Packer-Viking Playoff Game

It's this Saturday, which just so happens to be the same day as Christmas for my dad's side of the family.  Late...I know.

But here's the deal: my grandma(who everyone spoils, I mean it.  She can absolutely do no wrong in the eyes of all of her kids.  It's actually really annoying, not because she is nasty or mean or anything, but because any decision that we've made as a family regarding holidays are subject to her veto, essentially) doesn't want to leave the farm so we can watch the game, but wants to listen to it on the radio(as long as we can get it) at the farm.  This might not seem like that big of deal, but this is a woman who hasn't missed a Packer game all year.  Yet, now, she thinks that the 40 of us, including two infants, are going to be quiet enough so that she can listen to the game...yeah, right.

We are all Packer fans(with the exception of two: my uncle and his son) and I, living in Minnesota, do not get the chance to watch all the games and now, when the game actually has meaning and I would have access, I can't watch it?  Doesn't seem right.

This may sound petty, but I like watching these games and I want to watch the playoff game.  And so do most of the 40 people who will be at the celebration this Saturday.

My Sister's Father-In-Law Died

Last Friday, he had a cardiac arrest and has been hospitalized ever since.  I do not think he ever regained consciousness.  But today, my sister told me that he is brain dead.

I met the man once, at my sister's wedding.  He was nice.  He was kind to her.  She had told me things about him and seemed to really like him.

What does one say?  What can I say that will help my sister?  Is there ever anything?  What are the right words to say and not be dumb?

I said I'm so sorry, Danielle and that I love her.  Is that enough?  Is that the right thing to do?

The Green Bay Packers and Jay Cutler

For those of you who do not know about football, Jay Cutler is the quarterback of the Chicago Bears.  He's a fairly average quarterback, surrounded by a fairly average team.  The Bears really do not have any stars, they are just a fairly average team.

This is just the back ground.

Here's what I'm disgusted about:

It's commonplace for a Packers-Bears game for the Packer fans to make fun of Cutler, by doing what?  Not by talking about his stats or his interceptions, but yes, by saying that the reason he is so bad is that he is a woman.  Really?  And you know who shares these things the most?  You guessed it, women.  Women say that there is no worse insult to Jay Cutler than to call him a woman or to say that he is menstruating.  This is disgusting and it upsets me.  Menstruation does not make me less able than a man.  Being a woman does not mean that my skills are not valuable.  Being a man who is an average quarterback does not mean that Cutler is any less than me or any more than me.  But it is not insulting to call him a woman.  Because I am a woman and I am strong.  When I fall down or fail, it is not because inherently women are failures and there's nothing I can do about it.  No, it's because my skills were not up to the task or I gave up or I made a mistake.  None of these things are done by only women, but by humanity.

Calling a man a woman is not an insult, but saying that it should be is an insult to humanity.