Parenting Shmarenting

You HAVE to click on this photo. I laughed for five minutes. Then I kicked myself in the butt for two more minutes wishing I had thought of this photo opp when my own kid's were young.

You know it was a young couple that took this shot... Parents who had back to back youngun's and by the time they reached three and four thought to themselves..."If we don't start laughing about this now, we'll be in a rubber room by the time they hit 17 and 18."

My dogs have always had free range of the yard, house and furniture so we never HAD a kennel. If we had, I would have already thought of this...(I'm funny like that.)

There are parents who have kid's with horrific disabilities both physically and mentally. To those parents "Yes I am a wimp but I take my hat off to and pray for you on a daily basis realizing what a truly lucky person I am."

Kids are so different. Sometimes I wonder how mine could have possibly all come from the same gene pool? All I have to say is that it must be a HUGE gene pool...the size of the North Atlantic.

I keep feeling myself slipping off the deck of the parenting boat, tossing and turning in the huge waves of Testosterone, and the swells of PMS and "Whatever!"

Finally my LAST two kid's are over three fourths of the way to being one tenth of the way to maturity and responsibility. Kids just don't grow up as quickly as we did. My parent's ran a tight ship and were commited to church and Country...they still thought about the Cuban missile crisis when I started Junior High ten years later and always had a corner of the basement designated for Tornado Warnings. It was back by the Cuban Missile Crisis corner. Guess bomb's hit from the same direction as Tornado's.

My Mom spent sixty bucks a week on groceries for a family of five and that was with getting twenty bucks cash back.

No wonder Zach is so pissed at the world. We are making tremendous strides with technology but values and morals seem to be going in the crapper. Don't get me wrong there are millions of wonderful parents and children but the important things have taken a slight detour. They are no longer the straight and narrow but more undefined and sometimes skirted around. When you hit eighteen at our house when we were kids and graduated from high school you got the graduation present of a nice set of luggage and were expected to use it ....and we did.

There was no moving back home, your room had already been made into a comfy den or one of the younger Sib's had taken over your bigger bedroom as their own...packing up whatever crap you left into a box and shoving it into the attic.

If you chose to go to college, your parent's were your "Hope Scholarship." They supported you . If you didn't go to college, you joined the work force.

I have spoiled all three of my kids. They are products of what I raised them to be. I bailed them out every time they screwed up. I took them papers to the school when they left them at home after I had propped up a note on the kitchen table saying "Don't forget papers." I have been known to throw together a pretty mean "Diorama" in one one night (that would be the night BEFORE it was due.) I would have it looking perfect then tell the kid's "Okay, add what you want" (to give it that authentic non parent look.) They would add something that was not only nowhere close to being scale to the scene but usually having nothing to do with it.

I didn't do all my kid's school work for them. They earned their grades and often all excelled on their own.

I am just a push over when they look at me and admit they have screwed up. At least they admitted it and asked for help.

A lot of kids aren't even THAT smart...maybe I am raising geniuses and they are pulling a fast one on the ole lady.

I could have done a better job and I am the first one to admit it but I could have also done a horrible job and be sending three future serial killers or uni bombers out into the world to wreak havoc on the masses.

I think my kid's will be okay...it may just take longer.

My second one is graduating in nine days...I wrote the check for senior dues and it cleared, I'm holding this school accountable.

I told my husband I was excited about Zach receiving the "Most likely to be missed least by faculty and administration" award...it makes me feel kinda fuzzy all over!

My job with Zach will be a success in nine short days. He is a brilliant kid that has fought the broken system every step of the way and pointed out it's every downfall .

Between his mind and my constant love he'll graduate. If he had chosen to do it all on his own using the wonderful gift of intelligence he has been blessed with, he would be headed to Harvard with a full ride.

But at least he is loved, has always been loved and will always be loved. That's a pretty good gift to have too.

He's still getting the luggage as a present...and is expected to use it.

Til next time...COTTON