We Laughed.
I haven’t spent much time with the kids this week. I sunk into a brief depression while they were at school (for two days) and then chauffeured them around carefully and cheerfully when they got home.
I’m not quite over being viciously attacked by my friend, but I decided that the best revenge was to get on with my happy life, and let her live hers.
Then our basement flooded with raw sewage. That was a nice distraction.
The good news is that Bill stayed home from work to take care of the raw sewage. (I told you he treats me like a queen and he can fix things!) Then, because he was home early, he drove Shane to his acting class.
Shane loves his class. Sometimes, though, I think he loves it because he goes to California Tortilla before class to eat dinner and drink soda. There isn’t a lot of soda-drinking at home. Plus, the machine at Cal Tort has special features that allow him to add flavoring to a wide variety of soft drinks.
Anyway, with Shane and Bill gone, I picked up Dylan after school.
Well, I picked up Dylan after his play rehearsal, and after his trip to the grocery store with his friends. He actually wanted to go to the grocery store with his friends.
By then, it was so late that Dylan and I went out to dinner.
So – finally – I spent some time with a kid. And oh, what quality time! We talked and laughed and had a marvelous time. It only lasted maybe 37 minutes, and then Dylan went back to texting, but those 37 minutes were true bliss.
He talked about school. He talked about morning show. He talked about rehearsal. He shared jokes with me, and I shared them with him. It seems simple, but given that there has been so much grunting lately in place of talking, this was a wonderful evening.
Gotta love How to Talk So Kids Will Listen. I blame the book for every positive moment since I started to re-read it. I even found a new book – one I don’t own (yet) – that I think I’d best read, too: How to Talk So TEENS Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk. How perfect!
We LAUGHED today. A lot.
What an incredible blessing.