The last thing I wanted to do today was go to the laundromat. I hate the laundromat, and as an optimist there isn't much that I can really say I "hate". I hate coconut, I hate public restrooms, I hate the laundromat. It grosses me out to think of my clothes mingling with whatever creepy goo might be left from the load before mine. I wouldn't have gone except school starts Thursday (yeah, Thursday, weird day to start school!) and we've been without the washer for a week. I have a bed wetter (not my youngest either) and did I mention.....school starts Thursday. The fix it man won't arrive until next week.
Next time I forgo the fancy dancy appliance for the one my dad, neighbor, passer-by can fix.
Amazing what you can learn while cringing with disgust.
My soon to be 1st grade daughter can read, without pictures, "Sorry, No pets allowed." And she has the audacity, I mean, self-confidence, to tell a stranger entering with a cute puppy.
My 13 yr old can be incredibly generous to his 11 year old brother, who failed to bring something to do. (Of course he didn't...those were my last words as we left the house. He's the one that hears the first thing I say, and only the first thing.)
My 11 year old has it in him to defend his 13 year old brother, who failed to bring his guitar. (See, he tends to hear the last thing I say, just like it was the only thing I said) The first thing I said was "Remember your guitar and football gear, we won't have time to come home first".
My children are kind to strangers.....even really strange, ehem...unique strangers. They held open doors, picked up trash, smiled, chatted appropriately, impressed fellow patrons by reading in their few spare moments, helped a woman using a walker, and even loaded the clean clothes....without being asked!
Did I mention the fix it man arrives next week? And of course he'll need to order parts....
So my next trip to the dreaded laundromat may be on my own. (Remember school starts Thursday, weird...Thursday!) I hope my humanity rises to the level of my children. I feel a little guilty now that I didn't have it in me to bring my own clothes.
I really do hate the laundromat.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
The Evolution of Virtuallllmom...
In a jovial conversation with my 13 year old regarding my confidence that very soon he would show due diligence in the completion and mastery of his family responsibilities (anyone else still feel their toes curl at the thought of the word chores?) he commented that it would be much easier to please me if I were a virtual mom. "You'd look cute on the screen and I could hit pause." Butter me up...make me laugh...DO YOUR CHORES!!
Aaaaah!!!!!! So my parental evolution is on pause. As Milton Berle quipped, "If evolution really works then how come mothers only have two hands?"
As a parent there are many moments I would love to pause, rewind, play again and again. Given the opportunity I'd delete a few things as well....the word chores immediately comes to mind. We do instinctively replay events and experiences. An internal rewrite allows our behavior to be more accurately informed. Those 100 billion neurons give or take a few billion, creating more connections than stars in the sky, giving us the illusion of seamless continuity. Here begins my trip down the quintessential slippery slope. Consciousness, self.....am I really just a virtual mom? Are we all simply a prototype for the "selves" science will create in the future? If consciousness is purely material then this is certainly a possibility. Pause, rewind, play..... I began by stating my desire for this ability, now I'm spooked!
If it were just me I could probably follow the materialistic argument of many neuroscientists and philosophers. But I'm a parent. I may be just a sack of parts but my kids are miracles. They definitely have free will....much to my delight and horror! It brings to mind the astronaut who upon witnessing the depths of space reported not finding God..... watching my children grow how can I not see beyond the material? Who could miss their conscious, their soul? In reserving his view of space to the material I believe Yuri Gagarin told us more of his limitations than perhaps he would want us to know.
Thus begins my blogging journey. I am not an expert on anything...just interested in everything!!! I am now off to see how much I can read about consciousness in an hour. Even Virtuallllmoms need to regenerate. Here are a few interesting articles if you choose to join me.....
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