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My Profile
Gift from Hil Part 2 - 2014-12-30
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11:12 a.m. - 2011-10-01
There's a gang of blue jays over by the outhouse. I've never seen a gang of jays before. Not the most social of birds. I wonder what they're plotting. They must be coming to some kind of decision about turf, divvying up the yard perhaps. A lot of folks don't like blue jays- they're big, noisy and tend to chase off other birds, but I like them. They stay all winter and add some badly needed life and color to the dreary winter landscape. Ditto the cardinals. Most years the jays and cardinals spend the winter duking it out over who owns the overgrown garden walk. Dozens of trees in my yard, but THE prime real estate is that tangly bower. Other critters like it too. More than one fawn was born in there. The damn woodchucks have tunneled an underground city beneath the garden walk. It's a favored nursery for garter snakes. Last year Mick cleared out a lot of the tangle and moved the Bathtub Mary in there too. She's got plenty of company so I imagine she's happier there than she was out front. Did a small grocery shopping last night and just now as I put milk in my coffee I saw the plastic sack the apples came in is printed with a list of suggested uses for apples. Apples? Do people really need to be instructed in the purpose of apples? Apple pimping for those too dumb to figure out they should eat the apples? "Well shee-it I bought this-a here sack of apples and I surely don't know what to do with the durn things! Oh wait! Look! Says here on the bag you kin slice 'em and put 'em in cereal. You kin also cook 'em. And eat 'em raw! How 'bout that? Never knew what the heck them apples was for. Glad them apple-bag folks tol' me whut to do." Ye gods. Instructions for apples. What next? An illustrated pamphlet on the use of toilet paper? The 'Star Trek NG' marathon continues. Midway through season 4 now. Surprising. I do love it, but the show is a bit preachy and that I haven't overdosed on space opera morality plays yet is unusual. Then again the 24th century is a very nice place to visit. The Enterprise is so shiny and clean. The crew is fun and they're all kind to each other. And now that Wesley the Wonder Boy with the dopey diaper pants has left for Starfleet Academy I'm not continually irked. I really, really hate Wesley's dumb pants with the high waist and the wings on the back. So does his mother apparently. It was the pants. Really. Open House the other night was interesting. I was recognized by several people, teachers mostly. Very few parents have such a large time spread between offspring as I do. Wolf's art teacher is a long time acquaintance, we've known each other since her son and Alex were in kindergarten together. Ruth hasn't changed much at all except that she's happier and far more relaxed in her skin than she was back in the day. Back when she was burning up all her creative energies on her kids' Halloween costumes and trying to keep a husband who wanted out, out, out involved with his kids and his marriage. About 10 years ago the husband finally went walkabout for good and Ruth sold the big money-suck house, the fancy car she'd never wanted, and got a job which put her fine arts degree and massive talent to much better use. Good for her. At Open House I also made sure all of Wolf's teachers know what a daydreaming lollygagger he is. Heh, most were already onto him and his wooly-headed ways. Told me he's a lovely boy with terrific manners, but yeah, he's a big time lollygagger. They seemed pleased I was so up front with my son's shortcomings as a student. Why not? There's nothing to be gained by insisting he's perfect and any issues with his grades and/or behavior are the teachers' fault. I loathe those parents. The whiners, the complainers, the lawsuit threatening cretins who do everything in their power to excuse and coddle their kids poor behavior. If Wolf doesn't do his work it's his fault. And I want to know about it if he's goofing off. I'm on the teachers' side, my kid is being offered an education and it's his job to take advantage of that. If he's screwing up then the blame is squarely on him. I wanted his teachers to know I had their backs and I'll do my part at home to put the boots to my drifty dreaming son so he gets his work done on time. His father is an irresponsible noogie who's ruined not only his own, but my life and Wolf's with his heedless shirking. Wolf will NOT be allowed to turn out the same way. I let Alex get away with far too much bullshit and covered for Mike for almost 30 years. Not this time. Not this son. Wolf isn't going to be a feckless shithead like his old man. Not if I can help it. The child is going to learn to follow through and keep his commitments, shoulder his responsibilities, and accept the consequences for failure even if I have to break every bone in his body to get the message across. Hard ass? Mean mommy? Yeah, yeah. I'm fucked no matter what I do anyhow. Wolf will grow up hating me just like his brother and cut me dead the minute he can. Might as well make sure he can keep a job and pay his goddamn mortgage before he does. Maybe I can prevent the grandchildren I'll never meet from being put in the street and abandoned by their father as Wolf has been. Least I can do for those yet-to-be born innocents who'll never know their grandma.
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