If you are just joining us, please read the previous post where I describe the situation in which I found myself listening to talk radio.


If you are back, I know you are waiting on pins and needles for me to share my additional thoughts on the interview with the shrink with the game pieces.

As the interview was wrapping up, and the shrink was continually aghast at how three-year-old girls were all starving themselves in an effort to look like a cartoon character, the talk show host said, "It's amazing how early we can screw up our children".

Again, this entire story is about a group of little girls, that included girls as young as THREE, and their cartoon game piece preferences. Because little Sally did not want to play with the fat piece, she is screwed up and her parents are to blame.

Right around this point, I am guessing that the shrink that conducted the study does not have any children. I am also starting to wonder if the talk show host does or if he was just talking without thinking. Because, I would hate to think my parenting skills are going to be judged by what gingerbread man my daughter chooses next time we play Candy Land.

Now don't get me wrong. There are some very bad parents out there in the world. People that are twisted and end up raising twisted kids. I wholeheartedly agree that parents are the single biggest influence on a person. As a parent, I feel it is my duty to do my very best to provide a stable and loving home for my children. As a Christian, it is my duty to teach them about Jesus and the way He wants us to live our lives. I take my job as a mother VERY VERY seriously.

However, since all parents are people, they can never be perfect. Have I made mistakes? Absolutely. Will I continue to make mistakes in the future? In the words of Sarah Palin, you betcha. Am I going to try to do my best NOT to make mistakes (even though I know I will)? Oh yes!

I know it is quite acceptable in our society to blame your parents for everything that is wrong with you. I'm anorexic because my Mom refused to let me eat Twinkies for dinner. I'm a cocaine addict because my Dad didn't hug me enough. I cheat on my wife because my parents never taught me to love! It's not my fault! It's theirs.

Give me a freaking break. While it may be beneficial to probe your childhood or adolescence to figure out why you do what you do, at the end of the day, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Did something about the way you were raised in the past have an effect on the way you lived in the present? Certainly. Now, take responsibility for it, change the behavior if need be and move on.

It is quite possible that I have the two best parents on the planet. I am an only child and I am very close to my Mom and Dad. They provided me with a wonderful and happy childhood. Did they make some parenting mistakes? Sure. Is the way I act today partially shaped by the way I was raised? Absolutely. So, when I am a bad person and do awful things, is it my parent's fault? No, because I am an adult and I am responsible for my own choices.

So, that's it. Aren't you all glad I had insomnia?