Cover from The Furies by John Bolton (This is how I felt after my confrontation with Eamonn: vicious)
“The years teach much which the days never knew.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
It’s raining . . . It’s pouring . . . the dogs are all snoring.
Rain today, lots and lots of rain, and tornado warnings. And guess what’s on the forecast for the rest of the week? Rain. Every day this week through Friday. The temperature is supposed to be in the 60’s then warmer then cooler.
I’ve stopped wondering why I wake up with clogged sinuses every morning.
The other night we had a major scare that I didn’t really want to write about at the time: Tillie had a seizure. Corey came running into the house carrying her, and I could tell right away that he was scared beyond anything I have ever seen in his face. Tillie’s legs were drawn up to her body; she was frothing at the mouth, and her eyes looked wild.
We called the emergency vet who told us that when these things happen to dogs, they usually pass within 30 minutes or so. The woman on the phone also told Corey that we didn’t need to bring Tillie in if it passed, but that we should watch her.
Within an hour, she was completely back to normal. The rest of the family was on edge for the entire night. The next morning, Corey took Tillie to our regular vet, where they promptly did blood work and a few other things, only to tell us that they couldn’t really say what caused the seizure, but to be on the lookout in case she starts to have them on a regular basis.
I won’t even talk about the bill because it was obviously more than we could afford, and the vet’s office does not let you make payments (we asked).
So much for getting caught up on the water bill.
Anyway, I’m not really sure what our dog’s seizure has to do with rain aside from the fact that Tillie just ran into the bedroom and put muddy paw prints on the clean sheets. Four more days of this. Hooray for the water supply. Boo for the wet dog syndrome, that is, getting muddy prints on things if you don’t catch them at the door and wipe them off.
“Youth cannot know how age things and feels . . .” ~ J. K. Rowling
It’s been a very long day: I spent the greater part of the early afternoon in a to-do with the older son, which left me feeling old, irrelevant, and frankly, bitchy. He knows exactly how to push my buttons just as his father did, and never hesitates to push every one of them when we get into these arguments. After I cooled down and came into the bedroom, Corey quoted me this passage from the book of Timothy: “Let no man despise thy youth” (4:12), which gets me started in interpretations, obviously not what he had in mind.
But I was saying that the word ‘thy’ was ambiguous. Is it thy as in don’t despise the youth that is the fruit of thoust loins? Is it thy as in looking back on my youth and despising it. Who is speaking? Ya da. Ya da. Ya da.
He hates it when I begin to parse. Anyway, the whole point (which I knew from the very beginning, but I wasn’t in the mood to play nicely) was that a person should act in a way that he or she never gives other people cause to despise them (which Eamonn was not realizing by comparing me to high school girls and saying that all females are alike.
I know. Don’t even get me started again.
Needless to say, I left Eamonn’s room with a less than stellar attitude, which was soothed somewhat by watching part 2 of The Two Towers with Brett this afternoon. But I really don’t feel inspired to delve into too much, having already delved into too much of life’s basic lessons with my eldest who will someday rue the day that he was stupid enough to say to his very feminist mother that all females are alike.
All of that being said, I’m really far too tired tonight to do a regular post (my kind of regular post with witty quotes, graphics, etc.), but I wanted to put something up here for now. Just a note, the graphic above is a repeat for those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, but it just felt so appropriate for today.
Time for a cup of tea and some bedrest. More later. Peace.
Lola's Curmudgeonly Musings 
My Mom said they should all go to an island. When you turn 13 you go, if you survive to 21 you can come home. An island full of 13 to 21 year olds. I have no idea why she would say such a thing??
Hi Lita,
Firstly, I hope that Tillie is picking up again.
Secondly, kids. What can I say? It does get better!
Very foolish of Eamonn. Not the sort of thing you say to a feminist mum LOL
Take care
Maureen
Tillie is completely back to normal, talking to me in the morning, trying to make me play ball with her. I do mean talking, not barking. We had one other dog that talked a lot years ago. It’s so funny. When you try to imitate them, they look at you funny like ‘that’s not what I said.’ If I still had an answering machine, I’d tape her!
As to Eamonn, I just try to take comfort in the fact that mom curses do work, and someday he’ll have a kid just like him.
Lita
Lita- Here’s some things I learned while raising Leyna. She was insane at 15 but completely lost her mind at 18. Now, at 28, she finally has apologized for all the hell she put me thru. She only got lippy with Dad once – he grabbed her up by the collar and put her out the door. Never did it to HIM again.
1. Trying to talk to any teenager is like trying to nail jello to a tree.
2. The momma curse works-“I hope you have kids just like you”.
3. They act just like they did during the “terrible twos” except their bigger.
4. Dr. Spock is a dumb ass.
5. They’re as crazy as Renfield.
6. Somewhere in this vast universe,there is an alien playing with their mind. We have the X-Box, aliens have Earth teens. I am convinced of this.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST –
YOU’RE AN IDIOT!!! The sooner you realize this, the better off you’ll be! You will not regain any intelligence until they hit about 24! But I can attest to this- it is sooooo much fun telling Leyna ” I cannot wait until they (my grandchildren) get to be teenagers”!! REVENGE IS SWEET!!!!!
Hang in there Kiddo!
Sarah
Alexis realized that she had been the devil’s spawn around 20, and she’s been acting nice to me ever since. Calls me for advice, wants to do things with me.
Oh yes. The momma curse. I’ve been hurling that one at him for a while now. Cannot wait. Corey keeps hurling the marriage curse at him, as in, someday you’ll be married and you’ll understand what a real relationship is.
I realized that I was stupid about two years ago. No worries there. I don’t expect to regain my intelligence for at least another four to six years.
Eamonn was actually good at two, just hyper. Would that I could reverse time and make him small again, that, or in some crazy space/time continuum, allow him to see how much he loved me when he was little and still thought that I made the world go around.
Who is Renfield? Remind me.
No Lita he willl not regret, it his is place to be youth, he will not remember and you will not remind. This is the rites of passage and he flies from your nest with confidence… or he’s ready and you shove him out. puff and stuff. I really value you. must speak my heart but any time you want to or need to shield. delete.
baisers
It is not even ‘up here for now’ your post. Loved always, you are so right on. Your son has lost his brain (not his mind) he’s a teenager. It’s in his sock drawer, he will find it just in time (before you ..???). I have (NOW) some most loving fun stories about–THEM. Nose-to-nose with my 16 year old female, I said….if I had known you were going to give me this much shit when you grew up………I would have taken you in for more baby shots. It is killer funny now. Completely blew her stand and all she could do was gulp for air. Sweet pea…I have no idea where my ammo came from. Do not have another (real) discussion…(he does own the buttons/always will and will be sweet with them-LATER) He does know and learn from all you do. Just do not allow any direct disrespect, sounds like you don’t. Most important to really get…You are not a female, you are his MOM. Don’t think. Trust me. Not only do they think differently but his is in the sock drawer.
Great line. Wish I had used it. No, seriously. I know that he has no brain at this point, but sometimes he just gets to me so bad that I have to put myself in time out so that I don’t strangle him with his clean laundry, which is still sittng on the floor of his bedroom because he won’t take the time to go through the clothes in his drawers to get rid of what doesn’t fit any more; much easier to put clean clothes on the floor and complain about not being able to find anything.l
One day, I know that he’ll regret being such a little shit, but until we get to that point, life just keeps being a saga.
My oldest son turns 13 this year and can I just say, I dread the teen years more than crows feet and sour milk. Ugh!
Everyone always told me that boys would be easier than girls, which I thought was probably true after enduring three years of pure hell when my daughter hit high school.
Wrong. This sweet, young boy who loved his mother and promised never to be like Alexis is worse. I feel like throttling him. He drinks, smokes, gets high and skips school. My mother says wonderful things like, “why don’t you just stop him, Lita?” Right. Nothing works with this kid. We have grounded him. Taken away his cell phone. Threatened military school (which we couldn’t afford), Taken away the car. Punishment works while you are in the midst of it. As soon as it’s over, he’s good for a few weeks, and then starts to slide again.
I know that in just a few short years, 3 or 4, he will have another life change and realize that his mom was not his enemy, but until then, I can tell you, it’s been kind of like a Black Sabbath song.