Last week we experienced our first major allergy scare in a very long time. Two of my three kids have very severe allergies. Highest on their list: peanuts. Well my youngest, who is not allergic, went to his class for the day as usual. Parents take turns bringing in snacks for kids. This particular day the snack consisted of cookie dip sticks and individual containers of peanut butter. Youngest didn’t eat it bu it made it’s way home with us and up the stairs into his room in his backpack. Well one of the girls came into contact with it trying to be a big helper and bringing it down to the kitchen knowing it shouldn’t be upstairs. All of this occured right as we were sitting to dinner. I had no idea what had just transpired since I was busy getting food on the table. As we sit and start eating. I see my little one’s face starting to turn red, then hives starting to form. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I knew she wasn’t eaing anything she wasn’t supposed to have, or at least I thought she wasn’t. So, I’m thinking contaminated food. But the other one wasn’t having a reaction. So I go to get some benadryl and no benadryl! How did this happen. I’m searching all over the place. Where’s th epipen just in case. Found the epipen. But where in the owrld is the benadryl. Call the neighbor. Does she have any? I don;t have time to keep looking. Yes, she has some. Come on. Let’s go for a walk. Whew! Benadryl stpped the reaction. So, what happened? It was then I learned from hubby that she’d brought down the container of peanut butter. It have never been opened, but just touching the container was enough. Fortunately, we didn’t have to get her to a hospital again.But we learned a valuable lesson. Which brings me to an interesting point:

Why do comapnies continue to mass produce items and cross contaminate products? With the surge in allergies these days, why aren’t better manufacturing policies in place? Also, you ever wonder why there are so many allergies these days? What are we doing to our environment and our food supply? Genetically engineered food? Why?

Last, what’s a parent to do when one of there other allergens is corn? We now have corn based plastics use for food packaging, plastic cups, plates and knives and the like. They are not required to put warning labels on their packaging. I fear the world my preceious children have to grow up in.

Had to share this.

1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.

2. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.

3. Toys multiply to fill any space available.

4. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.

5. Yours is always the only child who doesn’t behave.

6. If the shoe fits…it’s expensive.

7. The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.

8. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.

9. Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.

Time to get on my soapbox now. A subject that has been on my heart for a very long time is the lack of respect I see in young people today. I firmly believe that a lot of the problems in our society today stems from this one issue.

Parents send their kids to school in hopes that the teacher will teach them, then the teachers can’t teach them because the parents haven’t taught them basic respect – respect for others, respect for elders, respect for other peoples’ things, etc. Case in point: our neighborhood has been trying to get one of our major roads fixed. It used to be an old country road, but now a well traveled road thanks to new houses and a brand new high school opening in the fall. This road hasn’t been updated in about twenty years. One of our friends was in a major accident on this road due to teens racing. She tried to avoid them from getting hit head on and flipped her car when she hit the ditch on the side of the road. One of the teens was apprehended and arrested. Our friend says that she read the arrest affidavit and guess what? The teen doesn’t care that she almost died, or that she will have ongoing health problems because of it, or that her car was destroyed. He is not remorseful whatsoever. Lack of respect. He has no respect for life, his or anyone else’s.

Our pastor gave a wonderful Father’s Day speech about fathers being a shining example for their sons. This not only applies to just fathers, but all parents. What are we showing our kids today? When I first heard about the teen above, my first thought was, “That’s a reflection on the parents.” I know there are some people that no matter what their parents do, they will still behave in such manner, but can you imagine how much better our society would be if more parents stepped up to the plate and took the time to educate their children in basic moral values and don’t leave it up to a society, that is already questionable at best, to do it for them?

Just maybe, we wouldn’t have guns in school, or fight clubs if people valued life more. Just maybe, we wouldn’t have so my home breakins and carjackings if people valued other people’s property more. I could go on and on.

I heard a story yesterday about a woman who’s car broke down on the side of the road. My friend’s dad stopped to help her. She was terrified of getting help for fear that she might be attacked or something. He was finally able to convince her that he would do her no harm by telling her to crack her window just a little bit and slid his driver’s license in to her. He told her to call a friend and give him/her his information off the license in case something happens to her. She stayed in the car while he helped her. What is happening to our world- where there is a fear of helping others and a fear of being helped because of all of the disrespectful things happening in it?

Just my two cents worth today. Take it or leave it, but think about it. What are you teaching your kids?