My Hero My Nana

Not everyone is as blessed as me and my family. Not everyone has had the privilege to know my grandmother, Sondra Janine Barnard. If you are one of the lucky ones you know how special she was, if not, I will tell you.
My Nana was the epitome of a selfless, generous, loving mother and Nana to all she met. I do not have a friend who calls her Sondra. She is and has always been Nana. I have never encountered anyone who took care of people and genuinely cared for others as she did. I completely credit her for the compassion and empathy I have for others, it does not compare to hers, but it is definitely where I learned it.
To clear the air, my Nana is living the last days of her life as I type. Even in her last days, where she is her weakest, miserable, and in pain there are still moments of her old self that come through. She is amazing even in the midst of all of this. She is my hero. She is who I want to be when I grow up. The legacy that she leaves behind is one that I hope I can leave behind for my children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren, family, and friends. Is she perfect? No, but to me she's been close.
I thank God that He let her be my Nana. I am thankful that she was such an amazing mom to my mom, uncle, aunt, and countless others. Without her we would not be the people that we are today. I am so thankful that we got to experience complete and total unconditional love, no matter what.
Now you know a little about my Nana, who I have a very hard time sharing, even with my boys. I will cherish the time I have had with her, especially these last few days, weeks, or however long she hangs on. My life is better for knowing her, like I said in the beginning, "Not everyone is as blessed as me and my family".

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV)

Bullies

Unfortunately my son has been the object of bullying and I am fed up! In our case, a kid on the bus took his pic, without his knowledge & published it on Facebook with a demeaning comment. Since she has since removed the pic and there is no way to know when the pic was actually published, the school can do nothing except talk to her & her parents and depend on parental support. So this kid gets a lecture and my child was humiliated in a social forum, how is that ok? At this point I'm not sure how to proceed or what to do, but I know that something has to give. As parents, I believe, that we should be responsible for the actions of our kids. They are minors who make stupid choices and do not think things through. Consequences are not in the fore front of their minds, it's our job to make them see. I believe that it's my job to make sure that I know what my kids are doing, where they are going, who they are with, and also what they post online, especially if it could be hurtful to them or others. There is too much blame shifting in the world we live in and and not enough standing firm for what we believe or who we are and taking some responsibility for our actions! That includes the actions of our children! Until my kids are adults I am directly responsible for them, what happens to them, and guiding them in the choices they make. I'm not saying that I want to dictate everything they do or try to control what they think, there is a balance, but there must be lines and boundaries that are there for their well being. We are raising the next generation of individuals, and that is an important task that I am taking seriously!