Various and sundry complaints from the home front, in no particular order:
Trivial Complaint #1: The youngest boy became extremely angry with me this morning after I made him take off a pair of khaki pants (the cuffs were miles from his shoes) and put on a different pair of khaki pants that actually fit him. In fact, he worked himself into such a frenzy of anger that he puked all over the carpeted stairs leading to the garage. Mere minutes before the school bus came. Then the little man proceeded to argue with me, saying he didn’t need a coat (it was in the 40s) because he was wearing a Patriots sweatshirt that would keep him warm. Arguing with a 6-year-old is a futile exercise. It makes one understand why, “Because I said so,” became a cliché.
Trivial Complaint #2: While trying to make a wholesome meal – roasted chicken with vegetables – the other night, I was having trouble extracting that vile bag of “giblets” from the bird. In fact, the bag broke and I had a tough time getting everything out while I muttered in frustration under my breath. In the meantime, the youngest boy thought the entire incident was cool, breathlessly telling his older brother, “Mom took the guts out of the chicken and then shoved a lemon up its butt.” For the record, only one of the three kids wound up eating the meal. I think that the “guts” and lemon-up-the-butt comments had a negative impact.
Trivial Complaint #3: When a young person who lives in my house leaves her belongings all over the joint, sheds items like sweaters or jackets wherever and whenever she sees fit, then (*shocker*) cannot find stuff that she needs (like an instrument for school) RIGHT NOW before the bus comes and blames everyone but herself, it doesn’t make me feel very cheery.
Trivial Complaint #4: After a dizzying few months of trying to simultaneously get all three kids to soccer games (some a 45-minute drive away from home) and to a bazillion practices (as if the kids are training for the Olympics and every practice is vital -- vital I tell you! – to their future success), I was just getting ready to breathe. Until The Spouse told me that my eldest son’s indoor soccer season is starting tonight, before the fall outdoor soccer season has finally come to an end. I think my head is going to explode.
Trivial Complaint #5: If I receive another stack of paper from my kids’ schools making pleas for me to provide free labor by working in the library or the computer room, asking for me to volunteer for yet another fundraising event, or to open my wallet (*again*) to buy junk I don’t need, I’m going to call Al Gore and report them for the unnecessary killing of trees for no good reason. I’m so inundated with fliers that I wind up tossing the entire pile into the recycling bin. Enough already!
Trivial Complaint #6: This is the third week in a row that one of my kids has had a half-day of school so that teachers can conduct parent-teacher conferences. This half-day-of-school business is terrible for working parents who carefully plan their work schedules. In fact, I had to take my youngest to work with me one day when, at the last minute, I couldn’t get babysitting for him. The Spouse worked from home to cover a half-day last week and my in-laws are going to (*hopefully*) cover the third half-day that occurs later this week. Question: Why are school schedules for young children so working-parent unfriendly? These half-days, they stink.
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