Eat dem birdy

"Ohhhh...I love to eat dem birdies, birdies what I love to eat...love to chew dey tiny heads off, like to nibble on their beaks..."

It is spider season. I am afraid of a few particular things in this world. I am afraid of heights. I am afraid of spiders. I am especially afraid of high spiders.

So, our kitties are like arachnid hunting ninjas. If they see a spider up on the ceiling, they get all Zen..and will sit for hours waiting for that bungee jumping frightfest to make one wrong move...

...and then they eat it!!!!

MY HEROES!!!

Nighttime spider crime fighters! Catnip for all my pussies!

Killer Wabbit

YEAH!!!

Hope you had a happy Easter!

Is that a carrot in your pocket?

Hey! Easter is this month! Right?

It is the season of the weird bunny who has a thing for a chicken-and recently also seems to be getting inappropriate with a jar of peanut butter.

Barry White playing in the background...soft lighting...

Has anyone noticed that the secular versions of holidays are kinda strange? Has anyone noticed that the religious versions are even stranger?

I don't know. I may be convinced to believe that a dead guy rose from a sealed tomb to make an appearance before disappearing again-and then requiring that all of future mankind believe in him on blind faith or suffer an eternity of hellfire, but I will NOT fall for a rabbit that lays eggs.

Geez. I'm on a roll.

It is true. If I am wrong about religion, there is probably a special place in hell reserved for me-in the "extra hot" section where they serve cookies with no milk-EVER!

Can I talk to you about Jesus? And Amway?

O.K.-but I would like to talk to you about long term care insurance.

Anyhoo...

Little C and I came home this afternoon, and there was something stuck in my screen door. It was a pamphlet, and Little C immediately saw it and said "Kingdom Hall was here."

Jumpin' JehosahWitnessfat.

I'm sure the whole Kingdom Hall wasn't actually here. Someone would have surely noticed that and called the authorities. It was probably two really nice white people in sweaters.

Paradigm Shift

This picture has nothing to do with this blog entry-but the "F*#k You, Penguin " guy has inspired me to put up nauseatingly cute graphics...

Anyhoo-

Little C is here, and I am so thrilled I can hardly stand it. I have missed her so much. I have noticed a thing, though-part of the consequence of mediating an agreement where I am a peripheral presence.

Spam does not have a job. Spam does not have a relationship. Little C is the body around which Spam orbits...and when she enters a world where the adults have other distractions, attentions, foci...she seems a bit out of sorts. We have been having a blast, but there is not a time out to be had...and the short-term memory loss is more pronounced than the nursing home where I work.

I can spend a morning laying out the clothes, making her breakfast, running the bath, teaching her to play Solitaire, going to the store for a requested watercolor kit, buying her requested menu items, painting with her, taking her to the beach to feed squirrels and aggressive seagulls, buying her ridiculously priced Pethop Pets, going to rent the newest kid release (which makes me want to poke out my eyes with a sharp stick), foregoing any favorite or intellectually stimulating tv program to watch the Jonas Brothers give vanilla ice-cream a run for the money, turning the heat on and off and on and off to accomodate widely fluctuating body temps influenced by episodic galloping horse impersonations, spenidng an hour making a lasagna and veggie-only to have it shuffled around the plate and then followed by a request for a hotdog...

Parenting in general is like this, I do remember. But, it is hard to instill realistic expectations and a sense of empathy for those around her if her primary environment caters to every whim...and ultimately revolves totally around her.

So, this summer will be a reality check...good or bad. Little C does seem to respond to reminders to think beyond herself...put her trash in the can, clothes in the hamper, and to consider what the other is experiencing...part of socialization...

And she says "thank you" a million times, and loves to say "I love you" just because...she is sweet, and smart, and polite...and Spam has a lot to do with that...

But at about twelve or thirteen years old, I think the natural separation that Little C will initiate will be very painful for both of them...they still share a bed...and Little C is still not confident at toileting hygiene because it has been done for her...and many, many whims have been indulged without consequence or responsibility, I can tell....

So-wish me luck this summer as I re-learn to balance parenting and the rest of my life-while trying to come to terms with a parenting style (and it's consequences) that I never agreed with-

:)