It was pretty much last year at this time that I wrote a blog announcing the new trend of my two girls to fight with each other. That has not changed since then. It has only continued. I wouldn't say it has gotten worse, but, the song remains the same, and so have my girls.
Also, several summers ago I wrote a blog on the universal Mommy's and now I would like to add to that, universal kids.
Remember the guy who impressed the US government in the 1800s because he brought several guns to the military, took them all apart and put them all together again with pieces from whichever gun? I knew you remembered that incident. It was the beginning of industrialization, mechanized universal parts. Kids are... probably also universal kids. In other words, pretty much, you can go over to your friends house or your neighbor down the street with kids, or some strangers house 3000 kilometers away with kids like the age of yours and pretty much expect the same behavior and know what to do in all the houses with the different kids but with the same age as yours. In other words kids are interchangeable too.
You know that if you have siblings they are going to fight. My wife didn't know that because she is an only child. But I knew it. I brush their fighting off like dandruff on the shoulder now. You know they are going to be hard to get to bed most nights and you have to keep them moving and ... broccoli and spinach, forget it. Don't even try that stuff with any kid, ANYWHERE in the world.
And you know, unfortunately, for the most part, they will be doing something or other which will bug the effing innards out of you. My pet peeve with my older child is her smart phone. I don't have one myself, because i don't want one or need one. For some reason it still gets me unnerved all the people not paying attention to anything except swiping this or that and reading something stupid or watching something on their phone, swiping again, putting it in their pocket, taking it out and swiping again after one minute. Now I have to watch my 9 year old daughter messing with that sh.. too. What a pain. But no matter, if it wasn't the phone, it would be listening to Justin Bieber (who surprisingly, I can take with out much pain) or it would be fashion daughters or not doing homework, or, whatever. There will be one or several things that your kids do, that just drive you batty.
Without hurting anyone!
Kids are just not going to put away their stuff right away.
In the intro to the TV show the Simpsons there are two bicycles left sitting on the lawn I think, or some big mess outside. I always laughed at that and thought, those low class Simpsons, you only have messy front yards in the front of lower class people because they just let their kids throw all their toys all over the front yard and don't yell at them to pick it up, or it just sits there. Boy, did I put the biggest shoe into my mouth learning that that is just kids being kids . Po` fokes, or rich bastards, it doesn't matter. I am somewhere in between the bastard and the po foke, but sure enough... sloppy front yard.
We don't have a front yard for the rest of the year, we live in an apartment complex. But this last summer when both the girls got bikes, boom, at least once a day both bikes are thrown on the front area just sitting there just as in the Simpsons, waiting for Daddy to yell at them to put them away, or to put them away himself, more likely.
Back in our apartment, I count myself lucky that at least one daughter makes her bed, for some reason these days right before bedtime, but all the same, I am thankful for that. The other unmade bed, well it stays a mess. fagetaboutit.
And so expecting parents and parents of toddlers who will soon be "older kids", get ready to deal wi`it. In other words, be a duck and let the water run off your back. Your kids are going to fight, they are going to be messy, something they do is going to upset you nearly every day, and a string of other antics which I didn't go into. It just will be. And that's the way it is. As I said, the song remains the same. Universal, interchangeable kids. But....
Gotta love them all the same.
Thanks for reading my banal meanderings.
