young teen parents, and Octomom

This is in response to two recent news stories concerning children born into the most heartbreaking of situations.

Most recently is a young boy of 13 and a young girl of 15 giving birth to a baby girl just this week. I believe the story is from the UK. Headlines splash about the 13 being a father. And he just thinks he's ready to be a dad, and that they can go back to school - huh... like what 7th grade for him and 9th grade for her? yes, he's ready to go back to skipping to school with his homework, but not to financially raise a child, let alone the emotional stability to raise one. Even at best, he'd be 17, 18 before he'd bring home enough wages to afford the little girl her food on a regular basis, let alone all the rest of what is involved in supporting a childs basic needs. Oh and than throw in that there is now a "case for DNA testing" from another potential 15 yr old father candidate.

While here in CA., the story of 33 yr old Octomom Nadya Suleman, who after having in seven years, 6 children from 4 pregnancies through IVF sperm donation has just recently given birth to 8 more children through IVF sperm donation. She claims the sperm was from one donor for all 14 kids but the father is not involved, nor does he want to be, but they talk once a year... WHY exactly? to find out "what's new with you" kind of questions. Nadya lives with her financially faltering parents in the 2nd small home in a year that is going into foreclosure proceedings. Nadya's mother has been her means of "childcare" while she pursued a college degree at CSUF in nothing other than Early Childhool Development. Octomoms TV, and internet interviews clearly state that she loves children and always wanted alot of them because she knew as an only child she missed out on something.... (wonderful). She has walked through the nursery at the hospital displaying her new infants like Vanna White after a letter was called out. But her next big dream would be to return to school in order to complete her MBA program that she had to step away from in the last year. WHEN WOULD she have time to work after she got a bigger fancier degree?! Do her precious children ever get her attention now that she has populated them into the world, or has the task been accomplished and now she will grow bored with it. But than again she is living off of school loans she said.. huh, aren't those for paying for your school and than you PAY THOSE BACK? Where's the extra money come from in that idea for raising kids, oh right, welfare, disability payments for her three handicapped children and her parents sweat equity to provide. I'm confused on her common sense and math skills... Her dad has already returned to Iraq where he is a construction consultant to support the family of grandchildren. Nadya's mother/the grandmother has made numerous comments in interviews that are telling as to her exhaustion level caring for the first six kids and that she "just wishes her daughter had become a kindergarten teacher".... that is a great idea, love the children and yet you send them home with their own parents at the end of the day.

So okay the details on this are just mind numbing as to the cost of birthing teams, NEO NICU caring for them for months, which apparantly is going to fall directly to us the tax payer. Uh have you heard about the CA governmental budget crisis we are in and the good tax payers are going to be pummelled to bail out the hemorraghing of similiar ocotomon mentality "do it and than we will figure it out later" of government spending. We already care for a slew of children that single mothers decided to have out of sexual encounters with the love of there lives, one night stands or relationships gone bad after the plus sign appeared in the window of the tube, but without the father being involved for one reason or another... Oi vey...

So I was reading Dr. Laura's blog today and a 15 year old girl wrote into her and so I've copied it below. It's refreshing to know that there are young teenagers who are being invested in with morality, good common sense, compassion, decency, for whom have at least the ability to see wrong when it is presented to them. And hopefully that they will abstain from behavior that can and might bring a circumstance they are not ready for.


A Thirteen Year Old Father February 23, 2009 on 12:00 am
In Parenting, Personal Responsibility, Pregnancy, Sexuality, Teens Email This Post

I’m turning my blog today over to a 15 year old, who wrote me the following:

Dear Dr. Laura:
Hi. My dad sent something to my email that frankly made me sick. A young 13 year boy is now the father of a baby girl that was just born last Monday. The fact that the parents of this young boy let him have a 15 year old girlfriend, and the fact that they support this, makes me angry.
This poor little girl is going to grow up with an extremely young mother, an even younger father, and is probably going to live in a broken home. These kids are not ready to be parents.
Fortunately, my parents are together and happy, and all my life I’ve been given examples of what a relationship should be. I’m 15, and will never make the mistake of getting pregnant before I’m married. I feel sorry for the mother and father of the baby, because they’ve been robbed of their childhood. They will never get the freedom now that I have.
I’ve listened to you for as long as I can remember, and I guess some of what you’ve been saying has sunk in. I was talking to my mom about the story and telling her how this baby needs to be given a good home with GROWN UP parents to take care of her. I couldn’t help thinking afterwards “WOW! That sounded like Dr. Laura!” Thank you so much for your preaching, teaching, and nagging that helps many little babies just like this one.
It makes me cry to think that this story probably won’t have a happy ending, and my heart goes out to that baby. Thank you so much for fighting for kids who can’t speak for themselves, and being a great role model.
Laura O.

it's late and I should be sleeping

Today was just absolutely busy as will be many days for some time to come... left this morning for work, met a friend for dinner and we rode together to a high school first round basketball game with two sons of friends of ours, and than home around 9:45.. so it has been a long day. Since I'm keyed up and can't sleep, I will empty some thoughts from my noggin.

It was an absolutely beautiful day with sunshine, a few clouds, and yet a bit warmer.. and clear enough to have mountains with snow cover looming in the distance. We've had a couple of weeks of rain and after a little over a week with 11 inches of rain, we are soggy and needed a day like this to let it sink in, because it has been pooling everywhere and overflowing. And flowers are blooming and it will now be a good time to plan for a weekend of some new plantings to go in the yard... If only there was time for it.

This morning listening to talk radio, the end of one program as they are wrapping it up they tell this story for which just puts into our faces the ridiculous nature of "frivilous lawsuits" rather than just having a judge shrug there shoulders and say "tough" and bang the gavel, case closed. They tell it this way; a man goes to a hockey game of some team named the Sabers. (??) and when they lose badly he heads to a local pub and drowns his sorrows of his beloved teams defeat until late into the evening. He than stumbles down into the subway, buys his ticket and than manages to end up down on the tracks with a train barreling straight for him. He's lying with his legs inside the tracks and his head on the outside clear of the path of the train. The train hits him amputating both legs. His blood alcohol level is .13 considerably over the limit for public drunkenness and considerably not in control of his ability to function and stay out of harms way. But the stunner is that he sued the transit district for negligence in that he claims it is the responsibility of the conductor to stop the train for objects in the track...

This is just unbelievable, but he is than awarded $2.3 million ~ he should have gotten nothing more than perhaps to cover his medical bills since it happened on subway property, but not a dime for his stupidity, recklessness, irresponsibilty. He should have had to pay for the EMT's that responded to the scene, the cost of cleanup to remove his limbs and haz mat matter, and than have paid a large fine for public drunkenness and reckless behavior. We have become a sad state of political correctness and have no one take personal responsibility for the mishaps that we place ourselves into or cause against others. It's always got to be someone elses fault.

It's kind of morbid humor, but one of the announcers as he's bringing their radio show to an end, says well I'm heading down to the liquor store to have a six pack and than going to check into the local metro train schedule because his family could use a little nest egg security from the court system.

scary start to commute..

pic to the right is view from our bedroom window of our backyard under water after rain stopped falling... and no that's not a pool but perhaps a natural location for one.

Okay, like my commute to work "doesn't" require getting on the freeway in order to get there, and sooooo why today in the snotty weather I felt the need to take this route is absurd. I almost paid a huge price for having made it and this is why... Whenever the rain started during the night, it poured for 6-7 hours, leaving our backyard resembling a pond, as well as the roadways.

If I get on the 91 freeway and head east, I basically exit at the third offramp past the busy interchange of another freeway that enters mine... so as I pass the the 605 interchange and it's basically just lightly raining, but the water spraying up from vehicles cast a foggy glare of water somewhat obliterating a clear view of distance. Now add to this equation that the breed of CA. drivers on the road can't slow down to account for road conditions that are more dangerous than a normal sunny Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall day they are accustomed to... Except for me of course!

As I come close to offramp #1 and I'm in the third lane from the left, I catch a glimpse in the fast lane of a car that seems stopped after hitting the car ahead of it and that of a car that has JUST apparantly slammed on their brakes, starts to spin (hydroplane) to the right, now hitting the car in the midst of the spinning motion that they were trying to avoid, and than they catapult across all lanes of the freeway and two car lengths in front of me going backwards......... They jump the curb and are basically caught by the trees in the gulley between the freeway and the Pioneer offramp, sending wood chips back onto the freeway and the car lands on it's tires at the bottom... with the whipped tree limbs now laying on top of it.. and than the sky just opens up and cats and dogs start raining down on this mess.. I pulled over along with the car in front of me parking on the shoulder even with the car in the gulley. The driver appeared to be moving and was using her phone...

I grabbed my phone and dial 911 to hear the unwelcome message that "all operators are currently busy, stay on the phone and your call will be answered in the order it was received" WHAT THE HECK ~ I pay taxes so that it's answered first time! After about what seemed like 8 minutes I hung up, cuz well, I've got other connections. I than call the Lakewood Sheriffs number I have in my phone contact list and tell the guy who answers that 911 isn't answering and where I am and what is needed.. he immediately tells me he will connect me with CHP.. after about a minute I am connected and give the details, 3 cars, no one is appearing hurt just that the car is still down in the gulley and the woman has yet to come out of it.. so while she doesn't appear to be hurt, can't be sure.. The mini cooper that parked behind me and the older gentleman who had traversed down the hill, was coming back up and said she appears okay. I tell him CHP is on it's way.. I thank the dispatcher, and hang up.. so a couple of folks who are now aware that there is a car down in the ditch who were involved and had pulled over way ahead of us, were walking towards my car, one of them on the phone and so I shared my information (through my open window where I remained dry) that help was on the way and the guy who was still waiting for the "911 answer from a busy operator" said that he was still waiting to connect.

I than turn off my hazard lights and change it to a left blinker so I can now merge into traffic and get moving along to the office I was once heading to. Now all of this could have easily have been avoided had a few simple safety steps been followed;

1. Don't start your car engine without turning on your lights to make yourself visible in the darker skies, water spraying road conditions. This is for those around you numskull so they can see you.


2. SLOW down immensly when it's raining or a storm has just recently dumped a ton of water out of the sky onto the driving surface...


3. SLOW down and give more space between you and the car in front of you, and don't floor it to make up for time when the road opens up.. conditions remain the same.

Tomorrow I will make my commute on the side roads.

some funny stuff..

I posted new pictures on my flickr account... just choose "sets" on the top line of the opening page..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/symens

the truth of the matter....

Having DIABETES just plain SUCKS! screwed up the afternoon with Ashley for sure..

sunny So Cal

Okay, this will be quick cuz I am going to run late and my ride will be here soon....

We've had about four days of good consistent rain showers and lest the CA population start to lose their natural tan and need to overrun Planet Beach for a touch up ~ the sun poked through today and it was clear/coool and just glorius! If I was to watch the news, I am sure they are on the one hand glad for the rain and on the other hand complaining about when it's going to end. They are such a fickle bunch, and so I don't miss this as a activitiy.... But let me just say that the mountains were just covered in snow all across the horizon and was so beautiful. Sorry no picture to back this up as I only saw it on my way to work. I don't know how much rain fell, but we had thunder and lightning to make it quite interesting.

But we are supposed to get another rain shower that will roll in again on Wednesday afternoon and so it is a good thing that a day of sunshine has been enjoyed for today. Well, just because alot of Californians are antsy with foul weather...

Bring on the rain, we need it and I LOVE IT..

Rainy day (finally)

Well, it's really not all that untrue as the song goes, that is "it never rains in California" and we suffer for this at times with a severe drought situation. Our rainy season is Nov-Mar and here it is February and we've had very little so far.. until.. today. We are in the start of a three storm pattern that is coming through, and today it's forecasted as 1 inch falling and tomorrow another inch in the second storm.. It's also just a nice change of pace for this part of the state that has trouble identifying with "seasons".. our weather is pretty stable for long periods of time, until it gets a little unsettled. But not often. Winter and spring seem confused and alternate back and forth for months.

Yesterday our temperature in a large portion of the region was clear and in the mid 80's, and today it's a chilly 55 degrees and very rainy..

And yes, I did wash my car... go figure

But nobody is complaining here.... bring on the rain and give us twenty days of it for a good start.

of nothing in particular

This blog will be of no major topic just what's going on around the Symens household. Today is a Wednesday and the down hill slope in a work week of which is a relief of many similar weekly occurances... at least for me.

Not much going on for me, just working this week and having Alpha on Thursday night. I attended a basketball game Tuesday at half time for the HS teams of son(s) of friend(s) against Brentwood HS where the son of Mark Sptiz was a player on that team.. Mark Spitz has graying hair and so had my friend not pointed him out, it would have gone past me. Now last week, they played against Montclair prep and the son of Denzel Washington was a player, now him I could recognize and he sat in the crowd cheering for his son quietly. I think only a couple of people approached him, I'm not the celebrity enamored variety.. it was interesting that they have the normal lives we do, but he still walked like the rest of us! That is a newsflash I'm sure to many, but not for those of us who take it in stride.

Greg has been in Las Vegas since Monday attending a yearly Concrete convention where many of his customers have displays. He is probably rolling towards home about now, hoping not to hit traffic. He says the long miles walking has his legs pretty sore but they have eaten at some good places. I have attended many of these in the past, where I enjoy a leisurely schedule during the day and than attending dinner gatherings with Greg. My schedule would consist of sleeping late, strolling the different venues of museums, shark exhibits, hotel architecture gazing sitting by the pool, reading, spa massages or a movie at the theatre within our hotel... but this year, some back pain made walking just not a "fun" option for getting around and so I stayed home. Next week he is gone to a Farm Show in Tulare and sooo that isn't one that I have ever considered attending in the rural setting of the Agriculture community.... but this event he has to man a booth for his company as they expose there services to the Ag world and talk and give away free goodies.

Meanwhile, this causes his missing two Tuesday nights of a Marriage Builders class we recently started, I've attended alone. So if he should come home at a reasonable hour tonight we will hit a makeup dvd viewing with the Wednesday night class and stay relatively caught up. God has prompted us to do some heavy lifting in our marriage currently and so this class has been a great instigator of getting to the root of some talking points. Praise Jesus.

Ashley came home from school this afternoon a bit under the weather again, thinking that her continuing strep throat episode is once again back. Might be time to be aggresive in heading this off with some hard questions to the Dr., as she has them quite often. Makes for her heavy school and study schedule to conflict with "resting" and so she gets very run down until giving into strong antibiotic treatments. Kind of a regular song and dance she has become accustomed to, but yet time to step off the dance floor for sure if another route to stopping it altogether. At least that is what mom thinks, but she will have to decide and make the follow through.

Brian's busy with the construction company; close to finishing up a large remodel project, moving along with another local remodel and than he will move onto the next project out in Irvine where he might sack at a relatives home to avoid the long commute in traffic each day.. but he'll see when that gets closer. He and April will be heading for a week to PA. to visit her sister.. The last time April visited in January, she has gotten the bug to move there, soooo I'm sure this is an "investigative" trip for Brian as well to understand how serious this might become. April just recently celebrated her 20th birithday.

Shane returned to colleges classes again this week after a loooooong break of about 2 months... having been off since early Dec. He's still in that rut of general ed classes and one fire science class a semester for now, but this week will begin a class on the Academy grounds each Friday for a 6 hour time frame and involves the physical aspects of training. He's excited, but mom dreads that his thick head of hair will now be cut off as it's been a nice change of pace for him from the forever short hair look! I know, silly thing to consider but he looks quite handsome with hair.. as he does with short hair, just somewhat younger.

till next time...