Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

And that includes if you’ve been cheering up all the kiddos and need something fun yourself, fellow parents. Tonight I accidentally broke the heart of my youngest by telling her I was ready to tuck her in without remembering that she hadn’t yet given her birthday present to Daddy–and while I IMMEDIATELY assured her that I’d forgotten and of COURSE she could give him her present first, the tears were slow to stop. My son was upset that I told him to get off his kindle, even though it was after 8:30 and he knows I don’t want him on it after 8–he being the child who is most likely to be upset when I’m upset with him, even when I’m upset because he’s doing something he knows I’ve told him not to do. (Wouldn’t it be easier to just NOT do the thing you’ve been told not to do? Or be apologetic about it?) And my 14-year-old was super excited about the treat she made Daddy for his birthday, and when he was casual in his reaction, she was convinced he didn’t like it and we should throw the rest away. Oh, the drama! Don’t you wish you lived at my house? (And since I wrote this paragraph, my oldest came to me in tears to tell me that she forgot to eat lunch even after I’d reminded her twice. Because of course, after watching “The Return of the King” with friends and getting home after midnight last night, her emotions are on the volatile side.)

Luckily, however, I did finish a feel-good graphic novel this morning–Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm’s Sunny Makes Her Case (the 5th in their “Sunny” series). In it, Sunny’s friend Deb makes the middle school cheer team, but Sunny’s somewhat adrift, not being overly athletic. When her friend Arun says he wants to start a debate club, though, she ends up finding a thing of her own that she hadn’t expected to. The story is based in part on Jennifer Holm’s own debate experiences growing up, and that just added to the book’s appeal, which is already considerable. The Holm siblings are a joy to read, folks. Don’t miss this one!