Friday, August 21, 2009

Through JD's Eyes

Everyday when I get the kids at the bus stop they start to compete to see who can tell me about their day first. This results in a loud stream of stories, of which I usually understand about half. One day all I heard was JD saying, " And then we found my teacher and I wasn't lost anymore." In usual JD style, he was following behind a girl that turned out to be in a different class, but the mix up was discovered quickly. He ended with, "But I didn't cry or anything."
Today both kids had the same thing on their minds, this year's first fire drill. It scared JD, but I couldn't help but laugh when he told me "the worst part", which was that they didn't even get to see the fire. That's my little pyro in training. Once I explained that drill meant that it was just practice and not a real fire, he was noticeably disappointed.
To round out our full day of funny, I caught JD carrying a really large stack of napkins (about half a bags worth). When I asked him what he was doing, and after the usual innocent "nothing" reply, he fessed up to trying to open the microwave and the thought the napkins would give him the boost he needed to get onto the counter. Half of me is glad I stopped him in time, and the other half would really like to have been there when he stepped up on that stack.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Too Comfortable

There was a story on the news today about how the feds are now considering a move to ban texting while driving. I personally can not imagine trying to text and drive, but I find it hard to believe that we really need the "all mighty" federal government to tell us it is dangerous. I do talk on the phone while I drive, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about that. I worry about letting myself get distracted while driving.

I'm afraid that in an effort to make cars more family friendly and provide every possible comfort, the car companies have actually made us too comfortable in what is basically a moving weapon. We moms live to some existent in our vehicles. We eat in there, we spend a great deal of time with our children in there, and yes we even talk on the phone, all while trying to drive. I even know a few moms, who shall remain nameless, who do their hair and makeup while driving. I think that the comfort and familiarity makes us too relaxed. There was a female comedian who once declared that drunk drivers are better than drivers who are eating because at least the drunks are trying to drive. She was trying to be funny, but she makes a good point. People like me, who would never even think about driving drunk, wouldn't think twice about eating lunch while in route to the ball field. How different are the two, really? Studies are saying that being on the phone or eating while driving impairs your ability to drive safely just as much as a couple of beers. That is a shock to me, and makes me think twice about some of my car habits.
While I am on the subject of car safety, I'd like to pass on a little tip. When you are backing up your car, especially from a driveway in a neighborhood, consider rolling down your window to allow you to hear everything that is going on around you as you move. This will help you to be more aware of possible dangers such as a dog off it's leash or a neighborhood game of hide and go seek that could have made it's way behind your car and out of the sight of your mirrors.
Dive Safely!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Fear and God

This afternoon we passed a pet store that was having a pet adoption day and for a change they we showing kittens instead of puppies. From the car (because I know better than to actually stop) the children were oohing and aahing over the cute little fuzzy kittens. Nix started wishing that Rocky wasn't allergic to cats and that her mamaw (my mom) was not afraid of cats. I should probably mention that although she is slightly better now than when I was a kid, my mother is terrified of cats, but has no idea why. They make her skin crawl as if it were a snake. Oddly enough, snakes don't bother her. She would stand in a pile of full grown pythons before she would touch a kitten. Anyway, JD pipes up and says, "We could pray that God makes Dad not allergic and Mamaw not afraid, and then we could get a kitten." Tonight, much to my surprise, he followed up that thought during nightly prayers by praying for those exact things. I have to admit, I am pretty curious to see if it is indeed in God's vast eternal plan to cure my mother of a life long fear.
Another fear came up today that I was not expecting. As I was tucking JD in I sang him a song called "Hush My Dear". It's a beautiful song about God being with us and protecting us while we sleep. JD seemed to have something heavy on his mind. He asked me how would he be able to find me in Heaven after we all die and then he burst into tears. We had a nice talk about Heaven and angels, and I had to assure him that I would meet him at the gate. I'm trying not to go all Freud on this, he may in fact be concerned about how Heaven works, but he is also about to start kindergarten as well as move to a different part of the church for Sunday School. I'm wondering if he is feeling insecure heading into new places and he chose the ultimate unknown to voice his fears.
The night ended with me praying with him for understanding and security. I am curious to see how much of this late night talk will get carried over to the morning. It could be a really fun day for his Sunday School teachers.