Friday, December 08, 2006

Just call me evil! tired.

Tonight I made my daughters cry. Sob actually. Uncontrollably. Of course I’m making it up to them now, by letting them stay up late and watching Santa Clause together. The first one, I didn’t like the second so much.

Anyway I’m on a quick break (I need them, I can only take so much ‘together time’ with two little girls who have incessant questions and comments about everything they see).

I’m also home alone, as the BH is out at some boozy Christmas party, he gets all the good events. And I’ve had a busy day. The girls finished at 12, and I had to belt home from work in the nick of time, to let seven mothers and their numerous offspring (10, once I'd thought of it, I had to count it up, I'm like that) into the house for my impromptu birthday party!

It went really well, with only a couple of fights and breakages. Oh and the BH called in the middle of it, to say his car (my car, the old one, his is STILL at the mechanics) wouldn’t start, and the boys needed picking up. This didn’t cause too much bother as it was late and the traffic had died, and I had plenty of sitters for the girls at hand.

But I’m getting sidetracked, this was about me making the girls cry, and my time is fast running out!

As you can guess I’m tired, and I suggested the girls go to bed early (at 6) and that they could watch a video in their room. Thankfully they’re easy to please, and together we decided upon a video for them to watch. The Bear won out, being the girls hadn’t yet seen it, and neither had I. Not that I would have guessed their reaction, even if I had seen it. And I know that, because I ended up watching it with them. As usual, we missed the begining of the film as the girls don't have the patience to wait for the video to rewind, but that was okay, as it didn't seem too lacking for it. The bear cub was cute, and the girls giggled as he played. The big bear scared them at first, but soon they liked him too. J was hissing at the hunters as soon as she saw their guns. Then a bear got shot, and the tears began. As the movie went on, the tears got worse.

It has destroyed them! They wouldn’t let me turn it off, no matter how load their sobs were. But I figured it had to have a happy ending, as it is a kids movie, and so let it play with each of them tucked in my arms.

A ‘sort of’ happy ending came, with the bears alive and happy, but J could figure the bears might face the same problems the following year, and so wouldn’t accept the ending was happy.

I tried to think of everything I could, like pointing out the stunt credits and explaining none of it was real. But then I got into a mess as J asked if people were never really that mean. I got out of it, and dug myself a bigger hole, by explaining that in real life bears are dangerous, and whilst some people are unnecessarily cruel, if we didn’t live in a nice safe place, we might be glad that hunters killed bears. That just made her cry more.

(My break ended an hour or so ago, when J came to find me. They’re now both tucked up.)

So anyway, around in circles I went trying to calm my little darlings, all the time trying to bring them around to the ides of going to sleep.

Fat chance.

By now, J’s mind had started thinking about what dying means. She quickly decided she had lots of time, but her lip started quivering at the thought that one day I will die. In fact her words were:

‘I’d really miss you, Mommy, but I’ll definitely cry loads when Dingbat dies!’

And talking of Dingbat, that damn bird is still with us. And I say ‘damn’ as a term of endearment, as I too will mourn him. Who’d have thought he’d last this long? I think the vet gave him two weeks, mid-way through last summer. But things are bad now, his original growth has shrank, but there are others. And he falls of his perch sometimes, and can’t get onto his feet without my help. Or maybe that’s just his way of getting some attention, because he adores attention at the moment. Only from me mind. Likes me to stroke and clean his feathers for him. Poor thing he is a mess. A few people have suggested I put him down, but I can’t. One too many of those already, and Dingbat shook for two days after I’d taken him last summer. He really hates travelling, and gets totally freaked when people hold his wings, just being handled like that would kill him. And I don’t want his last minutes to be painful and scary.

Geeze I get sidetracked! Back to S & J and their new found fretting. Death. So I read them a story from our Book of Creation Stories, The Tortoises Wish, I think it’s called. Considering how many times I read it to R, I should know, but I’m not sure and am too lazy to get off my butt and go check. Anyway, it’s a short, sweet story, explaining why everything has to die. And it did stop the girls crying.

Next came the whining. And did I have the energy to refuse? Another video, please Mom.

That's how we came to be watching Santa Clause, definitely a good diversion. Except apparently, P says there isn’t a real Santa. Umm, I told J to tell him ‘If you don’t believe, you don’t receive!’

So then she asked why I don’t believe.

I could go on, on, and on. Wish kids came with a pause button.

Now it’s ten o’clock and I meant to have a bath, and I think I shall.

Goodnight, sleep tight.

5 Comments:

Blogger rdl said...

Wow and that was only part of your day. Sweet post. Hey what about the pooch??

Saturday, December 09, 2006 4:29:00 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A pause button for kids--great idea. My oldest is visiting and the "miss you" stage has passed. He has been annoying his sister which means it is just a matter of moments for a full fledged "go back home" demand from his sister. My point is--I could have used the pause button.

Saturday, December 09, 2006 4:33:00 am  
Blogger Dave said...

Kids, eh? Fancy a trip to Mars for a couple of years?

Anyway, many happy returns, you don't look a day older.

Saturday, December 09, 2006 9:25:00 am  
Blogger Douglas Hoffman said...

We've never sheltered Jake from any of the harshness. Like his father, he doesn't do well with graphic violence in movies, but he's had a handle on death from a very early age.

Monday, December 11, 2006 6:08:00 am  
Blogger rdl said...

Have you seen the movie Click? re: the pause button.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:43:00 am  

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