Boys Rule, Girls Drool

Okay, not really but I had to do something to make up for blogging about my two daughters way before I uttered a peep about their brother. Here he is doing some male bonding with Buddy in the backyard.

There are many drawbacks to being the "quiet kid". And Clay could tell you all of them. Like grown ups trying to make you talk. Like some kids deciding not to talk to you anymore. Like teachers assuming you aren't listening. Like some people seeming too impatient to wait for what you are putting into words a tad slowly. (Gee, how'd I ever think of those?).

But he also knows the secret splendor of growing up quiet. Blending in comes pretty easily. And when you blend in, often times people go about their business and their conversations without realizing they are being noticed. And that can be awfully interesting when you are a kid.

When you are quiet you have lots of time to think. People close to you become used to your nods and whispers, and in some instances your hand signals, and that makes you feel relaxed and happy. Those people don't make a huge stink about your lack of a desire for chit chat. And when you are a relaxed and happy quiet kid, your daydreams become real dreams and your heart and your soul can mingle with each other a bit.

I believe that quiet kids know themselves well. My son is not wishy washy despite appearing otherwise. He has a well defined sense of right and wrong - according to him. One week ago, he proudly attended his public school wearing his "Satan You've Been Punked" T-shirt on the last day. Which, honestly, made me a bit nervous for him.

"When I grow up I am going to be an artist," first came out of his mouth when he was two. He is now ten and his career goal has not budged. He does not want to be a computer artist. No, he wants to paint and he doesn't care how much money he makes. Okay then.

Also, being quiet has given Clay the time to listen to and watch his friends and classmates. He befriends the friendless and comes home from school upset when someone has been wronged. Maybe he notices a little too much. I don't know.

At home he still doesn't (have a chance to) say much but when he does speak up, it usually gets our attention. And shuts us up. :-) Like the time...umm, oh look, this is getting way too long to tell that story.

Anyway, so here's to you my sweet and kind boy. Being quiet is far from a curse. And we love you just the way you are. :-)

Thank you God for Sweet Corn

It's after midnight and my 5 year old daughter is just now closing her eyes. I honestly don't know how she could be falling asleep so soon.

Tonight we went to the Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival and, not exactly being a corn lover, Jayme's dinner consisted of two bites of hamburger (before it fell on the ground), half of a Funnel Cake, a like 60 ounce carnival lemonade and a massive amount of blue cotton candy.

How could she possibly be falling asleep?

I wish I had a picture to post. She was so grimy and sticky and wiped out when we got home. It was great. She was such a puddle that I had to peel her clothes off of her as she lay on the couch in her sugar coma, awake but too stunned from the night's events to move. "Mommy, is the Corn Festibal over now?"

Yep, it was over for us. For this year. And I enjoyed it just as much as she, although, I did more waiting in line for food than I did actually eating any. And I stood 20 people back in the cotton candy line while she rode the carnival rides. But still, I totally enjoyed all of it.

Jayme experienced the Corn Festival "family style" because our awesome friends, Amy and Phil, saved room in their Suburban and we rode out to Zellwood with their family. So we were three adults and five kids instead of what we are used to most days. Believe it or not, it takes really good friends to pull that off harmoniously.

For whatever reasons, vacationing with other families, cooking out with other families or just going to festivals with other families doesn't happen as often as my kids would like. And I understand. Most husbands want another guy around at those things, not just another woman (and her kids) yakking up a storm.

And even worse, hanging out with a single mom and her kid(s) may mean carrying stuff for her, taking one of her kids to the bathroom and then afterwards giving them a ride back home. Having a healthy fear that she may ask you to come in, move her couch to the other side of the living room and help her hang miniblinds before leaving also would be reasonable.

Really, I'm just kidding. I've actually never done that to one of my friends' husbands - yet.

So, why did I enjoy the Corn Festival so much this year? Because sitting under the stars (which I am confident were up there behind those clouds) listening to Mercy Me, I was so surely aware of how much God loves me. My evolving friendship over the last 12 years with Amy and Phil has been no coincidence.

Not once tonight did I feel anything but that every single family member was thrilled we were with them. For a lonely (I admit it) single mom and her youngest kid that is a huge blessing. Not once did I feel like we were intruding on their family time. Not once was there any weirdness. I wish I could adequately convey what a huge deal that is.

Tonight I am absolutely thankful to God for Sweet Corn, for the freedom for us all to gather outside in the night air and raise our hands in praise of his goodness and mercy, and for kind and caring friends. But mostly I am in awe and I'm thankful tonight for how God works through the details in our lives. How he knew years ago that, one day, I would need the kind of friendship Amy and Phil and their kids can give me and my kids. And I thank God that I haven't been so wrapped up in myself tonight that I missed that.

Once again I am remembering that God is definitely good. :-)

Little Sis Protocol

Being 42 does not excuse me from proper younger sibling protocol. You'd think eventually I'd be allowed to grow out of things like calling dibs on best seats (and losing), automatically being given the smaller half of the last brownie and not paying for my own lunch (actually I like being taken out to lunch so never mind about that one). Anyway, some things are meant to remain in place and Little Sis Protocol is one of them.

So, before I forget, let me thank my oh so talented advertising guru of an OLDER brother (Ha!) for helping me rename my blog. For some reason he saw it completely fitting. Mari, Contrary? What could have possibly made him think up that?

Whatever the inspiration, I thank him. Much much much more interesting than "my little blog".

:-)

Love You Muchly, Bro! And you can take me out to lunch anytime! And breakfast and dinner for that matter.

OMGosh...Did It FINALLY Show Up?

There are many differences between my oldest daughter and me. But the one that blares outright at me right this very minute is her tech savviness compared to mine. Well, duh.

Anyway, I just signed up at last.fm. I created a profile, then a chart and then, after (let's just say) over an hour of copying and pasting HTML here and there, I finally have it showing up in my blog.

How long would that have taken my daughter? Really, I don't know but I'm guessing...less than one minute.

:-P

Gotta love being middle aged (a young middle aged mind you) and being obsessed with keeping up with the Internet Generation.

Sleeping In is for Sissies

At least that is what I am telling myself this afternoon. The last day of school. But I don't think that reverse psychology thing works too well on yourself. I'm not so sure it works on anyone actually. Especially on kids. They are way too smart to fall for hogwash like that.

Anyway, I'm writing about sleeping in, not reverse psychology. And I'm not writing about my kids this time. It's all about me. And sleeping.

So, summer is here. And I start a new job in less than two weeks. So for the first time in years, I won't plod through the blistering hot summer days alongside my kids. I won't wake up with one or two of them next to me in bed and offer to read books or tell them to stop tickling me because I want to sleep a little longer.

Nope, this summer I'll wake up at 6:00 a.m. and hit the snooze bar for 30 more minutes. I'll jump out of bed and shake the tangles out of my hair as I run to the playroom, put the dog on the leash and drag him through the yard saying, "Hurry up, Buddy. Hurry Up". This summer at 6:45 a.m. I'll pour my breakfast of Diet Coke, iron whatever I can find that is clean and take my typical extremely fast morning shower. That's the one where I usually end up with three or four cuts from extremely fast shaving. Which is why I avoid new razors like the plague. This summer at 7:45 a.m., I'll run through the house like a crazy woman picking up and swiffering before the babysitter shows up at 8:15. Hopefully I'll remember to feed the dog somewhere in the middle of all of that.

Will I miss driving my taxi around town all summer long on those blistering hot days? Will I miss being Cruise Director to a boat carrying hot, unhappy and whiney passengers on those same sweaty days? Not much. Okay, maybe a little.

I will, however, miss sleeping in. Tons. No more lazing around until 9:30. No more pulling my hair into a ponytail and slowly sipping my Diet Coke while reading and replying to emails with the sound effects of cartoons in the background. Boo Hoo.

So in an effort to deal, I adjusted my thinking. From this day forward, in my view of the world and its people, Sleeping In is for Sissies. (And for teenagers who are extremely brave and wornout from late nights of MTV watching). Being far from a teenager and absolutely being no sissy...no more sleeping in for me.

It's really that simple. Done deal. Probably won't even need that snooze bar now.

No, definitely not. I'll be well rested. Because aside from bringing to light the whole Sleeping/Sissy Philosophy I will be implementing another new personal custom I now refer to as "Napping is Noble".