The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[MinnieM123]

I appreciate the kindness, but unfortunately, my family won't. Narcissists don't believe they did or are doing anything wrong and will never apologize. That is just how they work sadly.

Sounds like you made the right decision. And you never know . . . down the road they may lament the loss of you, and might try to make "some" effort into making peace. Never say never.

 

[MinnieM123]

Of course, when I was a kid, I believe my parents knew everyone in the state and even though we didn't have that electronic marvel, I don't care what I did, by the time I got home, my parents knew about it. From going to a movie I wasn't supposed too, to speeding. Their network of friends were on the job.

Sounds exactly like the way I grew up. I never went far, but my brothers covered as much terrain as animals in the wild. But it didn't matter--we had the chat line of neighbors all over the area, and my brothers were well known--so it was never a problem if my parents were looking for either one of them, if they were late for dinner (or any other situations they got themselves into).

 

[MinnieM123]

The way I looked at it is was I did not have every popular thing in the sun as a kid, but I was thankful for what I had.

When we have less, we appreciate what we have even more.

 

[21stamps]

I salute them. I despise phones, especially smart phones.

Sometimes I still miss Blackberry. I remember when they first came out and how excited I was.. then years later I remember camping out (at the mall) for the first iPhone. I couldn’t part with my blackberry due to work.. so for a few years I had both.. then eventually Apple took over corporate world and RIM never recovered, so I parted with a Blackberry.. iPhone has never had something as cool as BBM and Brickbreaker though!

Wow, I’m old.

 

[21stamps]

That would drive me nuts. I'm am very punctual and always early for everything. If I'm just on time, I feel like I'm running late. I hate showing up late at something. Once in college I was about 5 minutes late for my class and since I hate walking into places late I just sat outside the door and listened to the lecture. It was a big class and attendance was never taken, so it didn't impact my grade at all. I was also about 2 minutes late once meeting up with a friend, and she called me because she was so concerned that I hadn't arrived early like usual.

I’m always early to work and expect it from everyone around me. The saying “if you’re on time, you’re late” is something I have always followed.. BUT, if I’m meeting you for drinks? Leave your house 15 minutes later than planned. Then we’ll arrive at the same time.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Oh I forgot one more.. he’s also -

“The only kid who doesn’t have braces!”



Granted there are 7 kids in the third grade who have braces.. but he does not need them yet, he will.. we’ve been to the orthodontist and there is no reason to start treatment right now. T says “Braces make people look smart. I think they’re cool.”

Hopefully he remembers that in a few years.

I have one in braces now and he is not happy, especially because he has started with rubber bands yesterday. Only one year left I hope and then the next one will start.

 

[21stamps]

When I was a kid, My younger brother and I didn't dare to make the I'm the only kid who doesn't blank type statements to our own parents.

The way I looked at it is was I did not have every popular thing in the sun as a kid, but I was thankful for what I had. I had popular stuff as a kid in my era such as Transformers, hot wheels, Matchbox cars, and micro machines as examples. I understand as a kid that I couldn't get everything, but I appreciate what I got.

I was late for getting a Nes. Back in grade school, students had Nes video game systems, but I didn't. Back when I was in grade school, I had an Atari 2600 jr. and a Atari 7800. I was thankful and happy to own a video game system.

In my era, kids didn't have cell phones. The other thing I wouldn't be using it a lot anyway because I was a severe stutter as a kid in an era that internet did not exist. Internet existed when I was a teenager.

The other thing is I had got stuff that other kids didn't get because the location of my dad's work was over 20 miles away from were we live. That Danish Bakery has a great reputation and I still recalled how I liked the Kringle my dad got from there . The only way to get food from that Danish bakery when I was a kid was by living in that area of the danish bakery, or drive there since internet didn't exist in my era as a kid.

“I’m the only kid who doesn’t ...”
And
“______ is my passion.”
And
“_______ is not my passion.”

are lines that are used by my child almost daily now.


I’m from pre internet days as well. I think you and I (and anyone else) in that generation are quite lucky. I wouldn’t change my childhood. A time before play dates and tablets and a million emails per day. Just ride your bike to a friends house and be home when the street lights come on.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

I’m so glad that cell phones weren’t around during my teen years. I broke curfew so many times.. my excuse was always “but I lost track of time!” I was grounded quite often over it. The stupid thing is- I was never doing anything bad, just sitting at a restaurant or bowling...but I hated that my curfew was so much earlier than my friends’!

I did two things which each resulted in a month’s grounding-

1. Age 15- Called parents from a pay phone after a football game.. said I was spending the night at my friend Christina’s house... that we were going for pizza right after the game, then getting dropped off at her house.
We did go for pizza.. then we went for a ride in one of our guy friend’s new car. It was a super sweet ride with an awesome stereo system. 4 of us just went driving around listening to loud music. (Lame when I think about it now, but we thought we were so cool back then). My mom must called Christina’s Mom to tell her what time she would get me in the morning. Her mom said “Ok, I’ll leave a note I’ll probably be sleeping when they get in.” My Mom inquired as to why we weren’t there and when would we be coming back. Other mom said she didn’t know.
So, at midnight Noah pulls into Christina’s driveway to drop us off. My dad was sitting in his car already there... waiting to sternly tell me to “get in the car right now”.
I wanted to die of embarrassment.

2. Age 17. July, a month before senior year was starting. I had my own car at this point. Some of our guy friends were leaving for college soon. They were 18. Invited us to go out of town for the weekend. This time I told my parents that I was spending the weekend at my friend Jenny’s.. she told her mom that she was staying at my house. We took my car on the 200 mile drive, with 2 other girlfriends. Stayed the weekend.. had a blast. I come home Sunday night and both of my parents immediately meet me when I walk in the door. My dad says “I need your keys, please.”
“What, why?” “I need your keys now.”
I hand them over and he comes back. “When did Jenny move 500 miles away?”
“Dad, what are you talking about.”
“You have one chance to tell me where you were. I know what the mileage was on your car before this weekend. (It was less than 1000).. and mom called Jenny’s mother to ask if you girls wanted to play sand volleyball on Saturday. Amazingly, Jenny was at our house. Although we couldn’t find her, or you.”


I got grounded from my car for 2 months and I got grounded from going anywhere without my parents for the rest of the summer, with the exception of my diving practice and volleyball- they picked me up and dropped me off for those. However, I did get ungrounded after 3 weeks of good behavior and lots of chores.. but not from the car.

Wow!!

 

[donaldtoo]

So Saturday, we wanted to go pumpkin picking. We went to a Mennonite run garden center because they usually sell baked goods that the kids enjoy. We got there about 1:30/2pm. They had a small display of pumpkins and no baked goods, Apparently we were late to the pumpkin picking party. Well, we took the drive and decided to go into their greenhouses. They did have some amazingly huge mums for only $6.99. They were 3 times the size of what the supermarket was selling for $4.99, so we bought 3. We also bought a pretty daisy plant, which we have since put in our house. Well, then I suggested going to a farm where youngest's cheer team and the other teams are going for a team bonding experience. When we got their it was packed. No room to park, and the fields were muddy looking. For this place they had no pre-picked pumpkins you could choose from. You had to pay for a wagon ride in order to go into the field and get your own. That is normally fun, but not when it had been raining every other day for months. So, then we decided to go to a farm we had gone to 2 years ago that had had loads of pre-picked pumpkins and local goods. It was 30 minutes from where we were. We got there and unbelievably there was an auction sign on the property! The farm had gone out of business! We ended up going to a Mennonite grocery store/ garden center that we had passed on the way. They had plenty of pumpkins and lots of local baked/ cooked items. We got there at 3:50pm. They closed at 4. Dh was like, "It is really carpy to show up to a store right when they want to close". I agreed, but after driving for almost 2 and half hours for some stupid pumpkins, I said that I didn't care and we would be quick, which we were. So, I considered that a very wasted afternoon that I will never get back.

Oh my! Sympathy like for that experience.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

She's from Africa, and so sometimes she comes across as rude. Usually, we just let it slide as a cultural thing because we know she usually doesn't mean it. But one thing that drives me crazy is that you tell her to be someplace at a certain time, and she gives you another time when she'll tell you she's going to be there. So if you say "Hey, get there at 2" she'll say "Okay, I'll be there at 3." Not, "Oh, sorry, I can't get there until 3." Just, "I'll be there at 3." We call it Africa time. Well, we took the train to DC a few months ago. We told her to meet us at 8. Train was leaving at 8:45 from the airport. She told us she'd be there at 8:30. We told her no, when we said 8, we mean 8. 8:15 came. She wasn't there. We left. She didn't make it that day. Called her on that behavior. She wasn't mad, surprisingly.

I couldn’t have a friend like that. I have a thing for punctuality.

 

[21stamps]

Wow!!

Yeah. My son better not do any of that stuff. I almost lost senior trip because I had a party at our house while the rest of my family was out of town. They found out about 3 weeks later.. my mom was in my room putting socks away.. and she saw a photo.. realized there was more.. and looked at all of the photographic evidence of said party. People drinking on our trampoline.. beer cans, Boone’s Farm, and Zima bottles in the family room.. maybe 40 kids there. I thought I had gotten away with it. Nope.
The thing is, they knew all of my friends and most of my friends’ families.. the majority of my close friends had been close since kindergarten or first grade. Even the high school ones my parents knew.. pretty much everyone in my school and our brother school somehow had someone in their family who knew another family...and I have a really big family.lol. I had ‘parties’ often, but when my parents were home...and of course no alcohol. My parents were actually really great about those.

It’s sounds wild.. but we really weren’t, and I think my parents knew us well enough to realize that.. but punishment was deserved, admittedly. No one smoked marijuana or really drank.. at some parties they did (drink, not drugs).. but if the schools found out then you get kicked out of sports.. so the majority who drank were a year older than us and already in college.

All of that said.. my son is NOT allowed to do the same. And I will have a GPS tracker on his phone.

 

[donaldtoo]

I can't believe a mushroom got censored

 

[donaldtoo]

neeeerds XD

 

[donaldtoo]

I don't have any children, but I think every mother and father I've known has echoed your sentiments above. Childhood really is a magical time, and it is sad that it's so short-lived. I send sympathy to you.

Short-lived, and bittersweet, indeed.
As I always say to new parents (including DD and SonIL )...”Don’t blink!!!”

 

[donaldtoo]

When I was a kid, my mother sent away to some company, to get a letter from Santa for me. One day, I came home from school (kindergarten) and my mother said I had a letter. I was excited because as a little kid, I never got mail--that was for grownups! I saw Santa on the envelope and asked my mother to help me read it (I could only read a little bit at that age). I was ecstatic that Santa wrote a letter to me!!! (I think I still have the letter in a box someplace. )

That is a great story...!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Thank you. I’m having a tough time with it.
Everything from attitude to interests to facial features.. it’s all changing over the past several months. Current events and school talks didn’t help much either. Literally feels like I blinked and had a “big kid”.



Oh this is so neat!! I never did anything like that. T really did think that our train rides were magic and that we went to the North Pole. Santa was onboard and cutting a B into the tickets as well.
There’s also a fantastic display of Elves in Cincinnati. Once upon time they were on display at a defunct department store called “Shilitos”. Over time one man made a mission to collect the elves, and opened up a re-enactment display a few years ago.
At the end you write a letter to Santa and watch it get vacuumed up and transported to one of the elf rooms.

I wish we all could believe for just a little bit longer. We have to grow up fast enough. On the bright side, the memories of being a kid are always there for each of us to cherish.

See my post above...!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

It is super tough to keep them young now with so much information available to them. I cannot believe my youngest turns 8 in 30 days.

Oh my! Our youngest turned 24 last month...

 

[donaldtoo]

That is ridiculous!!! I cannot like that at all. Hope you stay warm and send the cold to @MinnieM123 .

Hahaaa...!!!
I tried to, but, I think it took a wrong turn somewhere...




Although I doubt is was at Albuquerque...!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

And, one for the road...!!!!!



Alrighty gang, I’m out for tonight...!
Sweet dreamin’ and/or mornin’ to one and all...!!!
See y’allllllllll...!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Figgy1]

And she's older than me.... *sigh*

So 22 then