Tag Archives: mom

Mysterious Malady of the 12-Year-Old Mind


Good morning Everyone!

Do any of you know exactly what happens to children around age 12 that leads them to suffer excessive brain damage?  Just to give you an example of the malady, let me tell you about Kayla’s locker.

As the end of school approaches, Kayla needs to clean out her locker.  So this morning, I asked, “What about your locker?”

She answered, absently, “I’ll start cleaning it out today.”

Since I had reason to think she wasn’t as focused on the locker issue as I was, I asked ,” What about the key?”

Let’s book mark that question and back track several months, to the time when Kayla, frustrated with her combination lock, wanted a locker lock with a key.  Being gifted with the normal amount of second sight accorded to mothers, I asked her what would happen if she lost the key.  She assured me that she would wear it on a chain around her neck and not lose it.  Still, to be certain, I bought a lock with two keys – one of which I kept and placed strictly off-limits.

All right, let’s flip back to the present day.  When asked about the key, Kayla answered, “Oh, yeah, I’m going to need the key.”  She couldn’t tell me what had happened to her key, nor even when it had disappeared.

Restraining myself from saying the obvious, “I told you so,” (mental comments don’t count!), I told her to go get the key from the M & M jar where we keep spare keys.  She couldn’t find it, and the bus was almost there, so I told her to double-check the type of lock we were dealing with at school today so I could help look for the key tonight.

M & M cotntainer

Our M & M Jar

With a kiss goodbye, I sent her off on the bus, then wandered into the kitchen to pour my morning diet coke – only to discover that, for reasons unknown probably even to herself, Kayla had NOT looked in the M&M jar for the key, but in my purse.

So what special combination of circumstances leads to brain damage that 1) loses things you were specifically told not to lose and 2) translates the words “M&M jar” to “Mom’s purse”?  More importantly, how do you fix it?  Does it ever get better?  Fellow parents out there, give me hope!

Have a great day!

Nancy

Mandy’s Turn


husky basset hound mix

Me!

Hi!

I asked the people puppy what our  Mom is doing when she sits in front of the big black rectangle and moves her fingers while I eat breakfast.  My people puppy told me that Mom was writing, and showed me some of the posts about me in the blog our Mom writes.  I think she was a little confused when she wrote them.  She’s not really a morning person, you know – I have to work really hard to wake her up at the proper time.  Sometimes I have to circle the bed from 4 a.m. until almost 7!  I used to be able to walk on her hair to wake her up, but for some strange reason she cut most of it off, and now it is too short for me to do that.  It’s a shame, because she made some really neat noises when I would do it.

Newfound Gap

My people puppy

Any way, to help her out and make sure you don’t get the wrong idea, I thought I’d give you the real scoop on things.

Australian shepherd mix, dog in back yard, dog in sun

My sister, Tyra

It may surprise you to learn that I am adopted.  In fact, all of my siblings – my people puppy and Darwin and Tyra – are adopted as well.  It doesn’t matter, though, because Mom and Dad love all of us lots.  I do think it is a little unfair that the people puppy gets to go everywhere with them, and I don’t, but I try hard not to mind because I know that Mom and Dad love me best – why, they call me “Bad Dog” (that’s one of my nicknames) more than any of my siblings, which means that I am very special.  (My sister, Tyra, rolls her eyes when I say that like I am wrong, but I know that she’s just a little jealous about it.)

Black lab, crazy Dog

My brother Darwin – he’s a little crazy!

Although I would like to travel with Mom and Dad more, my life here is pretty good.  Darwin, my younger brother, and I play together a lot, although I am still having to teach him about proper food etiquette – I don’t like it when he tries to hang around my food bowl.  My sister Tyra is very sweet, but has a hard time moving around the house now without someone to help her.  Mom and Dad do a really good job helping her.  That’s a good thing, because if they didn’t do it, I’d probably have to!

Mom and Dad are a little odd about some things, though.  I’m always very polite and wait until they’re done, but if they’re finished with their food, why can’t I go ahead and help myself to it?  It’s not like they want it anymore!  The same is true with stuff in the trash can – does it really matter what happens to it once they are through with it?  Any reasonable person would know that such things are fair game once they hit the trash, but not Mom and Dad!  I guess every set of parents have their eccentricities.

Family picture

Mom and Dad, in 2008, during yet another trip I wasn’t allowed to go on!

They also spend part of their nights watching this square frame in the living room that makes sounds and shows pictures.  I watch it sometimes, but it,s not really that interesting – nothing on it is real.  You can see and hear the pictures, but there’s no smells attached to them.  Every thing that’s real has a specific smell.

Oh, and I need to set the record straight about the day I came home.  Mom wrote that I ran away twice, but I really didn’t.  I was just so happy that I had a chance to stretch my legs that I took a couple of joy laps.  The look on her face was really funny, too, each time that I did it!  The best part was when she picked me up in the pet store and the people puppy introduced me and told my story to every one we saw.  It really made my day!

Christmas, 2007

Mom in the morning – this was Christmas, 2007 and she was more awake than she usually is in the morning. Still, she wasn’t exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed, even then!

Uh-oh – I can hear Mom emerging from her lair now to get ready for work, so I better sign off.  Just remember what I said, keep the story straight and forgive Mom for her inaccuracies.  Poor thing, she doesn’t understand how to get up in the morning!

Mandy