Cat’s Out Of The Bag
One thing I always try to do as a parent is listen to and understand what my now seven year-old is saying. This can be difficult, because sometimes I just don’t care, but then there are times when I am more than enthusiastic to ask for additional details. And sometimes it’s just uncomfortably funny!
“I call him a pussy zombie. Not like pussy, pussy, but just pussy.” Azul began to explain a conversation he was obviously already having in his head. Huh? I didn’t know what was going on, it’s kind of like arriving late to a party where everyone is already drunk.
Trying to get my bearings while also trying not to sound alarmed, I asked, “What does pussy, pussy mean?”
With the roll of his eyes he said, “You know …”
“Like a cat?” Please be a cat, please be a cat.
“Yeah, a cat,” he replied before cracking up laughing.
He watches a lot of British Minecraft tutorial videos on YouTube, and Europeans seem to be much more free with saying that word than Americans are, because of course it means a cat.
“Well, I’m fine with you using that word, but you may not want to repeat it at school because you know what else pussy means?”
“No,” was his answer, following an audible sigh.
Unconsciously I mimicked his deep breath and being as serious as possible I said, “It could be used as slang for a woman’s vagina.”
“Ooooooooohhhh!”
He was embarrassed; eyes open, hand to mouth, bent over at the waist, run out of the room as quickly as you can, embarrassed!
Leave it to the sober guy to ruin the party.
A Rose Is Still A Rose
I am not saying anything new here, but it needs to be said, Social Media is a Pandora’s Box full of information and temptations that will lead you astray, and my warning stems from this …
Last year in a desperate attempt to save my dwindling rose garden, I actually tried one of those “tips” trending on Facebook. This is not something I routinely do, but I am definitely not above trying new things or being influenced by others, so with the same gusto I’ve always taken with peer pressure, I owned it! I was ready to take a simple rose clipping, stick it in a potato and propagate a beautiful abundant bush.
These are the reasons this post intrigued me:
First, it was simple. All you had to do was take a cutting from an existing healthy rose-bush, remove the stems and stick it into a potato, then plant the potato in the ground with the hints of a new rose-bush above the soil. Easy!
Second, I had a dead rose-bush that needed to be replaced and I had a potato.
So, I got to work. I followed the instructions (stem + potato) and stuck that potato dead center. I was right, IT WAS EASY, now all I had to do was water it and wait. This is the easiest thing I’ve ever done!
As the seasons changed, I waited … and … nothing. My dream of a beautiful bush withered and along with it all my expectations of what Facebook could do for me.
Fall, Winter and Spring passed to no avail. Then, Summer, life was rearing its ugly head, making itself known by fighting its way through the ground to the surface of the earth.
It worked! I could see a tiny bit of green, it was alive. Thank you Facebook! With a renewed feeling of worth, I watered, waited, and it grew.
Wait. Whaaaat?!? This must be the ugly duckling of roses, but unlike the beautiful swan that revealed itself at the end of the story, I had nothing but a spud.
Yup! I planted a potato and that’s exactly what I got.
Sometimes a rose is still a rose … until it’s a potato.
Carmelina Hart 