Scream and Shout!

I wanted to title this post "Big Mouths" but decided that sounded too rude. But, now you have a hint of where I am going with this post.

But, let me say this before you think too badly of me. The alternative title does not refer only to the children, as you will see...

I was in a restaurant the other day with some friends and their children and mine. Their children were well behaved, stayed in their seats, and talked in normal voices.

But mine wouldn't stay in their seats and talked loudly, screaming across the restaurant and shouting across the table at one another and others.

I apologized for how loudly they spoke and one of my friends asked if I had ever had their hearing checked.

I thought about it for a moment. I've had their eyes checked and their teeth checked, but I guess I've never had their hearing checked. But the doctor has looked in their ears when they go for a check-up. Does that count?

And, I've done the whisper test. You know what I mean. The whisper test! That's when you speak in succeeding lower tones to see if your child (or baby) can hear you.

It's like the bottle test for the eyes you did with the children when they were infants to make sure they could see and respond normally. You know, the bottle test! You hold a baby bottle in front of your baby's face and move it from side to side and up and down to see if their eyes follow it and if they reach for it. And if they do, then, "Whew!" they must be normal!

So having passed the whisper test (and bottle test), I am fairly certain the kids see and hear alright. And any lapses in hearing are probably due to selective listening. They choose not to listen if they don't want to do what I am telling them!

Since then it's been bothering me how they acquired this loud talking, these big mouths...

A few days later we went shopping at the grocery store store and I was telling the kids my expectations for their behavior while in the store. I kept noticing people looking at us and when I would look back at them they would look away. After a few of these glares and stares, I realized that I was talking to them with an unusually loud voice.

Maybe I was  talking loudly because  I was intense about their proper behavior while in the store.

But as I began to monitor the volume and tone of my speech when I talk to them over the next few days, I noticed that I always speak to them in a loud voice!

ANYONE SEE A FAMILY RESEMBLANCE?

That's right. They get their big mouths from me! I have to admit that they talk the way I talk to them--loudly.

So, why is it that when I talk to them, I do it with a raised voice?

I'm normally a quiet and reserved person (or so I thought). Ask anybody that knows me.

But when I talk to the children I become a loud mouth, a big mouth! Why?

Do I use my man voice with them because there's some question about who's in charge and I'm trying to assert my authority?

Do I raise my voice to make them listen to me and obey me?

Or maybe it's just as Squidward has observed: People talk loud when they wanna act smart.

And maybe there's some question about who's the smartest around here, the grown-up or the pre-schoolers!

What do you think?

Confessions of A Bad (Grand)Parent

I've been carrying around this huge load of parent guilt lately. And, the only way I know how to relieve the pain of my guilt is confess my parental failings to the whole world, hoping it makes me feel better.

After you read my confessions, I hope you will forgive me and not feel like you've been wasting your time reading the blog of such an incompetent and defective (grand)parent.

God Laughing At Me

After a rough week I was sitting in church on Sunday morning feeling a little sorry for myself and thinking maybe God would send some compassion my way.

Suddenly, I had this distinct impression, this mental picture, that God was laughing at me!

I don't mean laughing AT me, I mean laughing at ME!

Now, I suppose there's some divine irony in my situation that warrants some heavenly humor. Here's this old guy; he and his wife are raising two very young grandchildren; his wife dies and now he's raising them alone.

It's Complicated!

As I mentioned in the last post, I recently made a long road trip to another state to attend my sister-in-law's funeral.

Because the road trip would be long and quick, it would be difficult for the kids to endure. And, most of the time there would be spent visiting with family and attending funeral-related activities that they were too young to participate in.

So I asked my long-time friends Chris and Linda to stay with Kaleb and Kenzie at our house for three days and they agreed to do it.

As you might imagine, I was somewhat apprehensive about going away and leaving the children for three days. 

Up, Up, Up

Zach Sobiech, an 18-year-old teenager from Stillwater, Minnesota died on May 20, 2013 from a rare form of bone cancer.

Zach was diagnosed with cancer at age 14. In May of 2012, Zach was told there were no more effective treatment options to offer him a cure. Upon his diagnosis of terminal cancer, Zach turned to writing and performing the songs that he wrote. Probably, the most well-known is Clouds, a ballad in which Zach says goodbye to his family and friends.

Zach Sobiech died at home and his life ended just as he lived, embraced by the love of his family, friends, and music.

On June 1, 2013, my wife's sister, Donna, died from complications caused by pancreatic cancer.

Donna was diagnosed with Stage 3 pancreatic cancer just a little over six months after my wife, Diane, had succumbed to the effects of pancreatic cancer.

After most of a year spent in surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment, Donna was informed that there was no evidence of cancer. Then, a few months later, indications that the cancer was still there and worsening began to show up in test results.

Jesus In the Attic

IS JESUS IN THE ATTIC?

Children believe what you tell them. They believe it, literally.

And, sometimes their literal interpretation of what you tell them may even necessitate that you take a closer look at what you are actually saying to them and the example you are setting for them...

So, let me share a sweet conversation I had with Kenzie while we were driving to school and work today. I think you will see what I mean.

The Sandbox

It's Memorial Day and so it was time for the annual changing of the sand in the sandbox.

We went to the home and garden store and purchased twenty 50-pound bags of sand to fill up the sandbox. That's 1,000 pounds of sand.

A half-ton of sand!

So, I decided I didn't want a repeat of last year's injury (see this post) from carrying all those bags of sand to the sandbox.

Since the toddlers are 4 and 5 now, I thought it was time they filled up their own sandbox!