That's News to Me!

The other day I was checking into my email account and caught an interesting head-line.  And seeing as Yahoo! is the premier site for news-breaking updates :) I was certain to read a bit more.

Here's what I read:    "That's quite a feet!  Bam first flip-flop president"  Here are a few excerpts from the article:  "Historians agreed it was the first time they could remember seeing the leader of the free world snapped in a public setting, wearing nothing more than a flimsy strip of rubber on his feet.", "I can't say I've seen a president's toes before." and "Not everyone appreciated Obama's hang-loose approach to footwear".  Really?  This is news-worthy?  He was on a beach.  He was on vacation.  What else do you wear on a beach on vacation?

Of course, there are plenty more of these types of silly articles out there:  Do you think a dog can read?, Top 10 invasive species you can eat, and New Zodiac signs identity crisis.  Yep ... all real news articles.  A little search over at www.cnn.com will confirm.

I don't want to come across critical of the people who write or read these stories ... but I do have to wonder if we aren't needing a little re-evaluation about what is worth our time.  I could very easily spend an entire afternoon, poking around on the internet, clicking link after link and filling my brain with all sorts of meaningless information.  And an awful lot of it is either worthless or has the potential to cause me undue worry. Of course, it is important for me to be clued in to the goings-on in the world and our community, but I don't want to be tied to my computer/iPod/TV ... and stuck in a cyber-web!

If I wasn't paying attention, there's no telling what I might miss:

I might miss out on Lydia's crazy-huge smiles when she sits on the potty and does her business.  She is so amazing and you can tell that she knows it!  If she has a baby-swagger when she walks away from a job well done ... she deserves it.  She rocks that potty!

I might miss out on Ashley's sweet tenderness when we sit down to do school and she makes sure that my seat is in the sunshine because, "I know that you like the brightness, Mommy."  Soaking up some winter sunshine because my baby girl knows me so well.  Aaahhh ...

I might miss out on Norah's goofy grin when she walks out of school, across the campus, and to the cross-walk ... carrying her coat ... in freezing weather ... and short sleeves.  All because she is showing a little independence.  I told her it was up to her to stay warm and she is going to be the boss of that coat.  Even if she has to suffer a couple goosebumps on her goosebumps in the process.

I might miss out on Aaron's new, manly greeting that he and his Cousin Caleb have.  The "Hey, Dude." with a chest bump.  It's the new way to say hi ... even if they are looking sharp in their dress shirts and loafers outside church.  No wimpy hand-shakes for them, thanks.

I might miss out on Brett's invitation to a little Wii Shaun White Snowboarding.  While neither of us has ever been on an actual snowboard, we have been perfecting our gorilla grip, nose crail, stale fish and air slob.  What a crack up to watch Brett scream down the mountain in an attempt to out-score his opponents in rail-time.  Almost as funny as watching me catch air on the half-pipe ... almost.

I want to be careful to have a healthy balance of being in-tune with world events while being in touch with Kellum events!  And there's plenty to be aware of.  Everyday my kids reveal to me another little facet of their personality, their character make-up, and I don't want to be too busy reading the most recent update on the Gold Globe Evening Gowns and miss something significantly more important.

I guess I would much rather be an avid reader of my kids and husband, than an over-zealous reader of ShowBiz.  Especially seeing as my family is such a good read!