Adult Education

I may have used this title before, but oh well.

The move is behind us (though we still have boxes), it took us a mere THREE WEEKS to get Internet access to the house, and now is the first time I've gotten to blog in over a month. Sigh. But we do love the new place -- the kids like it so much that no one has asked about the Wii we promised them if we managed to sell the old house. Playing outside (and getting eaten alive by mosquitos) has become an important part of our daily routine.

Anyway ...

The kids also started school. Gwen is in the fourth grade now (hard to believe she was four when I started this blog, eh?) If you've been following along in the news, you may have heard the report that the average age for girls to enter puberty has been falling. One of Gwen's classmates fell into that category, and needless to say, Gwen had a LOT of questions that I won't go into here. Suffice it to say that I was fairly thorough in what she can expect, because, Lord knows, I want her to be informed and not afraid, not to mention not pregnant (although she still thinks guys are icky -- yay!)

If you have been following my life outside of the blog, you also know that I have been going through a lot of stress lately that I again won't go into here (although I will solicit tips on how to unstress an old cat in a new house, if that lets you in on part of it.) Yesterday was an especially stressful day, and I was sitting at the table, venting to Adam (no, he is not part of the problem) and Gwen reached out her little hand and placed it on mine.

"Poor Mommy," she said soothingly. "I'm sorry you have so much stress."

"Well, thank you, Gwen," I said. "I'm sure it will get better soon."

She patted my hand gently and said knowingly. "It will. Is it your time of the month?"

(Insert needle scratching off the record here).

"What?!? NO! No, honey, not even close!" I wasn't angry, mind, just stunned.

Adam, who was a little more articulate than I was, said, "No, honey, Mommy just has a lot to worry about right now."

"Like what?" Gwen asked.

"Like the cat," Adam replied.

"What?!? NO!" I exclaimed again. For the record, I am just a little worried about the cat, but I worry more about Gwen worrying about the cat.