Where do we go from here?
Like all of you, I’m sure, I’m having a hard time thinking of anything besides what happened in Connecticut on Friday. Well, what happened, and what on God’s earth we can do to stop it from happening again.
I wish I had the answers. Actually, I don’t need the answers – I just need someone to have the answers. And so far, it doesn’t seem like anyone does.
There’s one thing I keep seeing over and over – although I may be overestimating the frequency with which I see it because it bothers me so much – is the idea that if we all just had guns, we’d be good to go. If only teachers had access to weapons, they could stop these things. If we had armored guards at the door to every school building, our kids would be safer.
Here’s the thing. We have a word for a situation in which everyone is armed.
It’s called war.
And you know what? That might be the easiest solution, the most immediate solution.
But it’s not good enough.
“Protecting” our kids by making sure their kindergarten teachers have assault rifles? No thanks. That’s not good enough for my kids, and I don’t think it’s good enough for anyone.
(And where in the world would we get the money for that, anyway? Our schools have no money. Parents – and teachers themselves, more often than not – have to buy the freaking tissues. But that is a topic for another day.)
The problem is deeper than that. It’s more complicated than that. We’ve got to take a hard look at our society and start placing a priority on gun control, mental healthcare, parenting resources – the list goes on. We’ve got to change our society. That’s no easy task, but now, in the wake of this horrific tragedy that’s captured the attention of our nation, is the time.
As I said before, I don’t have the answers. I don’t even know all the things I can do personally to make these changes, but I am going to keep searching. One thing I have done, though, is sign the petition put together by MomsRising.org calling for common sense gun regulations.
Here’s what it says.
We are beyond heartbroken as we think of the many young children and adults that died in Connecticut. This is the 16th mass shooting in our nation this year.
We are parents. Many NRA members are parents. And none of us want to live in a nation where children are gunned down. Now is the time for the NRA and for Congress to step up and start proposing laws that protect children and all people.
That’s not too much to ask, is it? For the people we have placed our faith in and voted into office to propose laws to prevent children from being gunned down? It is common sense.
I think this is something we all need to talk about, and I encourage each of you to leave a comment on this post so we can get a conversation started here on this little corner of the internet. Together, we can make a difference.
We’re moms. We can do anything, right?
Bakin’ It Up
I think Jenny and I should get a copyright on “(verb)in’ It Up,” don’t you? We’ll have to work on that in our spare time.
Anywho, Christmas is almost here, and I would say the one thing I’m MOST excited about this season is baking. I have a google doc all set up and ready to go, with links to the recipes and a matrix matching each type of goody to the intended recipient. You know why I like baking? Because there are RULES. And I might be a little Type A.
The kids and I did a baking process last weekend that was more for fun than anything – we actually ended up pitching most of the results (my kids don’t have a future in cookie decorating, I don’t think), but we enjoyed doing it. We made “Grinch” cookies, which I had seen online but put my own spin on (and by that I mean figured out how we could do it with the stuff we had at our house). I made sugar cookies (using this recipe) and colored the dough green. Then I made some royal icing, left some white and dyed some yellow, and I used red candy melts. Here’s the one I made:
The next thing on my list are these chocolate cookies with peppermint buttercream from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
I made the dough last night and will bake and ice them tonight (tomorrow’s my day to bring in something for Pie Friday at my office) – I hope they turn out to be as good as they look!
I’m also going to attempt to make a flourless chocolate cake for Jenny, basically because she has ordered me to make her some salted caramel buttercream icing and I need something to put it on! The last time I attempted to make a flourless cake it didn’t turn out so well, but I hope this will be better! I’m planning to make cupcakes with it… do you suppose that would work? I don’t see why not, but really I’m not familiar with anything flourless so what do I know!
Let’s see… what else am I going to make? Oh, I’m going to try these Christmas Peanut Butter Candies from the Lady with the Red Rocker, because I know my grandma likes them (and it’s also gluten free, Jenny!).
And the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies I made last year.
And finally…
I think I’m just going to call it “Really Good Chex Mix,” though.
We’ll see how all this goes – me being in the kitchen generally turns into a rather bloggable event, so stay tuned!
What are you making for the holidays?