Quarantined Thoughts

Wednesday, 26 March 2008 00:00

No, I'm not quarantining my thoughts... that's way too much like censorship and anyone who knows me knows I abhor censorship :)

But... our home is quarantined with influenza B. We've had it all now, and we're just waiting for influenza X, Y, or Z to show up. Stay away! Be afraid! Our home is where all the nasty little germs fly south for the winter.

In any case, while home, I had the chance to read a marvelous article on raising 5 boys by the always-brilliant Jacquelyn Michard. In it, she said...

" You can raise your son any way you want to and, the first chance he gets, he's still going to burp the National Anthem. You can raise your son as a Quaker, a vegan or a pagan and he's still going to fight with his brother over an unused pen cap as though it were the Star of India. You can kiss him every night and sing to him of milkweed and nightingales and give him his own doll and play kitties with him instead of Navy SEALs. Go ahead. He's still going to make a gun from a toaster waffle and fire it across the table - even if he's never seen a gun that didn't squirt water and wasn't shaped like a caterpillar. If you are quiet and have the patience of Job... your son will still emit shrieks that can make a dog pass out, while running through the house whipping a metal tape measure around his head."

She is SO right. So.... what's your best "son story"???

The hardest it will ever be

Monday, 24 March 2008 00:00

I am pushing a shopping cart and holding back tears. I am embarrassed, overwhelmed, frustrated. My OLDEST son is the one throwing a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store.

I'm trying to check out... in the self-checkout lane so I wouldn't have to deal with a cashier. But of course, it is malfunctioning. "Push credit to pay with a credit or debit card," the machine squeaks at me, over and over again. But I just want to pay with cash and leave. I attempt to shove my $20 bill into the cash receiver. The machine won't have it. My 3 year old is still crying about the yogurt I didn't buy. I hate companies that market to kids. Really? Really? The yogurt with Diego or Dora on the side is $2.00 more than the yogurt with the ripe strawberry on the packaging? My son doesn't even watch Diego or Dora. Why does he care? I'm stressing here. The light above my "self checkout register" is flashing. "Assistance Needed... Assistance Needed."

Read more...