When I wake up and hear that a slew of govertment offices, schools, organizations, and churches — on Ash Wednesday! — are closed, but not my agency, I get a little peeved.  Like a good employee, I decide I’m going to brave the weather, mostly because I cannot afford to take another vacation day after taking the trip to Idaho last month.   I am only 1/4 of the way into my commute when I get a call from the General Manager at Old Navy letting me know they are closing the store and I don’t have to come in tonight for my shift. Then, I hear on the radio that the mall is closing! The mall!  I can barely see 1/4 mile ahead of me, can’t see street light colors because they are covered with snow and can’t see stop signs since they are covered with snow, as well.  I call my program supervisor to let her know that I have decided not to come in after all.  I also voice my frustration towards the head honcho at the agency who is choosing to have his employees risk their safety and emotional health by having them feel inclined to drive in for a day of work. 

All in all, I might not have to take a vacation day for choosing to stay home today so that will be a plus. I just wish the bigger picture would be taken into consideration by people in superior positions instead of worrying about how much money the agency might lose by closing for a day.

Things changed today, though! I sent an E-mail to the Editor of People Magazine after reading an article from the January 14th issue regarding Teen Pregnancy.  Unfortunately, People doesn’t post magazine articles on their website (which makes sense because they are trying to get people to buy the magazine!) so I will have to just post the E-mail I sent and you should be able to figure out some of the content of the article:

“I believe your article from the January 14, 2008, issue regarding the “struggles” of teen parenthood was more of an encouragement to teens than a deterrent.  Getting to move in with your boyfriend and taking night classes only shows teenagers that everything “works out”, so why not get pregnant? And the images? A smiling, 16-year old couple with the baby’s daddy hugging the mom’s belly, girls getting to be in a People photo shoot all because they are pregnant? All of this is glorifying teen pregnancy, which is what I thought the article was written to discourage! 
 
Next time, maybe talk about how most teenage mothers end up living off of welfare and in housing projects, or how they put their families in compromsing situations, like with child welfare services…”

I was pretty infuriated at this article and hope that my comment makes it into People’s MailBag section in the next couple of issues.  After reading the article, I seriously felt like there were no good reasons stated about why NOT to get pregnant at age 16.  I mean, one 16-year old girl featured got pregnant while on vacation by a 14-year old boy in another state!  The boy, who got himself a little part-time job at Wendy’s, is quoted as saying, “I’m more happy than disappointed.  I have a purpose.” So, kids are supposed to have babies just so they kind find purpose in life?

It was just a ridiculous article.  Please try to read it. Or, I’ll try to scan it and post it here.