Thoughts, Observations, and Ideas
Why a blog?
At some level, I feel a bit egotistical just having my own website, so why take it a step further and add a blog? Why do I think the rest of the world cares what I think? I don't. But, occasionally I come across something that I feel really excited or passionate about. Since I already have the website, I may as well use this small soapbox on the off chance that I can use it to inspire or excite someone else. At the very least, it will make me feel good.
February 11, 2009 - No gifts please
A number of years ago Julie and I decided to add the words 'no gifts please' to our kids birthday invitations. Carly has a birthday coming up and we invited the kids in her class to a party with our standard 'no gifts please'. I've answered a number of the phone calls from parents RSVPing and have been amused by a few of them who ask me 'are you really serious about the no gifts things?'. It's not like Carly wouldn't love to get gifts from her friends, or that we would return gifts home with the giver. I guess Julie and I just decided that gifts from friends and acquaintances are not necessary.
I'll try to explain some of our reasons, and I hope they don't sound snobby. First, if there is a toy one of our children really wants or that we really want them to have, we're going to get it for them. Second, we think about the many birthday gifts we've seen given other kids and frankly, we don't want all that stuff in our house. Third, even with the no gifts request, we still seem to accumulate a lot of toys around the house. Our family treats our kids well. Fourth, we feel that having a big party and inviting lots of friends to celebrate with our kids is a big gift by itself, and don't want to distract from that. And last, I've just never felt comfortable with the idea of possibly adding stress to someone's day as they scramble at the last minute to find a gift to 'buy' entry into our child's birthday party. It's our celebration and we want to keep it easy and fun for everyone.
February 3, 2009 - 1st stubacker.com blog posting
A few years ago a colleage looked at me and told me I have a lot of 'angst'. While most people would consider me to have a pretty even temperment there are definetly topics of discussion that can get me animated. The 'angst' comes out when I see what I consider to be intollerance, hypocrisy, or completely self-serving behavior. Ironically, my wife has pointed out to me a few times, that when the 'angst' starts to show, I end up displaying a number of the same characteristics I described above.
I really don't expect anyone other than me to ever read my postings. Nevertheless, I'm going to put them out there for the world to see. My hope is that the knowledge that strangers may stumble upon my musings will force me to think them through more thoroughly before sharing them.
Top