Last weekend, over dinner, we were discussing Dave's upcoming trip to Switzerland. He will be gone for a month. I am very anxious about this as I do not do well as a single mom, much less a single working mom with no family and few friends nearby. But I digress...
We've been talking openly about this trip for awhile but for some reason, just this past Saturday, it finally sunk in with Peter. We were eating dinner and talking about the trip and that little light bulb went off over Peter's head and he said to Dave, "You're leaving for a whole month?!?!" Then things spiraled downward from there. You see, when Peter gets sad, truly sad, it is a most pathetic sight. It makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. First his eyes become HUGE and the lower edges brim with tears. Then, I swear, his entire face slides slowly south. It's like his whole face collapses with sadness, in slow motion, and then the alligator tears start flowing. It's the saddest thing to watch so you feel like crying, too, but you have to laugh to keep from crying and also because it's so darn cute. Then he thinks you're laughing AT him and he buries his face in his hands and sobs harder which makes you feel like a total heel. Anyway, enough about me. Here's Peter AFTER he was done with his crying jag. He actually removed himself from the dinner table and I sat on the couch and held him for awhile.
Here's Dave trying to finish his dinner and feeling like a heel:
I forgot to mention what Peter said right after, "You're leaving for a whole month?!?!" He said, "But who's going to help me play Zelda?!" Zelda, as many of you know, is a video game and Dave "helps" Peter with the difficult parts. I certainly can't do it. I know nothing about video games. I can't even watch them because I get motion sick when I do. We're hoping Sam and Caleb will be able to help Peter with Zelda next month...Moving on, see how unhappy I look in this picture?
I am unhappy because my Schick Quattro for women (razor) fell in the shower the other day and broke so I had to buy a new one. No, just kidding, that is not why I'm unhappy. I'm unhappy because WHY WHY WHY do they package these things so that you can't get the darn thing OPEN?!?!? I can't tell you how long it took me to get that razor out of the package. And I'm a smart person. And strong too. I kept looking at the package thinking maybe there were instructions somewhere that I was missing. Surely I missed something somewhere; it surely can't be THIS hard. Alas, YES, it IS this hard. A few weeks ago I was trying to open a package of batteries and I just about had to get a blow torch to get a one stupid battery out. And don't even get me started on children's toys. How they twist-tie every single component into the box..."Merry Christmas kids! You can play with your new toy in about 2 hours when we finally get it out of the package!"...ugh...Moving on...Sam had to do a report on Alabama recently. He had to make a poster which he, unfortunately, put off until the night before it was due. Here he is at 10:30pm:
I was really torn with wanting to help him with it or let him suffer the full consequences of procrastinating and just go to bed. I figured he's in 5th grade, this might be a good time to learn this. To his credit, he never once complained, whined, or asked for help. Unfortunately, this made me want to help him more. I did stay up to show him how to try to make his lettering evenly-spaced and straight, but he didn't let me help him color or anything at all. When I offered, he said "Well, we're really supposed to do all the work ourselves." SO, I went to bed. I heard him go to bed finally at midnight. The next morning I thought I'd be dragging a tired, cranky 5th grader out of bed but he got himself up and ready fo school as usual. Then I asked to see his poster. I half-expected a sloppy job but then he showed me this:
I was really impressed! I thought he did a great job and can hardly believe he stayed up to color every inch of that darn thing. Hopefully his teacher will agree...All the kids have chores to do around the house. One of Peter's is to take the disinfectant wipes and wipe down the bathroom counters and sink. I think he actually only cleans the faucet so we are still working on the rest...anyway, the other day as he was cleaning the faucet he said to me, "You know Mom, if we used CLOROX wipes, we'd have a streak-free shine on the faucet. See how there are streaks left on the faucet? See? With CLOROX wipes there aren't any streaks."
So here's a picture of the non-Clorox/generic brand wipes we use from Wal-Mart. Warning: these disinfectant wipes have been known to leave streaks on faucets.
I'm thinking I let them watch way too much television...or at least too many commercials...Speaking of Peter, this morning I was making breakfast and he shuffled into the kitchen looking sad and forlorn. I think he even sniffled. I asked him what was wrong and he gestured towards the window and pointed outside.
"THIS" he said.
I quickly looked out he window but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Um, what?" I said.
"LOOK!" he exclaimed.
I looked outside again. I thought maybe there was some kind of catastrophe going on that I somehow missed. I still didn't see anything. I tentatively asked again,
"What is it, honey? What's wrong?"
As his eyes filled with tears and his face slowly slid south (oh no!) he waved his arm towards the window again and finally wailed,
"THIS IS SPRING?!?!"
Then the light bulb went off over MY head and I realized he was referring to the weather. The cold weather, that is. Plus it is very windy today which makes it feel much colder.
So apparently they've been learning, in Kindergarten, all about Spring and the first day of Spring, etc., and what that entails. I think he honestly thought he would wake up this morning and put on a t-shirt and shorts...all the flowers would be blooming and butterflies would gaily fly by his window. Then we'd go outside and bask in the warm sunlight as we blew bubbles and played hopscotch with sidewalk chalk. Uh, yeah, NOT in New Jersey. Poor kid. I felt really bad for him. Somehow I was able to distract him with breakfast. I, myself, am easily distracted by food so it works for now.
One last random funny:
8 comments:
My kids stomp off in a huff all the time when I giggle at their 'cute' crying! Silly kids. What's their problem?!
Mason thought the same thing about spring time. He refused to wear his hat and gloves because it was spring time. I packed them in his backpack in case he changed his mind. And he did. :)
Hi, it's me again. The day after reading your post, my schick Quattro razor fell apart in my hands! So, I'll have to fight the same battle you did!
Your good I would have made Carly go to bed and I would have tried to make a fifth grade rendition of whatever she had to do. What a good parent I am. Mine would have been crying so I would have done it to avoid the drama of it all.
I feel for ya. Joseph travels a lot and it's hard, but never for a whole month! You can do it, though. You're a great mom.
Oh my heart goes out to those who are hoping for spring. We got 2 inches of snow this morning...and ran on thick, black ice for over an hour. I HAVE HAD IT!
Your driving me batty with your posts so packed full of info...i dont' even know where to start!! haha! Great stories...unfortunately for me...I forgot what I was going to comment on!
I have taken note of your packaging issues because of my degree in Packaging. Now to find the job so I can make your life easier! :-)
I actually like the idea of going back to the days when we didn't have so much packaging, things are made locally so we don't have to over package it to protect it from damage as it is transported from China...and we would know that it does not exceed the lead standard...and more people here would have jobs, then less litter and less waste in the landfills...
Too many pros to ignore, but there must be money to be made by companies because not much is being done to change things.
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