When they were young...

So I blog four nights a week, most weeks.

I think of it as a professional thing, and I like sharing, and I love telling stories, so it's not really a hardship.

Tonight, as I was sitting down to blog (which is usually the start to the bulk of my work day and the time the kids go to bed) the kids started asking me, "What did I do when I was young?"

And honestly?

I don't remember.

That was twelve or so years ago.

I pull out a few of the time-honored family stories:

Zoomboy didn't talk until he was 2 1/2, and I was getting set to call the school system to see if he had the same problems as Big T. The DAY I was going to sit down and make all those calls (painfully looked up in the yellow pages) I said, "Would you like some chocolate milk, ZoomBoy?"

And he said, "I love chocolate milk, Mama. Chocolate milk is nummy."

And I thought, "You saved that up you little shit, didn't you!"

And then there's the conversation we had with Squish about Sawmees and Goats, for a good ten minutes, while Mate and I were looking at each other thinking, "Holy WTF is a Sawmee or a Goat?"

The Squish said, "The Goats were chasing me making Goat sounds!"

And I said, "Like baaaaaah?"

And she said, "No! Like woooooooooooooo..."

And Mate and I went LIGHTBULB! "Ghosts?" we asked, and she nodded.

"And Sawmee--ZOMBIES? GHOSTS AND ZOMBIES????"

"Uh-huh mama! Sawmees and Goats!"


And so on. Most people reading this blog have probably heard these stories too.

So, the kids were a little disappointed and I was like, "I don't know what to say, guys-- you only grew up once!"

And then I turned to my blog and had a lightbulb moment.

I've been keeping this blog for twelve years.

Since Squish was 3 months old.

Yes, I restarted it in January of 2007, but that's a lot of kid stories packed into one place.

So I went to the beginning and spent ten to twenty minutes reading the blogs about the kids and showing them the pictures.

And feeling very proud of myself.

All the time I've spent working on my computer, pouring my heart into the internet. And it felt like "Hey. Here's where it pays off. Because this is, at its heart, a blog about your family."

And for once, my family got something out of it.

So, yeah. When my kids were young, they were a laugh riot.

Today, we took Geoffie to the vet's to get another shot. "C'mere, Geoffe," I crooned as she hung out on the floor. "I know you think you're big, but you have to get up on the table like a little dog!"

And she darted under the bench where Squish was sitting.

Squish said, "Yeah, you know you're little NOW, doncha!"

And looking back 11 years, you know something?

Same Squish. She's bigger, prettier, and more of a smartass, but she's the same kid she's always been.

ZoomBoy set my phone to Rick-Roll me as soon as Spotify hooked up to my car speaker this morning.

My Goddess, I love them so.