Tom Petty found not breathing and in full cardiac arrest and on life support.
Tom Petty is going to be missed. I was not born jet when he was on his first tour, but I have always loved his music. Him and the Heartbreakers have touched my heart with their music. He will be missed.
When Space Jam came to the theaters in 1996 in went to the theaters with some friends to see it. I really enjoyed the movie, but what inspired me was the song, I Believe I Can Fly. For the first time I felt like I could do anything I wanted as long as I put my mind to it.
Monsters Can Come In Our Life
Did you ever have a goal to accomplish and all of a sudden everything goes wrong. It makes me think of the “monster under the bed” that always steals your socks. Well if things go wrong do not let it get you down, let it push you to try harder and learn to do greater.
When I was trying to start a business I had problems keeping thing organized, scheduled, prioritized, and getting it done. I learned it is always better to write things down and schedule events on your calendar. I use Google for everything. I have my personal and business scheduled with notifications as far as a week, even some a month ahead. When I started to get more organized the monsters seemed to go away. I took control!
Growth With Optimism, Decline With Negativity
We all need to be in a positive environment. The more positivity you are around the more you will grow. If we are in a negative environment then we will decline. We want to grow and be strong because then our soul will fly.
I am going tell you in two situations I have been in my life. I am going to start with the good one first.
Positive Environment
It was about eleven years ago I got a job at a casual dinning restaurant. I had a lot of experience so I applied for manager. The General Manager and the Area Manager interviewed me and I was hired. There was one condition though. I would not be hired on as a manager, but I would be trained to be a manager in the future. When I walked in that was what I wanted at least so I took it. They even paid me a dollar an hour more than a regular hire. I was there for two years and I was promoted to management. I was in training for about six months until I was officially promoted. Now there is a down side. Going into my fourth year they opened a new restaurant and my General Manager was transferred to that restaurant. The Assistant Manager was promoted to General Manager. I never did get along with her well and I did not think she wanted me as manager. She scheduled me for opening, which I did not do for almost a year. I did not do well. I didn’t get to the bank on time, scheduled breaks late, and had employees complaining because I did not help them open. I got demoted a few weeks later and decided to move on. I applied for a job that a friend of mine had. It wasn’t the best job, but a great paycheck. I really liked the job and did not want to leave, but there are signs in life that something comes to an end. That is what I believe happened. I would do it again in a heart beat.
Negative Enviroment
This is going to be hard cause it has been growing for a long time. It was seven years ago I started a job working nights. That was not bad for me, it actually helped. It was bad because at that time I was living with my mother and step-father. When I was hired I told them what my shift was and that I had to sleep during the day. They accepted it, but it didn’t go well. I was also attending college online. I would do a discussion before work and one on last break. This helped because I had to do three discussions a week. It freed a little time to do research on my days off.
When I was at home they talked way too much and had the TV blaring. I tried being back in my room but I could still hear them. I finally decided to pop in my ear phones, crank them up and put my “head into the books”. It worked! It would get them a little upset because when my mother would be calling for dinner I did not hear her. I told her multiple times come up to me and tap me or wave to get my attention. She could not understand why I had the earphones in. I told her, “Either you two keep quiet and keep the TV down or I wear my earphones.” Things got worse over the years. My step-dad did the chores before I was able to. I would get up around 3 pm and he got home around 3:15 pm. He would come in and take out the trash and the garbage or go get wood in for the heat, and I did not notice it because I was studying and just got up. I had my studies in one hand and coffee in another. When he got back he would say, “I did all your chores for you.” or “Since you wouldn’t do it I did.” or “Well somebody had to get it done.”. I liked the first one to begin with until he became persistent. He then began to complain why I never did anything. Eventually about three or four years ago I stopped doing anything unless I was asked. I felt like I was no longer needed or wanted. When I lost my job it got worse because they would complain about me not being able to pay my bills. It was none of their business. The thought of suicide even crossed my mind. I was in therapy for two years until this week which was my last session. Losing my job, my business, and no support from family pushed me over the edge. Today I am independent, employed, have a Jeep Cherokee, and a nice apartment. I may have fallen big time a few years ago, but I say I gained a few steps. We all need to learn from our mistakes and from the mistakes of others.
Closure
If you are wondering where I am going with this I will tell you. There are good and bad times in all our lives, but we cannot give up. We must all have faith. If you believe in what you want and you believe it is meant for you then in time you will achieve it. I may not have my business now, but I do believe one day I will have what God intends me to have to fly.
A stepfather is not a true father. There is a way he can become a dad though. A dad is a man that teaches the son to play baseball, talk about sports, advise on getting the first girlfriend, and help them make difficult decisions in life but accepts their decision. It is hard when the stepfather does not do any of these and more. When a man gains enough trust to become father and then fails later in life they may lose the trust they had from the beginning as stepfather.
Dos and Don’ts A Stepfather Should Do
The reason I am writing this is because I am one of the 2/3 of the people of the United States in a divorced family. I have had good and bad times growing up, but looking back it seems to be more bad times. I hope a stepfather, mother, or child reads and shares this to help others out like all of us in broken families.
1. Stepfathers Don’t Criticize Your Stepchildren, Instead Complicate What They Do Well and Encourage Them Positively To Do Better.
Now I can hear everyone now, “I never criticize my stepchild.”. Well you may not think so, but I will guarantee if it has a negative word in it the child takes it negative.
When I was a child and my stepfather was teaching me how to use a drill I always had problems holding the drill straight and perpendicular to the board. He would always yell at me and tell me that is not the way you do it! I always felt like a failure, I could not make him happy, and if i could not do it then he should do it himself. He still really has not changed over the last thirty years, but you can.
Instead of talking negative, talk positive. Tell them they are doing a good job. Then ask them what are they doing right and what are they doing wrong. Whatever they say do not say NO. Let us say they are like I was as a child and could not drill straight through. Let us also say they do not mention they are drilling wrong. Well then ask them to show you how they drill without turning the drill on. As soon as you see the drill incorrect then ask them if they see anything wrong at this moment. If they continue to avoid the problem then tell them the drill is in the wrong position. It needs to be straight up and down so the drill goes through the wood nice and easy. Pointing out a problem is not being negative, it is actually positive because you are avoiding a problem by making the child aware. They may not listen the first few times, but eventually they will listen willing and not to stop you from yelling at them. When they listen to you a few times you will get respect from them and with respect comes trust and honesty. Also love is where all these emotions come from, so the more respect, trust, and honesty you get from your child the more love will grow.
2. The Difference in Generations Have a Bearing on What We Like on Television
Therecan be a pretty big gap in generations when it comes to parents getting remarried. There are many differences in generations. When I was a kid there was no internet, the Atari came out a couple years before I was born, I grew up playing the Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Sony Playstation. I was in high school when the internet came to the home on dial up. Now there is PS4, Xbox, Netflix, and high speed internet no more weird sounds when getting online. Just think that was almost 40 years ago. What if I was married to a woman from 60, 65, or 70 years ago things were different before the 80’s.
It is not wrong to marry the person you love, rather it is your first marriage or second marriage. What is wrong is not taking in consideration the whole family. If it is a remarriage then the children need to be considered. A mate that is about your age would more than likely be better than one with a great age difference, rather they are 20 years older or younger. If it is a mate that is 20+ years difference then the children definitely need tested on how well they can relate.
One of the great things today is technology. One thing you can do is give them some alone time with their potential step parent and point a webcam at them to see how well they get along. They may behave or act differently with their parent there, so leaving the room is a good way to see their reactions. Do not need to make it all day. Just go get something from your car and watch it on your smartphone. You see problems from the child or potential mate talk to them to solve the problem. Also stepfather will be step father not dad. Give them the choice rather to use their name to address him, stepfather needs to treat the stepson with a little more love and respect, and there needs to be bonding. If this cannot begin before the marriage then he is not what is needed for the family. Mom is not marrying for a husband, but a husband and father. It is like buying a Big Mac combo. The Big Mac is hot and good, but the fries are old and cold. The Big mac represents the husband and the fries represent the stepfather. What would you do if you could not get fresh fries, toss them in the trash. You may eat the cold fries now and then because you are really hungry, starving for love, but eventually you will see the truth, that it is not worth to satisfy the hunger now and then you would rather have it fully satisfied. When this happens you will feel rejected from you stepfather. You may spend time trying to figure it out or you may just accept it and move on. It has taken me a long time to accept that I have never been accepted as a son. This year I have decided to move forward and live my life, my way, and follow Jesus Christ.
The difference in years may cause many conflicts. These need resolved before marriage or the family will fall apart and there will be no happiness. Some people are meant to be friends, not spouses.
We all need support everyday. It helps our confidence. That is why when we have a positive person with us at work the day goes great, but when a negative person is there it seems everything goes wrong. It is all in your mind. It is the same but different when growing up with a negative stepfather or one who does not support your decisions as you grow up.
I want to talk about video games. The reason is because i was so into them when growing up especially the role playing games (RPGs). My sister on the other hand enjoy playing video games, but she loved writing and still does it today. We both have a creative mind, but I am more of a visual and she has a greater imagination.
When I would be downstairs all day playing the video games my stepfather could not comprehend why I would play them all day. I would tell him that I put them on pause to eat. He took it too serious. One problem was he could and never did understand what a video game meant to us. It was intriguing, solving problems, reaching goals, beating things up, and just having fun. I tried to relate it to what he did as a child. I told him to think about the one thing you did as a child you did that was the most fun. Now today that is video games the most fun thing to do. He told me he didn’t have any fun. Well I do not believe that. The point is he would talk negative of what my interest was. When Facebook came around he talk down on that and he never even gets online. Speaking negative about everything your stepson has interest in hurts your relationship and hurts his emotions and confidence. Show him support to their interest, as long as they are legal, rather you have interest or understand it. Setting limits is a good thing. Especially while the child is still in school. You do not want them to get distracted chatting on Facebook when they need to be doing homework. Although they can be chatting with a friend to help them with their homework or to study. They need to make you aware what they are doing. I believe go over video on Facebook would be better to study with a friend than typing. Free up your hands to take notes, look through books, and do flash cards.
It is also great to know when you do a good job at any stage in life. It builds confidence. If you always get criticized you will develop a negative mind a think everything you hear is negative. Saying “thank-you” or “please” is not hard to do, but it means so much especially to a child. It makes them feel appreciated. Also an allowance as they grow up is good. Not only does it give them positive mind, but it can help them budget money for the future. I know with income vs. expenses these days it is not easy, but when it comes to lunch money, money for sports or band, camping, or any other extra expenses you have for them that you just hand them money for make them earn it. Give them chores and tell them that this money is for whatever you intend it for. That they need to save the money so they can get lunch, let’s say. Also tell them if they have any money at the end of the week they can keep it for whatever the want with your permission. This will help them learn when to spend and when to save. May even teach then to take a sacrifice for what they really want. It will just be like transferring money from a savings to checking account. Money is still in the bank, but will be spent. it takes responsibility off of you as well.
Conclusion Of StepFathers
When growing up from a child to teen to adult it can be hard when there is almost no support through the challenging times we have in life. When a boy does not have a man to bond with it feels like you are alone and fighting an endless battle. It takes a team to win the Super Bowl, not just one player. Family needs to be a team. They need to talk, agree on solutions, give a little to get a little, and to show love. I did not get much of this in my life, but I did learn from his mistakes. God works in mysterious ways.
Tom Petty found not breathing and in full cardiac arrest and on life support.
