The Third Post in a Day

But this one is actually about my day.

Things I saw:

1) A person do a "farmer blow" while walking down the street on Prospect at 8:45 a.m.

2) The black part of my dog's nose fell off. Literally, the skin just oozed off. He apparently got into it with one of our cats last week for the first time in almost 10 years, and all the Neosporin and antiseptic wipes couldn't save it. He ended up at the vet today for antibiotics, where we all pitied the poor, old, sad, shaking dog. Who also gained like 4 pounds since August. So back on the Light Science Diet he goes...

3) My first birthday present arrived from my favorite folks out East. It was an awesome REI top, some honey-based protein bars (the chocolate almond cherry one got devoured on the spot!) and some special socks to wear with my Vibrams.

Things I heard:
1) A person coughing up phlegm and spitting -- repeatedly in the shower at the Urbana Aquatic Center at 11:40 a.m.

2) Ring! My doorbell at 7:45 p.m. It was the UPS man. He must be getting crazy overtime due to the fact they couldn't deliver in the snow last week, or something.

Things I thought about:

1) Do the folks at Bottenfield who qualify for the gifted program not move because they're at their neighborhood school and it's convenient? Because they don't want to send their kid to a different school once he/she have gotten used to their current school? Because they don't want to send them to schools in poorer neighborhoods? Or all of the above?

2) How awful it is to realize your parents are human when you're a child. No matter how often you try, as a parent, to make them understand that even though you make mistakes... You're still the parent. There's still some sort of idealization there. Some sort of "Because you're in charge of me, you must be the smartest person in the world who knows best." My child gets really upset when I tell him I'm doing the best I can, but that I also make tons of mistakes. He tells me that's not allowed. I tell him it's not how the world works. But he so wants to put me up on that pedestal. It's just interesting because without kids -- when you mess up -- you can walk away or run away. You can break up and fall apart, and it affects you, but not too many other people. With kids -- you get to know that not only are you an idiot (and maybe even an asshole) but that you've now just completely jacked up their lives, too. It's a high bar to try to be a super parent. One you can never really hope to master or achieve. But one that is, obviously, demanded by the little person you love so much.