The Not-So-Starving Artist

So..Bowen is in preschool and he is super smart. He can write his name, lots of different letters, lots of numbers, and he is an amazing artist. ((unfortunately I cannot say that he got that from me...but all the other good shit he does)) One of his teachers also told me he is very gifted and talented. Fact of the matter is...so far, Bowen has his shit together education wise.

The other day Bowen brought a picture he drew in school of his family. ((I guess they were practicing stick figures..which Bowen is kind of beyond...but whatevs)) There was Jason on the left, me in the middle, and Bowen. Pretty awesome picture. AND me and Bowen had treats. Which makes everything better.

And then there was a picture on the back. Of Uncle Jeff. ((Uncle Jeff is Jason's roommate))

Uncle Jeff was a normal stick figure. With...a penis and balls. I was shocked and confused to say the least. Why the hell does Uncle Jeff have junk? And is it really that big? And how the hell does he know?!?! SOOOOOOO I did what any parent would do and posted that shit on facebook. (not the pic..but the sitch) And my good friend, who is studying psychology, totally teased me about it..but later told me to ask Bowen why he did it. So I did. And Bowen said, "Uhhh because he is a boy and boys have penises." And then later went on to a story about how Uncle Jeff was going to take a shower, so he had to be naked. (of course...of course...and here I was worried)

Anyways..I was a little freaked out. I mean the kid was super proud of his pics. (not just the penis one you dirty minded nerd) So the good friend told me that it was totally normal for kids his age..and to be prepared for when he starts playing with himself. And then, after I told the story to my therapist, she told me that since I was in the middle, and the biggest, AND had treats, it shows that I am the number one in his life and he understands that I am his main nurturer and caregiver. So BOOM. I am a good mom.

So...while I was first shocked by the pics...I am now totally cool with them now. And he was getting BRAGGED up in therapy last night when he drew "the lady with the couch" like 47 pictures of trains. ((I guess he is WAY ahead of his age group, drawing wise)) Needless to say, I am a proud mama. And now...suddenly super curious about Uncle Jeff!! ;-) Kidding kidding....

I'm Hell on Heels

I'm suddenly on this country kick. Everyone knows I'm a rock lover. Bowen even knows and embraces this. ((As if he ever had a choice)) And yet I suddenly find myself jamming out to Pat Green and two stepping by myself in the kitchen while baking cupcakes. I really am thinking about bringing out my cowboy boots and wearing them around. However, my lovely son is not such a fan. In the car today he said (very dramatically), "MOMMY!! Turn this off and PUH-LEAAASE listen to somefing with good drums. Like the drum song or I'm Not Your Boyfriend Baby or ANYFING else." SO...I did. We listened to Jambi by tool and then part of I'm Not Your Boyfriend Baby by 3oh!3. Anyways, it makes me giggle to think that he already has such an opinion about music, but it makes sense because I am the same way. Music is my life!!!

With this love of music I have learned to accept all forms of music and don't make fun of anyone's music choices/preferences...ok sometimes a little. BUT I know music is art and it relates to people in different ways. I am a lyrics fanatic and find myself getting lyrics to songs stuck in my head that relate to the current situation I'm in. For example...today I was in a great mood...and "I've got a pocket, got a pocket full of sunshine" was on replay in my head. But more seriously, there is always a song that helps me through a certain time. And I have decided that "Hell on Heels" by Pistol Annie's is my theme song. For now at least. ((Lord knows I have enough heels for it to make sense))

SOOOO..that being said. I always wonder about these people who don't let their kids listen to certain music. Even my stepmom censored our music for a hot minute. I remember her coming into my little brother's room where he was playing Limp Bizkit's Hot Dog and ripping the CD out of the CD player and throwing it in the trash. NOW...he was like..12..and the song does say, "If I say f&$# two more times that's 46 f&$#'s in this F&$#ed up rhyme". BUT it was all in fun. And it isn't like we hadn't heard the f-bomb before. ((My dad has major potty mouth when he drives LOL)) It's not like he was 6 and walking around singing, "I did it all for the nookie!" While I understand you don't want your young child walking around calling girls ho's and bitches...I gotta wonder what age is old enough? If you can't control your kid from saying certain words, what can you control?

Here is my argument(s) ((because I am a debater and all))....at some point all kids are going to hear bad words if they haven't already. I am a firm believer that I am the parent and if I want to say shit, damn, fuck, or whatever, I'm gonna say it. And if Bowen says it I tell him that it is a word only used by mommy's and daddy's. And it works. Mostly because I put the fear of God in him and he knows who is boss. THIS GIRL!! Now...one of Bowen's favorite songs right now is 99 Problem by JayZ. So instead of saying, "I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one" he says, "I got 99 problems but a Bo ain't one". I did not get him into this song or change the lyrics, but it works.

Second argument...don't all you parents who are children of the 70s and 80s act like your music wasn't bad. Don't even try to bullshit this bullshitter. AC/DC's Let Me Put My Love Into You is pretty dirty. "Let me cut your cake with my knife"...pretty sure he wasn't talking about a birthday cake...however he may have wanted you in your birthday suit. And actually he mentions dry humping all night in the beginning of the song. I don't blame him...dry humping can only take you so far..so either let him cut the cake or give the man a break. Aerosmith wanted to make love in an elevator, Billy Idol had girls yelling for more, you were pulling the trigger to Kiss' love gun, even Heart was talking about one night stands. SOO...parents...don't act like Lil Wayne is doing anything different..he just has some purple drank while he is doing it. And says it a lot faster than others do.

And finally (for time's sake, bc I can do this all night) all those Kidz Bop cd's are kind of creepy. How is listening to a group of 20 kids under the age of 12 singing "Forget You" which is originally "Fuck You" make it ok to let your kid listen to it? It just trips me out to that that the actual song is not ok for your kid to listen to it, but have a group of kids singing California Gurls which talks about melting your popsicle is just fine. See the irony? No? Really??

ANYWAYS..I honestly couldn't give a shit less if you cuss or don't cuss around your kid. When I'm around other people's children ((Which is rare..because I really don't like other people's kids for the most part. lol KIDDING)) I try reaaaaaally hard not to cuss, unless the parent doesn't mind. And we all have our own parenting style. SO do your thing. And I REALLY don't care what kind of music you let your kid listen to, I will just giggle inside when you tell me that your kid can't listen to whatever and think to myself, "RIGHT...he will listen to it when he gets to school and his friend has it on his iPod, but ok." Just over here listening to music filled with obscene lyrics and letting my thoughts blaze the interwebs for a hot second.

In Remembrance

I'm sitting on my couch, watching footage of people running from the Twin Towers and firefighters from Ladder 7 all saying the same thing, "It's like it happened just yesterday." I have to admit, I feel a little bit of guilt, because I rarely think about it. I was 15 years old when the attacks on 9/11 happened and it was horrible then. And somehow now it breaks my heart more. Maybe because I'm an adult and process it differently. Maybe because I am a mom and imagine one of those people being my son or me dying and leaving my son. Maybe because I watched my husband leave for a war that was spawned by this and come back a different person. I don't know, but it hurts just the same.

How many times do you stop to think about what the people who lived through it, who were in a tower, who lost their husband or wife on that day? I admit, I rarely do. Only when this horrible anniversary approaches and for a few days after. Then it is back to business, back to trying to live life and make it to the next day. But now I'm sitting here thinking about these people who have to live it every, single day. The men and women who have flashbacks, who remember the last phone calls they received from their wives and husbands and parents, the ones that ran from the burning towers, those stuck on hijacked planes...It breaks my heart.

Days like today make me stop and think about just how lucky I am. I am so thankful I have my family, my son, and am not one of the people who lost someone that day. It makes my appreciation for firefighters, police officers, medics, and the military only grow. Heroes don't have to wear capes, they are people we all see on 9/11 coverage every year. The first responders, the people holding each other's hands and saying prayers together while escaping the towers, the troops immediately deployed...those are real heroes. The men and women widowed by these attacks and the children who are growing up without a parent and the parents who lost their child, those are real heroes.

If anything today makes me want to give an extra hug to my son. To tell him I love him one time too many. This reminds me that while the USA is resilient, our community came together, and we have prevailed, we are not promised tomorrow. We cannot control the future or other people and no one, especially me, ever expected for anything like this to happen, but it did. So today reminds me that we should never take anything for granted, to tell the ones we love that we love them, and to never forget.