27 June 2017

I Often Wonder ...

Lots of things, to be honest.  But these things have been on my mind lately:

** How do some people always look perfect?  For instance, I have a next-door neighbor who works full-time running her own business, has a kid, a husband, and a dog, and no matter what, always looks amazing.  I don't mean, amazing as in always fully made up with her hair fixed just so, etc.  I mean, she will come back from running, and look better than I do on my best days.  Seriously, how is that possible?  I would just like to know.

** Do people still teach their children manners, and to be kind?  I am someplace where I am around a lot of kids all day long.  It seems that whether they are with their own parents, or with teachers/chaperones/other caregivers, politeness and kindness are the exceptions.  When I was a kid (during the mid-20th century), I knew that if I misbehaved AT ALL when we went someplace, that there were consequences.  And I didn't even have really strict parents, but there were still rules.

** When did being smart become something bad?  I don't mean being a know-it-all, or a show-off, I mean just being an intelligent person.  It seems that now, being smart means being "elite" and therefore not caring about anyone else.

** Why do we always hear that people who live in the Midwest are a) the only "real" Americans, and b) kinder than anywhere else?  Why don't "real" Americans live in Maine, or in Idaho?  And it's been my personal experience when I have lived in the Midwest that people there are no kinder than they are anywhere else that I've lived.  Frankly, I get pretty sick of hearing about it.

** If I had four children, people might comment about it, in that a lot of families these days are smaller than that.  But the fact that I have no children and four cats makes it open season on people declaring that I am some kind of weirdo Cat Lady.  No one ever calls a woman with four children a weirdo Kid Lady.

** How do people manage to knit so many things in such a short period of time, particularly when/if they have full-time jobs and a family?  I knit A LOT, and granted, I'm not the world's fastest, but even so, I have been feeling amazed at myself when I can knit a pair of socks in a month.  Do these other people never eat or sleep?

** Why do so many employers seem to frown upon people actually using their vacation?  Especially in the U.S., most of us get such a paltry amount (2 weeks out of a whole year??), and then when you actually ask for the time off, they act like you are some kind of low-life.   In many countries, workers routinely receive more time off, and are *expected* to take it, and somehow those countries and businesses still exist.  How shocking.

** And every day, every minute, I wonder how the current resident of the Oval Office still has people who think he's great.  I'm not sure I'll ever really be able to wrap my mind around that one.

7 comments:

Vera said...

Can't wrap my head around that last one either...and I know some of those people who still think he is great...can't make sense of it at all.

And kids with manners or being polite? I think that (for the most part) has gone by the wayside. Sad but true.

On the knitting front, I just know I am slow...lol.

Lastly, you don't want to hear about how many days off work I get...it's a bunch, for sure...and we are encouraged to use every single day.

Anonymous said...

Yeah ...........that LAST one. I have really good friends that still think he's the best thing since buttercream icing. :-(

Tired Teacher said...

I'm with you on the last one, too. Actions continue to be bizarre, lies continue to be told, and people continue to be entranced. I simply do NOT understand any of it.

rue said...

As someone who takes 5 weeks holiday a year alongside a whole office of people who do the same I find the holiday thing pretty strange. A balanced life is good for everyone.

Mereknits said...

I am so with you on all of these. My next door neighbor, same age as me looks fantastic. She wears short skirts and doesn't have wrinkly knees like me. Her face is unlined and her hair thick and gorgeous. I wonder how she looks younger every year and I look older? Manners are a thing of the past, I try to teach them but see less and less of them in the kids I am around. Don't get me started on the government, when did we stop caring for everyone in the country but the rich. When did it become only religious people have love for our country?

Needles and Wool said...

very true, these are questions and things I can relate with as well. I worked with children in childcare centers for years and found that children lack manners these days. There will always be people who look effortlessly amazing, my Instagram is full of them haha. I agree with your last question too, I don't know how Trump has lasted this long! and how does he have anyone supporting him in the Oval office at this point?

Angela said...

Countries with great standards of living like Finland and Sweden have wonderful vacations for their employees. This country has employers in the idea that to take vacation is a ridiculous thing. It has to be mandatory for people to take their vacations. They can be even more productive.