Kids Will Be Kids...Even When They are 24

No one under the age of fifty will recognize this picture.

When I was a kid, Art Linkletter had a show called "Kid's Say the Darndest Things".

This was back when reality TV was Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Candid Camera and Art Linkletter... unless you considered Let's Go to the Races as reality TV.

I know I just confused anyone under the age of fifty and made everyone above the age of fifty chuckle.

I have been working like a steam engine... eleven shifts last week and eight this week (because I screwed up on when Massey's competition was) so I will be picking up another double Sunday and bumping back up to ten!

It's wonderful to have a job where I can work as much as I need and bring a paycheck home after every shift.

Tonight after it slowed down we were all standing around talking when I mentioned my MLK blog to the owner and remarked "What were white people THINKING in the 50's and 60's?" Not to mention that we loaded them all up on a boat and chained them together and brought them here to be treated like animals, and sometimes the animals got better treatment!

He whole heartedly agreed. I asked if he thought ANY of those people that fought SO hard AGAINST equality for everyone were embarassed today by their actions then?

We agreed that some are and sadly, some are not.

I mentioned that when Zach was in fifth grade... still sweet and "Un"Anti Everything, he was a big advocate of equal rights. He used to get really upset about bigotry and bias and was ALL over the self serving politicians.

He wanted to change the world and for about 2 years I thought I may being raising a future presidential candidate. I almost got excited about moving into the White House and having someone else to clean up after my family of slobs.

In fifth grade the kid's write their first "Real" paper. Zach's was in February so of course being "Black History Month" he was all excited. The paper had guidelines and rules. It had to have sources and be backed up by facts you could show.

Zach came home beaming and said "I chose Martin Luther King III" to write about.

I immediately said "Why don't you write about his father?"

Zach said that every one was writing about him and he wanted to (bless his little young Liberal heart) do even MORE!

We checked out every book they had on Martin Luther King, Jr. and there was hardly ANY mention of "Marty'. At least we learned he had a nick name.

We could find no sources saying where he attended school or what he was doing in in his younger years.

I guess when you know you are in the cross hairs of society you keep your kid's life pretty private.

Zach sat down and started writing about how smart Marty was and I said "How do you KNOW that?"

I told Zach he had to back up all of his paper with facts. The smile faded after two hours of finding nothing more than Marty was MLK Jr.'s son.

He was required to report on their education and accomplishments. He was to report on when and how that person had died and back up all his facts with sources.

He spent hours on the computer and proudly gave me the report to read.

Thank the Lord he wasn't in the room because after I read the first paragraph...I immediately called my sister to read her his report.

He skated around every rule of writing the paper that he could...and did it quite well for a fifth grader.

Where he was to report about his subject's education, Zach had written "We can only assume he did well in school".

It went on and on with "Assumptions" and when it came time for him to tell when and how this person had died, he typed "He is not dead, but is happily alive".

I told my sister that his teacher probably had his paper tacked to the board in the teacher's lounge just to give all the other teachers a laugh.

My boy meant well...and that's all that mattered to me.

I kept that paper for years but went looking for it last year and couldn't find it. I guess Zach found it and decided to destroy the evidence.

My kids have given me so many laughs and wonderful things to look back on and remember. It is a good thing I write them all down.

I remember as well... Zach had a crush on a girl in third grade that wouldn't give him the time of day if he was on death row the morning of his execution.

He came home from school and said "Melissa hurt her leg, she's on crotches".

Or when he brought home his new best friend in third grade to spend the night and announced "He's spending the night. He's a severe alcoholic but brought all his own stuff with him". I asked Zach "I thought he was Diabetic?" And Zach said "Yeah, same thing."

I miss when my kids made me laugh. They still give me a chuckle every now and then so I guess that counts.

I hope every Mom writes down all the things their kids say and do. They will be priceless memories for one of the grand kid's to read back to us in the ole folks home as they shovel jello into our mouths.

KIDS..ya gotta have them. Be good to them...they are the one's that will pick out our hospice!

My kid's have given me so many smiles and laughs...far outweighing the negatives.

They tend to rebel as teens but if raised right, they will come home to the values you instill in them as children and continue to make you smile.

Til next time...COTTON