Why are manners and ethics dead?

This weekend we are throwing a little party for our latest addition, Emma. We never properly got the chance to welcome her to the family when she arrived last fall. When you are dealing with adoption of orphanage infants you are dealing with attachment issues. We were told to do something called 'funneling' where you don't let anyone hold the baby but you for months, allowing time for the new child to bond with you as parents. With 8 months under our belts now, it seems appropriate to celebrate Emma coming into our lives.
We are having her baptized at church on Sunday. Aftwards we will all meet friends for lunch. I've reserved a private room at a local chinese restaurant on the river. We sent out invitations and we put RSVP on them.
We are now getting close to the time when I have to call the restaurant and confirm. I have heard very little from anyone. When I've said, 'so, do you think you are coming' they all say, 'oh yes'. But if I didn't run into them and ask I wouldn't hear a thing!
Honestly though, this is just one example of a far bigger problem. It seems manners have pretty much died off. Thank you notes after job interviews never happen anymore. It actually dates us to write them. People under the age of 40 do not write them in my experience.
Putting 'regrets only' on the invitation does no better. People just don't follow up. They either show up or they don't and somehow you are supposed to plan for it.
Meanwhile work today was full of fun information. I have an employee whom I suspected had poor judgement for quite a while. Today I confirmed that. Her judgement is far worse then I expected, and now I have to do something about it. She violated a university policy and a state administrative rule. I started the process of gathering the documentation I need to mount a progressive discipline case against her.
I hate these. As a supervisor I can't talk about what she has done to anyone. I'll be slayed by her with her coworkers because she is free to say whatever she wishes. Most of these cases say plenty. Meanwhile management follows all the rules and carefully backs up their case. In the 10 years I've done this I've terminated 3 employees. It has taken me well over a year each time to go through all the documentation and hoops that are required. At the end I have never had a single doubt about my decision to terminate them. We shift employees, we retrain and rework employees, we do a lot to make their jobs work with their lives. When they choose to fail, it is a long process that in the end shows the worst of everyone.
I rarely have these quite frankly, and when I do I am forever amazed that people don't take their jobs that are paid for with taxpayer money more seriously. I've always felt that if your behavior was not something you'd want on the front of the state newspaper, then you should not choose to do it. People over the years do continue to amaze me with their choices. We have an obligation to behave ethically at work. People trust us with their children and their money. I'm baffled why some employees don't get the gravity of the situation.
All for tonight!

To move or not to move

Well I have a very long other blog, mostly centered around the kids, that has been going for years. Do I move it or do I leave it stand alone? I've been pondering this for a while now and I've decided to keep this new one separate, and let our prior adventures stand on their own. I'll probably drag bits of it over now and again but for the most part I think we'll go forward like this.
I've been blogging for about 6 years, let me see what I can compress in a few paragraphs. I live in a loud and busy house in the hills. At night, when all the little people go to bed we often sneak out on the back deck to watch the city lights in the distance and listen to the wind blow through the trees. We have a little deck off the master bedroom that has a cover, so we can also watch the rain come across the valley.
Last night I took our youngest daughter out on the back deck alone and showed her how beautiful it is. She is two, and seven months ago we flew to China and met her. We also had a chance to do a little touring and we absolutely fell in love with the country. We didn't expect to- we thought it would be third world poverty - but it was gorgeous. I'll try to share some pictures along the way. Anyway, in talking to my naturopath, she suggested that perhaps my daughter needed more of that kind of time to get reconnected to the earth after the massive changes that have happened in her life.
We have two amazing older children too. They are twins, and Monday of this last week I registered them for kindergarten. It seems like only yesterday they were tiny helpless little babies, and dh and I joke often that we don't know what happened!
Both of my parents died about 10 years ago, as well as DH's dad. His mother lived with us from 2005 onward and passed away in late January. We are still grieving the loss of that amazing woman.
Today after I drop the kids off at daycare I get in the car and I head north to the big city, a few hours away. I'm going to a training conference for 2 nights. The kids are visably upset, as the last time I did this they were too young to really 'get it'. This afternoon I hope to catch up with some old friends and some newer ones. One of my good girlfriend's has a daughter in the hospital there - a few weeks ago they found a tumor on her spine and the doctor's successfully removed it yesterday. Thank God it appears that it is benign and it won't effect any nerves, but we have all been on edge for a few weeks waiting for the outcome. Tonight, I'll go see another miracle. My 45 year old girlfriend who was told she would never have children has promised to let me hold her 2 month old as long as I want.
Funny, but the thought of a quiet hotel room with no one to steal my covers on the surface sounds so inviting. From having done this before though, I know its too quiet. I will be lonely. How will I wake up without three small people climbing over us and stealing covers and giggling?