Billboards

It could be thought of as sad that some of the best conversations you have with your kids are prompted by billboards.

On my 1st trip to Target, in a town 35 minutes away, there were two billboards that got quite a dialog started. The first one was about abortion. Maddie and Brenna saw one of those billboards that says something like, "I had fingerprints at 8 weeks" or something like that and Maddie said, "Mom, what do they mean when they say stop abortion? What is abortion?

........deep breath.........and the long conversation started. Now, I am definitely ProChoice and usually very opinionated about that. When my kids ask about controversial things, I try not to cram my opinion down their throat, but try to give them both sides of the story so someday they can make their own decisions, all the while praying they don't actually come up with an opinion different from mine of course. Fat chance,if you live in my house, you don't ever wonder what I'm thinking, I make sure of that. They seemed to take it all in stride and socked the information away for later use.

The second billboard was about public school and said something like, "Mediocrity?" "Not in my school." Which lead to a definition of mediocrity and how it was being used on this particular bulletin board. Then Brenna put everything in perspective when she said, "does that mean the same things as when Plankton (from Sponge Bob Squarepants, yeah, yeah, I know...shut up already)called Squidword a mediocre clarinet player?

Yep, some of the best conversations are started by bulletin boards, try it sometime!

On my 2nd trip to Target in a town 35 miles away, (damn halloween) this time with Alyson, Maddie & Brenna - Alyson was explaining to me her procedure for closing up by herself at her new job. So we were talking about things she could do to make it safer and how she really needs to keep her eyes open and that if it would make her feel better, I would come over and hang with her for the first couple of times for security. Of course, she didn't want me to do that and started talking about how nervous I am and how much I worry (hello? quit telling me about how dark it is when you take the garbage out by YOURSELF! Duh!)

In the next conversation she was telling me about her friend who works at Walmart and how she caught two ladies trying to pass bad checks and she was going to court to testify against them, blah, blah, and I again said, "wow, isn't she scared and afraid they will retaliate?" Response: "God, mom, are you okay? You are obsessed with people getting hurt or dying, why do you worry do much?"

Of course this got the 3 of them having a jolly old time making fun of mom.

Alyson: "Oh Maddie, be careful at your halloween party tonight, someone might poison the food and try to kill you!"

Maddie: "Yeah, Alyson, be sure and wear your seatbelt when you drive in case a deer jumps out in front of your car and kills you!"

Brenna: "You both better be sure not to even look in the direction of a stranger so they don't throw you in their car and kill you!"

The day will come when these three little shits will have little shits of their own and they will worry about worse things than this and then it will be my turn to laugh. Actually, those will be my grandkids and I will really be old then and will be more worried than I am now. There is no end in sight.