Go To Your Room!

When I was growing up and got in trouble, my parents often sent me to my room. Now sometimes I wish someone would say to me, "Go to your room!" "Gladly", I would reply, "Can I stay there the rest of the day?" Of course, being a parent, we know that our kids need some time to cool off and think about what they did wrong. So yes, I do say this to my kids often. Especially my twin boys. I cherish the moments they do get along. As they get older, it seems they are arguing more often.

I remember talking to my dad and telling him when I was little my sister and I would get into a fight and be mad at each other. Then ten minutes later we would go back to being friends like nothing had happened. He said that's the Italian in you. My dad's mom was Italian. She also had twins. Sometimes I wish she could come back to life, spend an afternoon with me, telling me about the things she learned raising twins, while cooking me a wonderful meal. That's how I remember her; always in the kitchen cooking, and me stealing pieces of french bread. She'd turn around and give me a big grandma hug.

So we make it through the day doing laundry load after load, cooking meal after meal, saying "Don't hit your brother. He's the only one you've got!" And of course the infamous, "Go to your room!" to which I will reply, "Yipee!"

Happy 40th Sesame Street

My Mom once told me right after she and my Dad were married, they would rush home from work to watch a short comedy skit done by the muppets just before the news would come on. Laughing hysterically at the comedy antics of Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Fourty years later, I still laugh at the skits they do on Sesame Street. Sometimes it's geared towards adults. For example, when my sons were about two years old and it was early in the morning, they were watching Sesame Street. I was not fully awake yet, and was sitting on the couch half asleep, then suddenly this old soap opera music comes on and the words "Desperate Houseplants" comes on the screen. Well of course I perked up because I watch the show Desperate Housewives. It was about two plants sitting in the window. One needed water and the other needed sun. "I've lost my bloom!" cried the plant. Then this studly man muppet struts past the window and one of the plants says, "Is that the gardner?" So of course he takes care of the plants, and everything turns out fine in the end. I'm rolling on the floor laughing and my sons are staring blankly at the tv. Love it! It's actually on youtube. You should look it up.

Whoever coined the phrase, "Laughter is the best medicine", was right. I love to laugh and I love it when people make me laugh. It makes my stressful days go by so much easier. Just think, if everyone could watch Sesame Street in the morning before they go to work, the world would be a much nicer place. The muppets teach you the basics of life, like, wash your hands, say "please" and "thank you", treat others the way you want to be treated, and last but not least, "C" is for "cookie!"