Archive for July, 2007

Equality


2007
07.17

Dillon's voice pipes up from the backseat of the car today: "Mom, do you know why I created Superhero Joe?"  Superhero Joe is a superhero Dillon started speaking about pretty much as soon as he could speak coherent sentences.  He's part alter-ego (Dillon's middle name is Joseph) and part amalgam of superheros that D has heard about from school friends and his uncle Nic.

"No, I don't know why.  Please tell me."

"Well, Mom, you always see this American Girl this and American Girl that.  But you never see American Boy!  So I made up Superhero Joe.  (I have to point out here that Rose has one American Girl 'Bitty Baby' that came with three tiny books, one of which D is reading in the backseat.)  He's really cool.  Superhero Joe has all the powers in the world.  He can shoot lava balls out of his mouth.  And metal balls with spikes and stuff.  And sometimes, he shoots spit balls out of his mouth.  The bad guys think this is gross and then they leave him alone.  I am writing a book that is about Superhero Joe going to the moon."

Rose pipes up with "Moo Baa La La La" and cracks her brother up.  But I'm looking forward to reading that book… 

What do I do with this?


2007
07.11

So we run in the door last night and things are hectic.  I'm basically arriving home at the time the kids are ready to eat dinner, Charles isn't home yet, but Dillon and Rose are on point with their crazy antics.  That's fine, they are entertaining each other while I'm throwing together some leftovers trying to assemble a meal.  But when I tell them to wash their hands to come eat, things get a little out of control.  We have one hard-and-fast rule, and that is 'no fooling around in the bathroom'.  This comes from a variety of reasons, including the 'little boys pee standing up' reason, but if you ask Dillon, he'll recite the mantra Charles has taught him, which is "Everything in the bathroom is hard or sharp".  We have a small bathroom, and it is hard for D to pull up his pants without banging his head on something, so I am pretty rigid about this rule.  

So, I am burning the tofu and the edamame won't thaw according to the package directions, and Dillon is jumping around in the bathroom.  I tell him to go to his room for a time out, which he does with surprisingly little drama or protestation.  I'm attending to the tofu while Rose washes her hands and the sky opens and all of a sudden, I'm being hit with water from a storm outside.  Our stove is a good ten feet from the windows, just to give you an idea of the power of this rainstorm.  So now, I'm rushing around trying to close windows, and get all of the ones on that side of the house closed, and go into Dillon's room last, where he is sitting on the toy box, quietly taking a time out.  

I ask him what bad choice he made to take a time out, he answers correctly, and then I tell him to go and wash his hands for dinner.  Then I realize the rain coming in his window, and scold him a bit, saying, why didn't you tell me water was coming in?  He says that he was just thinking about things.  Then I realize that he is totally soaked.  The kid was sitting there, completely getting soaked with rain!

When I tell Charles on the phone (he was stranded at work, having taken the motorcycle…) he wants me to hug D, but I am still not sure if I am more proud or flabbergasted that he gets so into his thoughts.  But it explains why I can't always get his attention.  If a rainstorm in his bedroom can't should I be surprised?