It's no secret that kids today are different than kids used to be. I can tell a difference even from 15 years ago, and those differences aren't necessarily good.

So if you've found yourself wondering what's wrong with kids these days, I think I have a theory.

Parents let them watch all the junk that comes on Cartoon Network and buy them games like this:

 

Last week I talked about moving in with my boyfriend next year, and someone made the comment that there is a 50% divorce rate in this country. While that statistic is sadly accurate, it still leaves some pretty good odds - 50% of marriages succeed.

I'm not a naive person where marriage is concerned, and although I don't have any intention of getting divorced once I get married I do know that sometimes it's necessary. Discounting those who get married and divorced as many times as normal people take a shower, some relationships really are not meant to last and it takes a marriage to show it.

My biological parents are divorced. I have no doubt in my mind that they were in love when they got married, but in the end they just weren't compatible with each other. My biological father has been married three times, each of those times shorter than the last. He did (and still does) drink too much, did (and still does) have an affinity for not going to work, and in the end all of that plus a lot more added up to a negative.

It's people like my biological father who contribute to that 50% divorce rate.

My mother, on the other hand, has been married to her current husband and the man I call my dad for nearly 20 years now. Theirs is a successful marriage that will fulfill their wedding vows - til death do us part. They still hold hands and kiss each other. They laugh together and do everything else together. Sure they fight, but what real couple doesn't argue every now and then? She takes care of him when his diabetes goes haywire, and I swear he'd do anything to protect her.

My paternal grandparents have been married for more than 50 years. They say my papa was a woman-chasing, fast driving chain smoker before her. He's still a speed demon who likes to 'let the horses run', but he's been true to my mema for all these years.

He's not doing so well now, and whenever I get a chance I drive back home to see them. The last time I was able, Papa asked me to find his pictures on his phone for him. So I did, and as he was flipping through those photos he got to one of Mema. He just stopped on that photo, smiled and said, "That's my lady."

I want that.

And I think I've found the one person who can give it to me. So that 50% divorce rate can count me out. We're in it for the long haul.

 

"We're moving in together."

Four words most parents dread hearing from their child. Four words my boyfriend and I told our parents a few months ago.

We've decided to take the next step in our relationship but not until May. And this isn't a decision we've taken lightly at all.

He's not just some boy, after all. He's the one. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.

By the time May rolls around, we'll have been dating for nearly two-and-a-half years, and I've done my research. The two-year mark is the milestone most relationship experts say you should pass before moving in together. That's how long it takes for the warm fuzzies to wear off and reality to sink in. By that time you should know enough about your partner to determine if you really want to spend forever with him/her or if you want to cut the cords.

I've always said I wouldn't live with someone before we were married. I've even advised friends not to uproot themselves for a guy who hasn't at least given them a ring (I still stand by that advice). But the timing is just right.

I can't imagine my life without him in it. We're already spending every day/night together. He has stuff at my house, and I have stuff at his.

We've looked at, tried on and priced rings for the both of us. We've looked at house plans for our future home. We've talked about kids.

And we're paying double bills when we don't have to.

I'm sure people from both of our families will frown upon our decision, but that's just it. It's our decision and shouldn't be looked upon as the two of us 'shacking up'. Because it's so much more than that.

 Not exactly scarecrows, but I liked them.

And now we'll go to the fair.

 One of the few rides we went on.

Honoring the boyfriend's request with this one, haha.

I'm a nerd.

A nerd who likes to read and whose favorite animal is a giraffe.

My idea of a vacation is going to the beach/lake and sitting in a chair by the water with a good book.

I enjoy reading blogs, news articles online and nothing beats the smell of a freshly-printed newspaper.

My favorite books are the ones that require a lot of research to write - historical fiction/romance - and a lot of times when I finish reading them, I find myself online doing research of my own to learn more about the characters or time period.

I'm also pretty sure I was born in the wrong time. I wish I could have experienced the era of true investigative journalism, that time when the hard work that went into uncovering sinister truths actually meant something and resulted in reform.

I'm interested in almost everything, and because of my job I know a little about a lot of topics.

I'm a nerd, right down to the glasses I almost never wear (they're nearly always lost) and the amount of research I (willingly) do on a daily basis. But I don't mind it at all. Nerdiness is the new chic.

Sometimes joy can be found in the strangest of places and against all odds.

Last Thursday, my cousin Travis was in a really serious accident. He crashed into a tree and his truck caught on fire. He wouldn't be alive today if not for the heroism of a nearby homeowner who just happened to hear the accident and pulled him from the vehicle. Travis has been in ICU since the accident, going through surgery and suffering through several potentially life-threatening injuries.

Of course my aunt and uncle have been at the hospital every day, camped out in a corner of the waiting room. They've had crowds of visitors over the past four days, including my family and me on two of them.

Yesterday was no exception, but it was exceptional. What started as just a group of people sitting around ultimately turned into a football party. There were about a dozen of us, not all in the same group, gathered in front of a 24-inch television set watching the LSU-Alabama football game.

Hospitals are normally somber, depressing places where you're lucky if you get a smile and laughter is almost nonexistent, but that all changed last night.

Our rag-tag bunch of waiting room occupiers broke every rule posted on the wall. The television was turned up too loud, we were too loud and the furniture had all been moved (although we were careful not to scratch the floor!). Had the head nurse thought to stick her head in the door, I'm sure we all would have been kicked out immediately.

But it was worth it. For one night, the halls of the hospital rang with laughter. And that, as they say, is the best medicine of all.

Make no mistake, crazy people call the newsroom all the time. Whether they want to 'make a comment', relay a story idea or are potential stalkers, we get at least 10 crazy phone calls a day.

The best ones are those who feel entitled to tell me how to do my job.

Take tonight for instance. This person from somewhere up north called to demand we give him credit for a video on our website. He was insistent that he was the only person who could possibly have the video and was upset that we had somehow 'altered' it.

It took me a good five minutes to convince him that we did have rights to use the video as it came from CNN and we pay good money to use material contributed to them. He was also reluctant to believe that the video was from the dash cam of a police car and had been contributed by a local television station.

He was convinced that we had stolen his video from YouTube somehow and vehemently demanded that it be removed from our website if we refused to give him credit.

Of course I refused to do either and directed him to call the contributing station.

Good luck, guys. This guy's a real winner.

It's amazing how a community can come together sometimes.

For the past two weeks we've been covering the death of a local Marine who was killed in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Jason Barfield was just 22 years old when he was killed by an IED last Monday.

What makes this story unique is the fact that last Christmas we did a story on how he came home unexpectedly to surprise his family before he was deployed. It was such a great, heart-warming story.

Today, Jason's body made its final return home. Hundreds of people showed up at the airport to honor his memory. Hundreds more lined the streets from the airport to the funeral home.

All of the people we've talked to about Jason remembered him for his kindness as well as for his dedication to this country.

I am so grateful to live in a place with people like Lance Corporal Jason Barfield. They put themselves in harm's way willingly all to protect our freedom.

God bless the U.S.A. and our troops.