You know, I don't talk about Zach the Warrior too much, sometimes. As I go along I'm sure I will. Follows is a story that reminds me of Zach, how he would do things if he could, and in part, he's still around at least in spirit and ideals, with people like Mike.
Over at the Hooah family's place Claire tells a story about her Mike and the Strykers and lots of other folks that made good things happen. So today, Good News From Iraq. Go see.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Binkys and Blankys and such
I was reading over at Trying's place about Pacifier Rehab and it got me to remembering so I thought I'd tell what I was remembering.
I was the kind of parent who always wanted the truth. You could get in a whole lot less trouble if you just told me the truth as opposed to trying to cover up whatever it was you did with a web of (badly told) lies. So every once in a while Zach would get in my face and tease me about how I LIED TO HIM, about how I damaged him FOREVER with these LIES. *chuckle* Add to that the blame I took for the fact that Zach always got sleepy in cars--he had colic and for a couple of months driving in the car was the only peace I got from screaming between the hours of 4pm and 4am. But I digress. This teasing was always done with huge amounts of humor and love, it was fun and of course I had NO defense, I did lie.
I lied when I said we left his binky (pacifier) at Aunty's house far away and we would just have to get used to going to sleep without binky because we couldn't get another one. Rinse, repeat -- we're talking to a toddler remember. This made for a difficult week or so, but eventually with extra story time and hugs in the rocker from Mom we got through it. I still have that damn binky, stashed away in two footlockers of Zach stuff, along with blanky (there are some things one just must KEEP.) Of course we still had blanky...
I also lied when we "accidentally" left blanky at Aunty's as well three years later. Zach had this blanky, he'd had it since he was born. White, soft, wide ribbon trimmed blanket. Yeah. The healer of all hurts, the car quieter, the nap partner, the I'm sick buddy, and there was no having a story and going to bed without this blanket. Blanky traveled everywhere and trips would be halted and returns to home made if blanky was somehow *gasp* forgotten. Well blanky went to pre-school where Zach went while I was in college full time, but when it came time to go to kindergarten blanky couldn't go and needed to ummm "disappear." By this time, poor blanky was just a shred of his former self. Mostly small swatches of the original soft material and just a bit of ribbon trim left and so he stays now with binky, full of memories.
The third lie was about peas. I hate peas. I really hate peas. Well, ok maybe fresh peas like in Chinese food I will eat (plus there's just some peas, not a whole pile and other things are there to disguise them), but not canned peas. No. Never. I can't even OPEN a can of peas without holding my breath, the smell is nauseating. I was trying to be a good mother. I didn't want to pass my prejudice about peas on to my child. Sooo....I always loved my peas so much I ate them in the kitchen while I was cooking them. I just couldn't WAIT until dinner to eat my peas. I lied. Zach believed me too, and he thought peas were great. Ugh.
Ahhh the things we do to be good parents. Hang in there Mom's, they will turn out just fine because you are paying attention. I promise.
I was the kind of parent who always wanted the truth. You could get in a whole lot less trouble if you just told me the truth as opposed to trying to cover up whatever it was you did with a web of (badly told) lies. So every once in a while Zach would get in my face and tease me about how I LIED TO HIM, about how I damaged him FOREVER with these LIES. *chuckle* Add to that the blame I took for the fact that Zach always got sleepy in cars--he had colic and for a couple of months driving in the car was the only peace I got from screaming between the hours of 4pm and 4am. But I digress. This teasing was always done with huge amounts of humor and love, it was fun and of course I had NO defense, I did lie.
I lied when I said we left his binky (pacifier) at Aunty's house far away and we would just have to get used to going to sleep without binky because we couldn't get another one. Rinse, repeat -- we're talking to a toddler remember. This made for a difficult week or so, but eventually with extra story time and hugs in the rocker from Mom we got through it. I still have that damn binky, stashed away in two footlockers of Zach stuff, along with blanky (there are some things one just must KEEP.) Of course we still had blanky...
I also lied when we "accidentally" left blanky at Aunty's as well three years later. Zach had this blanky, he'd had it since he was born. White, soft, wide ribbon trimmed blanket. Yeah. The healer of all hurts, the car quieter, the nap partner, the I'm sick buddy, and there was no having a story and going to bed without this blanket. Blanky traveled everywhere and trips would be halted and returns to home made if blanky was somehow *gasp* forgotten. Well blanky went to pre-school where Zach went while I was in college full time, but when it came time to go to kindergarten blanky couldn't go and needed to ummm "disappear." By this time, poor blanky was just a shred of his former self. Mostly small swatches of the original soft material and just a bit of ribbon trim left and so he stays now with binky, full of memories.
The third lie was about peas. I hate peas. I really hate peas. Well, ok maybe fresh peas like in Chinese food I will eat (plus there's just some peas, not a whole pile and other things are there to disguise them), but not canned peas. No. Never. I can't even OPEN a can of peas without holding my breath, the smell is nauseating. I was trying to be a good mother. I didn't want to pass my prejudice about peas on to my child. Sooo....I always loved my peas so much I ate them in the kitchen while I was cooking them. I just couldn't WAIT until dinner to eat my peas. I lied. Zach believed me too, and he thought peas were great. Ugh.
Ahhh the things we do to be good parents. Hang in there Mom's, they will turn out just fine because you are paying attention. I promise.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Real Life...
...vs virtual life. Hmmm
I started this post on the 25th of January with just those words, then I had to go do something and never got the post done. So now I'm back to revisit it. Today is really February 12 :)
I've always been an on line geek, since back in the days of Internet Relay Chat when the only people on there were MIT guys and other computer geek people (and my sister Lisa who lived across the sea and that was the only "cheap" way to talk to her regularly). We're talking like early 1980's. All through the years and over various interweb (I just like that word-it makes me giggle) forms I have made friends and acquaintances , all over the world.
You could debate about whether they are "real" friends or "virtual" friends, but imho, they are all as real as can be. My point is, there isn't a pretend person generated by some wondrous computer on the other end of the conversation you are having--this is a real live human being with real live human being thoughts and dreams and fears and well, the list is endless. Many people actually forget that, this is a real person here, and treat that person as though they are some disposable thing -- not so.
I may not be a part of my friends daily life, sitting in the kitchen having coffee, but I am there nonetheless, participating in a conversation, thinking together, supporting each other, sometimes holding on to a little thread of sanity. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to actually meet those friends, we've had gatherings of various sorts where people come from all over the world to meet. I was "best woman" in a wedding in Australia -- two people met on the internet and later married and I knew them both through our on-line conversations. Another two people who met in person at that wedding after talking on-line for years ended up getting married shortly thereafter.
I met my husband on the internet in a mmorp (massively multi-player on line role playing game). Yes, I'm an on line gamer, I blame my son Zach, its all his fault! My husband and I met playing this game, we spent two years of many hours playing this game and talking and laughing and sometimes being serious until finally he asked me to meet him to go to a wedding as his date. The rest (6 years later) is history.
I don't remember what started me on this little jaunt, it was something I read somewhere about "real vs virtual" and I just don't believe there is such a thing. We are all real, the form we use to communicate is virtual but still, we are real. My friends that I haven't physically met are just as valuable to me as those I have. I still wish for my teleporter though, for any number of reasons a teleporter would just be over the top awesome.
I started this post on the 25th of January with just those words, then I had to go do something and never got the post done. So now I'm back to revisit it. Today is really February 12 :)
I've always been an on line geek, since back in the days of Internet Relay Chat when the only people on there were MIT guys and other computer geek people (and my sister Lisa who lived across the sea and that was the only "cheap" way to talk to her regularly). We're talking like early 1980's. All through the years and over various interweb (I just like that word-it makes me giggle) forms I have made friends and acquaintances , all over the world.
You could debate about whether they are "real" friends or "virtual" friends, but imho, they are all as real as can be. My point is, there isn't a pretend person generated by some wondrous computer on the other end of the conversation you are having--this is a real live human being with real live human being thoughts and dreams and fears and well, the list is endless. Many people actually forget that, this is a real person here, and treat that person as though they are some disposable thing -- not so.
I may not be a part of my friends daily life, sitting in the kitchen having coffee, but I am there nonetheless, participating in a conversation, thinking together, supporting each other, sometimes holding on to a little thread of sanity. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to actually meet those friends, we've had gatherings of various sorts where people come from all over the world to meet. I was "best woman" in a wedding in Australia -- two people met on the internet and later married and I knew them both through our on-line conversations. Another two people who met in person at that wedding after talking on-line for years ended up getting married shortly thereafter.
I met my husband on the internet in a mmorp (massively multi-player on line role playing game). Yes, I'm an on line gamer, I blame my son Zach, its all his fault! My husband and I met playing this game, we spent two years of many hours playing this game and talking and laughing and sometimes being serious until finally he asked me to meet him to go to a wedding as his date. The rest (6 years later) is history.
I don't remember what started me on this little jaunt, it was something I read somewhere about "real vs virtual" and I just don't believe there is such a thing. We are all real, the form we use to communicate is virtual but still, we are real. My friends that I haven't physically met are just as valuable to me as those I have. I still wish for my teleporter though, for any number of reasons a teleporter would just be over the top awesome.
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