The Darndest Things

“There are two stories of your life. One is the informative, and the other is the narrative…” -Mary

She says the story I like to tell myself is that I’m ridiculously happy and I play with my kids all the time, “But the informative story is that you spend most of your time working really hard, and you deal with so much heartbreak and sadness…”

I have no idea how a good mother should respond when her eight year old says something like that. Maybe a good mother would never have to, because her girl should only ever see a strong, happy woman. Still, I don’t think my reality is as rough as she perceives it, and if it is, I don’t know that I want to believe it. But I don’t want to be dishonest, either, with her or with myself.

Maybe the trick is to find magic even in the difficult facts, and to remember that the best stories are always tough in the middle.

Hi this is Ethan and I would like to share a joke.

Q:”I’m a meat you can’t eat. I don’t contain poison but if you eat me you will die. What am I?”(Click more to find out.)
(more…)

Mary: “Ewwww! I just found the most disturbing thing on the carpet. It looks like a dead bug.”
Me: “You know what I do when I find a dead bug on the carpet?”
Mary: “What?”
Me: “I vacuum it up.”
Mary: “Good idea. I’ll do that. But first let’s get a really good look at it.”

Actually, I lied. Sometimes I photograph them first. :-T What drives us to allow other people to experience the gross-out with us?

Overheard: “Keep your hopes high!  Well, but not too high… (dramatic pause for reconsideration) Actually? Keep your hopes very high. Higher than the high dive!”

Mary: “I don’t think skinny jeans are trendy anymore.”
Me: “Oh yeah? Well, I don’t care much about trends myself.”
Mary: “Me neither. Trends are just like a wave that washes away.”

Glad she’s learning early