My kids are pretty sweet...

..when they aren't throwing tantrums.

One of my big fears as a parent is my children will be jerks.  I encourage good manners and being nice to people, but it's really out of my control.  I've had a glimpse that hopefully my fears are unfounded.

Flynn and I went to the LEGO store in Bellevue on Wednesday. While getting ready to drive there, Flynn found a quarter.  He told me that if I needed to buy anything that cost 25¢, he'd take care of it. After an hour of shopping in the store, we left the store to get lunch.  The kate spade store recently opened next door to the LEGO store.  Jokingly, I told him, "Honey, if you ever need to buy Mommy a present, that's the place to go."  Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket, took out the quarter, and started to go into kate spade.  My heart melted a little.  (Can one purchase anything in kate spade for a quarter?)  Flynn is also the same kid who gave his daycare lady 42¢ so she could buy oatmeal, raisin bran, and Cheerios.

Drake brought home a big book containing artwork and photos from his kindergarten year.  Most of his answers on the question sheets involve me.  What is love: Mommy.  How can I be more like Jesus: helping my Mommy.  (The accompanying drawing was odd him helping me wash LEGOs.)

Such sweeties.  I write this now, so when they are teenagers, I can look back fondly.  Oh, and so I have some evidence.  Just in case.

Flynn's bank story

When Flynn and I go to the bank, he insists on sitting at the desk in the lobby and drawing a "map" on deposit slips.  To the untrained eye, the map is a bunch of scribbles.  To him, the scribbles include where we are, how we got there, and some hidden challenges along the way.

The upper right is our house.  The lower right is the bank and the bank's main doors.  The challenges are in the middle.

On the other side of yesterday's map was a drawing.  And here's the story he told me to go along with it.

Once there was a sea monster who lived under the water.  No one ever saw the sea monster because he was invisible.  One day, along came a fish.  He said to the sea monster, "You need to come on land.  That's where all the food is," he explained.  The sea monster went on land and got the food.  The End.

You can see the sea monster on the left.

The bank employee who was assisting me had no idea what to make if this.  I was impressed he used the word "explained".

Dreaming

Current time: 3:43 a.m.

I have had a fitful night of sleep, fighting a self-induced migraine cause by lack of Starbucks.  Tossing, turning, dosing, pain, fighting, and finally, a nap.  In the most recent interrupted portentous vision, I dreamt I was on the talk show circuit, promoting my novel.  You know, the one I haven't finished yet and spend more time writing about it here than writing it.  One can ignore the Muses for only so long before they stop being so subtle. I get it, ladies. Message received.