Babies for Barack

Monday quote

Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. --Benjamin Franklin,

So the child woke up at 12:20 last night....

....sobbing hysterically and crying that he wanted to --- clean!

Here's one for the "What is wrong with people?" file...

A friend recently related a conversation she had with another co-worker about the co-worker's recent trip to Vietnam.

It never fails to boggle my mind when when someone travels to a developing country and is shocked by the level of poverty -- not understanding that they could find that poverty right here in their own backyards if they just opened their eyes and their hearts and their minds. My bogglement morphed into annoyance when it was further related to me that this woman was so upset by the poverty, she sat at the window in her hotel room in Hanoi and wept, not leaving the room for two days, wailing to my friend that people were dying in the street. I do not,by any stretch of the imagination, mean to minimize the very real, heart wrenching poverty that exists in Vietnam. Still, I find it hard to believe, knowing where she stayed, that she saw people dying in the streets.

But just how useless was staying in the room and weeping for two days? Get out in those streets! Meet those people! Buy things from them!

My annoyance turned to real anger, however, when she said "This is why Kathy needs to take Adam back to Vietnam when he's older -- to show him how his life could have been and to make sure he's grateful!" There are just too many things wrong with that sentiment to even begin to enumerate. What is wrong with people anyway?

A foreshadowing....

...As I've mentioned before, Adam is very social. We talk to many people on the street and in stores, and often people I've never seen will say hello to him, most likely knowing him from daycare.

While we were walking the dog the other morning, a woman came out of her house and greeted me with familiarity. I had no clue who she was. She turned to Adam and exclaimed "Adam! My, you're getting so big!" After a few minutes of polite small talk, we continued on our way. Once we were out of earshot, I bent over and asked Adam "Does that lady work in your school?" Without missing a beat he replied "No, food store." And he was right. She was a cashier from our local supermarket.

I suspect this is how our life will go in a few years -- Adam will lead his old decrepit mother gently down the street and as we encounter people, coach me with "Now, Mother, this is Sally from the drugstore. You remember Sally, don't you?" LOL!

Monday quote

Resentment is letting someone you despise live rent free in your head

My unequivocal boy

While I was on the phone with mother the other night, Adam cried and screamed and generally behaved like a huge pain in the butt. There was nothing wrong with him, nothing to indicate what his problem was. After I got off the phone he was a perfect angel for the rest of the night. I sat down with him and said "You don't like it when Mama is on the phone?" He said no. I said "Well, sometimes I have to talk to Grandma on the phone." His reply? "NO! Mama talk to Adam!" Hoo boy! It doesn't get much clearer than that! LOL!

Quote of the week...

...a day late because of the Columbus Day Holiday. This one is especially meaningful to me at this particular time:

Life is too short, so love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

“There is a comfort in the strength of love; "t will make a thing endurable which else would overset the brain or break the heart " -- Wordsworth

Adam and I have a sweet little ritual for when he is grouchy, or sad, overtired, or just in need of some snuggling. He sits on my lap facing me with his arms around my neck as I rock and sing a quiet little song I made up. It goes "Rocka Rocka baby, Rocka Roca Adam, Rocka Rocka baby, I love you." As we go on, with each repetition, I change the name of the person who loves him and one by one list all the people in his life.

When I notice he is about to lose it, I will ask "Do you need a rocka?"

The other day, for the first time, I caught him playing with his cars, quietly singing the "rocka" song to himself. A sweet moment!

Words do two major things: They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.

For some time now, I've been in the habit of collecting quotations that come across on line. Quotations that move me, that inspire me, that speak to me. I had some vague ideas about doing a creative project involving them but haven't come up with the right idea. So I've decided to post them here -- one quote every Monday. I'll try to choose those that are applicable to parenting, how I want to raise my son, values and strengths I'd like him to have, or that I think can help him throughout his life. Here's the first one:

“ The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” ~ Richard Bach

Sometimes he is too cute to bear!

This morning as we were getting ready to leave the house, I asked "Ok, who's ready to go? Adam, are you ready? " "Yes!" "Nea, are you ready?" (I replied for Nea. "Mama, are you ready?" I asked myself. "Yes." Adam clapped his hands in delight and said "Allbody's ready!" He's killing me!