you can do anything you want...except THAT

it's been a while. i know...i know...but we had REAL stuff happening here. Auti Di had a medical scare and family came in from all over, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents. There was a quick recovery and the fun family meals ensued.
So, what I've been thinking about lately (because Nanna Pat is here and my friends have been talking about their parents) is why daughters & sons turn annoying with parenthood. we're all "No McDonalds! No candy! No soda! Car seats! Organic apples! No movies, no TV and absolutely no soda! Stop giving them too many toys! and for the love of pete don't offer them caffeinated beverages"
My one friend told me her Mother-in-law said she felt criticized when she told her she didn't want her son to have the Easter Egg kit that comes with wheels and excessive accessories (how many accessories does an egg need after all) that turn your eggs into cars, trucks and fire engines. She just wanted him to have fun coloring eggs, hiding them, seeking them, mixing colors, turning his fingers blue and being creative. "He already has cars and trucks...why does everything have to turn into a car or a truck?" she asked me.
We are all so fascinated with a traditional, simple holiday. We've grown up with so many choices that just plain old regular sounds pretty fun. I myself have tried the purple glitter option and now non-glitter sounds nice. You can do more with a paper doll you made yourself, get inventive with colors & egg designs, come up with amazing stories to act out when it hasn't already all been done for you in the boxed kit from the store.
When we were little they had us in riding around in back of the hatchback with our friends (seatbelts? who needs 'em?), we didn't wear bike helmets, who cared if our shoes gave us blisters- you 'broke them in', we listened to Michael Jackson & i, for one, knew all the words to Like a Virgin by Madonna. We saw people smoking on TV, saw our Moms smoking (gasp!), we had Barbie role models and knew our Moms were on diets, Dad went to work just like Mom and mostly everyone's parents got divorced. (That's a word we s-p-e-l-l so that the kids don't even know a thing like that happens sometimes). That's how protected my kids are. A few times they've asked how I have 'two Dads' and we sort of gloss over it. Bill has told the kids that a step-Mom is a Mom who lived on the stairs in the olden days. We'll tell them when they're older and we can afford to send them to therapy for all the damage we've caused in providing them with this 'happy bubble' for their formative years.
I do think our generation is a little TOO kid focused and I totally feel like I'm on the super-lenient side of letting things slide with the grandparents overlooking our 'rules' because I'll look the other way during candy in the morning rituals, let them see an un-approved movie (not repeatedly on video or anything- but once, as a special treat...it won't stick in their head if they only see it once right? Jackson is watching Stuart Little as we speak which has to be the WORST kids movie ever with more demerits for having the same name as a super fun book which it does not resemble at all, the adoption story is DISTURBING and there are lines like "are you ready to handle his 'uniqueness'?...we don't usually encourage adoption outside of your own...species" like, what IS that? but i'm just going with it...see, how laid back i am??? i don't mind if they roll around in the mud...just don't tell them about d-i-v-o-r-c-e...and don't mention that Santa Claus isn't real...and pick them up when they cry...and don't inhibit their artwork by showing them how to draw a stick figure 'correctly'...and do NOT give them soda...and yes, you do have to bring a carseat...and make sure they say please and thank you...and get them a healthy snack...and don't say that you're putting on make-up so that you can look 'pretty'...and don't make them pick up their toys, i don't care about that...and don't give Sloane juice because she'll have diaper rash...and she needs her white noise machine to have a good sleep...
well, i guess there are a few rules. so, this blog is dedicated to Nanna and Nannou- who have to deal with them most of all. Bob takes them to whatever movie he wants, Dad is a hippie so he has more rules than i do, and George lets us be the guide and shrugs it off. (is a blog dedication even a thing?!-- let's pretend it's something special...for Mother's Day, ok? you're with me right?)

Nanna and Nannou- thanks for putting up with Bill and I. Thanks for being wonderful and finding a way to get past all the 'no's' and make sure the kids fall magically in love with you so that they have all the fun I had with my doting Granny, Paca, Grams and Gramps. Geez, I loved those summers when I would get anything my heart desired and was loved no matter what I did.

I just thought I should add- it's not just to be bratty. I really AM trying to teach them love, respect, avoid advertising, keep them from getting cancer via bovine growth hormone, trying to let their imagination be their best 'toy', letting the world be their classroom- learning happens all the time here, and helping them not to judge others based on the way they look or just because they don't have a Britax car seat (though, I'm pretty sure everyone who reads this does). Mostly just love, it's a holistic approach.