Work Hard, Play Hard

But mom, I'm not even tired

Pop Quiz

Which Disney character did Alex say his ma resembles

Was it Cinderella?



Was It Snow White?



Was it Sleeping Beauty?



Or was it was Cruella De Vil?



If you guessed the latter of four options, you are correct! Apparently,to my young child, I look like the tall skinny chain-smoking puppy-killing villain from 101 Dalmatians.

The woman did have one excellent fur collection though...

Puppy Games

Like so many of my other relationships, behaviors that chewy exhibited in the beginning that I found cute are now just darn right annoying. He has this little game that he plays in the morning where he takes the cloths that we’ve laid out for the day and runs away with them…piece by piece.

At first, it was cute. He would pick up a blouse with his teeth and slink to another room with his treasure, keeping his eyes on us the entire time to see if we’re going to catch him in the act. Socks, underwear, shirts – they were all little prizes Chewy tried to take and hide.

It’s no longer cute. Chasing the dog and playing tug-a-war with my pantyhose in the morning is no longer enhancing this little puppy’s appeal. We take him outside in the mornings to potty, and we’ve just started leaving him out there while we quickly get dressed. So, if you drive by our house around 7:00 am and there is a dog outside staring down the door wishing he had thumbs so he could let himself in, there is probably a mom scrambling to get dressed before her dog runs off with her cloths inside that house.

Bed Bugs

I seem to have a problem with bed bugs. The past few nights, I crawl into my bed, close my eyes, but wake up with a four-foot blond-haired bed bug.

He use to wake me up and I would walk him back to his bed, but now he just sort of slips in next to me. Alex is 8 ½ years old and probably too old to be crawling in bed with mom, right? Okay, the mom part of me loves when that little bed bug snuggles up to me in the mornings, but I’m afraid it’s not appropriate and/or healthy. He should be able to just stay in his bed and fall back to sleep without the comfort of mom....or at least in theory that is how it should happen. I probably relate me being a single mother to these problems way too frequently, but I just don't think he would be doing this if there was a dad in the house. For one thing, the bed would be too crowded, but I also wonder if Alex relies on ma too much. Did you know Elvis slept with his mom until puberty?

Okay…getting off track. He’s too old to be waking up and crawling into mom’s bed, but how do I get him to stop? I’m thinking restraints on the bed might violate some child protection code. It doesn't help that I'm a very hard sleeper. Once my head hits that pillow, a pack of elephants could successfully rampage our house and I would just stay in slumber land.

Legacy

I thought a lot about my mom this weekend. The things that I remember and miss the most are the inadvertent things that she would do. I sometimes wonder what will Alex remember 30 years from now – will he remember the times I lost my temper – will he remember the lessons I’ve tried to teach him – will he remember how I read to him every night before bed like those parenting books suggested?

What do I remember about my mom?

I remember her laugh. It was loud and as a teenager, I was mortified because you could tell when she was in the building by her laugh. I would ask her to “laugh quietly” – which I do believed just enticed her to laugh ever more carelessly and jubilantly. I miss that about her.

I remember how she never gossiped. She would never speak up when someone else was gossiping (unless it was me or one of my siblings partaking in the gossip session) but she would never join in and never repeat gossip, even when she was asked. She just sat quietly and remained indifferent about things. When asked, she would just shrug her shoulders and say we all have short comings and that was it – nothing more.

Her smell. My mom was allergic to almost every brand of make-up, jewelry, and perfumes. It was like her body completely rejected anything materialistic or worldly. She always had a sweet smell though – usually of food since she spent a lot of time cooking, but it was warm and comforting. When I smell baked bread or other goodies, I immediately see her face.

I remember how tearing eyed she would get when she heard a gospel song. When we rolled into that four-piece harmony on Sunday mornings, my mom was almost guaranteed to have to get out a Kleenex. Again, as a teen, I would practically crawl under the pews when I would hear her blow her nose over “The Old Rugged Cross”. Now, I admire her relationship with God and her absolute love for Jesus. Gospel music spoke to her heart and brought her to tears every Sunday.

There are other things that I miss about her – but they are all things that she never tried to “teach” us – they are just things that made her special without her even knowing.

Nice Try...

Mom to Alex: Come on Alex, it's bedtime

Alex's A+++ attempt to get out of bedtime: But mom, didn't you know I'm nocturnal

Update

So, what has been going on in the Lindner household?

Last weekend I fly to Phoenix to visit my friend Michael. Michael and I have been on again off again for about two years now and although the relationship is totally damaging, I completely adore him. I wish I had some exciting stories to share, but we really didn't do much. We hung out, talked, shopped, and just enjoyed each other. He recently purchased a loan modification company and added a bankruptcy division so on Saturday, we went to the office so he could catch up on some work. It made me feel very good and an integral part of his life when he felt comfortable to introduce me to his employees. He is a very guarded individual and I know that this little act took a great deal of trust on his part.

Alex was suppose to go to his dads for the weekend, but because I counted on it, of course it would fall apart. I asked my sister to watch him for the weekend, but she and her boyfriend had plans to go shopping so she declined and we got into a huge fight over that. She and my brother are in their early 20's and unlike me at that age, they have no responsibilities and don't change their plans, especially when it means giving up something fun. So, I called the mother of Alex's BF and asked if he could stay at their house for the weekend. Thankfully, she said yes and the boys had a fabulous time!

On Monday, for my business policy and strategy class, I had to give a presentation on a shoe company that I operated as part of a simulation. Alex tagged along and got a little giggly watching mom give a serious presentation for a classroom full of college students. Why did I take my 8-year old to class? Well, it was because we had tickets for the Cirque Jungle Fantasy show at the Pavilion later that night.



I always feel like calling my chiropractor after a cirque show. The things that the performers can do with their bodies simply amazes me. Alex loved the show and even requested a CD which really surprised me because he's not a big fan of mom when she plays her Broadway tunes....of course mom is usually also singing into her hairbrush, but still. He was entranced throughout the entire show.

Two more finals for the week and this mom can scratch another semester from her list