Sparks and Butterflies...

But aside from that, she's still completely normal

  • Home
  • About Michele

Come in Children… I have Candy.

November 3, 2012 By Michele Leave a Comment

On Halloween, we took the kids to a new street in our little city. Logan’s teacher had given the class her home address (!) so that the kids could come trick-or-treat. According to Logan ONLY UNTIL 8PM AND THEN SHE WON’T ANSWER THE DOOR. He was quite clear on her boundaries. It wasn’t our usual haunt (see what I did there?) but it seemed like a good street, so we continued, rather than going to our regular “spot.”

We can’t trick-or-treat by our house – it’s the 2nd busiest street in our town, sidewalks are hit and miss, and so are the streetlights. Just too dangerous.

Anyhoo… It was a normal trip. The usual sweet kids, the usual rude kids, the same kind of folks answering the door. At two elderly women’s doors, I just about melted. One was just as ticked off as a proper 85 year old woman can get because her outside lights weren’t turning on. The Kids Wouldn’t Know She Has CANDY!! In a word, she was verklempt. At another home, another very proper woman waited. I’d guess 85 or so – but could have been older. She was dressed to the nines – not a costume, but from the era of being “done” until you go to bed. Heels, a brocade pantsuit, hair in full bomb-couldn’t-move-it. Waiting in what cannot be termed an entry way. A vestibule perhaps? It was extremely formal, extremely proper, but you could totally tell she dug answering the door and giving out candy. She looked lonely. I inadvertently insulted one dude. I complimented him on his decorations “this season.” “It’s awesome EVERY season.” Well, okay then. My apologies.

I’m a bit of a helicopter parent. Can’t help it. I don’t trust other people. So I don’t wait out at the street. Poe waits at the street (he doesn’t like my back uncovered). I wait at the bottom of the porch to keep an eye on things (and also to make sure manners are observed). I guess certain habits and anxieties from other parts of our lives just don’t go away no matter how “safe” your community is. So we stop at one house, ring the doorbell and wait. A tall man answers the door, the kids “trick-or-treat!”, and man says, “Come on in!” AND MY KIDS DO.

This is the part where you go OMGWTFBBQ!?!1!

It took me a full second on the porch with my mouth hanging open before I practically tackled the children to save them from the man who invited them into his house. Turns out it’s a dad from the school (who I recognized once the red tinted rage dissipated somewhat from my eyes). The kids knew him and didn’t want to be impolite, and the dad was waiting on costumed children for his kids’ Halloween party – but he didn’t know exactly WHICH kids were showing up. Of course the kids start talking, and the mom comes marching in pissed off, because you see… MY kids weren’t invited thankyouverymuch (which is where I go WTF? ‘Scuse me bitch, but take it up with your husband. I don’t want my kids in your snooty house anyway.) Don’t worry, I was polite. We said our thank yous and moved on. As they closed the door on our butts, I didn’t hear what the wife said, but heard the husband say, “Fine then! YOU answer the door. I was just doing what you asked me to!” Poor guy.

And that’s how my kids ended up lured into a house by candy. Sort of.

How to Abdicate Parenting Responsibility (and Have it Ridiculed on the Internet)

November 2, 2012 By Michele Leave a Comment

I nearly forgot I was doing NaBloPoMo. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the month.

Today’s post features me ranting about someone else’s parenting. Call it Parenting, You’re Doing It Wrong. One of the things I do in my professional life is provide advice in different categories via Skype. I do it through a service. I’m editing the below to remove the service, and make the idiot anonymous. The category this came through was parenting school aged kids. Also, I’m putting the rest below the fold – GRAPHIC WARNING: The discussion of sex (in the context of parenting) follows.

Here are my own opinions on the matter, before I post the discussion.

  • To parent a child, you must address all matters, even icky ones. Not to do so is a disservice to your child.
  • Sex, to some is icky and embarrassing. Even to parents. So what? Just because you feel embarrassed by the conversation doesn’t mean ignorance is appropriate.
  • Your morals, household rules, and religion does NOT negate the responsibility you have to your child. In fact, it heightens it, because not only do you have to have to make sure your child understands the world around them, you also have to provide context and what the mores of your beliefs are.
  • Not giving your child scientific, biological information about their reproductive system, puberty, sex, pregnancy, and STDs could be life threatening to your child.
  • Not giving your child emotional, relational, moral, and religious (if you are) information in regards to sex and pregnancy is irresponsible, and potentially emotionally and mentally damaging to your child.
  • Not giving your child information about subjects they WILL run into for the rest of their life is irresponsible and unforgivably ignorant.
  • Not talking to your child about these subjects because you’re embarrassed is selfish and immature.
  • Not talking to your child about these subjects because they’re embarrassed is thinking like a friend (a bad one) instead of as a parent.
  • Regardless of subject matter, breaking house rules is subject to consequences. For that not to be the case lacks discipline, and gives an example to your child that what they do doesn’t matter. Even though my kids have special needs, and break house rules honestly because of them, rather than disobedience/disrespect, does not mean there aren’t consequences. It just means we take everything into consideration.
  • It is okay to have your child learn from another source, should the other source be more knowledgeable. Examples include giving them books on other subjects, or enrolling them in a class (in fact I know a teacher on the subject!) But that DOES NOT MEAN you get to abdicate responsibility for talking to them.
  • Just because you believe, or your religious scripture dictates, that something is wrong, does NOT MEAN they will not face the issue. Therefore YOU need to face the issue.
  • Finally… If you don’t give them the information, they will find it from other sources. ALWAYS.

Continue Reading

NaBloPoMo and Me

November 1, 2012 By Michele Leave a Comment

It’s November! The original NaBloPoMo month. I always like to attempt this, ’cause it helps me get out of the inevitable blog funk.

So… Here we go. A post every day in the month of November. Usually, I fall off right about the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It’s the Thanksgiving prep that gets me every single time. I know this going in, so I’ll try to combat that this year.

Want to join, too? Go here. So far, the list of participants is up to 739. There are prizes and such, but that has never been the point for me. The point is remembering I have something to say, and sitting in my power to say it. Even if my reach is literally just that my page is somewhere on the interwebs, I know that I had my say, in my way.

Be ready for a steady influx of Michele!

Freaky Cat Number Two

October 30, 2012 By Michele 1 Comment

Number two brings us Pebbles. Here is a visual.

Pebbles is… Unique. She is the half sister biologically of Sassy. They came from the same home, from a family we knew and trusted. Sassy, when she came to live us, was loving and attached to me as Mama very quickly. A couple of years later came Sassy. She… Had a much more difficult transition. If I didn’t know better, I would assume that she was abused. In fact, it’s like she hid under the bed for her first two years here. Every time she came out, Poe would grab her up, hold her firmly, and love on her just a second past her wanting to get down. Over time, it took longer and longer for her to fight to get down. Over the last year, we’ve seen SO MUCH PROGRESS! Now… She’s our buddy. She’s still not a snuggler. But she can be found near us at all time. She begs for attention. She LOVES getting love.

Some quirks of this cat… If someone goes to the bathroom, she barrels through the door. She has somehow figured out that if we’re on the toilet, we’re indisposed of for a period of time. What better way to pass the time, than to scratch her head? She does not want to drink out her water bowl, although she will if she has to. She’d much prefer you run the bathroom sink for fresh water out of the faucet, thank you. Battery operated toothbrushes are the devil, period. If she’s going to eat, she’d like you to rub her tummy while she does it, thanks, during which she will purr as she chews, which is the oddest snarfy sound. If she falls asleep, she will suddenly startle awake, think that she’s been unconscious for 10 years, run for us yelling loudly, and start doing somersaults to try and get you to rub her belly. It’s been 15 minutes since she got her belly scratched, you see. And finally – she loves to lick plastic. Plastic bags, plastic packaging… Her Favorite.Thing.Ever. is a partially opened package of toilet paper. She’s very, very strange.

And… I Blew NaBloPoMo

November 28, 2011 By Michele Leave a Comment

It finally happened. I blew NaBloPoMo. I didn’t post yesterday. But hey – yesterday was the 27th, so I did pretty darn well! I’m not disappointed in my showing.

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Wife. Mother. Daughter. Business owner. Please send coffee.

Follow Me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

My Main Gig…


I provide Virtual Assistant services to individuals and small businesses to help them flourish...

View the Categories

Archives

My Writing Elsewhere

Recent Comments

  • Headless Mom on What the Summer Looked Like to me
  • Abbie on My Mom Died Last Night
  • Lamont Wimberly on A Joke from my Dad
  • Abbie on Help Me Understand Obamacare
  • sara on Help Me Understand Obamacare

Copyright 1998-2016 Michele Wilcox