Judge Not

I need to resolve not to read the public comments about articles in the online version of our local paper. They make me insane every single time.

Two months ago, a pair of sisters, ages four and six, were run down by a speeding driver while crossing the street. The four-year-old died immediately and the driver, who had something like FIVE previous convictions for reckless driving, tried to leave the scene. It was one of those articles that makes your heart seize and you can hardly breath. In the comments section of the article, many posters chided the mother for letting her kids cross the street. Today, there was another article stating that the six-year-old passed away last night. Again, there are people from the community who are commenting that this wouldn't have happened if the mother had crossed with her kids.

Paul and I take a lot of measures to keep our kids safe. I'd love to believe that this guarantees that nothing bad will ever happen to them. Articles like this tempt me to bubble wrap my kids and raise them in a padded cell while piping in only organic food that's been pureed so they can't choke. The truth is though, that life isn't safe and accidents happen. Most parents are fortunate enough to escape true disaster, but a lot of it really does come down to luck. Personally, I tend to believe that the danger of overprotecting one's children can outweigh the danger of letting them explore the world.

This is hardly the first time the comments about news articles have riled me up. Anytime there is violence within the city, the comment section quickly devolves into nasty remarks about race. Posters from the suburbs regularly declare that the city is a forsaken ghetto where no one is safe and advise others to get out while they can. What?! Whatever happened to investing yourself in the community to bring about change? Don't even get me started on what commenters say about the local school system where I teach. I'd be the first to say that there's plenty of room for improvement, but most comments seem to suggest that all the problems the schools face are the direct fault of the schools and teachers. Kid brought a gun to school? Why didn't the schools prevent that? Middle schooler threw a rock at a teacher? Why isn't there better discipline in the schools? Why did she have her back turned? I would love to see an online discussion about what we need to do as a community to improve our schools and the general behavior of our youths, but casting stones and sniping aren't going to accomplish anything productive.

I'm thinking of ordering a paper copy of the newspaper so I can avoid this agitation in the future.

More Pictures

We made our own whole wheat pizza dough yesterday.
Anyone who reads regularly might see that sleeping on boats is becoming a pattern.

Atticus went in his first bouncy house at Fourth of July carnival. (Norah decided at the last minute that she wasn't interested.)

All he needs is a gin and tonic or a beer and he'd look just like his parents in our Adirondack chairs. Thanks Grandpa! They're really relaxing!

The Parenting Police

Last night I dreamt I was receiving a citation from the police because they'd observed me in a poor parenting moment. I wonder if those go on your permanent record.

Vacation Photos: Part I

We had a lovely vacation at Lake George this past week. It's going to take me awhile to get all the photos uploaded and organized, but here's a sneak peek:

It rained every day except for our last day there. That's okay though, because the kids found the puddles fascinating.

Lake water in the Adirondacks is shockingly cold this time of year, so some of us preferred to do beach yoga instead of swim.

Hand-holding is a relatively new pastime around here. They love to pull each other around and then collapse on the ground.

Blogger isn't allowing me to rearrange my photos, so you may have to guess which captions go with which pictures.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband. I'm so glad we're on this parenting journey together!

We had a fantastic weekend that included a leisurely trip to the beach. Norah took it upon herself to run the length of the shore, stopping at each person to say hello - sometimes multiple times until they finally responded to her. She's certainly no shrinking violet.

We're hoping Atticus's building skills will someday help pay to put us in a good nursing home. He put together that train track all by himself.

Stella deserves a special place in doggy heaven.

Atticus's latest trick involves moving the baby gate, taking the bathroom trashcan out of the plant holder (behind Norah's elbow in the picture), turning the can upside down, and then turning on the sink's waterspouts. He can complete the entire maneuver in about 15 seconds.

Mother and Son Offer Transracial Adoption Insights

This story from NPR's Adoption in America series is worth listening to. I love hearing from adult adoptees and their parents. The insights the mother in this story offers up - the importance of living in a diverse neighborhood, for example - really hit home for me.

Story Hour Rejects - I'm Not the Only One, Right?

In my mind, Story Hour at the library was supposed to be one of those rose-glowing awesome periods of quality time with my kids. During the school year, whenever I'd see the ads about Story Hour, I'd feel jealous of stay-at-home moms and guilty about not being able to take my own kids.

When I signed up at the library, the children's librarian assured me that Story Hour was geared to all kids, even though the listing says it's for preschoolers. Apparently, my kids didn't get that memo. They lasted about seven minutes. The other kids were all older and better behaved. They all followed the librarian's instructions and sat on the rug looking aghast at Atticus (wandering around) and Norah (who would NOT stop touching the one baby in the room and who fussed whenever I tried to hold her).

It's just their age, right? Am I doing something wrong that my 23 month-old and 26 month-old can't follow directions along with the rest of the group? Can other toddlers reliably sit still? Atticus and Norah love being read to and can sit still for long periods of time - when they feel like it. Are we failing to teach them the social skills they need to act like civilized young people? If I just wait and go back next summer with them, are they apt to have magically improved attention spans?