Hey there, Hi there...

I truly believe that we shall be laughing for a rather large part of our lives, due in large part to our wonderful offspring. (I should qualify that statement - what I meant to say... when we are not swearing under our breath... trying really hard not to yell at our kids... or, in fact, yelling at our kids.)

We have a couple of stories to pass along today.

While getting ready for school yesterday, Mattea, Noah, and Grayson were all heading in different directions, rather than trooping out the front door in single file in an orderly fashion. (Yeah... like that's ever going to happen.) One of the boys was heading back into the house while the other was making his way back upstairs. Mattea (ever the sweet child) was the only one actually heading in the direction of the driveway and the van. So Theresa is running around trying to collect everyone and point them in the right direction.

You might wonder where I am with all of this activity taking place. I am safely ensconced in my hotel room about eighty miles away. Getting ready for a nice, leisurely breakfast before heading out to work.

So, where was I? Oh yes... the chase. So, Theresa gets the boys rounded up and herds them in the direction of the van when she finds Mattea "rinsing off her shoes" in the sprinklers, which had come on to water the front yard. With a proper reprimand, Theresa gets Mattea out of the sprinklers and into the van, where she immediately starts complaining of being cold with both sliding doors open and the breeze passing through. Noah and Grayson are putting up a fight at being strapped in, Mattea is whining about being cold and not strapping herself in, and Theresa at this point becomes the best mother in the world in my book for not dumping them all out on the sidewalk, and driving away to work, leaving them to be cared for by the first unsuspecting stranger to happen along.

The boys finally get strapped in, screaming at the top of their lungs, Mattea continues whining about how cold she is, although she now, too, will not be ejected in the event of a water landing, and Theresa finally does yell at the kids. And then somehow discovers the reason for Mattea's complaining. While rinsing off her shoes, Mattea managed to thoroughly soak the backside of her pants in the sprinklers. But by now, they are on their way to school, and nothing can be done about it for the moment.

Ever the quick thinker Theresa sees the time, and takes the boys to school first. They have a washer and dryer at the school to wash linens, spare clothes, and assorted odds and ends that need laundering in a pre-school environment. As the boys get dropped off, Mattea's pants are removed and thrown in the dryer (I can only assume that she now wanders the halls and classrooms of Merry Go Around in her underwear) and Theresa makes an effort to calm the male beasts while transitioning them to their caregivers. The boys finally calm down (due in large part, I'm sure, to the second breakfast that they have at school every morning), Mattea has nice warm, dry pants on, and they somehow manage to get Mattea to school prior to the dreaded second bell (after which the child arriving late must enter the school through the office, wait in line with all of the other scalawags, and get a tardy slip before proceeding to class. Not that I have personal knowledge of such an experience!)

While recounting this entire encounter to me later in the day, Theresa thinks to tell me of her previous morning.

On her way to child care the boys were in much better moods. They were singing and laughing, entertaining each other as none other could. Which in turn made Theresa laugh as well, and you will soon see why.

The lexicon of today's youth bears little resemblance to my own. The world has changed dramatically over these last many years, the music scene, as always, influencing the language of the young.

If you have not had reason to observe society's adolescents, you might be surprised at their language. Randomly search a handful of blogs. It will be immediately apparent to you when you reach the blog of a teen. Disrespect of parents, adults in general, (and each other for that matter) reins supreme in their dialogue. (Although it could easily be argued that this behavior carries on a long and strong tradition.) Hip Hop music, in particular I think, has injected a strong disrespect of women, which has made its' way into widespread and common use. But I digress. The word Ho, once meant to express surprise, or even joy, now refers to a woman. A woman with a less than sterling reputation. Without further illustration I believe I have probably passed along its' current meaning.

You probably hate reading my stuff, don't you! Here I was, talking about singing and laughing kids, now I'm off on some tangential, stream of consciousness track that is leading who knows where! Well... how can you possibly expect to be with me next, without the proper background. Hmph!

Ah yes... singing and laughing children. Noah and Grayson have been learning new songs at school. They love music, and enjoy entertaining each other with their newfound and expanding repertoire. Which brings us to what they were singing on the way to school the other day (sing along... I'm sure you know the tune...):

My Ho... My Ho... It's off to work we go!