Gawrsh! Well, whaddya know? A-hyuck!
If you fed me a good dinner, I would probably confess that I have had a love affair with Goofy since I was a child. In fact, I am probably one of the few people in the world who actually knows that Goofy was called Dippy Dawg in the comic strip and then eventually, Mr. Geef in some cartoons. I know that his laugh was supplied by a professional clown named Pinto and that he was never intended to be an actual member of Mickey’s gang.
After a few martini’s, you would also find out that I know that some time between the 1950′s and the 1990′s Mr. Geef’s wife disappeared and he became a single parent. After a few shots I would probably tell you that Goofy reminds me of my Dad. He is silly and tall and full of life and he makes me laugh. Every time I see the movie “Goof Troop” I cry because his son Max treats him so badly and is embarrassed by his clumsiness. I want to give him a hug and tell him that no matter what he does, he will always be my favorite Disney character.
So, you can imagine my disappointment when I, on my October trip to Disney World, was unable to get a picture of, or with, the Big G. I was devastated when I had to leave the park to make a trip to the pharmacy twice to pick up an asthma inhaler because I lost mine on Mission Earth at Epcot.
And then, on December 11, 2008 at 4:34 AM, I received the following email from my soul-sister Tanyetta from Days Like These who, while on a trip with her family, remembered me. (I hope that you don’t mind me posting it T):… Continue reading
KidSlapped!
So you know how you have that one friend who is competitive with you about everything and tells you that her child, at 2 years 5 months, can write a paragraph, mow the lawn and cook a 7 course meal? And you know how she is supermom because she tells you that she is and you know how no matter how many times her child has fallen and knocked her head up, he does not take her to the doctor because the doctor won’t do anything that she herself can’t do? And you know how the child is actually pretty advanced but is being held back because every time she tries to speak the mother puts a pacifier in her mouth to shut her up so that now all she sounds like is a mumbling fool but despite this, she continues to try to out do you on everything. Like how when you share that YOUR child has developed a new skill, she has to tell you that her child has been doing that since she was in the womb? And you know how when she tells you that her child knows the alphabet because she can sing the song from start to finish you start wishing that your child would show others all of the things that she can do? And then suddenly, your child walks over the the wall with the alphabet border and points to a letter and says “i” and it is an “i” and then she says “m” and she is pointing to a “m” and she does it AGAIN with a “y” and and “x” and then your friends asks her daughter “what letter is this” and her daughter looks as confused as can be and when she asks again, your daughter says, without… Continue reading
How I Learned to Go With My Gut
Originally posted at Minti.com
My daughter is 2 now and every day, while I am putting her to bed for the night, I thank the universe for schedules. I had my daughter in 2006 during my second year teaching in a very high needs school. I was going to graduate school at night and my husband worked the overnight shift. At times, life was very stressful. And while my daughter was a good sleeper from the start (meaning she slept like a normal baby) eventually, we realized that nothing good could last forever. Lo and behold, she began a 7:00 PM witching hour that seemed to last forever.
One night after crying hysterically because she would not sleep, I realized something: iif 7 PM was her witching hour, then she needed to be put to sleep before that. If we never made it to 7, then her witching hour would not exist. It sounded logical, but sometimes, logical is not always right. I put her to bed at 6:45 PM but at 7 she was up and screaming. What the heck is wrong?
Then it suddenly occurred to me that she needed to be in a DEEP sleep at 7. So the next night I put her to bed at 5:45 pm. I had a killer paper to write and she needed to sleep so that I could work. I went out into the living room and started my paper. I looked up at the clock and it was 6:58 PM. I held my breath think that this was the make or break point. At 7:00 PM she stirred a little, but she did not wake up. I stood outside her door for almost an hour and she did budge. I continued this routine for a week thinking that it… Continue reading