Why do we Love Quick Fixes?

The American desire to make everything "Quick and Easy" has been getting under my skin lately. You would think when we're slapped in the face by reality, we would finally get it.

As a people, we are corner-cutters. On a less-charitable day, I might even call us lazy. The fact is that there are large numbers of people in the United States who want to be instantly rich, thin, successful, happy and find the love of their lives -- and put in zero work to do it. The realist in me finds it infuriating.

I'll give you a few recent examples:

• At Wal-Mart yesterday, I stood behind a woman whose cart was overflowing with Banquet Pot Pies, Stouffer's frozen French Bread Pizza, and Donuts. She picked up and purchased a woman's magazine whose lead story was "Get totally fit in 5 minutes!" ... How ironic.


• Driving through town two days ago, I saw a man throwing handful after handful of chemical ice-melt on a walkway. The walkway had about 3 inches of light, fresh snow. The man's shovel was leaning against the building behind him.


• Car dealerships and furniture stores in our area are still running radio ads offering Zero Percent financing for up to 24 months! on new purchases. Yes, even now. These morons haven't learned a thing.

Another example of our Quick Fix mentality is the Economic Stimulus Package. It astounds me that there are still people who think the remedy for a bad economy is tax cuts and more bank bailouts. Even more crazy is the expectation that, if we get the right mix of policy in this bill, no money will be wasted and recovery will be immediate.

What dreamland are people living in?

I know that in our house, we have spent a long time trying to put our financial ducks in a row. Even that multi-year effort does not guarantee us stability in this economy.

Parents know there are no shortcuts in raising our kids. What works is patient dedication and consistency. You can't teach a child to read without taking the time to read together. You can't raise a healthy child if you plop him in front of the TV every afternoon. Laziness doesn't cut it, and short cuts do not work.

Why should we expect positive results if our government is looking for the short cut to a healthy economy?

I know I am just a Mom, not an economist, but I also know that our family couldn't survive with deficits like the federal government currently runs. And if I gave my son money to buy a gallon of milk and he came home with a pocketful of candy, I wouldn't trust him with the same errand in the future. Maybe Treasury Secretary Geitner should keep that in mind when he deals with executives at AIG, Citigroup, and Bank of America.

Several news outlets are offering updates and opinions on the progress of the Stimulus Bill in the Senate. (Bloomberg, Huffington Post, NYTimes)

You can also find a copy of the House version of the stimulus bill here.

If you have some time, please have a look and formulate your own opinions. Then write your Senators and Representative to let them know what you think.

In my opinion, this time there is no quick fix -- no amount of Lotto tickets, diet pills, or Botox are going to make the economy healthy again. The most we can expect is a reasonable compromise and lots and LOTS of hard work.

I think we're up to it, if we're finally willing to give it a try.


- Midwest Mom

Going Green: Diary of a Lazy Gardener

I will admit it -- this time of year, I am an incredibly lazy gardener.

The gardening season begins so auspiciously for me. As soon as the sun is capable of warming the skin -- even for five minutes in February -- I get the itch to garden. It is as though my mind has a photosynthetic switch. I start going through seed catalogs and digging through last year's hastily stacked seedling trays. I start 8,000 different types of seeds, mostly flowers, but now also vegetables. I get them going under full-spectrum artificial light in the basement, misting them with water 2-3 times a day. My seedlings are like nested eggs waiting to hatch. When they do, I spend the month of April planning exactly how I can possible cram all 7,999 (one didn't germinate; I wonder why?) into my garden.

May is spent hardening seedlings, preparing them for the harsh reality known as the outside world. I introduce them to a lovely thing called sunshine. They usually love it. Around Mother's Day, I am ready to plant. The rest of the month is spent feeding and tending and watering to ease the transition from the crib to the nursery.

June is every gardener's golden month. The first fruits of the garden are harvested with enthusiasm and eaten at the very first opportunity. Flowers abound and the myriad shades of green that greet the eye wherever it may rest are in themselves fulfilling. The weeding is done religiously. There is not a plant out of place.

July is equally abundant, but the heat of the Illinois summer begins to nudge us indoors. The helping hands that had been so willing at planting time would rather be splashing in the pool or waving wildly as my children run through the sprinkler.

In August and September, I finally succumb to the wonder that is summer. My relentless pursuit of weeds, my insistence that watering follow a schedule, my careful measuring of the week's growth are forgotten in favor of the rigors of fun. To weed in August is pure asceticism.

And now September is drawing to a close, and after two months of walking from the house to the car with blinders on -- except to notice the pleasant surprises gardening has to offer, like our many 'volunteer' butterfly bushes or the delicious yellow cherry tomato plant that is flourishing, but that I most certainly did not plant -- I must force myself to open my eyes to the flood of fall garden chores that certainly face me.

This week promises to be a last breath of summer, and I am on the horns of a dilemma. Do I step backward and pretend September never happened? Or do I look at the jumbled chaos that is my late summer garden and dig in to the long work ahead?

I must admit, I am undecided. The idle person inside me could again claw her way to the surface.

Then again, she just might be too lazy to claw. Maybe she'll just mosey.

- Midwest Mom