Some Invitation

My goofy pal, Sharon, sent me what I thought was an invitation to the slushy stand today. She sent it via one of those "Meet Hot Singles in Your Area" emails. Actually - she was just kidding, but I scanned the whole thing looking for the time to meet her there. I was reminded of the time in high school when a boy invited me to the prom and I accepted. Then he said he was just kidding, so I had to pretend that I was kidding, too, when I accepted. What a nightmare. After thinking about high school and receiving the hot singles email, I remembered the time that our Student Council did a fund raiser where you filled out a questionnaire about yourself. They sent them back in to some company that analyzed them and listed your top ten "love matches" from your school. My number one match was a boy in special ed. I am not kidding. I am also not making fun of anyone in special ed - it's just a fact - and obviously I have no room to make fun of him since he was my number one love match. He was the water boy for the basketball team and also loved to experiment with fashion. I remember him wearing shorts with long tube socks. He would roll the tube socks down like donuts around his ankles. He also made up actions to the 80's song, "Once Bitten Twice Shy" which he performed at the swimming pool where I lifeguarded. I'm not sure if the song/dance routine was for me specifically because of our love match, or if he was simply performing for the masses. Either way - that was my experience with the equivalent of "meeting hot singles in my area". Oh - and my number two match - the boy that pretended to ask me to prom.

My Strong Willed Child

I am the proud parent of a strong willed child. A real one. Not a child that is simply hyped up on sugar or needs a nap - a real, honest to goodness strong willed child. When Mason was just a baby, he let us know that he intended to be in charge. We didn't pick up on the signs then, but as we look back - they were there. Blake would put him down for naps when he was very small, and Mason would ever so slightly move to a position indicating a decision HE was making - not one assigned to him. When he was three he told me that if things were going to work out between us, I was going to have to be more flexible (Thank you Incredibles). I bought James Dobson's book on the strong willed child. Mason promptly used it as a step to reach an item on the counter he'd been instructed not to touch.

Today we went to lunch with one of my dearest friends, Joyce. Mason was in another booth chatting up the people over the back side. I instructed him to get down. He knew better than to say the word "no", but he really didn't want to end his visit. So after thinking about it for a moment, he used sign language to sign the word "no" to me. We headed straight for the bathroom with Mason holding his bottom all the way. I'm surprised no one called the SRS. However - had they seen the whole scene unfold, they may have offered to hold Max for me while I dealt with Mason!

I realize that there are positives to having a strong willed child. He's less likely to bend to peer pressure, and he has incredible drive. I just hope we don't strangle him in the process. Parenting Mason is such a challenge. I go to bed exhausted every night, but if I give in - he wins. Maybe I should ask my mother-in-law, Sharon, for advice. When her strong willed son (not Blake! - his brother, Larry) wouldn't stay in his room at night, she simply sawed the door in half creating a dutch door. He was stuck inside and she could stop worrying about him escaping...at least for awhile!

The Mother Daughter Soda...I Mean Tea

Yesterday my mom and I attended the mother daughter tea at Hope. It's become a yearly tradition for us, and this year was just as wonderful as years past. The speaker, Courtney Doctor, was awesome. I hadn't met her before, but we seemed to hit it off, and I can't wait to email her about a testimony I later heard regarding her talk.

Sondra Schimming gave a very proper talk on tea etiquette. I listened intently as I scooted my Diet Dr Pepper can behind the centerpiece. Sorry folks - I don't like tea and I have a caffeine addiction to deal with. Somewhere during the event, I got the bright idea to pour my pop into my tea cup. It seemed less tacky to lie about the contents than to drink straight out of the can at this proper function. At one point, I got up and was visiting with some friends nearby. My mom noticed I still had a cup full of tea, so she thought she'd pour some of it into her cup and not let it go to waste. The little girl sitting across from me had gotten quite a kick out of me sneaking pop during the morning, but I guess her eyes really started to widen as she watched my mom's actions unfold. Mom mentioned noticing Carly's amusement, but thought she was chuckling over our lack of manners. Carly knew my mother was about to encounter quite a surprise! Surprised she was as she took a sip of my "tea", and delighted was Carly. Leave it to my mother and I to cause a stir.

Each year, photographers take pictures of the tea attendees wearing hats, gloves and other paraphernalia. This photo is from two years ago. Last year's photo was a bit of a nightmare and the line was so long that we opted out this year. We really like this one anyway. Happy Mother's Day!