2008 First Day of School

2007 First Day of School

Notice the joy on Kevin’s face as they headed out to the bus this morning.

On the other hand, I had a HUGE smile because chances are good that my refrigerator door will not be opened for the next eight hours.

“So what if we used it in the barn,” he argued. “The fire will kill all the germs.”

How do you debate that kind of logic?

It’s the same logic that prompts 11 year old boys to jump off tall ladders with open umbrellas, or to put their full weight on tree branches with diameters no larger than a pinky finger.

Youth affords him a notion of invincibility and I find myself constantly standing in the gap, armed with a tirade of maternal warnings.

“What if the fire kills all but one of the billions of bacteria on that pitchfork?” I asked. “And then you start writhing on the ground in pain, foaming at the mouth because some strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has taken up residence in your intestines.”

“Yeah right! Like that would ever happen!” he laughed.

“Or worse, what if I ground you from Xbox for the rest of the summer for not listening to me when I tell you to put the pitchfork back in the barn?”

“Either way I would end up writhing on the ground, foaming at the mouth.”

“You have one minute to get it back in the barn.”

“Great,” he said as he walked towards the barn, shaking his head. “My intestines are now infected with a bunch of stupid rules.”

That’s right.

He’s got an acute case of inflammatory momsrightis.

Happy 11th birthday, Mister.

I love you!

The birthday I spent in labor with you was the best birthday I’ll ever have.

Isaiah is spending the night at my parent’s home which means that for the last eight hours I have not once gasped in sheer terror at a daredevil stunt nor have I had to remind anyone that standing on your head while eating dinner is inappropriate behavior.

In fact, I sent mom an email asking if Isaiah was being good and this was her reply:

He is all dimples and manners and kind to boot!!!

This leads me to believe that he is only having an allergic reaction to growing up with his siblings. Or Grandma is bribing him with those fabulous oatmeal scotchies.

Q: How many ADHD children does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Let’s go ride bikes!

Just when I think that Isaiah is incapable of sitting still for more than a nanosecond, I catch him on the deck rail trying to get an up close view of the gold finches we feed. He was in this position for more than a half hour which means that I no longer blame his DNA for the chronic case of the wiggles.

He was rewarded for his efforts once he covered himself in a towel with just his face peeking out.

The moment I captured this image, he sprang back to life and proceeded to chase squirrels up and down trees in our woods.

The child knows how to make life fun.