RTBTCKI Some days you're the cat and some days you're the litter box edition

[puppetmaker]

I have no idea why that phrase popped into my head but there it is.

Does anyone get all the things they want to get done in a day consistently? I can't say that I have succeeded in this that much recently.

I have been reading a lot about fandom on the Internet and about the different "camps" that have been formed. I swear I am waiting for the siege towers to be put in place and there to be a great battle over who "owns" what form of fandom. I will admit to be an inclusive fan. I read and enjoy various forms of media and the Internet. I fit in at book-centric or media-centric or Internet-centric conventions pretty much the same. If I were to give a label to the kind of fan I am, I would say Renaissance in the Victorian definition of the term.

A lot of conventions have balanced the groups rather well. Some have not done as well as others but it can be done. I am concerned about this "us vs. them" mentality that seems to have shown up again within fandom. I remember the Star Trek vs. Next Gen fans which didn't sit well with me since I liked both series and that was before the Internet was in full swing.

Yeah, I am an older fan. I remember APAs and fanzines when they were run on mimeograph machines. But I started as a young fan and remember how I told myself I wouldn't treat new fans with distain or pat them on the head and tell them that their enthusiasm was cute. Young fans or new fans are needed to keep fandom going. We need new readers to keep book conventions going and our kids are not enough to continue the tradition. These readers do exist, they just need to be encouraged rather than discouraged to join in and participate. And I ask the fans that have been in fandom longer to remember when they just started and found this shiny new fandom that meant a lot to them.

Caroline and I have been doing a lot of reading together. Some books she reads to me and some I read to her. It is encouraging to see that her reading skills are improving. Her one bad habit is to look at the first letter of the word and guess at it rather than sounding it out.

Ariel and Peter are off at orientation for Sacred Heart. It has been a bit of an eye opener for both of them. I think this college is a good fit for Ariel and will suit her needs. I do like that the 5 year program in education has her walking out with a Masters which is needed by the job market today.

Caroline and I had a nice evening together. We watched the ballgame and fell asleep. Caroline had one bad dream but I held her until she went back to sleep.

I am grateful for Mommy and Caroline time.

Comments

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

So she is **sure** of her final decision?
Amanda is still not **positive** on what she wants to do. She "was" sure a few times, but these sure things tend to fade away after she checks into them more carefully.

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

She has looked at other careers but keeps coming back to teaching.

Ariel has been teaching at her Hebrew School for three years working with the K-4 crowd. She has also been working with groups at the local library in about the same age range. Teaching is her passion and she is good at it too from the glowing letters she receives from parents and former students.

Ariel has been researching early elementary education for two years now as to what she needs to work where and what the opportunities are out there in a couple of years when she is done.

I know there are no absolutes but I think this is a good place for her to start.

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

Amanda is being prodded in that direction, but she is resisting the idea. She has run the church nursery for several years, she tutors small ones in reading during the summer, and she has worked at Vacation Bible School for years. She wants to investigate some "exciting" careers before she is willing to commit in that direction. She looked at becoming a prosecutor--until she discovered how tightly their hands are tied when it comes to introducing evidence, but is now dabbling with the idea of checking into becoming an architect.

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

Hard to believe Ariel is old enough to be looking at colleges!

[ahack.livejournal.com]

>>>Young fans or new fans are needed to keep fandom going. We need new readers to keep book conventions going and our kids are not enough to continue the tradition. <<<<

I so agree, especially since many fans don't think to bring their kids. Many older fans want this to be their thing. More than once I have heard the complaint, "Why are there so many little kids here!" At one Ravencon my friend and I were asked why we didn't just leave them with their other parent. Well, she replied that was because her husband and the kids' father was at the con too. I said, "Well my son has never met his father so that doesn't work, besides he is interested in the con! AND I want him to WANT to make the con when I am too old and decrepit to do more than roll around and enjoy myself" But the cons do need new blood as well! I think if we don't start incorporating the younger generations' interests many conventions that we enjoy will die out with in the next few years!

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

Congrads on a career in teaching for Ariel, it's a rewarding career and with the current teacher crisis, she'll have her pick of jobs.