I love this man.
Me: Oh, come here Boo-Boo. Let me get that booger in your nose.
My friend: Eeeeww! You pick your son’s nose? That’s gross!
Me: How is that gross? I wipe s**t off his balls everyday!
My friend: (pause) I really didn’t need to hear that.
In my previous post, I lamented the fact that my Boo-Boo has yet to say “Mama”, “Mom”, or any other such derivative. It’s not as if he isn’t talking. He does have a few words in his vocabulary and certainly babbles incessantly. But, that one remains elusive for some reason.
Cyndi commented that I should be careful for what I wish for.
Otherwise, the following will happen.
Right now, my Boo-Boo can:
- Say “hi”, “bye”, “see ya”, “go”, “Dada”, “bike”, and “book”. You would think that he would say “Mama” by now. But, nooooo. Sigh. He probably does….when I’m out of earshot and with a choking motion. I kid, I kid.
- Follow some instructions. When we say “bedtime” or “naptime”, he makes a beeline for his room. Sometimes, he’ll fake cry all the way. But, he still goes and waits for us to put him into his crib. He’s also good at going to his feeding chair when I tell him, ” Time to eat”. Now, he just needs to learn, “Pour Mama another drink”.
- Determine when he is in trouble by the sound of my voice. I really try hard not to say “No!’ But, it’s a work in progress. At least, he hasn’t learned to say “No” to me. Instead, he’ll say “Bye” and either run to his room or have a spaz attack on the floor.
- Change the channel. I really hate this one. He’ll climb onto the end table and reach for the cable box. It pleases him to no end to see the picture on the screen change. Of course, he picks the most inopportune time – i.e. right before the Leafs score.
Right now, I realize that these things are only significant to me. But, I post them for posterity. I don’t know if I’ll remember these little milestones when he’s fifteen. Or at the rate I’m going, when he’s five.
Right now, I’m beginning to have trouble lifting him. He’s about 35 pounds. I’m 4′10″ and weigh less than 100. When he’s in my arms, it looks like I’m carrying a midget. Note to self: Start doing push-ups.
Right now, I know there are a million other things I should be doing. Laundry needs to be put away, floor needs to be mopped, bathrooms need to be cleaned, and stuff needs to be thrown out. But, I prefer to be clicking away on my laptop. My wine is nearby.
Right now, I’m content.
photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons
It’s Not That Bad People!
I don’t drive.
It’s not that I haven’t tried. I did get my learner’s permit. I even did in-class and in-car training. But, I completely flaked out when it came to doing the actual driving test. I have never tried again.
My husband believes the world is a safer place without me on the road. Before you laugh, I actually agree with him. My eyesight sucks. My judgement is poor. My spatial orientation? Fuggedaboutit!
So, I use public transit. The system is actually pretty good where I live. It’s not the best or the cleanest. But, it gets me where I want to be most of the time.
A lot of people I know can’t believe that I don’t drive. Honestly, when you live in the city, it’s more of a hassle than anything. Plus, the cost of owning a car is ridiculous.
Of course, my husband does complain when he does have to drive my sorry ass around. But, he knew what he was getting into when he married me. He, he.
Anyhoo, where is this going? Well, there are times when the train may be delayed or the buses are running late. It happens. C’est la vie. I really try hard not to complain about it, because it’s out of my control. I could cry, rant and pull my hair out. But, it wouldn’t change a freaking thing. I think that if you’re going to complain about something, it should be a legitimate one.
Here’s what happened the other day.
I live out in the suburbs. What we call the downtown core is a 35 minute train ride away. I had to meet a friend downtown to go shopping and have lunch. No problem.
Getting there was uneventful. Returning home was an adventure.
As soon as I had purchased my ticket, I looked up at the board to see that my train had been canceled. The next train was also canceled. What the frak?
Apparently, a freight train had broken down. As a result, passenger trains were being re-routed as they share the same tracks.
So, there was a delay.
Did it suck? Big time! Did I complain about it? Nope. I grabbed a coffee and waited to see what was going to happen.
Actually, the last time I had complained about a train being delayed, I found out in the paper the next day that someone had died on the tracks. So, no more griping from me.
Anyhoo, a train finally did arrive (a full 40 minutes after I had gotten to the station), and I was on my way home. Well, almost. We had to sit on the track for nearly 35 minutes while they worked out some signaling problems.
Once we got going, I had to hear people whine.
I really felt like screaming. I mean, a whole country was just devastated by an earthquake. And, you have the gall to complain about something that is really just a minor hiccup. Your lives will be unaffected by this setback. You will still get home to your flatscreen TVs and warm dinners. You will laugh about this the next day at work over a coffee.
There are many more people in the world that have less than nothing. You have absolutely no right to complain about getting home later than usual. So what if we’re sitting on a warm train for 35 minutes? It’s better than sitting on a pile of dead bodies in the Caribbean.
So, what was usually a 35 minute ride, took nearly 2 hours. Whoopee.
I guess the point of all this rambling is that we should really count our blessings. What we consider to be problems, mistakes, and obstacles are nothing compared to the hardships that some people (let’s face it, some countries) have to face on a daily basis. We take a lot of things for granted.
Before I gripe about something, I try to stop and realize just how good I’ve got it. I have a roof over my head, a beautiful family, a job, and reasonably good health. Yeah, I could stand to lose a few pounds. But, ultimately, I am really blessed.
So, don’t complain! Use that energy towards something more constructive.
At least try.
from → random thoughts