According to this article in USA Today, those of us who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s got too much praise and now we are whiney babies, ill prepared for the world around us. Now this is an exaggeration of what the article really says but reading it does make one feel somewhat “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”.

I agree with some of what this article has to say. I’ve never really understood the value of having kids play sports in an environment where everyone is praised no matter what they do. Competition is a part of society and putting children in a competitive environment (which, if handled correctly, can be quite valuable) and then stripping all the competition out of it has always seemed a bit foolish to me.

On the other hand, I feel there is a role that praise plays in the raising of children and its an important one. I feel that the article misses the actual time line a bit. What they are describing seems to me to be true more for kids who were born in the 80’s on, not so much the 70’s. What I see in my working experience is that alot of young people in the 18-25 year old range do feel entitled, frequently miss work or underperform, and expect a regular paycheck for doing so. I don’t recall a big dose of “self-esteem” building jargon from my parents. I felt very loved and was taught a work ethic that I feel helps me very much today.

So what’s the lesson in this article? Probably the same lesson that is in most conversations of this type: balance. Protect your kids too much and they are ill-equipped to deal with reality. Let them run wild and they become the type of people that I deal with in the behavioral health field every day.

Please bear with any site weirdness….changing over to the newest edition of WordPress.

In light of recent posts about the moon, the heavens, and the telescope I find it quite fitting that on this date in 1564 Galileo Galilei, famed Italian scientist, astromomer, and inventor of the first relable telescope, was born. If you haven’t read Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love then you need to. In this book Dava Sobel puts together a fascinating memoir of the life of Galileo Galilei pieced together from 124 letters from his daughter, Sister Maria Celeste. Galileo was persecuted by the church for his “heretical” belief that the earth revolved around the sun and this book not only shows the loving relationship that he has with his daughter but also speaks to the trouble that Galileo had reconciling his devout faith with the scientific facts that he was discovering about the universe. This is one of the best biographies that I have ever read and it not only inspired me because of Galileo’s quest for knowledge of the heavens but also reaffirmed the idea of being grounded in one’s beliefs. A fascinating book through and through with a very satisfying conclusion. Read it.

On a slightly related note, check out the ‘comments’ section of the Valentine Moon post to see Abby’s reference to a fun, cheesy, blast-from-the-past PBS astronomy show.

I find it impossibly wonderful to be standing outside at 11:45 p.m. in 60 degree weather, gazing up at a Valentine’s moon through my telescope. This is the Midwest. We’re supposed to be knee deep in snow and praying for sunshine. I’m not complaining, I’m just in awe of the weather we’ve been having.

I’ve loved the moon and stars for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the country in Nebraska and the night sky, unmarred by city lights, was something I never grew tired of looking at. Interest in space in general was no doubt fueled by Star Wars, Star Trek and the introduction of science fiction literature into my life, but I credit my fascination with the moon and the constellations to Ms. Stewart, my 6th grade teacher.

Ms. Stewart had been a high school teacher before coming to our little country school and she brought with her the inspiration to expect more and do more with our class (6th, 7th, and 8th grade) in preparation for high school and beyond. She taught us how to do term papers (something I didn’t appreciate at the time) and she spent money to get better science equipment and worked with the other teachers to expand our little library. The thing that she did that stuck with me the most, however, was that she rented an inflatable planetarium that filled one whole room of our two-room schoolhouse. It came with lessons on tape that we listened to while visions of the stars were projected overhead. I remember laying in there and just being in awe of the universe. That awe has never left. Every time I visit my parents in Nebraska, no matter the season, I spend time standing outside and just gazing at the stars.

One of many things I appreciated right away when we moved from Tulsa to Blue Springs was the fact that we were moving to an area where the city lights don’t interfere with a good view of the stars. I had wanted a telescope for years and was not willing to spend money on one that I wouldn’t be happy with. The one I really want would require a large investment. I had been toying around with the idea of purchasing a less expensive one just to start with but knew I’d be disappointed to spend a few hundred dollars for something that wasn’t quite what I wanted. I usually don’t spend a lot of time praying for material things, but one day when I was really thinking about this I just said some simple prayer to the effect that I’d really like a telescope of some sort, amen. A few days later Tori came home to tell me that her best friend’s grandparents had a telescope that they were selling in a garage sale and Tori had asked if we could come take a look at it before the sale. I didn’t want to get my hopes up at all so I asked Mary to stop by one day and just see what it was like. She came home with a wonderful telescope for the whopping price of $15. This telescope is essentially the same as the starter telescope that I was thinking about getting. The magnification that I get is better than the picture posted above. I can’t tell you how thrilled I’ve been with this. It was such a blessing and all the more so that my daughter had known enough about her father that she knew I would like this.

So tonight when I came home from work I was able to spend a little time gazing at the moon on an unseasonably warm February evening. Thank you Lord for being gracious enough to occasionally bless us with things don’t really need but so desperately want, and thanks for using my daughter as the deliverer of this gift as it makes it all the more special.

Although many of us probably have people sending us thoughts of goodwill this Valentine’s Day it is much more entertaining to look at the more cynical side of this holiday. In that spirit I leave you this link to an Anti-Valentine’s Day site. I found this site last year and sent some of these postcards to people just for fun.

*Rob found the updated link and you can now send these if you want and there are more than were on the original link. Thanks!