I am NOT a modern mom, quite the contrary. Old fashioned on many of my ideas, compared to most and I made the list to illustrate…I guess the message still did not come through.

Since I travel extensively, I see more that most…ditto for that idea.

While the last paragraph may certainly be true for you and that is wonderful…it is NOT the norm. I see this often because I am out and about. While many claim this does not matter, it gives me a broader picture of families.
I talk to educators all over who tell me that modern families are not functioning and there is disconnect. They work with the product of these families….their children.

I am just beginning to realize that I owe nothing to anyone on this blog and they owe nothing to me.
In my professional and personal life, I feel obligated to do my best and validate my ideas, to foster relationships and remain employed. Really, it does not matter here.

I like you and know you have your right to an opinion. It is simply unnerving to me to have other bloggers twist what I have said and attack. I guess it is a part of blogging.

Really, I do not need to brag on myself…my clients do it for me. Most folks here do not know my clients. Those who do know me, have kindly shared a positive word. So be it.

Have a nice day and no need for us to quarrel. we are two adults who disagree on some things.

MJG I have visited your site. I looked into it as a possibility to recommend to some school programs I know.

Since I have championed you on occasion, here on the boards. I have also had you tell me you didn’t agree with me.

How you decided I attacked you by defending Vork is beyond me.

If all those things you listed make you “modern” then great. To me left room to question:

Why so insecure that you felt a need to make a list?

How often do you eat as a family with all the travel?

Are you sure the nuke isn’t involved when your not home? Not even to heat leftovers?

When you became a parent, as a member of the faithful, you had an obligation to your children about God. Why does that make you modern to go to church?

Reading and playing games together — WTH? Why people would have children and ignore them is beyond me. Again how does this make you modern?

As to spending the money you earned. I am a single mom –where do you think my money comes from? I work for it, am successful, respected, etc too.

The things that you listed don’t make you a good mom or even modern. In my house what you listed is the expection of how adults live their lives and raise children.

I give it another year or so, and we will not be doing any gifts, but rather traveling during the holidays. I’d rather they have memories to last a life time, than some more stuff that ends up broken, not played with, and donated to charity in a few months.

I work in many schools, and most teachers I know toss the homemade gifts. You never know the cleaniliness of the folks who made it. Especially people that let their cats and such prowl the counter tops, roach infestations, etc. It is usually a polite thank you, followed by putting it in the staff break room, or tossed in the trash at the end of the day.

If you do like buying gifts, though, a tip for shipping costs — lots of online places offer free shipping around the holidays, so if you have the gifts shipped directly to the recipient, you come out ok. I love Heifer International too, though, and would probably do that instead. I also love to knit scarves or crochet anything else (I’m better at crochet — a scarf is all about I can manage knitting-wise) and have given many hadmande gifts over the years.

MJG wrote: “eating foods that were made in kitchens of which I do not know…does NOT appeal to me. Sorry to offend anyone.”

Amen. See, this right here is why I don’t understand why people got all up in arms a few years ago when some schools tried to ban homemade goodies being distributed in classrooms. Why do you want your child eating food out of a stranger’s kitchen?! I guess I just babysat too many families with nasty kitchens to be comfortable with it. I only receive holiday goodies from people I know well, so I feel fine about that, but I know when my mom was a teacher, we never ate the homemade goodies her students gave her for Christmas.