Nothing New

Bup’s still smoking pot and probably popping a few pills as well. His behavior has gotten no better and no worse. He is relatively cooperative at home, as long as we never disagree with him or set a limit on his behavior. But when “no” appears in our vocabulary, he gets plenty angry, though eventually he calms down. In many ways, he’s a typical teenager. Or at least a typical “troubled” teenager.

The stresses on our family have become very apparent to me after having spent time with each of the kids. Sometimes I think Bup’s behavior is a cause, sometimes a symptom of the ongoing stress in our family. Two parents with stressful jobs, two teenagers, two cats, a dog, and way more debt than we should have means we all carry around a lot of stress and strain. Relationships suffer. Attitudes suffer. Our ability to remember the good in each other and our lives suffers. And this blog suffers, because I haven’t had time or energy to write. Many readers have dwindled away, but maybe they’ll come back.

I wanted to write every day, but if I do that, this blog will have to be about more than Bup. It’ll have to be more and more about me, and frankly, that scares me a bit. I can’t afford to lose my anonymity and end up dooced. I can’t afford to risk too much, even though I really long to “let it all hang out.” Blogging is hard that way. So bear with me as I figure it out.

Thinking Blogs

I’m late getting to this, but Jenni at prairieair tagged me as a “thinking blogger” and that means I get to share with you five thinking bloggers of my own.

The rules for accepting this award are:
1) If you get tagged, write a post with links to five (5) blogs that make you think.
2) Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact location of the Meme.
3) Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote.

1. Real Live Preacher — I don’t know what it is, but RLP always makes me think. About what’s important. About how I treat people. About spirituality and religion and the state of my soul. About how human we all are.

2. The Adventures of Leelo and His Potty-Mouthed Mom — Another blog that’s honesty helps me remember that we are all struggling. Reading about Leelo and his family’s daily life with autism is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny, and always written from the heart.

3. Suburban Turmoil — Lindsay is just a great writer, turning stories of daily life with kids into a smart, funny, and wickedly entertaining blog. And the whole family is gorgeous.

4. Elizabeth’s Little Blog — This one is a relatively small, personal blog. She writes about her life, travels, and ideas. A definite thinker, writing as she goes.

5. State of Grace — Okay, her new Twitter addiction aside, Grace’s blog is the place I go for a dose of real life flavored with humor and thoughtfulness. She doesn’t shy away from tough topics or from silliness. She just thinks her way through it all.