**********
There are certain things that I know about myself. Certain undeniable truths, if you will. Things that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. For example, I’m a good cook, a decent writer, I would never be described as “a sweet girl”, I’m not wife material however I am a really good girlfriend and I’m an excellent mother. Just to name a few.
Let’s focus in on the mother-thing for a few minutes. I love my kids – as most parents do. I’ll be the first person to admit that they are a little spoiled and sometimes they get the line between “friend” and “mama” blurred. They don’t always understand that given a choice I’d rather be mama. They have enough friends.
I’m not an unapproachable mother – my door is usually open and my kids can talk to me about anything. It’s interesting for me because I have a 15-year old son and an 11-year old daughter so they have completely different issues and interests and I find myself constantly switching gears in order to accommodate them. One of the hardest things is trying to find a movie that the three of us can see together – last weekend we saw Usher’s new flick, In the Mix. It was a dumb story, but there was plenty of eye candy for us all.
I grew up in a house with two parents and seven children so there was not a lot of warm fuzzy one-on-one time with either of my parents. I try to give that to my kids. I try to give them opportunities and introduce them to new things. I want them to know that there is more to life than playing video games and watching Nickelodeon. They need to know that there is a whole world beyond the walls of our home.
My son’s Godfather is a professor of communications at a university in the midwest. He is always traveling to give lectures on a host of different topics. He is brilliant and I love him with all my heart – he’s been my best friend for more than twenty-five years. Anyway, next year he is going to Puerto Rico for a week for some academic conference. My son is half Puerto Rican and he’s always talking about learning more about “his culture”. (I used to crack up whenever he said this and my response was always, “Be quiet boy, you’re BLACK! That’s your culture.”) Well, I thought this trip would be a great opportunity for my son. I spoke to his godfather and he agreed. I’m excited that my son will be able to travel to Puerto Rico and I’m grateful that I’m in a position to send him. Guess what my son said when I told him this exciting news? He said, “I’ll think about it.”
You’ll think about it?
Now on to my daughter. This year will be the first time that I actually planned ahead regarding summer vacation. It seems that every year the last day of school comes and I have nothing for the kids to do. For so many years they would just go to the babysitter’s house and she would take care of their daily activities and I didn’t have to do anything except stroke a check. Well, they are both out of daycare I can’t stand leaving them in the house all day long, eating me out of house and home and burning up all the electricity. They need something to do.
I found this great summer camp for my daughter. It’s a Christian camp with a buttload of activities including horseback riding, archery and swimming. Naturally, I’m busting at the seams because I’m taking a proactive approach. I give my daughter the website address and tell her to check it out. What I’m actually saying is, “This is where you’re going this summer.” Guess what my daughter said after viewing the website. She said, “It looked pretty cool. I’ll think about it.”
You’ll think about it?
What the heck is wrong with these kids? You’ll think about it? What is there to think about? They are both in for a rude awakening. I have already done the thinking. My son is going to Puerto Rico and my daughter is going to this horse camp. They’re going and they will love it!
What is meant to be will be
