Hello and welcome to Part III Garbage In Garbage Out.
The first part or part I of this series was about dissension within the Church as well as within The Body of Christ. The second part was a look at what our children face in the secular homes and with school systems that are liberal biased and directed to teach the state directed knowledge tests. In Texas we know this as TAKS. The third part is going to be a little touchy because nobody (not even I) like to look at themselves. So for tonight take a second be honest with yourself and understand by the time I am through I will be mad at myself enough for all of you plus myself.
Early on in this part I am going to use specific examples of times of our lives. If I do not cover your particular circumstance it is because there are so many variables. I will try to point out where variables set in. At some point most of us plod through High School and eventually graduate. Weather a GED or Diploma all the same. We (some of us) take the summer off to prepare for our charge into adulthood, the whole problem is most at 18 years old are in no way ready to handle adulthood. By the number of children who are killed yearly by driving drunk I do not believe a teen is ready for adulthood until 25 for a male and 21 for a female. I am not being biased at this point nor is my wife hanging over me with a huge frying pan. It is a known fact women mature faster than men (just ask your teens auto insurance guy!) So most end up in one of four places. The first is the military (not as popular as it used to be with a war on and such) but usually this ranks about first over all. The second is school either at Community College or at a University. The third is off to the working sector to try and begin to learn a living. The fourth is on your parents couch thinking what you are going to do (later on) to determine how your life will go.
This stage usually lasts about four years and gives some each time to form what kind of world we live in. Usually in these four stages (unless Dad's boot ended plan number 4 as stated earlier) exists one big common ground problem for us at this time of our lives. It goes by many names but they are all the same drinking,partying or chilling with friends. Now there are exemptions from this. If you are in the military and deployed (sorry no drinking until you get back stateside). At this stage of life for me my Father gave me a choice military,school or working and moving out. I tried the school thing but I was not interested in school at that time. This was the time of the Iranian hostage crisis (yes I am that old) but for the younger here. The Iranians when Khomeini came into power attacked the US embassy and held a large group of Americans hostage for over 500 days. All I really knew was they had our people we looked as if we were going to war and I considered it my duty to my nation to be there. There is a old saying the apple falls not far from the tree. My Son saw 9/11 and the Twin Towers fall he made up his mind that day that it was his duty to his nation to join the military and he was in the Army thirty days later.
They all have the party and drinking thing going, sadly some die in senseless auto accidents or at a party because you did not wear the right color of clothes or were just picked at random so some drunk jerk could prove just how macho he was. I knew a young man I had worked with him in the Post Office before I was injured. He lived a life of fornication and payed child support at the age of 22 for four children. He liked to party and since it was allot cheaper to drink in Mexico that is where he went every weekend. His said he was going on one weekend and everybody warned him not to. The drug gangs were in a hot war against each other (this war continues today) and it was very dangerous. He ignored the warnings and went. sometime Saturday night he was standing with friends in front of a night club when a car came by and fired over 200 shots at the bar. Everybody who was outside died of gunshots he never stood a chance, it was front page news and left four children without a Father and a new casualty count for the year. It was senseless and a waste of life, yet the same things happen here every night and nobody notices it because we are all numb (we will deal with this in part four).
If we survive this time in our lives (more do than don't) we are considered young adults. Now at this sad stage there are two trails one leads to family, less drinking and a course set for our lives. The other is taken by those who just want to stop growing up. This leads to continued drinking,usually one divorce and allot of hurt people in their path. You will know who took the second path they are usually loud,often drunk and trying to prove they are just as much macho at 35 than they were at 18. It is during this time that we find out about the great mystery. No not girls, but close. One night we are out be it at a club (hopefully not) or at a friends house or just walking down the street and wow! Clocks stop time halts and you could swear you just saw your idea of a angel from heaven, the last point has yet to be seen. Next thing ya know you are married and this is where the fun begins. It does not begin any earlier because you are single and the only person you have to worry about is yourself.
The first year of marriage weather you have a child or not is tough. Those little things that when you met your wife that were by her words cute. You know staying out with the boys until 3am and coming home roaring drunk, How you just tossed your soiled under ware in a corner and let it stay long enough to be a national monument and of course you were having "relations" about 5 times a week when you were engaged and this has trailed off to 1 or 2 times a week or zero if you were one of them who came in at 3am. It is these marriages I really wish there was a 18 month rule to have your first child. That way if your prince or princess turns out to be (in your eyes) a servant of the evil one. There would not be a child to suffer through and live with a divorce. Sadly much too many children live with this situation, often with the missing spouse not offering a dime to help raise his/her child.
This is where one group has to wait on the other. Once a person meets his/her future spouse and it works (usually the man got wiser like in my case). Before you know it you have a child and now it is not just you anymore it is now three Husband,Wife and Baby makes three. This is where also the real garbage begins to flow at the force of a river and not just a trickle. So you begin to set on what will be the course of your life. You seek a profession not a job and benefits become just as important as salary. It is at this stage we begin to compromise. There are a million first steps. Perhaps it was fibbing a bit on you resume or you compromise a value to earn a living and become a stripper or drug dealer. Either way there is always a first step. You already know enough about lying to earn a masters degree in the subject because your parents taught you with such cute little sayings such as "just tell them I am not here" or the ever famous "Just tell Grand Ma that you love your lime green pajamas complete with footsies and bunny ears. To keep in training you have been telling your significant other that they are more beautiful than the day you meant them, a better answer is always you love them more than you did yesterday. The great thing about love (and perhaps it is because we as Catholics take it so seriously no matter how you look. Love makes you the most beautiful thing they have ever seen. When I was married I weighed in at 162lbs my Wife was 98 lbs. I won't even tell you at what level we tip the scales at now but I can assure you it is allot. But to me my wife is a supermodel and who knows how she sees me but we are together so it does not matter.
So you now think you have set your course (Hopefully God is in your Marriage) if not it is allot tougher. You have lied on a application or tweaked your resume or if you are a type A person your family is second to your job and your desire to get ahead. Your Children see you only at night you are gone too early to see them in the morning. At night when they hope for time you are tired, have work to do, frustrated to the point of anger (please remember not to take this out on your family) or are too worried about money,trying to get that promotion or there is conflict with your spouse's family. So the children really don't see you at all except in passing. This is not true of many but if you are lucky enough to get time with your children don't waste a second because each is precious. I once spent 4 months on a job as a manager where I was gone before my children got up and got home far too late to see them when I got hope. I was working 18 hours a day at times more and I continued because money was most important in my life at that time. I worked until I actually physically and mentally collapsed and came close to death. It was not until I rejoined the Catholic Church and began to learn family values and the importance of having God there that I learned how actually stupid I was. I missed allot of days of my children's life and have regretted every minute horribly.
It is at this point I will stop for tonight and pick up Garbage in Garbage out Part IIIB. Until then God bless and keep you.
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