receptive to eating them or believing they could have a positive impact on his soccer game. Did those blueberries have an affect on his play today? I can't say that for sure but I can promise you before his next soccer game, he'll be asking for some blueberries. What tips can you offer to help instill trust in your child or grandchildren?