Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Uncle Sam I am Wants You!



As I’m driving The Boy to school this morning,
He begins to explain to me how the morning will proceed.
Mom, when you drop me off at school, you go in daycare and vote
You vote for the California Gobener Mom, he continues.
I know his school is a polling place,
but I do my best to explain to him that I vote at a different school.
We’re rushing through our routine and he takes my explanation for what it is.

At the end of the day, I pick him up from school and tell him we’re going to vote.
He’s pouting a little because I just shot down his request of going to the skate park.
After about 30 seconds of silence, he begins to ask me
Mom, why do people need safety vests?
To keep you safe son, I answer.
To keep you away from the fish and the creatures, he continues.
A life vest. Yes, I explain, it keeps you from drowning in the water.
Are we going to be in the sea or the ocean, he asks.
Son, what do you mean? I’m very confused at this point.
Then the puzzle comes together…
Life vest,
Creatures and fish,
Sea or ocean.
Son, I try to hold back my laughter, we’re going to VVOTTTTTE
I try to emphasize the difference in letters.
We’re not gonna float.
We’re not going on a boat.
We’re going to VOTE!

Float? He asks
Boat? He says.

No, VOTE!
I do my best with a Kindergarten analogy.
Let’s say your teacher is going to choose a line leader.
She says who wants to be a line leader?
And you and Jacob choose to be one.
The teacher will then ask all the other kids, who wants The Boy to be a line leader.
5 kids in class raise their hand for you.
Then she asks again, who wants Jacob to be the line leader.
3 kids in the class raise their hand for Jacob.
(He’s my son, I had to make him the winner obviously)
So you would win Son.
That’s what voting means.
We’re choosing who we want to win.

Silence, I’m so proud of myself for such a great explanation.
I’m thinking, he gets it, as I continue to snicker to myself.

We make a right turn into our tract
And then I hear.

Are we going in a sea or an ocean?



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Follow along through the fun and agony as we try to figure out how to raise two completely opposite teenagers- Teen 1, the fiesty yet inquisitive one, Teen 2 quiet but wise-cracking and our ball full of energy known as The Boy. It aint always pretty, but we’ll sure try to make the best of it!
These are the stories of our lives…