RE: Little Ru on Risks and Expectations
Hey, thanks for your kind words, @roleerob! I really enjoy being around when our little one is discovering the world. This is one of the things that I find to be a blessing when you become a parent (or work with children). You get to discover the world once again - to be curious, to ask questions, to be amazed, to be happy about the tiniest things :)
I wouldn't mind if you post a post on my post :D This sounded like a hip-hop chorus :D
I think I'll just summarize by saying how important it is to allow our children to experience risky situations. It is absolutely essential to this father that I elected do so with mine. Which was modeled for me by my parents ... A legacy for which I will always be grateful.
I couldn't agree more. It's scary sometimes but like you said, you walk by faith. And you hope for the best. But one thing is certain: if you try to protect your children at any cost, you will harm them for sure.
I believe that most of the time legacy pays more if it is in skills, attitude, mindsets, and beliefs, rather than material belongings.
And in the end, thank you for curating this post! It got a @currie vote indeed. But what I appreciate even more are your valuable comments! (I leave your second comment for later, I have so many things to say, that first I have to think how to narrow them down :D )
When asked about my children @insight-out and the choices we have made concerning them, I will typically just sum it up simply with "they are a blessing and deepen our lives" ... And leave it at that.
Fun to read about that in your life, as it is unfolding. And you do a great job of it, so don't stop! 🤗
And yes my dear Steemian friend ...
... I can certainly ... uhhh ... "relate" to this. My latest attempt to write a post < 1,000 words ... How did that go? Failed again ... 😉
If you don't mind my asking, are you a SAHM (stay at home Mom)? I don't recall seeing anything about that, in your earlier posts.
Thanks for your encouragement, @roleerob!
No, I am on my maternity leave. You can take up to 2 years of paid maternity leave here. During the first year, you get 90% of your net salary. And during the second year, you get a small amount of money as support. Actually, it's like that in many European countries (you can check this article). So, it's not only the too many paid vacations in Europe you were joking about :D However, these are part of the good EU policies and traditions.
I am supposed to get back to work at the end of January, but since I left the city I was working at, I have to figure out what am I going to do next. And I am having a kind of a dilemma :)
Wow @insight-out ...
... I guess so, although your link appears to indicate Bulgaria is "head and shoulders" above the rest! 😉
Yes, I can imagine ...
... so, I hope we can look forward to future posts about it! And, of course, if asked I'm sure a lot of your fellow Steemians will be quite happy to offer their input on what you decide ... 😉
Haha, yes, head and shoulders indeed :) It is part of our government's effort to deal with the demographic crisis here and encourage families to have children. It's very good for families and maybe it's not so good for the economy. However, the policy in Germany (the biggest economy in Europe) is very similar:
So, maybe it's OK for the economy.
There is no such thing as paid maternity leave in the US, right? How do people usually manage after having children?
Yes @insight-out indeed ...
... a crisis in many western cultures, including America today (although we have yet to take the measures some others have, such as those you cite ...). Do you ever wonder why that is? I am asking for your perspective, from the way you were raised, what you have been taught there in your country and what you have been led to believe from your culture.
Yes, America does have maternity leave, but nothing like what you are enjoying. Frankly, it is new enough that I am not "up on it," but I think I am correct to say it is still left to organizations to set their own policy vs. having it mandated at the Federal level. And ... To be competitive in the marketplace for talented workers, it is offered ... All that to say six months is what I think I have heard, but not certain ... I think I've read some "cutting edge" workplaces are even starting to offer maternity leave for men ...
My wife stayed home with our children, so once again we are "outside the norm" on that front, as that is rare these days in America. I still remember the "hit" we took to our income, when she stopped working ... But, it was our free will decision and we have never regretted it. From what our children have chosen to say to us, they are aware of that and greatly appreciate it ...
P.S. It is Father's Day here in America tomorrow. If you wish to read what @roleerob is capable of, when feeling led to really "lay it out," you can read what I wrote to our church leaders here in my Father's Day post a year ago, on the topic of children and what they represent ...
One very quick reference to the "Penny Bun" photo in your post @insight-out, which I did not comment on yesterday. Very nice picture to see you holding one and enjoyed reading how you wove reference to mushrooms then throughout this post.
Here in the western U.S., I learned to find mushrooms years ago, but only was comfortable myself with "harvesting" just one species in the wild and bringing them home to eat. We called them "King Boletes," but I believe they are certainly a close "cousin" of your "Penny Bun," if not the exact same mushroom.
Elsewhere, I have made brief mention of this in past posting "in here" and referenced possibly writing a travel post about my "mushroom hunting" days with family, particularly my youngest son (who has very fond memories of them) ...
Just one small problem. We've moved more than once since then and my pictures of that time are in a box somewhere (I think / hope ...) Who knows. Maybe one day ...
Oh, this is so exciting! This is the exact same mushroom. They are delicious! I didn't know how is it called in English and just liked one of the names in the dictionary - penny bun (sounded somehow nice to me) :)
I would love a post about your mushroom "hunting" :D Especially, with the old photos if you find them :)
Do you still go out to collect mushrooms?
Agreed @insight-out that "penny bun" has a certain ring to it. 😉
No, not in some time. With my children out in the "big, wide world" on their own, I have less incentive for undertaking the "adventure" of tracking them down ...
Here these are found at elevations of +10,000 feet (+ 3 km). At lower elevations, we have found "cousins" which, at first glance, appear to be the same, but they are not. If you cut into the "meat" of them, they will turn a purplish color. While not poisonous, they do not taste good at all ...
I remember telling my wife, after she had expressed her concerns about what I was doing finding and eating wild mushrooms, that I had done some research and had good news. And bad news ...
The good news? It is very rare eating wild mushrooms will be fatal. The bad news? Eat the wrong one(s) and you will suffer serious damage to your liver! Okay, that was enough for me to just focus on these, as they are the most distinctive among those found in the mountains where we live ...
The "rest of the story?" After noticing I ate them and did not die or anything else (you know, the "royal food taster" ... 😉), my wife joined me in eating them in our omelettes for breakfast and agree they taste yummy!
First of all, thank you for converting the feet into km for me! I noticed that you did it in some other comments you left me and it is so so kind and thoughtful!
Second, 3 km high! I didn't realize that you live at such high ground!
About the mushrooms... this penny bun doesn't have a poisonous double here and it is easy to be distinguished. And they are truly delicious! And your wife is lucky to have a royal food taster at home :D
We call them манатарка (manatarka). They are expensive and valuable mushrooms here and around Europe as a whole.
The other one that is in this post could also be found in the US (links here and here). Although there is another mushroom that it could be mistaken for (but not a deadly one).
I am very happy that I can share my mushroom passion with someone. It's a relatively new thing for me and most of the times I am only observing and taking pictures :)
Yes well @insight-out ...
... I don't live at that elevation. We just have to go out into the mountains and get up to that level to find the really good places for King Boletes.
Yes, nice to "talk" with someone who enjoys this "hobby!" Those other ones look familiar, but I decided I just didn't want to chance it. We see many other types out in the mountains. Once, early on in developing this interest, my beloved and I came across a family gathering many types of mushrooms in their baskets.
Expressing our interest, they were happy to show us what they had harvested. Beyond the danger it represented for us, I also noted that a lot of them were remarkably
small"dainty" ... 😉 ... and it seemed like a lot of work for very little benefit (eating ...), let alone the added risk (there's that word again ...).P.S. Thank you for noticing I was making the conversions for you. Something I have tried to consistently do in all of my posting "in here," as I am well aware much of the world is metric-based ...