Inane Ramblings and Inconsequential Musings

I saw that line in the comics in today's paper and though it fit this post well. Here are my random tidbits:

I remember when I was in high school, during that time that it was oh so important to fit in and have friends, and when having someone to eat lunch with was a more important social issue than The Great Depression, and my mom told me that my dad ate lunch by himself at work. Every day, he sat at his desk, read a book or the newspaper, and ate a bologna sandwich with mustard, a little baggie of chips, and an apple. Every day. For 30 years. I remember feeling so sad and sorry for my dad. I asked why he didn't eat in the cafeteria with friends, and my mom said he didn't want to. My heart broke to think of my poor, hardworking, law-abiding dad, sitting alone with no friends, no one to talk to, no companionship............

My favorite part of my day now? Being able to sit down, alone, at my desk at work and eat lunch without having to talk to anyone, without having to listen to anyone else talk, without having to pick up food that Ella has thrown on the floor, or wipe up the inevitable spills from Noah's drink, without having to do anything but what I want to do. I love that time to myself. And contrary to what my 17 year old self believed, I am not a loser, I do have friends, and I do not need to sit by someone at lunch to feel cool.

The funniest thing happened last week-end in the car on our way to our niece's birthday party. We had just bought a card for her that said: Smile Big, It's Your Birthday. Noah has been into reading and writing more and more and is able to read a lot of 3 letter words. He asked if there was anything he could read in the car. I held up the card and said "I bet you can read this word" and pointed to "BIG". He asked what the other words were (smarty pants was using context clues!), then he sounded out "buh, ih, juh..... BIDGE!!!! Smile BIDGE, It's Your Birthday" (say that aloud to yourself and you'll see why Seth and I bursted out laughing) Poor Noah couldn't understand what was so funny. We then had a mini lesson on the soft and hard "g" sounds.

Yesterday I took Noah to school on my way to work and Seth took Ella to Lisa's on his way to work. Usually, one of us will take both of them together. Ella screamed and cried bloody murder for "momma, momma!!!" as they were leaving. I thought it was because she missed me, but this morning I discovered the real reason she was so upset. Seth was getting ready to take both kids to Lisa's and I had not left yet. Ella knew it was time to leave and was fine with it, but first she went over and grabbed Noah's hand. She wanted to make sure he went, too. Oh, but they can be so sweet!