April was a blur, much like most other months. I’m not sure who thinks retirement is boring because looking at my schedule, most months give me anxiety. PJ’s prompt for April was Point of View and it’s my point of view that I need to strip out about 3/4 of my commitments to save my sanity. But, who am I kidding…..that will probably not happen.
There are as many points of view about topics as stars in the sky. Different points of view are not necessarily a bad thing but in today’s groupthink culture, it seems different points of view are not acceptable. Many times, different points of view are automatically labeled some derogatory name that a specific group attaches to it so they don’t have to actually have a discussion about the merits of their opinion. Gone are the days of open dialogue and trying to see an issue from an opposite viewpoint. A dangerous precedent to set, but here we are.
Our points of view on some topics may not align, but I’d hope there would be room for open dialogue. We may not end up agreeing in the end, but we should be able to afford each other respect and keep an open mind.
Point of View 1
This may be my controversial entry. We attended the baptism of two of our Godson’s daughters. One is an infant, which in some denominations’ point of view, is not accepted. While I think adult baptisms are super cool because the person made a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ, our denomination’s point of view brings infants to be baptized because it’s God’s gift of grace and symbolic of the covenant between God and his people. If, when the child is older, they decide to recommit themselves or reaffirm their faith, that’s even better!
Point of View 2
Early April brought a unique point of view-ing a solar eclipse. Middle Missouri had about 94% total coverage. One of the schools put on an educational event to view the eclipse that included a variety of science activities….and food trucks. I didn’t have a solar filter for my DSLR camera lens so I could not use it. But, I tried to layer eclipse glasses over my camera phone lens to try and get a shot. Not great, but it’ll have to do. I wonder if I’ll be here when the next one crosses Missouri.
Point of View 3
From our point of view, Twix’s music teacher does wonders with elementary school concerts! What she can get out of a bunch of unruly 10-year-olds is truly amazing. This year, they rocked through the ages with classic songs and dance moves. We’ve never heard a recorder rendition of Eye of the Tiger but, in our point of view, it wasn’t half bad! Of course, Entrepreneur’s point of view is Twix can do no wrong.
Point of View 4
From the ground, the point of view of a fairy garden is much different than from above. I hope our summer fairies like the newly-painted, purple gate entrance into their town.
Point of View 5
This is an entry about viewing in general…..Cabo’s overdue for a spa day and his fur may be impairing some of his points of viewing. Hey, I gotta take what I can get sometimes.
There’s my points of view for April. I hope you will take the time to visit PJ after May 1st and see other people’s points of view on the prompt.
Peripheral Perceptions 
I always enjoy your points of view. Well done as always. Family rocks.
Have a fabulous day and week, my friend. Scritches to Cabo and a hug to you. ♥
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Me too, I thinkyour points of view are wonderful. Howdy handsome Cabo!
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I agree, there is a lot of cataloging going on. SHAM vs. working mom, breastfeeding vs. bottle, homeschooling, public school, private school, whatever you do, it comes with a label, and you’re being judged.
That’s just it, if you can get wild 10 year olds excited about something, they are no longer unruly.
Love the fairy garden!
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You’re right. A lot of today’s “dialogue” (especially online) is just shouting and denegrating. A foreseable, but unfortunate outcome of social media is the deep tribalism that’s resulted. It doesn’t matter the issue or topic, it’s hard to find anyone who is willing to engage in an actual discussion. They just want to pile on to those who hold a different view, in all kinds of horrible ways. Good for you for not letting world dynamic scare you off from sharing the baptism photo.
When did you start the fairy garden? When your grands were little? Do you add something new to it every year? Does Cabo leave it alone? Two thumbs up for the purple gate!
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I have to admit, I was very jealous of you being able to see that much of the eclipse. I had plans in place, but due to some of my recent health concerns, I wasn’t able to pull the trigger on the trip, and so I live vicariously through other’s photos.
Your dog looks very much like my daughter’s Golden Doodle.
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