the early storm

I couldn't sleep last night, it was hot and my AC is broken and I'm the type of person who thinks that little things like AC shouldn't bother people.  I mean really, air conditioning is not 'normal' in the world as a whole people, and the thought that some of you simple can't handle life without it kinda makes a lot of you weak.

Of course I say that knowing that it was in some part a factor of my insomnia.  My bedside distractions (MacBook Air, Nexus One, the TV mounted on the end of the bed) were really the majority of the problem, that and all the tea I drank last night.

But now it's Sunday morning.  I was woken early by a weather alert that told me I had to move my old CJ-7 into the garage, and soon it will storm.  I love a good storm, I could sleep for days during a good storm, and yes it has the potential to jar me sometimes with crashing thunder and the loud cracks of flashing lightning - but overall, it awesome because in the end, it's totally worth it.

Also awesome is Alex.  Awesome Alex is a friend of mine who I recently reconnected with after nearly a decade apart.  I often want to refer to her as AA if I send something to her on Twitter, but ironically she's also sober and I know at one point was a part of Alcoholics Anonymous... so I'm afraid she'll misunderstand the reference.  She now has two kids, one is still going through the 'terrible twos' as the other is going to enter soon, and she is doing her best to be a better mom that isn't going to give in to a lot of the more common norms of today.  She's not going to have a nanny, she's not sticking them in daycare, she's not parking them in front of a TV (in fact, she's currently working on giving them as little TV as possible).  She is being hands-on.

I'm not talking about the weirdo moms that don't let their kids do anything, I've seen the pictures, these kids redefine 'active'.  But she's going old-school, she's working with them, she's trying to find new things to do with them instead of turning them over to someone else and letting them sit for hours with a glazed look on their face as they re-watch Toy Story for the 48th time.

And, she's fried!  It's a lot of work being a parent... there's a reason I'm not one.  Sometimes I'll read about her day online and it seems to be bliss, other days, it seems like she's going to pull out her hair.  

When I'm around my friend's kids I'm baffled, I will see them tell the child something and watch them ignore their parents, and there have been times when it's been a situation that could literally get deadly. I want to freak out on the child, but I know it's not my place, so I just sit there and get stressed wanting to yell at them and tell them to listen to their parents! I really have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to parenting, it's really for the better that I'm single in that respect.

I had a hand in raising my two nieces and they both realize that dealing with me is a zero tolerance situation. I have two, the princess & the terrorist. Sarah is the princess, my angel. Now 16 I recently taught her to drive. She isn't as difficult as her nickname would assume, in fact she's just about as easy going and giving as possible. Elizabeth however is another story... she wants to do things on her schedule (if she really wants to do anything at all), and I'm often on her to do as she's told, take care of things, not lose things, etc. Still, they both fry me out at times.

But now they are both teenagers, you can talk to them, they understand logic. They're both beautiful, and if you explain to them what's going on, they can grasp what and why and how things are going to work... and I love being around them.

Like the storm which is causing me to get drowsy as I lay here, it seems that kids are a chance to be amazed and jarred and frightened. But if you take a deep breath, and let yourself relax, the storm can bring you peace, and in the end you're much better off.

So keep your chin up Awesome Alex! I see your TV Challenge as an opportunity for you! On the surface, you're going to be so busy trying to find ways to keep that little boy busy that eventually you may even write a book: '1001 ways to give your toddler a creative outlet and keep them busy that won't destroy your house'... and if you use that title, I want a dedication, if only for irony's sake.

The last 8 years went by in a blink, the next 8 will go by even faster, and you'll miss these days someday... and like waking up after a storm, you know you'll feel better for them. Totally worth it.