Well, look at me! I start a blog and then abandon it. Actually, I just didn't have much to say, even though all sorts of things have been happening. I've been thinking you, dear blog, and planning to write you but I've been busy living life.

We'll catch up soon. I promise.

Your Birthdate: January 1

You are a natural born leader, even if those leadership talents haven't been developed yet. You have the power and self confidence to succeed in life, and your power grows daily. Besides power, you also have a great deal of creativity that enables you to innovate instead of fail. You are a visionary, seeing the big picture instead of all of the trivial little details. Your strength: Your supreme genius Your weakness: Your inappropriate sensitivity Your power color: Gold Your power symbol: Star Your power month: January

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Uh, yeah. My leadership abilities and supreme genius have led me to this fabulous dead-end job. (Actually, it's a pretty decent job but I ain't goin' nowhere fast.)


So, today I had a doctor's appointment. No big deal but as a result I had to walk through a hospital lobby and past the gift shop. There are all sorts of geegaws there. You know, standard stuff but I guess the manager has a sense of humor. There were helium balloons hanging out by the door: butterflies, kittens, get well soon, it's a girl/boy----and there was Homer Simpson or a giant mug of beer. Homer I get. I guess. He's funny. People love the Simpsons. What was the giant mug of beer for? A toast to your health? A St. Patrick's Day relic? (No, it wasn't green.) I was tempted to buy it and take it home.

Look girls! Mommy brought you a giant mug of beer!

The World is a Safe Place?

When Rose and I had the conversation about calling 911 the other day, it naturally led to the disasters-and-how-to-handle-them discussion.

"If there's a fire, I'll run to the living room and call 911," said Rose.

"No, if there's a fire, run out of the house. A neighbor can call 911," I said.

"Do fires happen very often? Do people's houses burn down?"

"No, not very often. I don't know many people whose houses burned down." Which is true. I don't know many folks who have had to deal with that. Except it happened to me.

* * * * * * *

I didn't have the easiest childhood but I didn't have the worst, either. Let's just say it was different. We moved many times but not because my dad was in the military. He was a struggling (read: starving) artist and it seemed like the grass was always greener somewhere else. We moved across town, across the country, to another country, and then back, and had adventures along the way. I'm both grateful for those experiences and a little scarred by them too. So I often wonder how to handle these kind of discussions. I mean, I want to reassure her and still be honest. Someday I will tell her about the time my house burned down or the time the tornado destroyed my neighborhood or the time the floodwaters rose chest-deep in our basement garage. All those things--and a lot more--happened but I'm ok and I want her to know it.

But she's five and I'd like her to believe the world is a safe place just a little while longer. Because most of the time it is.

When Your Parents Fail, Call 911

Driving home from work the other night, my five-year-old daughter, Rose, said, "When your parents fail, call 911."

"What?'

"That's what Sabrina [a classmate] says to do, mommy. When your parents fail, call 911."

You know, while we do live in the southern United States, we don't really have many friends with accents so heavy that "fall" sounds like "fail."* And, in fact, Sabrina doesn't have the accent either. But still, I love the idea.

Kids being mean to Rose at school and I can't come up with the appropriate response? Call 911.

She needs new tennis shoes and we're broke that week? Call 911.

Forgot to sign her up for soccer again? Call 911.

Maybe I won't win Mother of the Year award but at least there's 911 to back me up.