We Didn't Start the Fire. . .

I'll spare you the lyrics of this rather irritating song by the otherwise enjoyable Billy Joel. (Although it IS a convenient "wrap" of twentieth century history! Go through the song with your kids at: http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm )

It came out in the eighties - a modern anthem of the troubled times with the message that we shouldn't get too worked up about the unstable condition of the world, it had always been that way, it was always burnin', since the world's been turnin.'


Who knew I'd be offering those words as advice to my kids? They deal with things like bomb threats in their schools, their friends joining the military, and this morning, strained relations with Russia and an actor vying for the White House! (Whoa! Deja vu!)

My daughter's school went into lock down a half-dozen times or more this school year. On one occasion, school officials dumped girls' purses on their desks, rifled through backpacks and searched lockers. Should we as parents be incensed by the invasion of privacy or grateful for the vigilance in protecting our children?

My children's friends, kids I've known since grade school, have been and come back from the Middle East. Some are scheduled to leave this summer. Others are just entering the military. My son has been focused on the Navy forever, but wants to finish college - will he wait, might they reinstate the draft? It scares me to death!

My parents talk about being in school during the era of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They recite perky jingles about "duck and cover." They had Viet Nam, my grandparents WWII, their parents a depression and a war. . .somehow, we made it this far.

It may seem that raising kids in "this day and age" is crazy - but I think raising kids may always have been crazy. I guess we just hang in and take each day as it comes. When we are gone, that fire will still burn on and on and on.

Have fun!