Saying yes...

Does anybody remember Sniglets?

They were words that Rich Hall felt should exist. I believe at one point he even had enough to fill a book. I believe there was one for what I just did... and if there wasn't, there should have been.

My stomach has been growling for about the past hour or two. It wants rasty cake. It wants bad frosting. There is none in the house. I ignored my stomach.

About 10 minutes ago my stomach reminded me that it still WANTED CAKE! I got up, looked in the fridge for something to shut it up. I scanned the carrots, the apples, the broccoli. I looked at the cheese, saw some yogurt, but no cake. I knew there was no cake in there, but I thought I might be pleasantly surprised. Nope, no cake.

I then shut the door, stood there while my stomach growled and then opened the door again. Any cake yet?? Anywhere in there? Was it just hiding?? Hellooooo?? CAKE??? No, still no cake. I shut the door...

I then turned to walk away, but found myself turning back and opening the damn door! AGAIN!! Shoot! Still no cake! I ate a couple of green olives instead. It seemed to make sense, somehow.

There has to be a word for looking in the fridge again and again, hoping to find something you know is not in there. Yeah, I know, insanity might work, but I'm thinking of something more succinct.

Am I just being a hardass?

Family Reading Night at my youngest lamblet's school has been a burr under my saddle since its creation back when the eldest lamblet went there. Do I love to read? Yes. Do I think reading is important? Yes. Do I support reading?? Yes, in many ways, so why on earth would a school function that supports reading bug me so much? It started waaaaay back when. I know, I should just let it go, but it still bugs me.

Way back when, long ago, back when the eldest lamblet was just a little scrunchle chunchle who loved to read, the PTA decided to add one more school function to their already bursting list of activities that encouraged you to leave your home at night and not spend quality time with your own family, within your own walls. The activities are called optional and yet there is always pressure to have 100% attendance. Family Reading Night was no different. Here's what you did, you went to the school, you sat in a circle with your family and you read while other families were reading within their own circles.

I can understand why you would encourage those who are not reading as a family to undertake this, but we were already doing that at home. We read all the time, together and alone. There is reading material oozing from our house so I felt no need to go to the school to prove we supported reading. I felt the fact that the lamblet was in accelerated reading proved she was supported in her reading endeavors. If anything, we probably needed to be reading less. Now if they had a "Family Scrub Your Baseboards Night", I might be able to benefit from that. As for the reading night, I felt fine not going and just spending a wonderful night together in our home.

That was the wrong answer. At the bus stop the day after FRN, I had numerous mothers asking me why we weren't there! Was something wrong?! Had something happened? No, I told them, we just chose to stay home, it was our one night that week that was not busy and I thought we needed that more.

"DON'T YOU SUPPORT READING!?!?" one of them cried. She was aghast that I wouldn't go to something so important. I told her I most definitely supported reading, I did every single day as did Grizzled. I found it ironic that the same woman who was questioning my support of reading was the same one who told me I'd have much more room in my home if I just got rid of all of those stupid books. This was the same women who introduced Grizzled and me at a party as people who actually read daily newspapers. But apparently she had forgotten and all of that didn't matter if my family wasn't reading where no one could see it. If it didn't happen at school, it didn't count.

Grrrrrrr.

It's been many years since that happened and we have not been to one FRN event. In my defense, it still happens on the one night where none of us has anything else going on. I can't see dragging us out of the house to prove we read when I know we read. On top of that, my kids spend a lot of time at school already and could probably use a little extra time just being with their family. I don't think everything has to be scheduled to the nth degree although I might go to a scheduled "Don't Schedule Everything Night"...

I support reading. I just don't support those extra-curricular activities that are optional until you don't go...

End of gripe. Happy Monday!

Move Over, "My Pet Goat"!!!

Goodnight Bush is in town!!! My sister informed me of this little gem a week or so ago and I am now the proud owner of my own copy. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll tear your hair out. I would not suggest it for bedtime reading... even though Cheney looks almost human in his bunny slippers, there's no disguising the truth of all that's been done in the past 7 years. Maybe they should have called it, "Goodnight World".

Baby Showers, Books, and Blackouts

As most people know, Brando and TLB are expecting TBD in a mere matter of weeks... we're in the midst of trying to nail down a time for a blog baby shower. I'll post as soon as a mutual time is decided upon. I've got a fair amount of responses, but no time has been settled on as of yet, so if you want to weigh in, now is the time to do it.

We've been hit with intense storms which are not only causing sporadic blackouts, but are also messing with my already feeble computer. Blogging could become even more random than it's been. A new computer is waiting in the wings, but we need to salvage numerous things from this one before putting it out to pasture. Unfortunately, this one is not recognizing out f-drive where all things were stored for safe keeping currently reside.

One thing that I did manage to save and retrieve was a post I had started last week... I'm putting it up now in unedited form for fear that if I take the time to edit, we'll have another blackout and it will be lost... Without further ado and without further editing or blackouts, here it is.

My eldest lamblet asked me not to long ago if she could read To Kill a Mockingbird. She had spied my copy on the shelf and said she had heard about it and was curious. My initial answer was a yes, she’s a mature reader. I then caught myself and had to think back to exactly what went on… even if you’re a mature reader, you’re not always ready for everything. I finally said it was ok.  It got me thinking though, I was definitely NOT asking my parents what I could read at this age (my eldest lamblet just finished the 6^th grade). I recall reading select parts of the Godfather at her age. I usually read pretty safe stuff, but there were also 4 children who came before me and 2 parents who were all leaving their reading material around. I read what I wanted… which leads me to ask, why is she asking? I’m not a very controlling parent. I am concerned with kids getting too much too soon, but also realize that finding out the ways of the world from a good book is a very good way to expand ones view.

So… why did she ask? I often know what she’s reading since I walk past her as she’s reading and see it, or I ask her what she’s reading or I have to help her locate the book, but I can’t think of one time when I said no to what she had. The only time I checked (aside from this) on the appropriateness of a book was when she was reading a series and her teacher had said to the class that they may want to wait a year or so before reading the 3^rd installment. I emailed the teacher to see what the worry was about and to ask if reading it with my lamblet would be ok (she really liked the series and wanted to read the 3^rd book). The teacher said it would be no problem for the lamblet so I still don’t know what the issue was.

My youngest daughter will probably not ask so maybe it’s just a personality thing. My eldest lamblet is much more of a rule-follower. Or course my youngest lamblet probably won’t give a hoot about what books are about. Getting her to read it would be like asking her to sit still. I fear that with her I’ll be saying no to other activities like driving a vehicle before she hits double digits or deciding since the garage roof is flat, it would be a nice place to hang out.

But back to the reading selection du jour… my eldest lamblet was about 30 pages in when she said, “What a cool book!” She’s right. I can’t remember all of it I’m ashamed to say. I haven’t read it in nearly 30 years, but I do remember plowing through it. I remember where I was sitting and remember reading it in one day. One of the reasons I read it in one day was because I had to read it for Lit class and had put it off. The other reason was that I didn’t want to put it down.

Even if I re-read the book and got more from it than I did the first time, I’ll never read it the same way again. I’m feeling almost envious of all the books the lamblet has to discover. I’ve re-read many favorites over the years and have found that time and experience has added to my appreciation, but still, there’s nothing like the first time with permission or without.

 Ah yes, as if on cue... more thunder...

What book are you?

Found this quiz via Mannion aka Pip, who found it via Melissa aka Owen.

What book am I?

You're Watership Down!
by Richard Adams
Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Calling all twenty-somethings!!!

A good friend of mine is in the process of writing a book about the differing situations twenty-somethings face these days vs. previous generations. I'm simplifying her book beyond belief, but she can elaborate if she so chooses... She has asked me if I would post the following paragraph and if you young ones out there would please respond.

As young adults test the waters of relationships and delay marriage well into their 20s, relationships with friends and peer groups have become more central in their social lives than ever before. Twenty years ago, when young teens looked into the future, they saw themselves at age 25 with a wife or husband, sitting around the dinner table, after a day of work or child care. Today, those teens more often see themselves sitting in a café with friends. Friends, not wives or husbands, are now the central relationships of early adulthood…. Friends are often young adults’ lifeline, their sounding board, their judge and jury. They discuss their toils and problems at work. The complain about their bosses. They fill in each other about their day, how their workout is going (or not).  They plan their weekends and their lives. In other words, they’re having the same conversation with friends that was once the domain of spouses. …It could be said in fact that the nuclear family is losing its function, replaced by friends.

She does not so much want to confirm or dispel the idea in the paragraph, but just wants to get some insights on it, your reaction to it, and some examples from your own life of how you rely on friends or how friends play a role in your lives. She is looking for some real-life voices.

Feel free to direct this to anyone you know who might apply and who might want to add their input.

Thanks!

A Very Happy Young Poet

We have been under a viral haze for about the past two weeks. My youngest lamblet got it first, passed it on to my oldest lamblet and to me. Luckily my older, more experience immune system has allowed me to continue in a more or less normal fashion. Grizzled has so far managed to circumvent it altogether. He's been saying he has to work late, but frankly, I think he's just avoiding the plague.

Today as my oldest lamblet was spending yet another day on *couch lock-down*, she did get some good news. Her poetry book arrived!

Last year certain grades in my daughter's school participated in the Pine Tree Press poetry contest. My daughter's class had to write a poem using as many prepositions as possible, but subject matter could be of their choosing. She was notified at the beginning of this school year that her poem was indeed one of the poems chosen and would be published with other student from around the country. All poems chosen would be published together and each participating school would get a copy for their library. Parents were allowed to order of a copy of their own which of course we did and that is what arrived today. I think the viral haze is lifting. :)

Here is her poem:

“Mr. Opossum"

 
In the meadow the fresh air shall billow,
Below flowers will blossom,
Past the oak and the willow,
Between our feet we find Mr. Opossum,
Through the shrubs he scurries off,
In back of me,
Toward a moth,
Without a stop he again scurries off,
According to me he has allergies,
In addition to that he has a cough,
Let’s pray he doesn’t have fleas!

                                  -CL