Beth

Cars, front seats, and airbags.

You might have heard that we were having trouble with Cheryl’s lemon Saturn. When Cheryl’s car goes caput, I go to my parent’s house for a loaner. This last time the loaner was none other than THE MR-2. A little two door, mid-engine, sports car made by Toyota. My dad has a fun little manual five speed. The next morning I realized an opportunity for some daughter-father bonding…
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Beth

A kid being a kid.

Stop me if you have heard this story before… A little kid goes potty and has a little too much fun with the toilet paper. Three towels, two liberal applications of disinfectant, one roll of paper products, and at least half a dozen months of life expectancy later … the bathroom floor was dry again. Every child must learn what volume of solids a toilet can handle on their own.
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Beth

Sweet pleasures.

My daughter has a peanut allergy, which means we have no peanut products in our house. I like eating peanut products, which means I do without a lot. This morning I was hungry. Not an “I could use a little something to snack on” hungry; more like an “all you can eat buffet, eat until you puke” hungry. Normally I would snack on a couple of saltines, but that would not do…
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Beth

Follow-up medical attention.

This morning Cheryl and I had the pleasure of bringing Beth in for some out-patient surgery. She had some tubes put into her ears to relieve her chronic ear infection problem, but they stayed in longer than they should have. The doctor said they normally come out on their own, but it appears hers didn’t. One thing was good about this trip to the hospital: it was short. Now, let’s…
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Beth

Sound logic.

Beth has gone in for surgery twice in her lifetime. The first time she had a kidney removed. The second time she had tubes put into her ears. On Tuesday, she is scheduled for her third surgery, to remove the tubes previously placed in her ears. We were discussing the upcoming surgery this evening. When we reminded her that they would be taking out her tubes she asked, “Will they be putting…
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Beth

Sharing our world with others.

It seems people don’t mind putting up with other people in their world, as long as they don’t get in the way. Nowhere was this more evident than at the ice skating rink last week. Now, I know what you’re thinking … ice skating rinks are not exactly a bastion of peace on earth and good will towards our fellow homo sapiens. Even still, Cheryl was taken aback by one…
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Beth

Do things always come in pairs?

We have known Beth to be influenced by TV advertising for some time. When she was three years old and could barely pronounce her full name she could, with perfect TV announcer intonation, declare to mommy and daddy that she really wanted “Cinderella II: Dreams come true, now available on home video and DVD.” Now she is starting to see the commercials for Spy Kids II. She already owns…
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Beth

Windows to the soul.

Earlier this evening I was sitting down next to Beth and she was enthusiastically talking about something; exactly what it was escapes me. Some kind of parent I am, teaching my daughter such wonderful listening skills. I bring this up not to point out more of my shortcomings as a parent, but to try and explain something I observed that may prove to be unexplainable. While Beth was speaking I noted…
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