I figured I should write something being that it is the last day of Dec. and I haven't written anything this month! Time flys for sure! I actually didn't think anyone still was reading what I wrote so I was contemplating not writing any more...... but I noticed a couple comments so that made me feel like not giving up.
So, Christmas is done and after tonight 2010 will be just another number under our belts. I think I've added a few numbers under my belt this past year....
It's been an interesting year. That. is. for. sure! After three years of being free as a bird during the day I started homeschooling again. Most days I'd have to say that it was a great decision. I would be lying if I said all days were like that, but on a whole it's been pretty darn good. Danny and Ally both seem happier and now Slayt is thinking he would like to give it a try....... I guess I'll have to get Danny and Ally to not look so darn happy all the time. JUST KIDDING! I actually wouldn't mind homeschooling all of them. I just worry that Slayt is to smart for MY own good.
I also noticed that the older I get the more holidays are lonely....... at least it was this year. Other than the fact that it's fairly impossible to get everyone to get together at any time of the year, I propose that from now on, every family member has to get together in the same spot on at least ONE holiday each year! That means, cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, etc.! oh to be a millionaire!
I started a book this year. Yeah. Don't ask how it's going. It's still sitting on page two. I have a bunch of killer first sentences, but most people wouldn't be interested in reading a 300 page book of great first sentences. However, if they would, this book would be top on the NY Times best seller list! Just saying!
I think my problem is that I am trying to edit as I write, and that just doesn't work. I need to "brain dump" and then edit later. It's just not that easy.
I'm wondering what 2011 is going to bring. I'm hoping for a stress free year, but I'm starting to realize that in the real world stress is part of life. I really liked my world better when I was young and naive and thought that money grew on trees. Ok, not on trees but it certainly grew from the pocket in your mothers pants...... and bills were optional. Trips were mandatory and Santa really was real. Yeah, I like that world better so....... can I get a do over?
Happy New Year everyone!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving and so on.
Kermit the Frog said it isn't easy being green, but I think that it's even harder being a mom..........
The older I get, the more I realize how many times I must have made my mom cry. If I could go back and redo every time I ever did, I would. Although hindsight is always better than foresight.
It's amazing to me that out of anyone in the world, kids can make a mom feel at the top of the world or at the bottom of the ocean. It's not fair I guess that kids have all that put on their shoulders, and I don't think it's intentional, it just is the way it is. I know that any friend could make a sarcastic remark to me and it may hurt but it's forgotten or brushed off within an hour or two, but when kids make a cutting remark to a mom it cuts deep to the heart like nothing else can. The words linger and mull around for days.....
This Thanksgiving pretty much sucked. Not that it was bad I guess. There were a lot of positve things about the week. I got to spend quite a bit of time with my oldest son and it was the highlight of my week..... then my second oldest came home for the week and I got to see him a little. He spent quite a bit of time out of the house, but I keep telling myself that is what college students do when they don't get home much. Right? Yeah, I'm gonna go with that. He has big decisions on his brain and that caused a lot of angst..... more for me I think than him.......... I'm wondering if it's easier to just pull away from the ones who love you the most when stress is in your life????? Although for me, it just makes me think I must be part of the stress.... Ugh, my mind works to much I think. Why can't I think more like a man? Yeah, I know. It's the estrogen thing.....
The other nice thing about the week was that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came Thanksgiving day and had dinner with us. That was really nice. I really have a fantastic mother in law. And I even say that knowing she doesn't even read my blog........But it was nice they came, especially since my mom was in Ct with two of my other sisters and their families....... and my other sister and her family, including my favorite nephew and favorite niece in law and great niece who were there from Germany, were in Arkansas..........but the nice thing was that I was at least invited to Arkansas.
I'm not exactly sure why I'm mildly depressed about this past week. Well, actually I am. I could write about exact things, but since this blog is public I won't. But just know that there are specifics. Some things I guess are stupid and irrational, other things are valid and should change but what am I? God? Thank Him I'm not, because I'm pretty certain I would screw it up. At the very least I would smite some people off the face of the earth and I'm pretty sure He doesn't do that when people make Him sad. At least I hope not..... wait, is that a meteor coming my way??
The older I get, the more I realize how many times I must have made my mom cry. If I could go back and redo every time I ever did, I would. Although hindsight is always better than foresight.
It's amazing to me that out of anyone in the world, kids can make a mom feel at the top of the world or at the bottom of the ocean. It's not fair I guess that kids have all that put on their shoulders, and I don't think it's intentional, it just is the way it is. I know that any friend could make a sarcastic remark to me and it may hurt but it's forgotten or brushed off within an hour or two, but when kids make a cutting remark to a mom it cuts deep to the heart like nothing else can. The words linger and mull around for days.....
This Thanksgiving pretty much sucked. Not that it was bad I guess. There were a lot of positve things about the week. I got to spend quite a bit of time with my oldest son and it was the highlight of my week..... then my second oldest came home for the week and I got to see him a little. He spent quite a bit of time out of the house, but I keep telling myself that is what college students do when they don't get home much. Right? Yeah, I'm gonna go with that. He has big decisions on his brain and that caused a lot of angst..... more for me I think than him.......... I'm wondering if it's easier to just pull away from the ones who love you the most when stress is in your life????? Although for me, it just makes me think I must be part of the stress.... Ugh, my mind works to much I think. Why can't I think more like a man? Yeah, I know. It's the estrogen thing.....
The other nice thing about the week was that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came Thanksgiving day and had dinner with us. That was really nice. I really have a fantastic mother in law. And I even say that knowing she doesn't even read my blog........But it was nice they came, especially since my mom was in Ct with two of my other sisters and their families....... and my other sister and her family, including my favorite nephew and favorite niece in law and great niece who were there from Germany, were in Arkansas..........but the nice thing was that I was at least invited to Arkansas.
I'm not exactly sure why I'm mildly depressed about this past week. Well, actually I am. I could write about exact things, but since this blog is public I won't. But just know that there are specifics. Some things I guess are stupid and irrational, other things are valid and should change but what am I? God? Thank Him I'm not, because I'm pretty certain I would screw it up. At the very least I would smite some people off the face of the earth and I'm pretty sure He doesn't do that when people make Him sad. At least I hope not..... wait, is that a meteor coming my way??
Saturday, October 23, 2010
time flys and boys who drive me to drink =)
Why is it that time is going faster? Seriously, it is. When I was young, time seemed to move at a snails pace in winter and now it seems like the weeks race by like a greyhound on steroids...... sheesh! I'm pretty positive that it was last week that my now 17 yr old was 10 and my now 12 year old was 5. Yeah, seriously. It used to bug the heck out of me when people would tell me as a new mother that "time would go by fast and enjoy it while I could", because first of all, I thought I knew it all and second of all, I was usually sleep deprived and only wanted to get back to the days of sleeping until at least 8am...... Well, now here we are 21 years since it all began and they were right! Time did go by fast.
Today we went to Rock City, which after going, I"m not sure why we have never gone there. It was amazing! I surprised myself that I didn't have a heart attack because of the crevices that were waiting to swallow the kids at each step. I couldn't go there with the older boys, because 21 and 19 year olds just don't listen to their mother anymore and I'm positive that they would try to jump a boulder and end up at the bottom of the canyon crumpled....... all while their poor helpless mother (me) watches in horror. Little do they know is that I would put "i told you to listen" on their headstones........
Last night I was watching Mythbusters, yeah, I"m a geek. Anyway, they did this experiment with a dummy and they dropped it 100ft into the water to see what the impact would be. Well, needless to say the dummy died, or it would have if it was real. Which made me think of the boys and their cliff jumping,,,,,,, and think, and think, and think........ that's when I decided to open a bottle of wine. Why worry when I can wine? Knowing that they wouldn't believe me if I told them that at 100ft, they would die, or be dismembered at the very least, I think I will just have them watch Mythbusters when it comes back on as a rerun..... however, i'm not so sure they will believe me even then..... oh gosh...... is it time for another glass of wine?
Today we went to Rock City, which after going, I"m not sure why we have never gone there. It was amazing! I surprised myself that I didn't have a heart attack because of the crevices that were waiting to swallow the kids at each step. I couldn't go there with the older boys, because 21 and 19 year olds just don't listen to their mother anymore and I'm positive that they would try to jump a boulder and end up at the bottom of the canyon crumpled....... all while their poor helpless mother (me) watches in horror. Little do they know is that I would put "i told you to listen" on their headstones........
Last night I was watching Mythbusters, yeah, I"m a geek. Anyway, they did this experiment with a dummy and they dropped it 100ft into the water to see what the impact would be. Well, needless to say the dummy died, or it would have if it was real. Which made me think of the boys and their cliff jumping,,,,,,, and think, and think, and think........ that's when I decided to open a bottle of wine. Why worry when I can wine? Knowing that they wouldn't believe me if I told them that at 100ft, they would die, or be dismembered at the very least, I think I will just have them watch Mythbusters when it comes back on as a rerun..... however, i'm not so sure they will believe me even then..... oh gosh...... is it time for another glass of wine?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
it's been a long time....
Oh my word! It's been over a month since I've written. Life just keeps chugging along and most of the time I feel like I am running to catch up. The summer went wayyyyyyy to quickly and here we are already half way through October.
It's been a busy, crazy fall so far. Yeah, I know, it's only been fall for about 3 or 4 weeks, right? UGH! Since the beginning of September, I've been to North Carolina, Abby has had her wisdom teeth out, we begun installing new windows and insulation and Danny has been having meltdowns every stinking day.
All of the busyness is manageable, except for the Danny meltdowns. It was about three weeks ago that his teacher had to physically pull him from me because he was just clinging to me. Yeah, that just about makes me shiver thinking about it. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't cry or complain about hating school or not wanting to go. Yeah, I know, what kid WANTS to go to school? But this whole thing is way more than just your typical school aversion. First of all, Ron and I are pretty darn sure that 3rd grade is way to stinking hard for him. Why? Well, because he can't count past 30 without help most days, adding or subtracting anything more than single digits is over his head and up until this year he has been fine with school. Oh, did I mention that the tests the school psychologist did last year showed that he was consistently at a k.9- 1.3 grade level in math and no more than a 2.1 grade level in any area. Seems to me, they should have kept him back. Well, the school doesn't want to do that because they figure they can't keep retaining him....... well, then sorry charlie, but you can't expect him to keep up with his peers just because he gets older. He is socially and academically behind. But what the heck do I know? I'm just the mother. SHEESH!!!!!
Next on my list is this whole writing a book ish type thing. Yeah, so I'm submitting an entry to a writing contest. It has to be something inspirational, uplifting, something that changed my life. Hmmmmmm, what to write about? Did I mention it had to be 10,000 words or more? Hmmmmmm again. So, today I started writing. I had one story idea in my brain so i typed away frantically for awhile. Then my gray matter stopped working. That's when I figure a food break is needed. Come back to the computer and still nothing. So I start a second topic...... write frantically again and AGAIN, the brain quits. Go back to the first story, write, crash, eat......... and that is how the rest of my day went. I'm hoping that if I can at least keep up some sort of writing then at least I will get somewhere, somehow. Blogging is so much easier... grammar doesn't count, i'm not being judged, well........, at least grammar doesn't count.
It's been a busy, crazy fall so far. Yeah, I know, it's only been fall for about 3 or 4 weeks, right? UGH! Since the beginning of September, I've been to North Carolina, Abby has had her wisdom teeth out, we begun installing new windows and insulation and Danny has been having meltdowns every stinking day.
All of the busyness is manageable, except for the Danny meltdowns. It was about three weeks ago that his teacher had to physically pull him from me because he was just clinging to me. Yeah, that just about makes me shiver thinking about it. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't cry or complain about hating school or not wanting to go. Yeah, I know, what kid WANTS to go to school? But this whole thing is way more than just your typical school aversion. First of all, Ron and I are pretty darn sure that 3rd grade is way to stinking hard for him. Why? Well, because he can't count past 30 without help most days, adding or subtracting anything more than single digits is over his head and up until this year he has been fine with school. Oh, did I mention that the tests the school psychologist did last year showed that he was consistently at a k.9- 1.3 grade level in math and no more than a 2.1 grade level in any area. Seems to me, they should have kept him back. Well, the school doesn't want to do that because they figure they can't keep retaining him....... well, then sorry charlie, but you can't expect him to keep up with his peers just because he gets older. He is socially and academically behind. But what the heck do I know? I'm just the mother. SHEESH!!!!!
Next on my list is this whole writing a book ish type thing. Yeah, so I'm submitting an entry to a writing contest. It has to be something inspirational, uplifting, something that changed my life. Hmmmmmm, what to write about? Did I mention it had to be 10,000 words or more? Hmmmmmm again. So, today I started writing. I had one story idea in my brain so i typed away frantically for awhile. Then my gray matter stopped working. That's when I figure a food break is needed. Come back to the computer and still nothing. So I start a second topic...... write frantically again and AGAIN, the brain quits. Go back to the first story, write, crash, eat......... and that is how the rest of my day went. I'm hoping that if I can at least keep up some sort of writing then at least I will get somewhere, somehow. Blogging is so much easier... grammar doesn't count, i'm not being judged, well........, at least grammar doesn't count.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wow, what a summer this has been and now it's almost come to an end. I spent about six weeks of the summer pretty much either sleeping or sitting in a chair doing nothing. Somehow I caught Mono and that sent my body into a tizzy....... darn sickness. My heart ended up playing games with me and that added to the stress/tiredness. I am sooooo glad I am back to normal. Or at least as normal as I can get I guess. Now here we are on the last day of summer vacation and it will be spent taking Slayt to the doctor for shots, getting groceries and last minute school supplies, which should prove to be a grand time considering last time I was in Wallyworld I wanted to scream and run through the crowd knocking everyone over with my cart. I have a thing with chaos and crowds.... what can I say? However, I did restrain myself and was able to get out of there without losing my salvation. =)
We did end up going camping this summer which was FANTASTIC....... oh, did I mention it was FANTASTIC? That is how good it was. The kids and I left on a monday and went to Stoney Fork which is down near the PA grand canyon. It was the most relaxing place on earth. I swear if I win the superbowl, I"m not going to Disney World, but I will be going to stoney fork. The kids swam in the creek, practiced their skills in the pool, emptied my pockets of change at the game room, rode paddle boats and best of all, fished in the pond. When we got there Abby and I realized that the most important part of the tent was missing but never underestimate the power of the Norman/Cline women! We used our ingenuity and rigged the tent up with duck tape and twine. Hey, it stayed up and gave us something to laugh about.
On our way home we stopped and took a covered wagon ride pulled by Perchiron Horses through the PA Grand Canyon. It was beautiful!
My #2 son was home all summer from College and it turned out to be a wonderful time with him home. He had planned on moving out and down to Grams but it didnt' work out that way so he stayed home. It was a relatively stress free and enjoyable time with him home. I really miss him now that he is gone back to school. That's the downside of having a great relationship with your kids.... you miss them too darn much when they aren't around. =)
The #1 son now has his own house/apartment that he is renting in Rochester....... I don't think they should let 5 year olds rent...... Ok, so he really is 21 but where the heck did the time go?
And now we are at summers end and the kids are heading back to school tomorrow. Insert my happy dance here.
Three months ago I couldn't wait for the kids to be done with school and home.... now I'm looking forward to being able to keep my house clean for at least 5 hours at a time while they are IN school...... and now let the homework begin.
We did end up going camping this summer which was FANTASTIC....... oh, did I mention it was FANTASTIC? That is how good it was. The kids and I left on a monday and went to Stoney Fork which is down near the PA grand canyon. It was the most relaxing place on earth. I swear if I win the superbowl, I"m not going to Disney World, but I will be going to stoney fork. The kids swam in the creek, practiced their skills in the pool, emptied my pockets of change at the game room, rode paddle boats and best of all, fished in the pond. When we got there Abby and I realized that the most important part of the tent was missing but never underestimate the power of the Norman/Cline women! We used our ingenuity and rigged the tent up with duck tape and twine. Hey, it stayed up and gave us something to laugh about.
On our way home we stopped and took a covered wagon ride pulled by Perchiron Horses through the PA Grand Canyon. It was beautiful!
My #2 son was home all summer from College and it turned out to be a wonderful time with him home. He had planned on moving out and down to Grams but it didnt' work out that way so he stayed home. It was a relatively stress free and enjoyable time with him home. I really miss him now that he is gone back to school. That's the downside of having a great relationship with your kids.... you miss them too darn much when they aren't around. =)
The #1 son now has his own house/apartment that he is renting in Rochester....... I don't think they should let 5 year olds rent...... Ok, so he really is 21 but where the heck did the time go?
And now we are at summers end and the kids are heading back to school tomorrow. Insert my happy dance here.
Three months ago I couldn't wait for the kids to be done with school and home.... now I'm looking forward to being able to keep my house clean for at least 5 hours at a time while they are IN school...... and now let the homework begin.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Daddy Daydreams
It's odd how a person forgets the sound of someones voice, their touch or their smell. All I can say is he was tall, dark and handsome, at least in my eyes. I was five and he was my dad.
There isn't much I can remember about him. I can't remember what his voice sounded like. Was it loud and boisterous or was it soft and mellow? What did he smell like? Did he smell like Old Spice and airplane grease, or is that just a wish of a lonely girl longing to remember? There are faint memories of his fingernail being crooked and bent out of shape. Hints of remembrances from airplane rides....... nothing concrete, just quick flashes.
Richard Malcom Bowker is a legend in my mind. I've had him raised on pedestals and then knocked down to dust different times in my life. There were times that I wished as a young girl that he wasn't really dead. I longed for him to come back and kidnap me. I'd see men that I thought looked like him and dream that they were there to wisk me away. It wasn't that I didn't love my mom. I just wanted my dad. I NEEDED my dad and there are parts of me today that needs my dad. My feelings sometimes change to anger and resentfulness when I wish he had checked his airplane out better before he flew that day. When a father is taken away from his daughter, there is always a void. It won't be filled by things, by people, and not by fading memories.
My sisters had a longer time with my dad. Its funny. I still say, MY dad. Like I have dibbs on him. Either way, my sisters did have more time with him. They have their own memories. I'm sure some great memories, and some not so great. I've heard both. The part that I sometimes feel cheated out of is that my memories are a haze of what I've heard and what I actually remember. I'm often left with the question of " is that something I actually remember or something I've just heard repeated a 100 times?"
There was one time before he died that my sister and I were outside and when he came home from work he showed us the "blood" under our fingernails. He had us put our hands up to the headlights of his car and told us that the red behind our fingernails was our blood. For some strange reason, that is something I remember. Of ALL things to remember, and it was that. There are days when I think that we used to take walks in the woods but why would I know that? That would have happened when I was 3, so I highly doubt I can honestly remember that. On the other hand, who cares? Even if we didn't and it's a made up memory, it still is a nice one.
I remember the day he died and crawling into bed that night with my mom. That is when I started hating night time and it's not a coincidence that I still hate night time to this day. It's less dreaded, but it's not my favorite time. From that night until I was probably 8, memories of life sort of stop. Whether it was post traumatic stress or whatever else you want to call it, I don't recall much of what went on. Bits here, pieces there.......
It was as if life didn't matter and storing the thoughts and memories weren't important anymore.
Some days it's fine. I know life goes on and there really isn't any need to wallow in pity. Crappy things happen........ other days it's almost unbearable how much I want to hear his voice. But, I put on a happy face and make sure the world doesn't know that I'm having Daddy Daydreams..........
There isn't much I can remember about him. I can't remember what his voice sounded like. Was it loud and boisterous or was it soft and mellow? What did he smell like? Did he smell like Old Spice and airplane grease, or is that just a wish of a lonely girl longing to remember? There are faint memories of his fingernail being crooked and bent out of shape. Hints of remembrances from airplane rides....... nothing concrete, just quick flashes.
Richard Malcom Bowker is a legend in my mind. I've had him raised on pedestals and then knocked down to dust different times in my life. There were times that I wished as a young girl that he wasn't really dead. I longed for him to come back and kidnap me. I'd see men that I thought looked like him and dream that they were there to wisk me away. It wasn't that I didn't love my mom. I just wanted my dad. I NEEDED my dad and there are parts of me today that needs my dad. My feelings sometimes change to anger and resentfulness when I wish he had checked his airplane out better before he flew that day. When a father is taken away from his daughter, there is always a void. It won't be filled by things, by people, and not by fading memories.
My sisters had a longer time with my dad. Its funny. I still say, MY dad. Like I have dibbs on him. Either way, my sisters did have more time with him. They have their own memories. I'm sure some great memories, and some not so great. I've heard both. The part that I sometimes feel cheated out of is that my memories are a haze of what I've heard and what I actually remember. I'm often left with the question of " is that something I actually remember or something I've just heard repeated a 100 times?"
There was one time before he died that my sister and I were outside and when he came home from work he showed us the "blood" under our fingernails. He had us put our hands up to the headlights of his car and told us that the red behind our fingernails was our blood. For some strange reason, that is something I remember. Of ALL things to remember, and it was that. There are days when I think that we used to take walks in the woods but why would I know that? That would have happened when I was 3, so I highly doubt I can honestly remember that. On the other hand, who cares? Even if we didn't and it's a made up memory, it still is a nice one.
I remember the day he died and crawling into bed that night with my mom. That is when I started hating night time and it's not a coincidence that I still hate night time to this day. It's less dreaded, but it's not my favorite time. From that night until I was probably 8, memories of life sort of stop. Whether it was post traumatic stress or whatever else you want to call it, I don't recall much of what went on. Bits here, pieces there.......
It was as if life didn't matter and storing the thoughts and memories weren't important anymore.
Some days it's fine. I know life goes on and there really isn't any need to wallow in pity. Crappy things happen........ other days it's almost unbearable how much I want to hear his voice. But, I put on a happy face and make sure the world doesn't know that I'm having Daddy Daydreams..........
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The truth about boys, men and the average trained monkey
When I was younger and more naive, I thought boys were herculean gods that were to be worshiped. Then I married one and gave birth to four of them. Now I am sane and know that these boys may think they are gods, but they are actually closer to a trained circus monkey. Lets take a gander down little boy to manhood lane......
When boys are young, they think that the world is theirs to conquer, draw on, chop down with swords and pelt with spit wads. Mothers are constantly doing their best to keep peace in the neighborhood and stores. The difference between a boy under the age of 10 and the 16 yr old is the cute factor. When your 3 year old wants to take the tricycle at Walmart for a test ride, well, that is cute; and it carries a high probability that the mother in tow will buy said trike for the tyke. 13 years in the future, the same boy will be taking the newest model out for a test ride, except instead of his mother in tow he will have 3 of his friends cheering him on and playing bumper trikes with each other.
One of my overactive sons used to, and still likes to do Parcour.... I'm not sure if that is the right spelling but it's the sport of jumping and flipping over stationary objects and landing on your feet... One frosty morning before school, this son of mine decided to run and vault over the hood of my car. He forgot to take into consideration the fact that it was morning and a thick heavy dew was on the car. Did I mention that it was slippery? Well, as we all were sitting in the car waiting patiently for him, he came running out the door, placed his hands not so firmly on the hood and proceeded to fly across the front of the car and land crumpled in the dirt on the other side. Not only was he mad at all of us for laughing, he was adamant that he could do it and land it the next time. Thankfully for his ego, he did. This is the same son who climbs trees, like a monkey, and waves at me from the top while the top of the tree is swaying back and forth like it's about to snap.
Most boys are like this. They have the inability to realize that they could get hurt. To tell them that is just wasting breath. Boys believe they have a built in suit of iron and 9 lives like the cat. Why else would insurance companies automatically make men pay more for car insurance than girls? They aren't stupid. They know that a guy is going to get in the car and decide that the speed limit is optional and it's more fun to play chicken with Grandma Gert who is driving down the street.
I did happen to raise a child that was rightfully scared of heights..... until he went to college. Then he decided he liked jumping off of cliffs. I can still hear myself asking them this question: "if all your friends jumped off a bridge would you?" I guess I got my answer..... and that would be a "yes". Now all I can say is please make sure you check the depth of the water. Although I'm pretty sure as soon as I say it their eyes glaze over and the voice inside their head sounds like the authority figures in the Peanuts TV specials... you know the ones I'm talking about, wha wah wah whwa wah.......
No matter how much they make my blood pressure go up, and even though I need to color the gray in my hair quite often, I will keep throwing them bananas..... after all, I have the best four monkeys a mom could ask for.
When boys are young, they think that the world is theirs to conquer, draw on, chop down with swords and pelt with spit wads. Mothers are constantly doing their best to keep peace in the neighborhood and stores. The difference between a boy under the age of 10 and the 16 yr old is the cute factor. When your 3 year old wants to take the tricycle at Walmart for a test ride, well, that is cute; and it carries a high probability that the mother in tow will buy said trike for the tyke. 13 years in the future, the same boy will be taking the newest model out for a test ride, except instead of his mother in tow he will have 3 of his friends cheering him on and playing bumper trikes with each other.
One of my overactive sons used to, and still likes to do Parcour.... I'm not sure if that is the right spelling but it's the sport of jumping and flipping over stationary objects and landing on your feet... One frosty morning before school, this son of mine decided to run and vault over the hood of my car. He forgot to take into consideration the fact that it was morning and a thick heavy dew was on the car. Did I mention that it was slippery? Well, as we all were sitting in the car waiting patiently for him, he came running out the door, placed his hands not so firmly on the hood and proceeded to fly across the front of the car and land crumpled in the dirt on the other side. Not only was he mad at all of us for laughing, he was adamant that he could do it and land it the next time. Thankfully for his ego, he did. This is the same son who climbs trees, like a monkey, and waves at me from the top while the top of the tree is swaying back and forth like it's about to snap.
Most boys are like this. They have the inability to realize that they could get hurt. To tell them that is just wasting breath. Boys believe they have a built in suit of iron and 9 lives like the cat. Why else would insurance companies automatically make men pay more for car insurance than girls? They aren't stupid. They know that a guy is going to get in the car and decide that the speed limit is optional and it's more fun to play chicken with Grandma Gert who is driving down the street.
I did happen to raise a child that was rightfully scared of heights..... until he went to college. Then he decided he liked jumping off of cliffs. I can still hear myself asking them this question: "if all your friends jumped off a bridge would you?" I guess I got my answer..... and that would be a "yes". Now all I can say is please make sure you check the depth of the water. Although I'm pretty sure as soon as I say it their eyes glaze over and the voice inside their head sounds like the authority figures in the Peanuts TV specials... you know the ones I'm talking about, wha wah wah whwa wah.......
No matter how much they make my blood pressure go up, and even though I need to color the gray in my hair quite often, I will keep throwing them bananas..... after all, I have the best four monkeys a mom could ask for.
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