This blows my mind.

I am used to fearing for my parents in Key West when I hear the word "hurricane." Their house has already been under 2 feet of water since they moved there, but it can always happen again. Mother Nature does not take that kind of thing into account when she unleashes her wrath. So you can imagine my shock and awe when it was my in-laws this time, who live many miles inland from the coast in New York, that I had to worry about. 

This is the town they live near. 

I have been down this street. 

I am speechless.

The Help

I was fortunate enough to see an early showing of The Help in San Diego this past weekend and all I have to say is - Love !! It tugged at emotions I had buried for a long time and sobbing in a room full of women was just perfect. I swear I soaked my tissue into nothing and at that point just started wiping my snot on my sleeve. There is one particular scene where I just couldn't stop crying. It was a good cry. One I got to share with so many other women, but please don't misunderstand the sobbing for dislike. I meant it when I said I loved the movie. It was cast well, directed well and the acting was amazing. I am currently reading the book, but I did go and see the movie with women who had already read the book prior to seeing the movie and they also agreed that they loved it. So if you can get out to see it, I highly recommend it... maybe not as a date movie per say, but grab some girlfriends and a big box of popcorn with a side of tissues and enjoy.

Parenting lesson #2547

On our way home from NJ this past weekend, I saw a father accidentally knock down, then yell and ultimately embarrass his 8 year old daughter in the middle of JFK airport. She was in tears and all I wanted to do was give her a hug and tell her it would be OK. I am sure they made up and ultimately (I hope) he apologized to her for treating her that way, but what makes me so sad is that it was obviously a summer family trip and she will most likely make that a prominent memory above all of the others. He was angry at her for slowing them down as they tried to get to their flight and in the end, his actions made them even later. I understand that your children can frustrate you (trust me, I have a 2 year old and a 3 month old) but to embarrass them in public is unforgivable in my mind. I wanted to know what could make a dad do that to his child. Why didn't he take her aside and explain to her his frustration? Even a stern grab of the arm to move to a quiet corner would have been better than what he did. As I watched all of this unfold, I couldn't help but think of how important a father/daughter relationship is and how I felt like he may have damaged a small part of that with one simple incident that could have been avoided. As we walked to our gate with our own daughter in tow, I tried to store the emotions I felt in hopes that if a similar situation ever occurred with me, I could recall how I was feeling right then, and take a deep breath before I did anything I might regret later.