'cuda_don't_preach

I have no interest in seeing any more high-priced pictures of the knocked-up daughter of the Repblicans' VP nominee.


VIDEO: YOUTUBE

Until last week, I had never heard of the Republicans' VP nominee.
Her household's a virtual breeding ground, from what I've gleened. And yet she favors abstinence lessons in public schools.
Hello? Public school monitors? Has that abstinence thing ever worked?
Me and Barracuda are about the same age. Too young, to me, to contemplate or activate grandma/pa mode.
Strangely, I envy the predicament. Yes, the whole world knows your child defied you in the most blatant way. Still, you'll have the energy and the assets to indulge that new little baby like there's no tomorrow.
As disconnected as most families are these days, the VP's lot is unfortunately common.
Let's just not allow the situation we're all tuned-in to, without really wanting to, to foster the notion among our young girls and boys that if it's OK in THAT family, it's OK in ours too.
Right?

Sarah_Palin:_Grandma Moses?

Fate didn't conspire to make me a white woman born of relative privilege in Alaska 44 years ago. So I can't imagine, really, what it's like to walk in the Republicans' Vice Presidential nominee's snowshoes right now, in the late hours after it's been revealed that her abstinence preachings weren't enough to keep her teenage daughter from getting knocked up.

But I did grow up in what's considered the Great White north _ where the snow fell heavy for months at a time and Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' " fueled many teenage urges.

I get where Palin's coming from when she tries to pass her daughter's pre-marital pregnancy off as something that happens to even the best of families. She may miraculously succeed in parting the water's that conservative blowhards flood the airwaves with. The sea of unwanted pregenancies in America isn't just a muddy one.

I'd no doubt be devastated if a teenage son of mine came home with the news that he'd irresponsibly helped conceive a child out of wedlock. The fault for adding to any other family's burden in this heavyweight fight called life would fall, somewhat, on me. Any son of mine should know better.

Palin and I are just about the same age; yet she falls far closer to the grandbaby's daddy drama than I ever expect to see. Some of us benefit from holding off on marriage and having kids. No matter how wisely we manage the early and middle stages of our careers, we're not all fully prepared to even approach the challenges of parenthood until we're nearly 40.

There's a delicate balance between talking about our kids, talking to them, talking for them and talking passed them.

I'm no more qualified to be Vice President of the United States than candidate Palin is, but I'm sure going to take note of her missteps.