3 weeks into the new year and I'm already showing signs of failing on one of resolutions. Although, I think I have a decent enough excuse for not posting...I'm friggin' tired.
Enough whining! Back to the writing.
If you read this blog and my poker blog, you already heard this story. Too bad, it's funny and goes along way to understand what makes me tick. That's a stretch, but at least it's a story, or more to the point, a string of letters arranged on the screen.
Last Friday night was my guys night out. Bourbonators. It's a whisky club that functions much like a book club only there is lots of booze, no woman, meat/cheese/crackers/bbq'ed meatballs (no veggie tray in sight) and we play poker most of the night. This was only different from other Bourbonator nights in that I had an awesome night playing cards, I found the beer and whisky extra tasty and the laughs extremely enjoyable.
My Saturday morning was NOT night like Mr. Weasel's. When I got home, OhPrincess1 was sleeping on the couch in the living room feeling pretty yucky. Sore throat, fever and an upset stomach.
~2:00 am - Fall asleep.
5:30 am - The OhCountess suggests I head down and sleep on the other couch...fair enough. The word sleep was used, good word.
6:15 am. Again, the wife is waking me up. Through eyelids that weight 8 tons, I see my bride and she tells me about water boiling on the stove. Will you make Jello for your daughter? I'll do anything for my family...of course. (inner voice used bad words...shh...don't tell) Jello made. Back to couch.
7:15 am. Phone is ringing. I'm too cheap to just break the phone so I make the hero call and answer. Sexy siren on the other end informs me of a scheduled Dr. appoint at 8:15 am. Great! Brain cells burn off enough haze to realize that if go any where near a pillow...it's all over. I head to the fridge and grab two bottles of Cranergy and a diet Pepsi. Large bore needle would have been handy too.
8:00 am. Drive to Dr. with two kids. Breath mints used. 3 large doses of caffeine delivered to blood stream. No wait at Dr's office is a beautiful thing.
8:45 am. Go to grocery store and buy supplies for the long day ahead. Oh, and OhPrincess1 would like pain meds...stat.
10 am. The phone calls from work start. The department I work for is upgrading the single most important piece of software they use. I maintain enough cognitive abilities to answer questions through out the day. I have no idea how that worked.
Muddling along, I drifted in and out of consciousness. OhPrincess2 has decided that it's too scary to go through life if Daddy is taking a nap. This has been true for years. I'm ready to strangle who ever it was that planted that seed.
Sunday was a waste.
This is really no way to transition from one work week to the next.
By Monday, I'm at work, on call and recovering from the weekend without sleep. A cool thing did happen on Monday, I drank enough caffeine to get twitchy the Clinic called to ask a question of the parents of OhPrincess1. Our large medical provider is also a place of great research. They were interested in doing some follow up throat cultures to track the residual strep bacteria and find how long it's still there. My wife listened to the details and didn't think it sounded too bad. Money would be paid for each visit...not too shabby.
OhCountess tells the person it sounded interesting, but she really needs to ask OhPrincess1. "Um, why?" asks the researcher.
In our home, we have a philosophy about teaching kids to think for themselves and that their opinion, at times, is very important. They are willing to pay to do something that even I think is a really yucky thing to do to someone. Does she really want to do 4 more of those? Being the good kid that she is, she heard the dollar amount and immediately started spending it in her mind.
When our daughters were born, we insisted on NOT piercing their ears. We had friends that had it done and we were getting pressured from people that it's really the best thing to do, but to me, piercing a baby's ears is just wrong. I mean, immorally wrong. (I'm beginning to think that I might just be the only person in the old folks home that doesn't have any piercings or tattoos)
I really had no doubt that someday they would have their ears pierced, but we came up with a simple test for when they could get their ears pierced. They had to ask Dad.
For us, this would show that they were making this decision themselves. We wouldn't influence them. OK, I wouldn't be talking them into it, but I might make it sound scary...it's part of the test.
Asking your kid to be the research subject for some experiment seems to me like the same thing. Thoat cultures SUCK BIG ROCKS! No one like them. I'm sure there are parent's out there that see the $$$ and think "Cha ching!" but we have no desire to take that money. It's hers. She's the one saying "Ah" and ... I can't imagine. Sure, we spend gas money and time getting her to the Clinic for the test, but that's nothing.
Teaching our kids about making decisions and living with the consequences is very important to us. It's all part of the "preparing them for the world" goal I think every parent should strive for.
How much do you let your kids control their lives? Did you find it odd that the researcher asked why? Is giving your children free will a bad thing?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sleeping is for the weak and the childless
Posted by OhCaptain at 10:06 AM
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7 comments:
I am just glad to know there's someone else who didn't find it necessary to pierce their baby's ears! I couldn't do that to my daughter. If she wants it done, she can have it done. She's fifteen and a half and still has no desire to do so.
I agree that your daughter should have a say in the research tests.
for the most part i agree with what you said, but i also get annoyed when s.daughter asks g-kid if he wants to do everything. i mean like family plans we are making and she says "let me get home and i'll ask james if he wants to do"
the kid is 3 freaking years old! you are the parent. TELL him he is going to whatever it is you're requiring of him.
but, yes, i do think as they get older they should have the choice and responsibilities that go along with those choices.
We didn't pierce baby ears either. They have to wait until they are 9, like a right of passage and then can do it if they want. It was ignorant for the researcher to question OhCountess, regardless of how she personally thought. You are the parents.
Negotiation and bribery is how we live our lives!
It would depend on the situation really and how I think they would react. If it was something painful then I would ask and probably get the response "Can I have a hundred packs of Ben 10 cards then?" or "Only if I can have an XBox 450!"
A big NO NO to piercing ears. let them do it when they can make the decision themselves - same with circumcision, unless for medical reasons of course.
Damn, that was a very tiring post. I enjoyed the beginning with the poker party, but got tired and lost near the middle and end.
Let's face it I fell asleep, sorry...
I think it's very weird the researcher asked why. Duh, cause she is the one having to go through the horrible throat scratching gagging procedure!
A little hungover were we? Ugh. I hate those.
OK since no one else has said it I will, that is an awesome micrograph of strep! I think you have the right philosophy for this, it is an unnecessary thing and so she should have a choice if she is to endure it or not. I think sometimes researchers get caught up in their research and kinda forget that people are shitty test subjects that have free will and all ;).
I'm not sure if it is a Chicago thing or what but I am not used to seeing babies with their ears pierced. I would hate to have to take care of that on top of the other baby things and love the idea of it being like a rite of passage as it is for the weasels.
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