Earning the Badge

December 19, 2010 | No comments

I’m a wannabe environmentalist. Humanity has put a huge strain on the earth and it’s up to us to revise our way of life to repair and prevent future damage. But if I’m completely honest, I don’t really do my fair share. Yes, we recycle more than we throw away. We adjust our thermostats so we’re cold in the winter and hot in the summer. And I don’t run the water while I brush my teeth.

But, I don’t always remember to take my reusable mug to Starbucks. I commute in my car, by myself more than 30 minutes to work every day. I love the personal-sized package of Oreo cookies. And as a parent, there are some moments I believe even the most ardent, earth-loving, card-carrying environmentalist would buckle to ozone burning temptation. Here are a few temptations to which I’ve fallen prey:

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False Alarms

November 21, 2010 | No comments

Watching Squirts throw a ball – or anything else – is like watching a physics experiment in kinetic energy. The act of launching the object from his hand involves some aspect of every visible part of his body. As his right hand pulls back with the ball, his left arm juts out with a fist curled under. His tongue sticks out in one direction or another, often giving away the final destination of the object in question. His eyes either squeeze shut or bulge open. And at the last moment his left leg lifts and swings in an awkward arch in an attempt to make the ball fly as far as possible.

If he could raise both legs at the same time, he’d probably give it a shot.

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*Ting*

November 14, 2010 | No comments

Usually Squirts is a sponge. He hears every word, every conversation, every phrase spoken around him, soaking it in with little response or reaction. Then one day, BAM, he’ll add the words or phrases to his four-year-old vocabulary.

On one particular day last week though, the topic of conversation was too important for him to remain a quiet bystander: San Francisco’s ban on McDonald’s Happy Meals.

As he overheard me commenting on the city’s pending new law, he looked up from his row of Hot Wheels and asked, “What about Happy Meals?”

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Just Say ‘Yes’

October 24, 2010 | 1 comment

Squirts must think that his mommy’s and daddy’s favorite word is “No.” From his perspective, it has to look like we throw the word around like confetti on New Year’s Eve. To Squirts, it must seem like our tongue is curled and our lips are pursed just waiting to spit the word out every time he asks a question. To him, it must seem like it’s just easier for us to say “No” than to reach into our store of big kids words.

“No, Squirts. You can’t have Skittles for breakfast.”

“No, Squirts. I haven’t called the police because you refused to brush your teeth.”

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