The good, the bad and the ugly

Any parent knows the highs and lows of parenting are vast and varied. There are those wonderful moments when you want to buy a billboard proclaiming your kid's most recent achievement and then there those other times.

Today's one of those "other" times.

I came home from an afternoon get-together with friends to find Chance in a funk. It seems that Dad had the temerity to tell him he needed to take a break from playing a Wii game. *big sigh* I offered to read a favorite book to him to help get him out of his funk but he was having none of it.

As I sat in his room trying to explain to him why Dad was being so "mean" I got another one of those glimpses into my own upbringing. I was talking to Chance about having to say no sometimes and I could sense what it was like for my parents (who it felt like said no all the time). I finally understood how difficult it must have been for them to tell me no...whether it was something big or little, it's never easy to say no when it's something that your child really wants.

I know this time it was something minor and that there are much bigger things on the horizon. I know it's only going to get more difficult and complicated with every passing year. I know we'll need to stand firm if we want our kids to be the kind of people we want them to become. I know some of it is going to suck. I know someday they will understand when they have kids of their own. But I also know that it's going to be a long haul between Point A and Point B.

Weekends are too short

RT Tickets to Dayton ~$200
Airport parking: $36
Mediocre airport food: $10
The look on a friend's face when you surprise her? Priceless

Last weekend I got to surprise my dear friend Helen...in Kentucky!

Mark (her husband) and I conspired to surprise her and it worked perfectly. The look on her face when she opened her front door and saw me was great. Ok, except that she cried. I'm telling myself she was happy and not looking like "Oh crap, she found me!"

The funny thing was, I went down there to cheer her up (she's missing her family and friends up north) but really it seemed more like I was the biggest beneficiary of the trip. They treated me like royalty, took me to all the best spots, fed me like I hadn't eaten in years (and now I shouldn't eat for years!) and made me feel so incredibly welcome. In the end, I felt like it was a sublime Mommy-getaway for me...that wasn't s'posed to be the way it works!

The only downside was having to say goodbye. Sadly, the old cliche is true: You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. Sean and I never realized how incredibly lucky we were to have such wonderful friends as our neighbors until they moved away. Hopefully some day they'll move back up here and we'll be able to pick right up where we left off. Until then, I think there may have to be some more surprise visits. ;-)

Careful what you wish for

Our local paper has community blogs for each of the suburbs surrounding Rochester. For 6 months or more they've had a terrible time with their bloggers for our town. There have been goofy posts, sporadic posting schedules and other issues. So, when they put out a call for a new town blogger I found myself compelled to toss my hat in the ring.

I got it. *gulp*

You see, here I can rant, brag, and rattle on aimlessly and it's only a rare few who will stay long enough to read a post or two. Now I have a potentially bigger audience and I'm nervous as all get out. My biggest worry is that I'm not thick-skinned enough to deal with the inevitable boo-ing and hissing. (Ever the optimist, aren't I?)

On the upside, Sean is terribly proud of me (at least that's what he tells me) and I'm actually looking forward to having an outlet for my writing again. As I told Sean, it'll be nice to be published again...even if it is only a blog.

Now, if only I could find that novel that ought to be lurking inside of me...then we'd be talking some real author status! ;-)