Scooter Died Saturday

Scooter is Brian's fish. He is a catfish that lived in his aquarium. Brian was so unhappy he died. He had just arrived home from Grandma's when he noticed Scooter on the bottom of the tank, I had not noticed. He was beside himself with grief, he's better now.

We're home, Brian's not

Brian is away at Grandma and Grandpa's this week. This is the first time he's ever been away from home without us. We aren't sure how long he will last, he usually gets homesick when he's on vacation with us. He's supposed to come back Saturday. Brian and Bob saw the Kodak car yesterday. Kodak is Brian's favorite NASCAR car. He was showing so much interest in the car they let him sit it in it, even though signs said you couldn't get in the car. He also got a Kodak Matchbox car that wasn't given out to everyone, just kids who showed a lot of interest. We went to a party one of the neighbors hosted last night. It was nice to get out. I tried to help my father out with his modem today. Worked on it for nearly eight hours and couldn't get it to work.

Questions

Brian is trying to figure out what marriage has to do with having babies. He is asking both Bob and I questions with increasing frequency. Brian has asked me how long after getting married was he born. We saw a wedding ceremony on TV and he asked if you have to have a ceremony to have a baby. I think he is trying to understand what marriage has to do with having a baby. He has not had the birds and bees talk yet, and we are not going to rush the conversation. We always answer his questions truthfully and to his satisfaction, but we don’t expound on the answers. When he asked if you have to have a ceremony to have a baby I replied “No”. Brian was pressing his father on another topic, Santa Claus. We’ve enjoyed idyllic holidays filled with wonder and awe with the mythical, magical Santa providing fodder for endless conversations. I’ve also been known to use Santa as a means to better parenting; you know Santa can tell if you’ve been “naughty or nice” with his long telescope. We’ve all had a wonderful time with this ruse, and Brian has never questioned the validity of Santa before. He has asked tons of questions about the technical aspects of getting to all the children in one night; but the questions were for understanding, not validation. I do have to admit that the questions have been getting harder to answer, questions like why disadvantaged kids don’t get as many presents as other kids. That’s a fair question; the disadvantaged have been just as nice as the other kids, right? A few weeks ago a couple of older neighbor children asked Brian if he believed in Santa, and he replied emphatically that he did. I think this question put the idea in Brian’s head that he could have said he didn’t believe, and that some people might not believe. I think this Christmas will be the last he believes in Santa, or the first where he doesn’t. Whether he believes or not, I’m sure we will have more idyllic holidays. I just hope the conversations don’t revolve around what marriage has to do with babies.

Hoping for Thunder??

Worked late again, until 9:00 pm. Boy did I surprise a coworker who thought he was going to leave me a message at 8:00 pm, he sounded very surprised when I picked up the phone. Bob and Brian had a pool party without me. Bob said it was boy's night. Some fathers came over with their boys (and 1 girl), and one mother was there. Brian went down the street and rounded everyone up, he sure is becoming more social. We're experiencing thunderstorms here. Bob is hoping for thunderstorms tomorrow, during golf! He's concerned he won't get out of work in time to play in his golf league, so he'll feel better if it gets rained out for everyone. Brian's all excited about a book Bob is reading him. It's another Beverly Cleary book, I think it is called Henry Higgins.

Misc.

I drove Brian to Caledonia for a birthday party on Saturday. All the kids had fun. Brian was concerned that he might be the only boy at the party, however 3 other boys were there. I hung out with some of the other mothers, I had a nice time chatting with them. Brian goes to Young Wizard's Camp at RMSC this week. Here's a description: While you can’t catch the train to Hogwarts, or fly on a broom, you can learn magic this summer. Come to this camp and learn how to be a wizard! You’ll learn that magic is just another word for science. There will be mathematical challenges to solve, and you’ll learn about the healing powers of plants. We will mix up chemical potions that make some things disappear, and other things glow! Internet connection has been minimal this weekend. A storm knocked out our cable connection yesterday. My intent is to update this blog daily. Oops, forgot about some laundry that's been sitting in the washer overnight. I'll be back later.

Spies

I worked late today, dealt with some unusual problems. I've stayed up late trying to optimize my PC. I found some spyware hiding on PC. Spyware is the name for programs that sneak onto your PC and then send information about where you're surfing or what you're typing to someone or some company. I'm glad to get that stuff off. Click here and see if you have any.