Tag Archives: Mother

Is the Mohawk Making a Come Back???

25 Oct

Single mom here, checking in again.

Last night when Tyler’s dad and grandmom brought him home and Tyler took off his hat, I immediately noticed that he had a new hair cut.  Okaay.  I wanted to be appreciative that his dad took that initiative although I had just cut his hair a few days ago.  I was trying really hard to like it.  At first I thought it was a ‘fade’ gone wrong.  The fade line was waaay to high.  Then, after watching the kid in action for a few minutes and getting to see the back of his head I couldn’t help but to ask, “is that a mohawk????”  Tyler’s grandmom chimed in, you haven’t seen all the kids wearing their hair like that – it’s the new style.  Tyler goes to a huge 600 kid preschool.  I see hundreds of kids reg-u-lar-ly! Without needing to think about it for even a second, I responded “N0000…  it’s a mohawk, right?”  The reason I even asked was because it’s not your normal Mr. T type mohawk.  It starts wider in the front and tapers down to a point in the back.  They responded yes, it’s a mohawk.  Tyler’s grandmom said, “she doesn’t like it”.  My only comment was, “good they took pictures last week”, as I thought about how long it would take to be able to change it back to a normal style.  After a little more thought, once again I was just compelled to ask, “are you thinking that the top should grow out and the sides stay short like that or is it supposed to always be short like that?”  His dad just kinda shrugged his shoulders.  I left it alone after that because I had already determined that it would only take two weeks for it to look normal again!  AND, thank God Tyler likes to wear a hat every day!

Now there is a good part to my three, almost four year old having a mohawk.  I had a job interview today.  There were four people in the room.  Three of the four took turns asking me questions from a sheet of paper they all had a copy of.  The second question was to tell them something about myself that they wouldn’t know based on my application or resume.  I thought about it for a few seconds then told them that I have the most wonderful three, almost four year old son. I went on to tell them that his dad brought him home last night with this mohawk.  They all laughed pretty good at my rendition of this story that ended with, so yes, I have a three, almost four year old with a mohawk.  After first being shocked beyond words that he’d even cut his hair into a style he knew I wouldn’t like, I am now find some humor in it. 

Just in case there were more instances of mohawks popping up at the school, today when I went to pick up Tyler I had a light conversation with the teachers about Tyler’s new do.  They both agreed that there is maybe two other kids with mohawks in the school.  One of the two wears his with lots of gel to make it stand up in spiky pieces.  I knew I was right.  Now, all I need is for Tyler to love it and never stop wanting to “rock a ‘hawk … kinda like people who still wear mullets!  lol. 

The new cut has turned into comic relief!

Child Support Court

21 Oct

Single Mom here, checking in again. 

It’s now 2:08am and I am still awake watching TV and playing a game of Texas Hold ’em Poker on my cell phone.  I am not always totally in touch with my feelings.  Often times I need to take some time to digest what happened, then analyze what I’m feeling. 

Yesterday, Tyler’s father and I were scheduled to appear in Family Court a.k.a. Child Support Court for an enforcement hearing.  I was there but he didn’t bother to show up.  That has been the story of Tyler’s life…. I’m there and his father is not.  The only thing that I can say to the man’s credit is that, after being totally absent since Tyler’s 2nd birthday, he called and has been seeing Tyler since some time in September.  Either two or three times Tyler has spent the night with him.   One night, not the weekend.  Really sad to have to say that he lives with his mom. 

Without delving too deep into all the things that has pissed me off about that man, elaborating more about all the crappy details of his life, explaining how having such a loser as my sons’ father is, citing the billions of incidents where Tyler and I would be better off if his father did help financially, that he did have a job when I dated him, or exactly how I feel now,  I somehow think that you know just what I mean. 

Other single parents with absent co-parents personally know all the issues we handle alone, least of all the issue of balancing time and money.  Single parents with a co-parent and couples personally feel some of it, but, I am sure that since you know all the things a parent is responsible for, you can imagine if the burden rested solely on your shoulders.  My child is not a burden but worrying about finding a job to make enough money to support us because I probably won’t ever have reliable help,  school clothes, winter coat, boots, a roof over our head, food on the table, keeping the house clean, clothes washed, cable, telephone, gas, electric, a vehicle maintained in good condition, auto insurance, extra curricular activities, stressing education… all of those things add a huge weight to my shoulders.  The weight is so much heavier than when I was single because now my sons’ life depends on it. 

Tuesday night when we were doing our normal routine of reading books before bedtime, Tyler said the most amazingly intuitive thing.  He’s only three but he understands on his level.  At the last pages of the book Goldilocks and the Three Bears where it says that Goldilocks was so scared she ran all the way home, it shows the three bears standing in the living room by their front door.  Flanking the door are family pictures.  Tyler likes to say who is in each picture.  He says that he is Baby Bear.  Of course I am Mama Bear.  But Tuesday night, my intuitive little three year old pointed to Mama Bear and said that’s you, then pointed to Papa bear and told me that was me too. 

in·tu·i·tive  [in-too-i-tiv, tyoo]   –adjective

1. perceiving by intuition, as a person or the mind.
2. perceived by, resulting from, or involving intuition: intuitive knowledge.
3. having or possessing intuition: an intuitive person.
4. capable of being perceived or known by intuition.
 

in·tu·i·tion  [in-too-ishuhn, -tyoo-]    noun

1.  direct perception of truth, fact, etc., independent of any reasoning process; immediate apprehension.
2.  a fact, truth, etc., perceived in this way.
3.  a keen and quick insight.
4.  the quality or ability of having such direct perception or quick insight.
5. Philosophy .
a. an immediate cognition of an object not inferred or determined by a previous cognition of the same object.
b. any object or truth so discerned.
c. pure, untaught, noninferential knowledge.
6. Linguistics . the ability of the native speaker to make linguistic judgments, as of the grammaticality, ambiguity, equivalence, or nonequivalence of sentences, deriving from the speaker’s native-language competence.

 

Did you see Misty Croslin’s new look?

12 Oct

Single Mom here, checking in again.

What a difference a year and a half makes!!!  When Haleigh Cummings disappeared in February 2009, Misty Croslin was a skinny little somebody prancing around in tight jeans and belly shirts.  Now, after being in prison since January 20, 2010, her skin is a mess and she gained a lot of weight.  Stress can do that to a person.  When I saw the newest pictures of her it seemed me to be a case of switcheroo.  You know how when you are watching a soap opera and one day when you tune in you hear, ‘the role of such-and-such will now be played by such-and-such’…. I was waiting for those words when I looked at the new Misty!  If the stress of 9 months in jail made her change enough for me to question if that was even the same girl, just think what she’ll look like after she serves the 25 year sentence she already got slapped with PLUS more for her pending charges.

I’d feel sorry for her if only I could believe that she didn’t kill Haleigh, was not an accomplice to Haleigh’s murder, AND has not been withholding pertinent information regarding  Haleigh’s disappearance/murder. 

check out the latest…. Misty Croslin sentenced to 25 years

Uh ooh…. is my kid colorblind???

11 Oct

There was a scholastic book fair at my son’s preschool.  On Wednesday, September 29th, Back to School Night, I visited the book fair and purchased 4 books.  Doggone Dogs, Too Many Dogs, Goldilocks and The Three Bears, and Naughty Little Monkeys

I have been reading him  3-4 of the books every night since then.  He always chooses to start with Doggone Dogs.  I read the title, I read the author’s name, and illustrator.  On one of the beginning pages there is a picture of 5 dogs lined up by height in descending order.  Every night Tyler points to each dog and tells me what color collar they have.  Red, red, red, green, blue.  He points to the blue one and says it’s green.  I tell him, no baby, that one is blue.  Then I correct him when he says the green one is blue.  After a few days of this, I started thinking maybe he’s color blind.  My mom, a former nurse, had previously told me that colorblind people have a hard time distinguishing between blue and green.  I’m getting more and more worried every day he calls blue, green.  I want to tell myself that maybe its just because the collars are small but that conversation with my mom keeps ringing really loudly in my head.  Finally, Friday October 8th, we start our same routine.  I sit on his bed.  He sits in between my legs.  He holds the book and I read.  I read, Doggone Dogs, by Karen Beaumont, pictures by David Catrow.  He turns the page.  We get to the page with the fateful, collared dogs.  Again, just the same as all the other days, he points to the doggies and says red, red, red, then, as I hold my breath and time moved like slow motion, Tyler points to the blue collar and says green.  My heart sunk and, in my mind, I let out a huge disappointed sigh.  I couldn’t say anything.  When time moved again, Tyler pointed to the blue collar again and said green.  I still couldn’t respond.  He turned and gave me a look that let the whole cat out the bag.  He knew that blue collar wasn’t green and was waiting for me to say something before he could move on.  I let out a loud, raucous laugh.  I said, “you know that collar isn’t green”!  He laughed really hard with me.  

Only THREEEEE!!!

24 Sep

Single mom here, checking in again.

Today I picked up my son, Tyler, from school at the normal time.  He’s not usually a “crier” but on that day he was a little whiney and fussy although he wasn’t sick and didn’t seem tired. 

Once we had gotten home, parked and I went to his side of the car, the back seat passenger’s side, I had to get off the phone with my mother because he was trying to make a quick getaway to the front seat of the car.  Not quicker than I could get ahold of him and insist that we get out the car.  He was upset and proceeded to hit me in my stomach!!!  Whaaat???  My kid just hit me.  I slapped his bottom and sternly told him that you don’t hit mommy. 

Ok, we get past that one.  He’s walking down the sidewalk when he informs me that he is going to ring our neighbor, Pat’s doorbell.  That is fine with me… no problemo.  It’s common for him to want to stop and say hello.  I think Pat is flattered that my child likes her and wants to come see her.  I opened our townhouse door and set down the bags I was carrying.  Pat answered the door and came outside to talk.  As we talked, my son went in and got his favorite toys, two balls, then comes back outside too.  No problem there either.  He threw the balls in the air.  He gave one of the balls to Pat’s 20 something year old autistic son.  Somewhere around then, Tyler noticed Pat and Frankie’s bikes and decides to go get his bike too.  No problem.  He got his batman themed big wheel, carried it down two stairs, placed it on the ground, then sets out riding down the sidewalk.  When he got to where the sidewalk meets the parking lot, I yell to him to come back this way.  My kid looked at me and kept on going.  Whaaattt?  I watched him go between the cars, then he was out of sight.  At that point, I set out quickly following him.  When I got beyond the parked cars, my kid was a good 50 feet away.  I let out what I thought was an authoritative yell to him, “Tyler, get back here NOW!” but he just turned, looked at me and kept going.  OMG!  I went to run after him, then remembered that my front door was wide open.  I asked Pat to follow him for a second while I went to shut my door.  In the few seconds it took me to go to the door and come back, my kid had pushed the bike to the top of the hill at the end of the development, zoomed down, and it appeared as though he was just going to keep going for a ride around the rest of the neighborhood.  Thank God for the kids that were playing basketball in the street.  Pat who had followed him barefoot, yelled to them and they stopped him.  If they weren’t there I would have had to sprint after him and, let me tell ya, I am in the worst shape I have ever been in in my entire life.  Over weight and in no condition to sprint for more than a block or so.  When I got to him, he ‘got it’, probably worse than he has ever ‘gotten it’ in his short life.  I also yelled and screamed like I usually try not to do.  He was crying his eyes out as he rode home with me walking behind him, and every now and then, giving him a push to keep him going as I continued my rant.  “you can’t just ride off on your own!”; “you heard me tell you to come back!”; “GO HOME…. NOW!”; “keep riding!”.  My adrenaline was running high and I was wound UP!  He was wound up too.  When we got to the door, I had to pick him up off that bike and place him in the living room floor before I could get the big wheel in the door.  As he sat in that same spot crying his eyes out, I sat on the couch huffin’ mad thinking about how he could have gotten run over by a car or taken by some pedophile.  A few minutes went by before he spoke though the tears, “mommy. my nose is running”.  I told him to get a napkin off of the table that was right behind him.  He had nerve to tell me, “you get it!”.  Whaaatttt???  I told him, “noooo, you get it”.  He doesn’t talk all that well but proceeded to try to tell me off!  He emotionally stated, mumble mumble mumble AND I’M ONLY THREE mumble mumble mumble, as he motioned with three fingers.  I halfway wanted to laugh.  If I wasn’t so mad I might have.  He has some nerve.  That got me started on a new rant.  I told him, yeah your only three and that’s why you can’t just ride off on your bike without mommy and not come back when I tell you to.  He cried even more.  Normally, when I’m not so mad, I hate to hear him cry because it means he is hurting.  Normally, I’d hug him up and love him up and tell him “mommy’s here”, and it’s OK.  But it wasn’t OK.  After a few more minutes had passed he finally moved from the spot he had been frozen in.  He came over to me.  I picked him up and sat him on my leg.  He told me, “Tyler’s sad and mommy’s happy and it’s not right”.  He also told me that I had hurt his butt.  A three-year old talking about it’s not right.  I told him mommy is NOT happy, mommy is mad.  And I hurt his but because he did something really bad.  I, now in a calmer tone, explained to him that it was really bad for him to ride off without me and to disobey my instruction.  Of course I instructed him to never do that again.  When I finished, he said, “sorry mommy”.  With that we hugged and made up.  I was glad that we talked about it, that he was able to express himself and understand what I was explaining. 

When bedtime came, once again, very uncharacteristic of him, Tyler cried and fussed.  Geeezzz.  I wondered who that bad kid was because he wasn’t my normally well-mannered child.  My only rationale was that it was a full moon that night because when we woke up in the morning, my loving, wonderful kid had returned!

Almost like right

16 Aug

Single mom here, checking in again.

The townhouse where Tyler and I live has been a source of shame for me but it was the best I could provide.  As an independent contractor, I don’t have a steady, stable income to state on applications.  2009 was a really bad year.  Just seriously stressful.  So when I needed to find us a new place to live in September ‘09, there were few options available to me.  I took the place that had the most living space but was in the state of disrepair.  I only anticipated needing to be here for 2-3 months but am now stuck here and will probably loose the house.  Almost certainly lose the house at a time when, even if I had enough income, I am not at all credit worthy. 

How do I always get so off track from the statement I intended to write about?!??  OK, so the townhouse.  The owner finally sold it to the corporation that owns most of the other units here.  Finally, the the holes in the kitchen ceiling and at the bottom of the staircase are patched.  The biggest thing is that they replaced the heater, air conditioner unit, and thermostat.  The air conditioner had been leaking since before I moved in.  If I had only been here a few months like I originally thought it wouldn’t have been a problem.  However, two months has turned into almost a year and I had to set bowls and buckets around to catch the dripping water.  The contractor started working to install the new units on Thursday.  OK… I’ll cut to the chase…. I have a crush on one of the contractors that has been working on my unit.  I think we had a crush on each other from the first time we saw each other.  Now that he’s been around for two days straight, my desire to touch him is growing out of control.  I have to admit something… I haven’t had sex since January or so but, up until now,  I’ve been OK about not gettin none.  Is my sex drive coming back because of the sugar levels returning to normal or because of the presence of this man that I am attracted to?  I have met and been around other men but nothing.  Come to think of it, back in October ‘09, before I knew about the sugar and understood that high sugar levels can effect the libido, this man and I had chemistry.  He had come over to unclog the toilet last year while Tyler was still highly fascinated by flushing the toilet and watching things go down the drain.  I just felt flush when he and I got too close.  I thought could tell that he felt something too but I wasn’t sure.  Now I’m sure.  I know he likes me for me because of the way he looks at me and smiles even if I am looking my worst.  I know I like him because I can’t stop thinking about him and my body responds to the thought of being close to him.  The greatest thing is that he likes Tyler too.  Liking my kid gets him serious brownie points.  If I had chemistry with a man that didn’t like kids, I would ignore my feelings.  I’m not sure where this can or will go, all I know is that he’s been on my mind all weekend and I wish I had invited him to come back last night while Tyler was spending the night at my mom’s house. 

This also means that I am finally getting past the trauma of my last relationship which was abusive.  Verbally abusive, emotionally abusive, and, on the first and only occasion that he decided to be physically abusive the pinky toe on my left foot got broken.  That guy was a sociopath which means that he seems perfectly normal on the outside but is freakishly abnormal on the inside.  Unlike a psychopath that is just crazy all over.  The sociopath would be the guy that all the neighbors and co-workers would say, “he was the nicest guy, I would have never expected him to do something like this”, whereas the psychopath’s neighbors would say, “there was always something a little weird about that guy.  I didn’t know him well, he kept to himself”.  My sociopathic ex stalked me in the end although he had other girlfriends and had made a baby with at least one of them.  What’s kind of funny is that the side piece girl who got pregnant probably thinks she got a prize in him.  He works two full time jobs which makes him end up with a pretty good annual salary.  I know he helps her with the kid.  However, after a lot of thought, I decided that I’d rather have a totally absent father for my son than to have a sociopath bound to me for life.  Seriously stalking.  It escalated one night to the point where I had to call the police.  My sociopathic ex fears the police but will undoubtedly end up in their custody one day.  I don’t think he can keep the ‘crazy’ bound up inside forever.  I’m just glad that he’s out of my life and that, after almost two years, I am ready for a new relationship.  The two years that I have been single wasn’t totally about the trauma of that relationship; it was partly just time to get myself together and to allow Tyler to get older and less needy.  Tyler sleeps all night in his own bed.  He knows he is loved and mommy is always here for him.  He is also low maintenance enough to spend the night with my mom or sister and possibly his paternal grandparents. 

So, the townhouse is not so shameful anymore AND the libido is running again AND there is a man that seems to like me despite the fact that he has seen me in a frock with my hair undone. Almost like right again!

Clean???

16 Aug

Single mom here, checking in again.

Just wondering…. if one runs a tub of water, adds bubble bath, then lets a kid get in it and splash around…. can this be considered giving the kid a bath? 

Black People’s Blues

1 Aug

Single mom here, checking in again.

I got it.  A really bad case of the Black People’s Blues.  I first heard about Black People’s Blues in a movie or TV show, I can’t remember which.  I must’ve been maybe 13-14 or so.  They said that black people get a different kind of blues than everyone else because we hold so much in.  We hold it all in and when it finally comes out we are ‘blue’ over a whole slew of things. 

I just got done watching The Secret Life of Bees with Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and others.  When their sister, May, drowned herself I couldn’t hold back the tears.  Then the tears for the things I’m holding in came out too.  Sooo many things are wrong.  So many that it is a much shorter list just to tell you what’s right.  The only thing that is really good is Tyler.  My baby is smart, happy, loving, cute as can be and just perfect.  Everything else is far, far from perfect. 

I usually try to take some comfort in thinking that it could always be worse but right this moment I can’t even picture handling any more than I already have on my plate.  I think….  if Tyler’s father would just pay child support…. if that SOB of a boss I had hadn’t fired me…. is this punishment for something I did???

Last Sunday Tyler and I witnessed the worse storm I’ve ever seen in my life.  We live in the very small area that felt the full force of what they called a ‘”super cell”. This super cell had our town in shambles for a few days.  The electric went out around 4 pm that Sunday and didn’t come back until around 8 am the following Tuesday.  I used change to buy ice for the refrigerator and freezer.   That Sunday night I read a few chapters in the book of Matthew in the bible by flashlight.  It was so uplifting and encouraging but, at the same time, a bit troubling.  My new worry is that I fear that God will be upset because I must not have enough faith in him if I can’t manage to put my worries and fears away.  I’ll be like the man who sunk into the water after he became afraid and worrisome.  So worried that  I threw up the other day, I believe just because of my nerves. 

This week, on top of all of the normal worries, worrying about all the food going bad, worrying about what to do with Tyler during the power outage, worrying because I now have a warrant for my arrest.  The warrant is because I can’t afford to pay someone to mow the lawn at my house.  They sent me a ticket with a required court date.  In my absent mindedness, I didn’t read the ticket over until I had missed the date.  Now I have a $500 warrant.  The IRS sent me a letter about the money I owe them because I didn’t file my 2006 taxes.  Tyler was only 2 1/2 months old when it was due and I did not have myself together enough to handle everything I needed to handle.  Oh yeah, and just like I suspected, there is something “abnormal” about my blood work so says the letter I received in the mail today.  That means I can’t even be greatful for good health because I don’t have that either. 

Yes, woe is me.  I worry more because of Tyler.  I think that if I were still a single woman without a child, I could choose to work two jobs and live in conditions a child shouldn’t be subjected to.  As it is, I have to find a job whose schedule will allow me to drop Tyler off in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon/early evening.  Very limiting.  His father does nothing and his grandparents all have too much going on in their own lives. 

Woe is me.  No money.  Not enough help.  Mounting problems.  Unsure when any of it will be any better. 

Wasting money

23 Jul

Single mom here, checking in again.

Tell me…. what does a six year old know about wasting money?  Nothing!

Yesterday evening, Tyler and I went outside to play.  A few of the neighborhood kids were outside too.  Those kids are so nice to Tyler; they understand that he is still little and help keep a watchful eye over him.  I love them for that.  We ended up playing a game of good, old fashioned kick ball.  And, yes, I mean we…. I played too!  When I got tired and thirsty I brought out enough freeze-pops for everyone.  One little girl told me how nice I was because “most parents don’t come out and play because they have to run and stuff”.  She doesn’t realize that I don’t have a choice in the matter.  I could choose not to play but I cannot choose not to come out, at least not until Tyler is older. 

When we got tired of playing kick ball, they asked if we could play baseball.  From previous days they knew Tyler has bats and balls.  Tyler has pretty much every type of ball made.  When Tyler was a baby, my friend Anthony whose teenaged son has excelled in every sport he has undertaken told me that his son was always good at sports because he started playing with balls when he was only one year old.  So what did I do, I went out and bought balls until Tyler had them all.  The kids followed me inside to get the baseball gear.  They were amazed to see that Tyler has so many toys.  The little boy said very quizzically, “you bought all of these?”  I responded, “yes”, although some of them came from Grammy, CoCoa and my ex-boyfriend.  The boy replied, “it’s all just a waste of money”.  Excuse meeee!?!!  As we walked out the door with the all of the baseball stuff, the little boy continued to say, “it means Tyler must be spoiled”.  Whaaattt?  OK Tracey… he’s only six, I told myself.  What the heck does his little butt know about wasting money and being spoiled?  Since it sounded like him repeating what an adult said, would almost definitely contradict the policy at his home, and make him feel slighted, I decided not to express my thoughts on why a kid needs a wide variety of toys.  I’ll tell you this, I have no clue what I’m doing as a parent so I am not downing anyone else’s policies.  I envision Tyler growing in to a kind, smart, successful, well rounded man.  Problem is… I have figured out that I, as a parent, have no clue as to how to make my vision reality.  I am just playing it by ear, taking it as it comes, rolling with the punches.  Although I love kids, being the baby of my family, I have not been around many kids.  I really think that even if I had, I still wouldn’t know the inner workings of raising a child in a way that will allow them to reach their highest potential.  I read, I observe, and I listen to all things that teach me how to accomplish this goal.  What I have seen is that the daycares and preschools are filled with toys that all teach some skill; everything from motor skills and sensory perception to imaginary play and space conception.  When Tyler 17 months old and I was a little concerned because he wasn’t talking too much, the therapist brought what?…. toys to use in their testing.  I will admit that Tyler’s paternal grandparents don’t usually buy Tyler toys; they say he already has too many. I disregarded their opinion after they told me he didn’t need a drum, he could ‘rat-tat-tat’ on a coffee can and it would do the same thing.  And… my cousin, Dawn, says that my house looks like Toys-R-Us.  But Dawn doesn’t have any kids besides the fact that she just always got jokes!  Almost all of these things were purchased because I wanted him to learn something.  Before Tyler turned one year old, I noticed that he loves music so I make sure he had some musical instrument toys.  When he got interested in dinosaurs, I bought a dinosaur book and two toy dinosaurs.  In my mind, there is a long list of many varied reasons for the blocks, the trucks, the tent, the Thomas the Train train set, the trucks and cars, books and puzzles.  Nothing on this list of many varied reasons for each toy is something a six year old is even remotely aware of.  So we can just add one more reason to the list of why I disregarded someone’s opinion when it comes to my baby and his toy.  Reason #897  What does a six year old know about wasting money, being spoiled, and raising a kid?  NOTHING!

Commit

22 Jul

Single Mom here, checking in again.

I quickly read the subject of the Dr. Phil show I have saved on the DVR.  I read, when should I commit to my kids?  Odd subject, I thought, but I’ll watch it anyway because it’s about parenting and kids.  Welll, 18 minutes into the show I realized that I must have read something wrong.  The show’s subject is actually When Should I Commit My Kids?  This little girl is bipolar and, as Dr. Phil said, the parents are ‘in over their heads’.  Tired as I feel right now with only 15 minutes left before I have to leave to get Tyler from school, I realize that I may be in up to my eyeballs but at least its not quite over my head.  Geeezzz! I feels sorry for those parents. It makes me remember that as hard as I think it is, it could always be worse.  No ‘woe is me’ thinking, at least til the next crisis comes!