The female light of my life's birthday |
My kids are virtually opposite of each other in every way imaginable, except their father's birthdays are five years and one day apart (27th and 28th of September), and both of their given names are nicknames (Dave and Dan). My kids' birthdays come almost exactly six months apart either way, with my son's in January and my daughter's in July, four and a half years apart. Pretty weird, right? Their fathers are opposite, though. One slaves outside in a 70+ hour a week job outdoors and will do anything for his kid. The other, a white collar worker, has chosen no contact at all. The reason I bring this up is by describing the differences between the two personalities I have to juggle at home. The good news, thank goodness, is that both of my children are brilliant, although my son is entering his teen years and finally believes me when I tell him I don't know everything. In fact, now I must prove I'm right half the time, so he'll listen. It wasn't always like that. When we went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and California Adventure Park, they both listened well, thank Heaven. I even wrote a commercial for school concerning Universal Studios. Here it is:
Universal
Studios Script
Video
|
Audio
|
EXPLOSION
FILLS SCREEN
|
Sound of
eruption
|
SMOKE CLEARS
DISPLAYING UNIVERSAL STUDIOS LOGO/ “SECRET” STAMPS ACROSS THE FRONT IN RED
|
A
trumpet plays a royal introduction and then Female VO “Hollywood has a
secret.”
|
PAGE TEARS
DOWN FROM UPPER LEFT CORNER TO SHOW FAMILIES ENTER THE PARK PAST THE
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS GATEWAY W/EXCITEMENT. ONE FAMILY OF TEEN BOY, ELEMENTARY GIRL
AND PARENTS, STANDS OUT.
|
Female
VO continues. “You may have been to Universal Studios, but have you joined Universal Studios on a real set?”
|
“VIP” STAMPS
YELLOW IN LOWER RIGHT
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Female
VO “Now you can with the VIP Universal Studio Exclusive Tour.”
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PATRONS, INCLUDE
OUR FAMILY, CLIMB OFF THE TROLLEY/ENTER SET. FEMALE SMILES @ PATRONS
W/UPRIGHT SWISH OF HER PALM
|
|
A SCENE ROLLS
WITH FIRE AND POLICE CARS SITUATED. PEOPLE RUN FROM THE BUILDING AS A BURST
OF FLAMES ERUPTS.
|
Actors
panicky scream until the director yells, “Cut! That’s a wrap, people.”
|
OUR FAMILY
BOARDS THE TROLLEY DISHEVELED. HAIR POKES UP, FACES SMEARED WITH SOOT.
CLOTHING WRINKLED AND TATTERED. THEY SMILE.
|
|
MODEL WAVES
GOOD-BYE TO THE TROLLEY. FAMILY WAVES BACK AND THEN SMILES WIDE. KIDS GIVE
EACH OTHER A HIGH FIVE.
|
|
CU OF MODEL
TALKING
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Model says, “Your life will never be the
same.”
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CU OF MODEL
WINKING/SMILING
|
Music grows
louder
|
BURST OF
FLAMES SWALLOW PIC
|
Explosion
|
It's my job, as a parent, to ensure she feels a lot of love for her birthday, because she is the one whose
Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs? |
My daughter's ice cream cake got picked up between the games. After the games on Friday, at 9:00 p.m. we went to a drive-in with a few soccer kids and saw Pixels (2015). And yes, the film was just as disappointing as it looked in commercials, but we had fun. We had our blankets and chairs out, stereos cranked, when one boy threw up a few times. Someone pulled in 3/4 of the way through the movie and parked right in front of us in a big truck. No one could see, so I walked up and politely explained this to the man, his wife, and little baby. Okay, I didn't explain it to the little baby. But he apologized and moved his truck. When I came back, the boys were saying, "What did you say?" My writing skills kicked in and I made up a terrible lie about how I threatened him. They thought I was cool for a second, until I told them the truth and wrapped it up with how violence doesn't solve anything. I believe I slipped a few notches on their deity ladder.
Yesterday, we spent our final birthday bash at Boondocks, a family game park. We got to do a lot of things I haven't done since the horrible car accident nearly a decade ago! We bowled, raced go-carts, played video games, experienced a game of laser tag, and Cameron got a gusher bloody nose when we miniature golfed. We had a blast! This is them after they went on the boats at night, shooting water pistols at each other.
... and I got to watch from a dry standpoint |
You may be asking yourself how I killed my kids with love, as the title expresses. As denoted above, I'm not always 100% on the nose when I speak, so I can't say I've literally killed them. But I can say that it's after nine o'clock in the morning and they're still not up. I very well may have killed them with love. There's probably no better way to go. And the memories are forever -- that's not something you can ever buy at the store.
So as a single mother, sometimes it's necessary to pull out all the stops and say, "Screw it! We deserve a great time!" And then do it.
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