Noah is annoyed with me
Feb 25, 2005 Parenting, Writing
He’s the only one of his friends who still has to sit in a booster when they carpool. He’s close to the limits but not quite there yet. I’m a stickler for car seat safety issues ‘cuz I’ve been in two (minor) car accidents. Likely we won’t flip Madison until she hits the weight limit on her car seat either (33 pounds) since she doesn’t mind riding backwards. I’d be thinking differently if she were still screaming, I’m sure. Anyway, Noah says that it embarrasses him to have to be in a booster and I’m awfully sorry for that but until he grows another couple of inches, the mandate will remain. I’ll admit — I was tempted. I thought, heck, the other boys are rolling around back there and even my most conscientious friends occasionally let their kids go without their boosters. But then I decided that it’s a safety issue and thus not open for debate. It won’t kill him to ride in it, especially in front of friends who have their own weird rules, which they are forever trying to explain to each other. (Says A to Noah and their friend L yesterday, “See, my mother won’t let me have a toy gun at our house, which I don’t understand because it’s not like there’s gonna be a war breaking out if she does.”)
It’s actually funny to listen to them sometimes comparing notes and trying to figure their home rules out for each other. Like we have a no video console games rule in our house but Noah can get computer games. Or Noah’s friend is allowed to watch Power Rangers but not Pokemon.
Oh these poor children. Then again, it’s important to give kids something to rebel against when they’re teens.
Brett is home today because I’m sick with a sore throat and want to rest so I can meet up with Amber and Eve. (Sadly Becca won’t be there, which totally sucks because Becca time is at a premium these days.) Also this way I can keep on working. Work work work. So last night I turned off the computer because I was feeling (as Noah would say) “doozy” (this is a combination of “dizzy” and “woozy”) besides which it was nearly time for ER but just as the computer screen winked off, I went, “Hey! I know what to say next!” I scrawled a bunch of barely legible notes here in my Cambridge Premium Recycled Writing Surface Wirebound Notebook but now I’m a little afraid to look at them in case they make no sense. That’s why I’m stalling by writing this blog entry.
Yesterday I spent every bit of Madison’s nap time and every bit of Brett created work time putting in stats and quotes and then at the last minute, I realized I have to take them all out. They just don’t work. All of that interviewing I did — oh well. It informed the piece even if I don’t end up using them. Now Brett keeps trying to send me to bed with a hot cup of tea but 1) I don’t want to go lie in bed; 2) I don’t care for hot tea; 3) It’s not restful for me to not do anything when I could be doing something; 4) How can I waste this daddy home time and not work on my article???
Have I mentioned lately how much I like my husband? No? Well, then as a further stalling technique, I will ramble on about him. He’s silly so we tease him a lot (for example, he doesn’t say, “Madison, do you need a diaper change?” he says, “Hey, Sony, how about a fresh dipinski?”) but I was telling Noah that Brett is one of those high moral people. You know, he’s a Good Man. He gives me something to aim for in niceness. Noah finds all this lecturing on his father’s inherent goodness about as boring as the explanation for why he has to continue to ride in his booster.
Oh shoot, I’m running out of excuses. I guess I’ll go crack that notebook and see if it makes sense. I hope it makes sense. Please please please please, make it make sense!
Now playing on iTunes: “Defying Gravity” from the album Wicked by Original Broadway Cast
February 25th, 2005 at 12:11 pm
I’m sure my daughter is going to be exactly the same way with regards to her booster seat. For a while there, she was literally in the SECOND percentile for weight, and not much higher for height. (That was in part due to medical stuff which has since been corrected, but she’s not much bigger.) We joke that she’s going to be in her car seat until she’s twelve. Probably not going to be that far off.
February 25th, 2005 at 12:46 pm
You joke, but our state requires a booster seat until the kid is 80 pounds.
I didn’t weight 80 pounds until I was in the 5th grade.
The son of my godparents was killed in a car wreck when he was 11 — he was not wearing a seat belt, and was thrown from the car.
I think you job as a parent is to be the grown-up and to make hard decisions to protect your kids. Some rules are arbitrary and weird — Pokemon, etc., but some rules have to be non-negotiable, because your child’s life is at stake.
And hey, who doesn’t have some stupid thing they are still mad at their parents about? I never got to have an E-Z Bake oven, and I’m still mad about that…
February 25th, 2005 at 1:49 pm
A) I love the soundtrack to Gravity. I think my 11 yo DD is so lucky because she has Wicked, Bend It Like Beckham and Whalerider to provide her with rolemodels and all I had was Gidget.
B) My 7 yo and her 7 yo carpool companion are both still in boosters. Its nice that both families are on the same page. But when I drive another 5 yo friend he always argues with me when I insist he ride in the extra booster. But I hang tough.
February 25th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
Hey! I just emailed you re: tonight. Afraid I am in your spam filter!
Amber
February 25th, 2005 at 5:40 pm
My parents didn’t let me see George Michael in concert at Pine Knob when I was 16. I’m still bitter about it.
But Noah will probably get over the booster seat thing.
February 25th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Glad you are getting the work done, never had a doubt though! :-0
February 25th, 2005 at 9:40 pm
Well, I’m with Soper, I’m still bitter about never getting an easy-bake oven.
Our kids are going to be in 5-point restraints until they’re at least six, because we had to buy Britax Husky seats when they outgrew their convertible seats (too tall) before reaching the 4-year/40 pound rule on boosters. Imagine how popular THAT is going to be.
On safety, I have no trouble whatsoever being a hard-ass. And it’s quite nice to hear you describe the kids working out their rules. It gives me some faith that kids are smarter and more capable of handling difference than I sometimes fear.
Thank you so much for giving me the heads-up on Nat. I’m so excited for Shannon and Cheryl, I can barely breathe!