Joe and his friend, Pillar

You can lead a caterpillar to a leaf, but you cannot make him eat it. However, if you are my kid, you will try, try and try again.

Yesterday, when I came home from work, Daddy greeted me. “You should ask Joe what he saw today that was cool.” Because I always do what my better half asks of me (*cough*), I turned to Joe and asked, “What did you see today?”

With smile that would light up the darkest hour of the darkest day, Joe beamed and said, “I watched my caterpillar eat almost an entire pepper leaf!” Seconds later, Daddy chimed in, “He did! I saw it, too!” (As if I was going to question the validity of what Joe observed.) “It was so cool.” My husband continued, “The caterpillar ate so fast and so much. He must have been famished.” Joe was still beaming, nodding his head in agreement.

Since yesterday, Joe has been trying to get his pet caterpillar to repeat the eating frenzy. For now, Pillar, as Joe named him, seems to prefer to eat in a more civilized manner. Continue reading “Joe and his friend, Pillar”

Caution: Cranky Blogger Seeking Ignorance

I received a call from Joe’s teacher. “Joe is showing some unusual behavior.” She said. Unsure what she meant, I started visualizing different things. Turns out none of my visions were accurate. She was simply concerned he didn’t feel well. I made an appointment with his pediatrician. Come to find out, the kid was battling strep. The next morning, while taking Charlie to the dentist, I talked to myself about whether or not to take Charlie to the pediatrician.

The dialogue went something like this: “I should take Charlie to the doctor. He probably has strep. Dang blast it. I have that perfect part-time job #2 I have to tackle. Joe’s home from school. If I find out Charlie has strep, he’ll be home from school, too. How am I going to work two jobs with two kids at home? Did I leave the iron on? Wait. I don’t iron. Is there ice cream in the freezer at home?”

Actually, the dialogue better resembled Cameron, from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. “He probably has strep. He probably has strep. I’ll go. I’ll go. I’ll go.” Like Cameron, if I had not been driving during this conversation with myself, I would have gotten out of the car and jumped up and down in frustration.

Continue reading “Caution: Cranky Blogger Seeking Ignorance”

Saving $10 to spend $99.99 makes sense to me!

The phone rings. I check caller ID before determining whether or not I will answer the call.

“Hello?”

“Is it true Joe has a $100 Lego set?” My neighbor asks.

“Um. Well.” I stammer. “Charlie does.”

We have boys. Boys love Legos. I work from home. Boys make noise. Legos quieten boys. Legos are expensive. I will work for Legos. Continue reading “Saving $10 to spend $99.99 makes sense to me!”