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pondering responsibility

I know I'm more than a little cynical about many things in life. But lately I've been hearing stories that make me wonder if I'm truly cynical or just realistic.

In high school, my parents were not band groupies.  They got to see me perform in the band about three times a year. One was during marching band season. Parents of band members were required to work the concession stands twice a year (and they got in to the game free since they didn't actually get to see the game).  Always during one of those times, other band booster parents would graciously send my Mom out during one of the busiest times so she could see my sister and I perform. The remainder of the season, there was simply no money for them to attend a ballgame.  And our Christmas and spring concerts were free. :)

Sometimes it bothered me a little that my parents couldn't be there, but I knew my parents cared. They would always ask how things went as soon as I got home and they made it a point to let us know they were interested in our lives.

So I'm startled quite a bit to see that parents of Olympians are facing foreclosures of homes and bancruptcy, yet they have the  money to travel across the ocean, pay a hotel fee as well as food costs, and buy tickets to get into venues to watch their child participate in a sport that they have been paying a wad of money for them to learn. There just seems to be a very skewed priority order here. I can pay for my child to live with a strange family in another state, pay top dollar for them to study under one of the best coaches in the nation, as well as buy expensive uniforms, but I can't pay own personal bills, such as a house and car payment.  Am I the only one who is greatly bothered by all this?

I recognize the Olympics are so much more important than any high school band concert or performance. I understand that I don't totally comprehend the parent/child bond, but I do know there are things children need to be taught. One of those things is fiscal responsibility, and how better to teach someone a lesson than to model it for them?

I just found these two stories a very sad reflection on life in spoiled America. We no longer seem to understand what is a need and what is a want. It wasn't that many years ago that parents didn't accompany children to the Olympics. I find it hard to believe they loved their children any less. I'm certain they hated to miss the events, but would have been humiliated to go and then come home and be homeless. We may be winning the medal count, but we're losing on the home front.

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