GO LINDSEY! ! !
~~ Sooz
------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
My dad once took out his badge to deal with some people who just wouldn't shut up in a movie theater. I LOVED it! (He was a SF police dude for 30 years) ~~ Sooz
------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
On Thu, 13 May 2004 17:22:15 -0400, Dr. Sooz wrote (in message ):
Despite my reputation, I adore kids, and they seem to like me. But there's no way in Hell I'd have taken a child to Las Vegas, much less to a $100/ticket evening performance of Circque de Soliel. Not even my kid, and she's 14. (We like watching Circque de Soliel on TV, though)
There are plenty of things that she can do herself when she's grown. If I let her do/have everything as a kid, what would she have to look forward to?
In my mind, there's a clear line between child-appropriate activities and those which should be reserved for adults. Not everyone agrees with me, though. To get back on topic, I think that bead shows are not places for young children or even older children, unless the older child can prove that (s)he can behave and show some interest and knowledge of beads.
I love my DD, but if I went to a bead show, she'd be staying home. OTOH, she was amazing when we went to the Treasures of Egypt exhibit at the Science Museum, and she's far more well behaved than I am at the Museum of Fine Art. (I get mental because it costs $15+/hour for parking)
Kathy N-V
On Thu, 13 May 2004 17:25:39 -0400, Dr. Sooz wrote (in message ):
I read my original story to my mom, who commented that we went everywhere, even when we were small. There are three of us - I'm the oldest, my brother is 10 months younger, and my sister is a year younger than my brother. 3 kids in 22 months.
I thought about that for a moment and told her that we were well behaved everywhere but Mass. I knew that if we had a good time at church, there were going to be spankings for all when we got home. She agreed that keeping us under control at Mass was the most difficult part of her week. I can only imagine - going to a Mass in Latin with three little ones probably wasn't the soothing, spiritual experience it's supposed to be.
I was also informed that I was the instigator of all church related misbehavior, which doesn't surprise me in the least. I seem to recall swinging my rosary like a lariat over my head and accidentally letting go. It hit some guy in the head, if I recall correctly. Definitely some spankings associated with that Mass.
Fortunately, there are family Masses now and we all go together - my Mom had to handle us three all alone, because Dad didn't do Mass. Still, you see some amusing behavior now and again - one little boy dropped his pants to scratch his butt during a long prayer, and there always seem to be scuffles between the "sheep" and "shepherds" at the Christmas children's service. "Mary" was dragging the baby Jesus doll by its head last year.
I'm still the instigator of bad behavior in our family, because I can't keep myself from laughing. The more I try to restrain myself, the worse it gets. Bob and DD are always appalled at my behavior, and they both give me the same lecture: "Can't you behave for one hour a week?"
Apparently not.
Kathy N-V
Kathy -- your daughter is about 12 years older than this tyke, too. I felt bad for her -- I could see the nightmares for years to come. And for what? It was stupid. ~~ Sooz
------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
On Thu, 13 May 2004 17:35:50 -0400, Dr. Sooz wrote (in message ):
Having an only child is no defense against such dolts, either. I don't wear a sign saying so, but having DD was a miracle that wasn't supposed to happen, and we quit while we were ahead.
I can't tell you how many nosy people told us we were jerks because DD needed siblings, "so she wouldn't become selfish" or that Bob needed a son "to carry on the family name."
Bob gives people the "Big Scary Guy Look" and asks the people if they think his daughter is inferior to a son in any way. So far, no one has ever said that she was - how shocking.
No one who knows DD can say that she's selfish, either. She gives more of her time and money toward helping others than almost anyone I know. I get calls several times each week because some classmate needs lunch, pencils, a tee shirt for gym, a notebook, "stuff," whatever; and can we take care of it. I know that all her spending money goes toward feeding hungry classmates, because the cafeteria ladies told me so.
Besides, Helen C has generously taken up the slack for me and you, too Sooz. Between the three of us, there are 7 children: 2-1/3 apiece, which is just about replacement rate.
Kathy N-V
Right, Kathy! :-)
Besides, when I was born there were about 2 billion people on the planet. Now there are more than 6 billion. I don't think anyone needs me to get pregnant, do you? ~~ Sooz
------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
This is awesome... and proof that parents who talk to their children have children who listen!
I tell my children all the time that if they act badly in public, people will think I'm a terrible mother. They do respond to this; even at their tender ages, they don't want to bring shame upon the family. ;)
Now, when I tell them they need to settle down, Juliet and Sam will chime in, "Or people will think you're a bad mom, and that you beat us, and that you don't feed us good food, and you don't teach us how to behave, and you don't brush our teeth or give us baths..." they like to add more things as they think of them, so they have quite the litany of ways I'd neglect them if I was a bad mother. :)
-Kalera
WHO takes a baby to Las Vegas??? And WHY???
-Kalera
LOL! I don't even like to be forced to hear endless stories about other people's kids. One or two, sure, but they'd better be good.
As for selfishness, if doing what you like = selfish, then bringing other human beings into the world and forcing them to be my immediate relatives for the rest of their lives because I feel like it, seems FAR more selfish than not having kids so you have more time to do what you like.
-Kalera
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Who came up with that COMPLETELY MENTALLY DEFICIENT line of reasoning?
I'm sorry, I love kids and I'm glad I had them but that is the funniest thing I've heard in a long time!
-Kalera
I definitely agree about young children, especially those in strollers. However, I took my 7 YO granddaughter to the bead show in DE, which is held in a firehall. A smaller show. She loved it. Turns out, she's a bead fondler just like her bubbe! We stopped after an hour for refreshments and she was eager to get back to the beads.
However, I would not take her 6YO brother with me. He wouldn't enjoy it and neither would anyone else. It just depends on the child. Cheri (Bubbee to Emily and Nathan)
Hmmm. If your parents wanted grandchildren, they should have had more of their own kids to ensure that at least one of them felt like breeding later.
Yeah, I feel that "unpatriotic" label. It's right up there with "immoral", which I have started to use to describe anything I don't personally like just to point out how funny it is to use it improperly.
-Kalera
That's another one of those things I wonder about... why people have the sheel gall to ask about your reproductive life in the first place.
When I was pregnant with Sam, some of my coworkers seemed to think it was impossible that it had been a purposeful pregnancy. (I was 28 but looked 19.) The third time someone asked if my pregnancy was "planned", I said "Well, my husband and I *weren't* using birth control, but we
*were* having sex, so it wasn't completely unexpected." (something to that effect, I don't remember the exact wording.) You have never seen so much backpedaling in your entire life! It was hilarious!Another person asked me "how it happened". I looked at them like "YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME" and asked "Do you really need me to explain it?"
What is WRONG with people? WHY do they feel like your reproductive tract is their business?
-Kalera
This line is appropriate to everything we've discussed in this thread. It's so true! ~~ Sooz
------- "Those in the cheaper seats clap. The rest of you rattle your jewelry." John Lennon (1940 - 1980) Royal Varieties Performance ~ Dr. Sooz's Bead Links
On Thu, 13 May 2004 21:37:56 -0400, Kalera Stratton wrote (in message ):
If they're really serious about wanting to have grandchildren (and all the associated headaches), most places have volunteer opportunities like "Foster Grandparents." Preschools and kindergartens often encourage community members to come in and assist with children who require more than the average amount of attention. The hospital where I had DD has lots of grandparently people come in as "baby holders," people who would walk drug addicted newborns back and forth, calming them down while the heroin detoxed out of their system. (Deafness is a huge plus in that job)
Oh, I get it. The want the cute, non-crying kind of grandchildren that looks great in photos and makes your friends jealous. We call those "mannequins." Take a picture of one and go away.
I'll wear the unpatriotic tee shirt seven days a week. I got the boot from teaching CCD (Sunday School for Catholic Kids) when I started telling the high school kids that they have brains for themselves, and that the best way to honor God is to use those brains to make smart decisions. (The subject that week was the immorality of birth control. I didn't read the book aloud and have the kids answer the questions. My bad.)
When I substitute taught the eighth grade at the parochial school, I gained even less popularity when I told people that if they are against abortion, don't have one. Duh - problem solved. Oh, they didn't want other people to have the choice of abortion because "other people" will use it to kill babies just for kicks. (I'd love to meet anyone who had an abortion "just for kicks." I swear that they're more rare than unicorn-sasquatch hybrids)
I got a "speaking to" for letting teenagers call me by my first name, instead of "Mrs. Varraso," which isn't my name at all. (We compromised on Ms. N-V or Miss Kathy) I was "brought out into the hall" when I let the kids take off their wool ties (boys and girls) and unbutton the top button of their shirts, because it was 90 degrees in that classroom. They "declined to have me back the next day" because I moved the seating plan from straight rows, short people in front, tall people in back, boys on the right, girls on the left to "move the desks into a big circle and we'll work through the lesson plan together."
Anarchy, thy name is Kathy N-V
On Thu, 13 May 2004 21:43:09 -0400, Kalera Stratton wrote (in message ):
You answer them in a pitying tone of voice and say, "Your parents didn't tell you, you poor dear? Let's go find someplace private so I can explain the birds and the bees to you."
When people asked us "when we were going to have another child," Bob usually responded: "Kath, get over here. These people want us to f*ck on their carpet!"
Sometimes, in mixed company, he would just tell them that we will start trying that very night, and that we'd picture their smiling faces the whole time. On the surface that one is more polite, but it freaks people out if you tell them that you're thinking of them while you have sex with someone else.
Now that DD is a teenager, rude people ask us "what would happen if you had a surprise?" I punch Bob in the arm and ask him if he's "messing around on me again - I'm okay raising this one, but you bring any more home, I quit."
We don't go to a lot of social gatherings. I wonder why. ;-)
Kathy N-V
DUDE! This is the most random and wierd thing, but Juliet just said "Mom, someday can you take me to Las Vegas?"
?????
I asked her where she came up with that, and she said "I hear things in my brain sometimes, and my brain told me that I want to go to Las Vegas."
My child is WIERD.
-Kalera
asks the people if they think his daughter is inferior to a son in any way. So far, no one has ever said that she was - how shocking.>
DAMN RIGHT! I'm an only child - and a girl and my parents are plenty proud of me right now !!!
everyone please ignore me if I'm weird posting tonight... too many drinks at the graduation party..
LOL
Cheryl DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass
I'm as boggled as you are. I love my daughters but they would stay home. I flat out don't want them in Vegas. Hell, I'm 35 and just now think I might be old enough to go and behave.
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