Wilson Post Blogs

 Exactly seven days ago I received the following phone call from Becky:
 
“Hey, I woke up this morning and realized hell must have frozen over last night.”
 
“What do mean?,” I said.
 
“Well, I am sure hell froze over because YOU ARE ON FACEBOOK NOW!”
 
And so the odyssey began….

I started taking an interest on the subject of Birth Order after becoming an adult. Mainly because I had grown tired of my older siblings treating me like I’m still 5. Birth order explains a lot about a person’s behavior; especially a person who comes from a family of six children. I am number four in that order.

Like many tragedies…this one started so innocently.

Growing up, the men in my family did not watch much football. We were a soccer family. My father played on an adult team and coached my elementary school team. My brother was such a good player that he won a college soccer scholarship and was the captain of his college team.

The wrecking ball has officially hit our home. Of course I’m speaking metaphorically. This wrecking ball is not the kind that can literally tear a building down, but it will test the strength of the parents and children residing inside.

“Supernanny” is a television show that comes on each Wednesday evening. In this reality show a British nanny comes into a different American household each week and in a few short days turns cursing, hitting, spitting American children into proper British subjects.

There will come a day when you look around and have no idea how you ended up where you are. It’s one of those days that starts out with an endless to-do list...

Recently I had an encounter with an individual that was far from pleasant. The encounter was long past due as the situation had been intolerable for far longer than necessary.  Without going into the gory details, the bottom line is that this person was continually being unkind to one of my children.

Stress, In-laws, the kid table, cranberry mold, green bean casserole, Black Friday; yes, it’s time for Thanksgiving.

I have been under a lot of pressure lately. You see, I’ve had this huge project due and there are just not enough hours in the day to get it done. It’s so important that it has kept me up at night thinking about it.

Not long ago it was a laid back acknowledgement of one’s entry into this world with close family. A birthday party has now turned into weeks (or months) of planning, an endless guest list and goodie bags that put the Oscar Swag Bag to shame.

I always cringe a little when I hear my middle child running down the stairs with her younger brother following behind, in hot pursuit, crying out“ no, Zoe… please don’t tell mama …please, I didn’t mean it.”

When your parents reach a certain age, it becomes clear that a role reversal has transpired. Rather than them calling to make sure you’re eating right, driving right or sleeping tight, it’s you making those calls to check on them.

My husband and I are amazed by the fact our children continue to persist in the theory that America is a democracy. They wake up in the morning clinging to this belief and go to bed at night dreaming of the red, white and blue.

Do you know what special person will be honored this Sunday? It’s the one day where mom giddily relinquishes her normal responsibility of “doing everything” and replaces it with a meal (that she didn’t have to plan, cook or clean up after)...

At a certain point in life you look at your furnishings and realize you have had enough of the hand me down pieces and decide its time to buy some “adult” furniture.

You can learn a lot about someone by the way in which they play a game. My husband and I both come from families that enjoy playing games during get togethers.

Do you remember life before email? I do and it was such a nice peaceful life. These days, however, my life is in constant chaos and it’s directly attributable to my email capabilities.

So we were having dinner with friends when the topic came up about a mutual acquaintance whose daughter had given her kidney to her new husband. We all spoke at once about what a kind and loving gesture this was and how amazing that her husband was doing so well now.    

I have a theory that there are two types of holiday families. There are the cookie cutters and the nutcrackers. As a member of the nutcrackers, I always took for granted that I would get to spend all holidays with my family… that was… until I got married.