The Candy Shop
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| Happy Halloween!! |
Remember, Halloween candy will be half off November 1st.
That's the real holiday.
Now, on with the post!
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| 50 Cent and my baby, Caleb |
Caleb was my first born.
I read all the books and sweated every choice from cloth diapers to disposables.
I wanted to do everything just right.
Then my grandmother gave this frantic mother the very best advice.She said, "You know your child better than anyone. You know if he's being bad for sport, or if he's just acting out because he's tired and in need of a nap. Trust your gut and don't ever make choices to please others...or those books you're reading."
It was tough...going with the gut. I showed this picture to the left to a friend, and she exclaimed with shock, "You let him have Mt. Dew?"
I'd never really thought about it. He liked it, so I let him have it.
I cringed a little inside...what if I was screwing my kid up? What if Grandma was wrong?
But he was a happy, well-adjusted kid. His grades were always phenomenal and his behavior was exemplary.
I even let him play violent video games.
Gasp.
I swear, he didn't turn into a serial killer.
I let him sleep with the family dog...even when she might have had fleas.
I never spanked him. Even when he acted like a belligerent brat, and people around me swore it was the cure-all.
I let him follow his own path. Even when that meant wearing gum boots to church and Superman capes to the grocery store.
And you know what?
He's grown up just fine.
As a matter of fact- last week, he got to meet 50 Cent. And yes, he had to buy a bottle of vodka to do it, and yes, he billed the booze to my credit card.
No, I don't mind. I'd have bought a bottle of vodka to get to hang with 50 Cent for a second too.
Oh yeah, I also allowed him to listen to rap in his formative years.
I also encouraged him to party a little in college....as long as he did his homework before he got drunk, rather than after. Drunken homework completion is never a good idea. It's right up there with drunk texting and posting.
See? I give my kids advice.
It's just not the sort of advice Carol Brady would consider appropriate.
Okay, so I suppose I could be considered a bad mother.
But I will tell you- this bad mother raised some awesome kids.
In addition to getting to meet a rap king, Caleb also got his LSAT (law school admissions test) scores back last week.
He was shooting for a 167 out of a possible 180- a decent score he thought could get him into a few good schools he has his eye on.
Well, he scored a 179 out of 180.
One point from perfect.
I guess my grandma was right. I didn't screw up the wonderful human God sent me after all.
Oh, and guess where he's going to go to law school?
Anywhere he wants to.
Thanks to our hosts Lexa, L.G, and Tonja Drecker for this weekly good things check in!
1. No football this week, but we are play off bound!
2. Did I mention how awesome my kids are? All of them- even the ones I didn't mention.
3. The WV Book Festival was wonderful. I met some new authors who are all sorts of awesome, and time spent with readers is always time well spent.
1. No football this week, but we are play off bound!
2. Did I mention how awesome my kids are? All of them- even the ones I didn't mention.
3. The WV Book Festival was wonderful. I met some new authors who are all sorts of awesome, and time spent with readers is always time well spent.
I better get on the ball! I've been sitting on my manuscript for months. Truth be told, I'm a little afraid to self-publish. You people who have done it...how did you know when you were ready to pull the trigger? Usually, I can count on my publisher to say, "Elizabeth, it's done. Send me the manuscript."
Speaking of Misha Gericke, I'm almost done reading her book, The Vanished Knight. It's a fast-paced story that blends fantasy and YA contemporary. It's about a young girl (Callan) in foster care who is taken in by a rich family and then sent off to boarding school with her two new "brothers". Callan is swept into another realm when she visits a castle on the school grounds. It's an exciting blend of magic, romance, and action.
My only problem in reading this book is not having the proper amount of time to get to the end...I need to know! Who is the voice in her head? Where are her parents? And how will the past relate to the future? I suppose I'll just have to lose a little sleep and find out!
You can check out the book, or even better, buy it HERE!
Congratulations to Caleb! That's an awesome score.
ReplyDeleteThat he billed the vodka to your credit card is priceless.
Hey, I watched R rated horror films as a kid, played Dungeons and Dragons, and listened to heavy metal. No, I didn't turn out evil - I'm a well adjusted, married man who loves the Lord. My mother followed your grandmother's suggestion as well.
I loved D&D! And rock music, and horror. I also have this feeling that God is way cooler than we give Him credit for, and I've always trusted Him to steer me in the right direction. Many South Park shows felt like nails on the chalkboard of my soul, so I'd shut those off.
DeleteHey, I know I am so late commenting on this post, but Gawd-damn, this is my most favorite post of yours... EVER :)
DeleteWell Played, Mama, well played :)
And bloody well done, Caleb :)
Congratulations! That's great that he scored so high. You should be proud as a button :)
ReplyDeleteAnd yay to you being a mom who makes others gasp! I've been 'scolded' by moms for letting my kids drink Coke (oh no!) play violent video games (can it be?!), watch bloody horror films (Seriously?!)...and I found my oldest drinking a stolen bottle of vodka out of stolen plastic cups under a bridge (*grrrr*!) And you know what, he's now getting great grades in college and drags his girl friend to church with him. Yeah, they turn out okay ;)
I think you deserve a 'bad mom' button to be proud of!
I once got scolded at a school picnic went I salted my kid's popcorn. I let my children have salt? For shame!! Meh, whatever. I told her the iodine would save him from getting hideous goiters.
DeleteAh, vodka under a bridge. I never did that, but there was a time when I split a bottle of stolen vodka with friends in the baseball dug out. That was a good night. It was a bunch of my girlfriends and we tried to play quarter bounce. I was horrible at the game, but we still had fun. Life takes balance.
Congratulations to Caleb and congrats to you too Liz. You obviously did a good job. Hey, can I charge my whiskey to your credit card?
ReplyDeleteYou always give me the best smiles.
DeleteAnd just how much whiskey are we talking? I need details before answering. LOL
How odd I typed whiskey with an e. I actually drink Scotch whisky, no e. These days we only drink at the weekend and Scotch only one night, so it wouldn't cost you much Liz. Although more than if we were still living in NC where booze was pretty cheap.
ReplyDeleteIf I sneak a bottle across the border, would I end up in jail?
DeleteCongrats to Caleb! And to you for being an awesome mom. I read and read and watched stuff on the internet before my kid was born. Going with your gut is the best thing. :) Have a happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteNo Liz. We carried booze home every time we visited the States. Now if you tried to carry too much and got caught, different story.
ReplyDeletelol too funny he billed it to your credit card. Congrats to him on that score, awesome.
ReplyDeleteI played violent video games, watched horror movies, slept with the dog, did things that could have broke my neck, still here and not serial killer crazy lol
Congratulations to Caleb! That's awesome! Good luck with Law School (if that's what he really wants) And congratulations to you for taking the brave route in parenting. It's hard to let kids make their choices, but it can be very worth it in the end: it's how you raise them to be adults!
ReplyDeleteOne point from perfect? Way to go Caleb!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think the most right answer is that all kids are not the same and can't be parented the same. What works for one doesn't work with another. A a mom, if you're paying attention, you'll probably get it right.
Congrats to Caleb! Clearly your mother was right all along. Your story about him growing up reminded me of my nephew - he was a free spirit and my sister got some grief from people who thought she should have been doing this or that. But he turned out just fine too. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween!!
Whoooooo! Congrats to Caleb! ^_^
ReplyDeleteAs for your question about self-publishing, I feel your pain. The one thing I miss about going it alone is there's no one there to pry the manuscript from my grabby little fingers and call it done. I ended up doing everything I could and picking an arbitrary point after which I would publish.
I'm glad you're enjoying The Vanished Knight!
PS My parents taught me how to shoot guns and 9mm pistols when I was eight. My rap sheet is still clean...
ReplyDeleteWell done to Caleb! And well done to his fantastic mummy :-) (yep, spelt with a U!)
ReplyDeleteDrunken homework is a bad idea; drunken fiction writing is pretty awesome!
You're not a bad mother at all - you're fantastic! I love that you let the kids follow their own paths and didn't stress out too much about the little things. Huge congrats on your son's high score. You and he should be so proud! Have a wonderful Halloween weekend and good luck in the playoffs!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I read about Caleb's score on FB. Congratulations to him!!! Your buttons must be popping!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween.
Congratulations to Caleb! And good on you for not listening to helicopter parents and know-it-alls trying to get you to emulate their parenting style.
ReplyDeleteEveryone thinks they know the "right" way to raise a child but nobody does. You just do the best you can and hope it all works out...sounds like you did all the right things. (Except maybe the Mountain Dew--I can't imagine the sugar/caffeine buzz he got from that!)
ReplyDelete