Puzzler

Logan stood alone at the fireplace.  The air was filled with apprehension.  Reluctantly, he attempted to complete a jigsaw puzzle, his favorite pastime, but his thoughts were being occupied elsewhere.  Every few seconds he threw a nervous glance at the grate.

"It's not like a spider is going to jump out of the chin-in-ee and eat me," he said reassuringly, his eyes glued to the fireplace, as he placed a puzzle piece into a potted plant.

- 16 September 2013

Tuesdays With Ethan

Cub Scouting's Core Value #7 - Honesty

From the Tiger Cub handbook for the first grade Scout, "Cub Scouting emphasizes the relationships of the head, the heart and the hand to 12 core values and calls them Character Connections.  As you guide your Tiger Cub...you will help him reflect on the three dimensions of character - know, commit and practice."

• Know - What do I think or know?
• Commit - How do I feel about this value?  What makes this difficult to do?
• Practice - What can I do?

Ethan and I sat down on the floor of his bedroom and began our Character Connection discussion for honesty.  There was a great deal of wiggling and fidgeting and I wasn't sure that this exercise would be very productive.

"What does it mean to be honest," I asked.

"To tell the truth," he said.

I was admittedly impressed considering how little he seemed to be paying attention.  So far, this was going better than I expected.

"Ethan, when do you find it difficult to be honest?" I asked him, as he rolled around on the carpet.

"On Tuesday," he replied.

- 4 January 2010

Roll Call

Looking forward to a day when 3-year-old bath time doesn't involve Penis Roll Call.  That is to say that the blanket statement, "all boys have a penis and all girls don't" doesn't seem to suffice.  Instead we have to individually go through our entire genealogy and half the city, including pets.

- 8 September 2011

• Alicia L That's hilarious!
  

  September 8 at 9:29pm
• Walla Walla Dad That's my life. It's nothing if not funny!
  

  September 8 at 9:31pm
• Julie S Wait until you experience cup sliding and cup spinning...
  

  September 8 at 9:44pm
• Bryn B We had the same problem when Lindsay was figuring out the difference between boys and girls. She had to confirm that a whole bunch of people had the proper parts. I hated it when she would go through the neighbors. "Does Mr. Matt have a penis?" "Yes, and now Mommy's going to have a hard time looking at him without blushing next time I see him."
  

  September 9 at 3:45am
• Carrie R My nephew used to inventory boobies, which was interesting when it came to some flat chested friends.
  

  September 9 at 4:37am
• Walla Walla Dad Our roll call often includes neighborhood pets as well (dead or alive).
  

  September 9 at 6:25am
• Jeff R ‎"Spectacles, testicles, glasses, keys". That was my 96 year old step-father last week. It never ends.
  

  September 9 at 1:01pm
• Kyra R LOL! It's my life with 3 boys, too! I've had a terrible time convincing my 3 year old that mommy doesn't have one! Public bathroom:"Mommy - I saw your penis!" No son, I'm pretty certain you didn't. Sheesh!
  

  September 9 at 4:37pm
• Ashley As long as I'm not included on that list, we're good.
  

  September 9 at 8:57pm
• Walla Walla Dad Hello delusional, you're in the top 4!
  

  September 10 at 8:45am

Seattle

Ashley, Justin and I took a trip to Seattle.  Justin was very young, only two years old, and receiving all the attention as he was still an only child.  We enjoyed ourselves enormously but Justin seemed to be slightly stressed out.  During the entire trip he kept asking when we were going to Seattle.  At first, his little mantra was cute but, as time wore on, it became quite frustrating.  We kept telling him that we were in Seattle.  The entire city was Seattle.  Everything he could see was Seattle.

When it came time to leave he became very upset because "we didn't Seattle."

??

Halfway home it dawned on us that he thought we were going to see Attle.

To this day we have no idea who Attle is.

- Circa 2002

Your Attention Please

Logan appeared holding a spear and telling a story.

"...since there was no bad guys in that day," he said, looking a little distressed.

"Which one?" I asked.

"The one that started before this one.  I've got to fight them," he announced.

Ugh, now I sort of wish I had been paying more attention.  Perhaps I missed something but if there were no bad guys on that day, who exactly will you be fighting?  And where are you going with that spear?

- 22 July 2012

Dream Killer

Getting through to your children is difficult at the best of times.  When someone else is doing something that they have been told they can't do, it makes it that much worse.

It was nine o'clock in the morning and 60 degrees.  The Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center (SHARC) had been open since six and Justin and I had been round and round about going to swim outdoors so early in the morning in an unheated pool.  As we drove past the facility and saw half a dozen people out swimming he turned and gave me a pleading look.

"No way in hell," I said.

Justin held up a hand.

"Don't talk while my dreams are dying."

- 8 August 2012

Rules of the Game

Ahead of his confirmation, I decided that Ethan needed a little practice shaking hands.  He had just turned nine and it was time that he learned how men shook each others hands.  As practice got under way, Justin decided that he wanted in on the action.

"I am not in the habit of shaking hands with men who are not wearing pants," I told him.

- 19 May 2012