First it was My Heart, Not a Laptop!

"Government is not the solution.
Government is the problem."
Ronald Reagan
(see video to the right)




First it was my heart. The minute that child came into the world I was assured life would never be the same. I thought I loved my children. But I don’t think you become actually aware of love in its truest form until you have a grandchild.

Come on, you grandparents, memaws, nanas, GGs, Pas and others know exactly what I mean.

Makes you feel sad for your own kids, kind of! We’re so worried about just feeding our kids and giving them a safe haven to come home to each day that we forget to just enjoy them. It always seemed I never had enough money to buy that Barbie Kelly wanted or that cool GI Joe Chad wanted. And heaven forbid, I was absolutely against getting those motorized jeeps. I just knew I’d find one of my kids on one upside down and seriously hurt.

But somehow I always found a way at birthdays and Christmas to go overboard. (I still do). And somehow that grandson of mine has a cool Rubicon Jeep at Memaw and Pa’s and has a blast riding it. And it doesn’t bother me. Ha!

The worry for our kids occupies each moment of our life. When my son was a senior in high school, I didn’t rest until I had that phone call at 3:50 pm that he was safe and sound at home. And for a very, very long time, I had to have a nightly text back from him to let me know he was ok when he moved to Boone. Well, the text really was to make sure he was alive. He wasn’t ok. He wasn’t happy with himself and we didn’t find that out for a couple of years. He seems to be now. He’s working, paying his way, and living life. He’s happy.

Dean and I made a trek to Boone to deliver my grandson to his Nana and GG and to see Chad. Kayne will be staying with Nana for a couple of weeks. It breaks my heart to see him always on the go. Somehow it feels like we’re stealing his childhood away but really what we’re doing is sharing the love we all have in our heart for this little boy. This little boy who has made the world such a better place. It’s not his fault that his life is like it is. We all are just making the best of the situation. For Kayne.

Let me be honest, Kayne has made my world a better place.

Continue reading to hear my story!

So first he had my heart. Then I realized I would never have to watch another episode of “River Monsters” (Thank God!) nor be able to watch “Monk” (one of my favorite shows) when he’s around. He now owns our 46’ HDTV. He’s crazy about Blue’s Clues. So what does Memaw do? She finds him a Blue’s Clues dog. And what does Pa do? Finds him a “thinking chair”. Yep he’s wrapped us around his finger.

But that’s not all. Now, he’s discovered my iPad. I thought I would draw the line with that one. That was memaw’s Christmas present to herself. Don’t even think about it touching it now. But I’m addicted to those mystery games!  I have to have my daily fix. And I just love getting up in the morning, grabbing my coffee cup and filling it up, and then sitting down to read the blogs and news. Ha. Too bad.

Now my darling gets up, comes and gives me a hug and says “I want to play with my animals”. That means he want to play with my iPad.I cave in. And he sits in his “thinking chair” with Blue beside him and solves puzzles with the app of the day. All the while Blue’s Clues has monopolized the TV. Ha.

Now you may be asking why I’m rambling on like this. What does all this mumble jumble about what my grandson does have to do with anything conservative? After all, this is a conservative blog.

Well, friends, it has everything to do with. You see there was an article in our local paper today, The Sanford Herald, and the editor wrote about seeing “laptops” in action and that the program had some undue criticism.
(http://www.sanfordherald.com/printer_friendly/14374316)

I take issue with that. First, it is not the responsibility of our school systems to do everything for our kids. They already want to control our kids from cradle to grave. Want proof? Just listen to the shrills from Democrats and NCAE at the Republicans in Raleigh and Washington as they reign in spending and have to cut programs. Here in NC the General Assembly  combined More at Four with SmartStart. Why? Basically they are preschool programs that do a lot of the same things. Why do you need two bureaucracies? Why do you need two sets of administrators, clerical staff, etc, etc? Combine them, eliminate the overhead, and save taxpayer dollars. What the heck is so hard to understand?

The Herald editor makes the issue that just because we who think the laptop initiative program was a waste of taxpayer dollars didn’t have them while growing up that we have no right to complain about this program. I beg to differ.

Note to Billy: I didn’t go to More at Four or Headstart, Smart start, whatever you call it, either. Somehow I manage to graduate in the top 10% of my high school class, obtain an Associates Degree from CCCC with high academic awards and just graduated (yes I know it’s late in life) from NC A&T with a BS degree in Business Education and with Magna Cum Laude awards. Head Start, and More at Four didn’t do a thing for me. I didn’t go to Kindergarten either. Back then kindergarten was a choice not a mandate. I turned out pretty well, don't you think?  I constantly write Billy letters so he knows I have that skill.

Back to the laptop issue: Had my parents been able to afford cool toys for me they would have. Computers won’t around but other stuff was that would have enhanced my learning.

But they struggled to just put meat on the table once a week. The other nights we had vegetables. Meat was left for Sunday. And it’s not like Mama had a full house to feed. When I was growing up, my sisters and brothers were grown. I was a late baby. I also had hand me down clothes. From kids in my classes. Talk about embarrassing. But it was either that or no coat at all. I wonder just how much Mama could have done if she hadn’t of had to pay high taxes. You see, we’re talking about the Carter era here. Do your research. Times were tough.

This is the dilemma I have:  Government takes way too much money from all of us. I don’t care if you’re poor or rich. Government takes what they want and then tries to tell you they do it “for the children”. And if you fight it, somebody out there will tell you to shut up and deal with it. Government knows best.

Reminds me of “Tangled”. Rapunzel’s mother is always saying, “Mother knows best.” Mother, who is an evil witch, has never let her out to see the real world. Once she has a taste of it, Rapunzel never looks back. When people get a taste of prosperity (and I’m not talking about mega-riches), they never want to go back. The innate nature of individuals is not to be poor. Some can’t help it. But I’ll never believe we are born with a “poor” gene.

However, your trusty government is good at taking your money and THEN coming up with programs to spend it. This laptop initiative has been a contentious issue, to say the least. What was tooted to the public as a $1.4 million grant (still taxpayer money) was really a cost to the taxpayers of over $5 million. Yea, we’re just finding out how much it really costs. Along with other things that have been hidden from us by our bureaucrats.

And sure, in this day and age, having these tools is nice. But so is being able to read, write and do math. Those 3 things will propel a student much more than a box with some cool programs.

I know, seems like an oxymoron coming from a person who can build pcs, has some of the latest gadgets, like an iPad, iTouch, etc. But I didn’t gain them because my government said I needed them and they would provide. Nope. I gained these things after I was able to be on my own, feed my family, pay my bills, etc. I’ve said this a thousand times if not more: If a child is hungry and a parent can’t provide the basics, no amount of gadgets will help that child learn. No one, not even me at my age, will pay attention when our stomach growls. Think about a kid who didn’t have supper the night before. Think click clacking away on a laptop takes the pain away? No it doesn’t.

Government: Give us a break. Reduce our taxes. We all, rich or poor, black or white, are very capable of making the right decisions with the right tools at our disposal – mainly our hard earned money.

So to Mr. Sanford Herald Editor and others who think the crack pots have been unfair,

here's a few words to chew on:

Real Conservatives believe it is not UP to the school system to provide toys, playful or educational, to our children.

We believe the parent is the one who should make that choice. We believe government should stop taking so much from us so we can do what's best for our kids.

The entire argument boils down to this: The public school system consistently wants to be a nanny to our kids. They dictate where they go, how many blacks, whites, and Hispanics can be in a room; how many boys vs girls; whether they read Dick, Spot and Jane or Heather has Two Mommies; whether they can have chocolate milk with their school lunch OR NOT (Jimmy Love); and all the while eliminate God from the classroom and Pledge of Allegiance.

I will take this laptop initiative to task every time. I simply think it should be a parent’s right not a government program. So Government get out of my back pocket and out of my way. I don’t need the paper, the Board of Education, the Governor or Michelle Obama to tell me Government knows best, even with a laptop initiative program .

And if you ask, the answer is YES! That grandson of mine will have the finest gadgets money can buy. I won’t wait for some bureaucrat to take my money then tell me what they are spending it on for him. No, I will use the brain I have and with consultation from Nana, GG, PA, and a few others, Kayne will have the best. He’ll have the best because all of us who are entrusted with this dear little boy’s life, have his best interests at heart.

And he will always have my heart, my TV, my iPad and anything else in this world this memaw wants to get him.

Do your grandchildren a favor: 
 Get involved and demand the know-it-all bureaucrats do what's right and stop wasting your money!  I am.  Just ask the editor of the Sanford Herald,  the Lee County Board of Education and Board of Commissioners  and the liberals in town.  The Board of Education members won't even answer my emails.  I take it to mean they have no defense for the questions I ask.

Until next time,

Sheila