Jenyfer Matthews

Being a parent is like trying to solve a never ending riddle. There is no rule book – only general guidelines – and every child is different. Just when you think you’ve got it down, they enter a new phase and all you thought you knew is no longer valid.

Anyone who has read my blog regularly will have already gleaned that my daughter is something of a tomboy. She has friends of both genders, but the ones I hear about most frequently are the boys. This week the mother of one of her male friends asked if she could come over after school today for a play date – and a sleep over.

I wasn’t quite sure what to say. The play date was fine, but a sleepover? I kind of thought that most parents were on the same page as far as co-ed sleepovers went (as in NO), but these particular parents are European, apparently a much more broad-minded group of people as compared to the average American

As usual, I’m probably getting ahead of myself and over-thinking things. They’re young and I know that it’s totally innocent, but in my mind parenting is all about setting precedents. I say yes to a co-ed sleepover when she’s 8, how will I explain my “no” answer when she’s 12 or 14 or 16 and she wants her boyfriend to stay over?

I guess I’ll just keep making it all up as I go along.

Tomorrow: pictures and a recap of my recent trip to Doha, Qatar.

A chihuahua blown away in a gust of wind? A pet psychic? Who needs to make things up when you can just read the newspaper?

Glad it had a happy ending

Today I’m a guest over at Terry Odell’s blog - stop by and get a glimpse into the mind of this somewhat deranged tennis mom…

Geez, does this fit in with my weekend post or what?

You Are a Doer

You are primarily concerned with what is actual. You tend to be a practical person. You love to stay busy, and you are always immersed in projects. You are in touch with your senses, and you enjoy indulging them. You’re likely a crafter of some sort. You crave different sensations in life, whether it’s working with your hands, playing sports, or eating your favorite meal.

So my flight out of Cairo started with a five hour delay due to a technical problem. I’m all for safety, but the Cairo airport is boring under normal circumstances so the delay was especially dismaying. Thank goodness I had a great book to lose myself in (Tell Me Something, by Adele Parks)

We were finally allowed to board and I was all settled in when the flight attendant comes to me and asks if I’d like to change seats since the plane wasn’t full. It wasn’t a long flight and I was already all settled in so I declined.

The flight attendant must have known something I didn’t know. During our 3 hour flight my seatmate picked his nose, licked the underside of the foil covering of his entree and ate with his fingers, snored wetly, blew his nose on his shirt, and spit a loogey on the floor near the window. Is it any wonder I always feel the need to take a shower when I get off a plane? I wanted to wash my hair with sanitizing gel after that display!

The next time a flight attendant offers to move me to a row on my own, I’m going to do it! Anyone have a seatmate horror story to top this one? (I sincerely hope not!)

My children have been home for spring break for nearly two weeks now and I am more than ready for them to go back to school!

I’m really not sure what the difference is between today and when I was a child. I didn’t require nearly the amount of entertainment my own children do. If I ever I whined about being bored, my parents told me to go outside – though honestly I can’t remember whining that much (I can almost hear my mother laughing now) When I was the age of my youngest we lived in a neighborhood full of children. I was allowed to walk down the block and to the homes of my two best friends. I didn’t have a cell phone or even a watch and yet I knew when to go home for dinner.

When I got a little older, roller skating was my thing. I went through several pairs – actually skated the wheels off of them! My first boyfriend (age 9) lived across the street and he’d pull me around behind his bike with a jump rope. Look mom – no helmets! We spent hours doing loops around the block that way.

By the time I was a pre-teen my horizons expanded – I had a ten speed bike. I rode that bike just about everywhere. I can’t actually remember having any restrictions on how far I went – I suppose my parents just trusted me. By the time I was twelve, I rode it a couple of miles on neighborhood streets to the home of my best friend. She and I mostly just walked around and talked.

I have always been very good at entertaining myself, even when I had no friends around. I read books, I taught myself to cross stitch, I planted flowers. When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time either on the phone or asleep One time when my mother was at worked I pulled the wallpaper off the bathroom walls and painted!

So why is it that my own children cannot entertain themselves better? My own mother worked, but I don’t think that it is entirely due to my being a stay-at-home mom – I’ve heard similar complaints from friends who work full time. Is it the fact that today there are TV channels with dedicated children’s programming around the clock? Video games? More theme parks and activity centers? If so, then I think all of this “progress” has stunted the development of the important skill of self entertainment.

Now that I’m an adult, I have several other ways to entertain myself. I still read, I write, I quilt, I cook. This weekend I’m leaving the children with Mr. Matthews, jumping on a plane, and going to Qatar to visit some dear friends who I haven’t seen in almost a year. We have no definite plans but I’m confident that we’ll find a multitude of ways to entertain ourselves!

Take the Earth Day quiz and find out what your ecological footprint is – it’s eye opening…

Oddly enough, I just started taking a pottery class!

You Are Ceramics

You are open to the world and it’s possibilities. You are able to start something without knowing how it will end. You trust your intuition above everything else. Going with your gut often works out. You believe that every day objects can and should be art. The best art allows ordinary life to be more stylish and beautiful.

Several clocks clocks and watches in my house ran down and needed new batteries at once this week. If I were a superstitious person I might be worried about that…

Yesterday was Coptic Easter, which makes today the celebration of Sham el Nessim – translated as “smell the breeze” – the first day of spring.

Egyptians celebrate by having picnics and eating a variety of traditional foods including salted fish, green onions, lettuce, and dyed eggs.

Sham el Nessim seems as good a reason as any to have a picnic, though I don’t think I’ll be able to convince my children to eat green onions or dried salted fish! Being outside to enjoy the weather will have to do.

What’s on your schedule for today? Any signs of spring in your part of the world?