K-Mart Special

I used to be a tour guide at our college for prospective students and their families when they'd visit. I remember taking one family with all boys on a walking tour of the campus. It seemed every time one of them made the tiniest joke, the mother would giggle generously. She laughed so easily and so often. Her felicitous personality made the whole family a fun and happy family to be around.

I've been trying to laugh more readily, at myself especially and it seems I took a wrong turn somewhere. Yesterday, my husband, who has great wisdom, kindly chided me for laughing at our children. It seems I've gotten the giggles, inappropriately at times, at the silly things our children do. I think I just got carried away with trying to be a happy mom.

I can hardly help it when Juju stomps her little foot and throws whatever is in her hand with such accuracy as to peg whatever she sets her sites on. Or when I find her yelling, "Stuck!" with her hand inside a toilet paper roll...again. Or when Z gets so sleepy he falls over and over again. Thankfully, my reprimand was perfectly timed. Later on that night I was bathing the two Wiglets and had Juju stand up so I could wash her bottom.

Z looked and said, "Where's Juju's wiener?"

(I don't like that term, but in our battle of terms, Ben's won, I had voted for "willy").

Me: She doesn't have one, she's a girl.

Buddy: Oh, she needs to go to the store and get one.

Me: [no laughing!]

I gave a brief anatomy lesson about boys and girls and how they're different. I was very glad I didn't laugh as I might have when my giggles were getting the best of me.