Lesson 30

Oh man, I don't know if you're just stretching your wings or what, but you've been making us nuts the last couple of days. You have learned to sneak. Right now, your favorite thing to do is to pick things up that you know you're not supposed to have, even though you've never been interested in them before, and sneak off with them. Combine that with you bouncing off the walls when you miss naps (and you've missed them the last few days) and you're a bundle of mischief. There's a new push about teaching your children the same lessons you would if they were of the opposite sex. I think I've done a pretty good job of that, but I thought for a long time about what I would say differently to you if you were a woman. Some of those things really are specific to sex, like how to dry your hair the fastest or how awesome it is to shave your legs and sleep in a freshly made bed. However, I did come up with a couple that I might have seen more as "girl" lessons. Which brings me to lesson 30...

As you get older, you're going to be doing things and going places on your own. Always be mindful of your surroundings. I hope that I get you enrolled into a karate class, I think it would be an excellent way for you to learn how to defend yourself. Your dad thinks I'm paranoid, but there are bad people in the world, and you need to avoid them. Whenever you can, park in a well lit area, always carry your keys with them sticking out between your knuckles. That way, you can have some extra damage if you have to hit an attacker. Always lock your doors and watch around you when you are in a parking lot. Make sure your home is secured, especially at night. Always let someone know when/where you're going on trips. I know I sound like a worrier in this lesson, and as I've said, I am. However, I don't think you can ever go wrong making sure you're able to avoid or protect yourself in dangerous situations.

Lesson 29

We're all  moved in. You love your new room. Didn't even have trouble sleeping in it your first night. You even have the biggest bedroom in the whole house. I've been getting used to the idea of you on the top floor while we're on the bottom. You have a bathroom to share with your brother, but for all intensive purposes, for now you have your own bathroom. I decorated it in Cars today, and you were so excited when you woke up from your nap and saw it for the first time. You've been asking if we're going back to the "old house" and when we tell you know, you grin and say, "Thanks Mom and Dad!" So, I guess that means you want to stay. You've been doing so great sharing too, Nikki and Nana bought you a light that shines stars on your ceiling, every night, you bring it to Mathew's room and leave it on until he goes to sleep, it's too cute. Which brings me to lesson 29...


I'm glad you're sharing with your brother, I'm glad that you like it. However, I hope you understand that you don't have to share everything all the time. I used to hate that I never seemed to have anything that was only mine when I was younger. Your uncle would play with my toys, decapitate Barbies, use my nail polishes to paint action figures... basically anything he thought he could use or wanted to play with became community property. I hope by the time you're reading this, we've instilled the idea of person property and respect for it to both you and your brother. It's good to be able to have your own space and stuff that you don't share, not everything has to be community property.