Skip The Line

 Recently Meghan McCain was trending on Twitter and taking some backlash over comments on The View. While speaking about Dr. Fauci and why she thought it was time for him to move on and let other experts take over, she said: "The fact that I, Meghan McCain, co-host of 'The View', don't know when or how I will be able to get a vaccine because the rollout for my age range and my health is so nebulous, I have no idea when and how I get it".  Does that sound privileged to you?

  Full disclosure I am a huge fan of The View. I've watched it since day one. While I'm not a fan of Ms. McCain's opinions, I understand her role at the table. I believe she could get her point of view across without the nastiness she at times displays and the attacks on both her coworkers and guests are unprofessional at best. Not to mention hard to watch. She does show us how conservatives look at certain issues which we might not otherwise know. 

  All that being said...would she be a part of this highly-rated show if her father wasn't a much-beloved war hero? Or her words anger so many on social media? Of course not. But like so many other "famous" children she is successful because of her parentage. Let's face it, Jane Doe with a journalism degree would not be given an interview for that position let alone one in art history. Meghan got it for the same reason she got a book deal and a contributing writer gig...her last name.

  While she is the focus of the moment, she is not alone. Think Kardashian, Smith, McCartney, Jagger. The list is long. Individuals who have almost instant success in industries where that rarely happens. Does David Beckham's son have what it takes to be a model? Yes but so do hundreds of thousands of other 21-year-olds. They don't have the name recognition though. Or the contacts. Hence his success.

  Success on the coattails of your parents seems to be the norm for many "celebrity kids". They are willing to accept every benefit yet claim the success as their own. Perhaps I'm a little jealous as we have no benefits to endow on our children. My kids will succeed on their own merits which will give them a great sense of accomplishment. As a parent, I wish I could give them a hand up...even if they don't know it. 

  But back to Meghan McCain. Her comments were a great example of both white privilege and elitism. Why would it matter who she was or the fact she worked on a tv show when it comes to pandemic vaccinations? If you grew up rich and spend your days giving your opinions for the world to hear maybe you think you can skip the line. Even though she said she doesn't, it certainly seems like it. 

  No one is entitled to success. Or a vaccine. No matter what our job is or who our parents are. Now if we could just get politicians and celebrities to understand that. 

  Ang

  

Clear The Way

  As we try to keep life as normal as we possibly can for our kids sometimes I wish we could get a little help with it. Every day we are inundated with negative news, bad stats, and failing responses. The number of new cases and deaths are headlines. Yet we expect kids to carry on as normal. How in the hell can that happen?

  I had a conversation with someone who believes this pandemic is harder on seniors than kids. Without downplaying the hardship it is for isolated grandparents, I couldn't disagree more. Adults, whether they are 30 or 80 can talk about how they feel with a therapist or counselor and in some cases get medication from their doctors to deal with it all. Kids? They cannot explain what is wrong and most meds are not for their age group. What are they supposed to do to cope?

  Yesterday my son didn't want to take the bus home from school. When he asked for a ride I knew something was up. It seems a kid in his class was taken out by the teacher and never returned for the rest of the day. Why? Who knows. Might have been a dental appointment or a discipline issue. The problem is the other students, my son included, didn't know either. So they did what all teenagers do...they wondered why. And they went right to COVID. 

  From 10am till 2:10 my son and his classmates assumed they were exposed to COVID. Four hours of unnecessary stress and anxiety. All the teacher or principal had to say was "Bob" wasn't coming back and it wasn't COVID related. Period. The kids would have gone on about their business. Instead, they worried about transmitting it to their friends and family. How is that good for their mental health?

  Look I understand we are all doing the best we can most of the time. Learning as we go. But we need to put our children first. They are not always equipped to handle all that is thrown in their path. We need to clear it for them sometimes. Now is one of those times.

  Ang

True Love

  A few days ago it was -31 with the wind chill and I ran out of gas. Completely my fault. John came in minutes with the gas can and I was able to get to the orthodontist in time. He didn't say "I told you to get gas", which he had several times. No, he just poured the gas into the tank and watched me drive away.

  I had a weird dream once and couldn't go back to sleep for hours but I finally fell asleep at 5 am. The kids had to be driven to school because of COVID. Instead of waking me up John took an hour off work and drove them letting me sleep. When I finally woke up around noon there was coffee waiting for me when I came downstairs.

  We are renovating the bathroom and after the wall was built I casually said the ledge should be centered. Over the course of the next few hours, I could hear John working down there. After dinner, I went to look at the progress. The work he had been doing involved taking down the wall and restudding it. All so the ledge was centered...just like I had mentioned.

  One day I went to take a shower and there was a spider on the wall. A big one. John was in bed half asleep after a long day working outside in the heat. I came out of the bathroom and he asked why I didn't shower and I told him about the spider. He shook his head and got out of bed and got rid of it. 

  None of those scenarios is romantic. No flowers involved or candlelight. Not a romantic dinner to be seen or dancing to be had. Yet they are the things that really matter. They are the true symbols of love. The only ones that matter. The small things that daily paint the picture that your significant other is invested in you and your happiness. 365 days of the year...not just the made-up holiday one.

  Ang