Yup, kissing good, UTIs bad. Sorry Nora! I hope the ABs kick in immediately.

{{{sj}}} I'll be thinking about you today, sweetie.

Maybe it's just me, but I remember the summers of my childhood as this magical time when I could just go do nothing (cf Christopher Robin), and I actually think I'm giving my kids something by giving them a season of nothing.

I think the difference is, back then, almost no moms worked. So we were all home together. Now, so many kids are in camp or other daycare during the summer, it's not quite the same. Ben's going to be a bit lonely this summer, during the weeks he doesn't have camp. There are very few kids in the neighborhood as it is, and I don't know where they'll be this summer.

Suzi! Less than two weeks!!!!!

bouncebouncebounce

Right, the scheduling issue becomes very problematic when there isn't a parent home during the day. That, combined with other factors, especially ease and frequence of communication, leads to students that need a tremendous amount of attention and guidance.

Nicole! OMG I am so ready! Hey, can I use your washer/dryer while I'm there?

Finally have pic of new haircut:

Holy fuck. meep.

Cindy, if it weren't for the working/commuting/custody issues I'd love to let Emmett have the kind of summer I had, which was completely unstructured and free and involved me riding my orange spider-bike (with banana seat and sissy bar) all over South Florida and spending my lawn-mowing money on comic books and 50 cent used copies of A Princess Of Mars and Swords Against Deviltry and Solomon Kane and Icees and idle day dreaming.

In fact, I'm thinking of giving Emmett a couple weeks free of camp this summer since I'm not working. Not that he doesn't thrive in camp. He runs around like a maniac and burns off a ton of energy. But some slack time would be great too.

pending my lawn-mowing money

Is there a way for kids Emmett's age to earn money these days (besides from you or his mom)? 'Suela, another librarian and I were talking yesterday about the seemingly clueless university students and adults to come in to interview without knowing what job they've applied for, how to show up on time, how to call in when one is sick, etc. Common sense skills I feel like I began to learn on my paper route, age 11.

I have finished The Name of the Rose !

I pwn some of you.

Is there a way for kids Emmett's age to earn money these days (besides from you or his mom)?

Hmmm. Not really. He does do some chores for cash. Unfortunately, his Mom is Bad With Money and has undermined that whole working-for-cash-rewards paradigm.

I expect when Emmett gets into later middle school / early high school he'll be able to get some camp counselor type jobs at least. If he stays in baseball, he'd have a chance to umpire games for money when he gets to be about 15. But the whole lawn-mowing /babysitting circuit I had as a kid isn't as available. I guess there's still babysitting, but he's too young now.

I forgot to say how gorgeous Raq's haircut is! The hottitude knocked me out, clearly. And mom-ish? Not. At. All.

Never really had a super-scheduled summer because, pre-ADA, none of that kind of stuff ever felt the obligation to let me in and the ADA didn't kick in till I was sixteen and trying not to be curmudgeonly already. Went to crip camp a few times(this one time? At crip camp...) But I didn't really fit there either. I suspect I was already too old to be jazzed by campfire-type amusements. Always nice to know *how many* ways you can be ostracized, I suppose.