Mom in the Mirror

"Mommy, was I sold to another family?"

That was the first thing Colter asked me when he woke up this morning. I knew immediately that he had had a nightmare.

I told him we'd never sell him to another family, not for a million, billion, zillion dollars. Then I asked him if he'd had a bad dream. He said he did and tried to tell me about it, but in the end we just cuddled and I kissed his forehead.

How do you soothe your child after a bad dream?

Yes I'm gonna be a star

Continuing the car theme, I noticed a personalized license plate on my way home tonight that struck me as especially funny. It said, "HeyGod." As if God is in the next car looking for a sign.

I really enjoy personalized plates. My dad was the first person I knew who ordered one, and he had the same message for years on his license plate: Sam Sez. (My dad's name was Sam.)

I had one in North Carolina that said, "NOXTOHATE." It really stumped people I didn't know well, who would sometimes ask me if I was divorced, but friendly with my "ex." I explained to them that it meant, "No time to hate," a line from a Grateful Dead song.

Gary had a personalized license plate that said "TALETELR."

Here's a collection of some clever ones.

Do you have a personalized license plate? What does it say? What's the most interesting personalized plate you've seen?

Baby you can drive my car

This morning, I needed to help Colter with his Sunday School homework, so I sat in the back seat and reviewed Hebrew with him while Gary drove us to temple. It struck me that whenever we go anywhere as a family, I almost always drive and we almost always take my car.

At first, we did this because I had the newer, more reliable car. But then when Gary had the more reliable car (actually, it was a van), we took it and I still drove. Does this mean something?

Who drives your family?

Related: In the driver's seat

Friday is pizza day

If Colter had had a full day of school today, he would have eaten pizza for lunch. Friday is always pizza day at school, so from the time he was in kindergarten, we let him buy lunches on Fridays. The big mystery is why he wants to buy lunches all the other days, too. For years, we were sending him with his favorite sandwiches and snacks, and he didn't want them. Eventually, we gave in and let him buy lunch at school daily, but I just don't get it. What is the appeal of frozen chicken nuggets or ground beef surprise when you could have a lunch packed with love?

Do your kids bring lunch or buy it?

40 before 40

Just after my 39th birthday, I decided to make a list of 40 things I want to do before I turn 40. I suggested Gary make a list of 50 things he wants to do before he turns 50. He's way ahead of me.

Here's the beginning of my list, in no particular order:

1. Create a last will and testament.


2. Wear a piece of really expensive jewelry.


3. Have my first mammogram.


4. See the place Colter's namesake discovered.


5. Start playing guitar and piano again.


6. Buy a house!


7. Take Colter to Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.


8. Thank my family for their love and support through the years.


9. Hold my dad's hand one more time.


10. Meet someone famous I admire James Taylor.

What do you want to do before your next birthday?

Little red convertible

Some days, I speed through life and feel like if I were a car I'd be a sporty red Mustang. Other days, I think I'm an RV. Colter, I'm pretty sure, would be a Jaguar.

What kind of car are you? What kind of car is your child?

Bananas in the backyard

Thanks to all of you who told me the right house would find us, it did -- yesterday -- and today we are officially under contract.

What sealed the deal for me: the combination of location (within walking distance of downtown Safety Harbor) and charm (terrazzo floors and lots of beadboard trim).
What sealed the deal for Gary: the extra space (it's three bedrooms plus a study) and the price (it was $30,000 less than anything we'd seen).
What sealed the deal for Colter: a banana tree in the backyard with almost-ripe fruit on it that the seller told us makes great smoothies.

We are one happy family.

Cash culture

I was remembering today how exciting it was as a kid to see my dad pull a wad of bills out of his pocket to pay for something. Sad to say, I have deprived Colter of that childhood joy. I almost never carry cash. I depend on my debit card pretty exclusively. This has made actual money even more exciting to Colter, since he rarely sees any.

Do you carry cash?

Third time is not the charm

Have I mentioned we're looking for a house? I hear you groaning. To update you, we submitted our third offer on a house earlier this week and it looks like this one isn't going to lead to a signed contract, either. I'm becoming a bit paranoid and gun shy, so I asked our wonderful realtor if this is typical here (we've purchased two other homes, but in another state). She wrote:

I think you have had some unusually bad luck because I definitely know it's not that you are ... being difficult to please. I think all of your offers have been very reasonable and you've been flexible with the sellers' needs. Odds would say you should be packing boxes right now, but you've just had some rotten luck.

Are you superstitious? If so, what do you carry with you or have or do that you think brings you good luck?

This is irony, right?

We have been engaged in World War III with Colter over doing his homework the last few days, so imagine my surprise when I received this request in my e-mail box:

I'm Kaushalya. I'm currently a year 8 in Tawa Intermediate in New Zealand. For homework we have to interview someone about toys and games. So would you mind if I ask you a few questions? We can choose any person, but I thought I might interview someone famous.

I quickly wrote him back and let him know I'm not famous (in fact, I'm so obscure I'm not even sure how he found me), but he said that was ok, he just needed the answers as soon as possible. So, I sent them. At least one less mother will have to fight with her son over homework!

How do you handle homework hassles?