I got very little sleep last night and I have been exhausted all day. I had indigestion last night, probably brought on by some undercooked spinach. I like to blame green leafy veggies for all my ills...
I am on a message board for parents of older adopted children, and the favorite thread on there is "I am a mean mom/dad because..." and we detail how horrible and mean we are - examples: to not let the children eat an entire bag of Doritos, to not let the child disrupt class at school, etc. It's actually pretty funny as we all get to vent. Here's what I wrote yesterday:
I am the meanest mom ever because last night when we were watching a
movie I stopped the movie and told my daughter why the young girls
onscreen were making bad choices by going to a club and drinking,
wearing little clothing. I am so mean because I told her for like the
millionth time that I don't approve of that behavior and why it's bad.
Here's
my mean little secret: I let my daughter watch a lot of movies other
kids don't necessarily get to watch, but I stop the movie and lecture
her if the characters onscreen are doing something I don't approve of -
wow am I mean...
One
of my fellow parents said he thought it was a good idea to use the
movies as teaching tools - I'm happy to get validation where I can. I
don't let her see anything too violent or sexy, in my opinion, but we
watch some movies that make Mother leave the room in disgust. Of
course, that's been a constant theme in my life, LOL. I could pay off
my adoption expenses if I had a dollar for every time Mother has
intoned, "Dee, that's VULGAR." I was grown before I realized that
"vulgar" has an "R" in it.
I had to go to the accountant's
office and sign the tax return, and fork over the money to the IRS,
aaaargh. I told Melvin to not do anything until April 14th. That's the
way to stick it to Uncle Sam-I-Am-Broke...
I also withdrew my
last cash from the bank. I will be loaded down like a donkey in the
Grand Canyon when I am making my way to the other side of the world
this weekend.
I actually broke down and, acceding to Mother's
wishes, booked a room at the Radisson in Astana for Sunday and Monday
nights. I am horrified by the cost, but actually rather relieved to
stay in an American hotel. It's also brand new. I can use the
state-of-the-art bidet to wash my feet.
Alesia came out of dance
class tonight squealing in delight. Nearly shattered my eardrums. She
had gotten her recital costume. The recital isn't until June. Her
costume is adorable - all glittery gray and purple. I will take her
photo and publish it when possible.
I'm off to bed, and to try and get SOME sleep tonight, with the aid of Motrin and Melatonin...