Monday, June 05, 2006

While Dad's Away

Dear Husband is out of state attending a memorial service for his granddad, Curt. His granddad was one of those big personalities; he filled the room. Those are the kind of people you can't conceive of as not being there or sickening. When I last saw him, I felt a strange disconnect. He had been spiraling downhill in health, everytime I saw him he was progressively worse, but I still experienced that jolting shock anew. My mental picture of him always reverted back to the loud, bluff man from my early memories and erased the failing octegenarian. Anyway, it's weird that he is gone.

So DH has been gone and the kids have been playing the "when dad gets home" card. When dad gets home....I'm going to have ice cream. When dad gets home....we are going to stay up past bed time and play legos. When dad gets home....we are going to charm him into breaking the rules that mean old mom puts down.

Ah yes, the rules, those harsh cruel ones like: dinner before desert, don't run up and down grocery store aisles shreiking like banshees, put you bikes under the breezeway. Say please and thank you, let seniors go through the door first, DON'T POKE THE BABY. My goodness - don't poke the baby.

Incidentally, Glenn and Helen interview James Lileks (author of Mommy Knows Worst: Highlights from the Golden Age of Bad Parenting Advice) and Cathy Seipp on child rearing. It's well worth listening to. One of the questions they ask is why are large families less obsessive about safety than small families? Cathy thinks it's because large families see the different stages of ability and it's easier to give the elder's autonomy. My answer: the more kids you have, the more wisely you pick your parenting battles. As a parent you only have so much energy to funnel into things. I tend to funnel my energy into things I think are essential rather than battle my strong willed kids over convenience issues. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter if the Muralist wears a garish pink tutu over her jeans and yodels "A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes" at the top of her lungs going down Highway 20.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"When Dad gets home..."

"I'll have a page template that actually WORKS!"

Anonymous said...

"When Dad gets home..."

"I'll have a page template that actually WORKS!"