Thursday, August 27, 2009

Aw Mom!

“No sprinkles?”

I got up early and slipped into my clothes and ran around the corner to the best donut shop in Memphis. I got three chocolate and three glazed, because last time I didn’t get enough glazed and that’s what everybody wanted. I stacked them up and put a candle on them and called Walker down for an early breakfast. The Tivo guy was due any minute and we needed to get in his room. I had forgotten that vanilla with sprinkles was his new passion.

Eventual lecture on the only response to a gift being “Thank You!” ...yet once again. A grumbling apology. Grumpy settling into the donuts, and a little conversation about the placement of the Tivo and an offer for onsite training from mom, the Tivo master.

“Where’s the Ghostbuster Trap?” Another failure by Mom.

I remembered the Tivo request Walker made a few months ago because I thought it meant a real change in his habits. He has a lovely “den” intended for his use upstairs, but chooses to hole up in his rather small room, sit on his bed, and spend all his waking hours watching TV or sorting his Polaroids. (Yes they’re still around, and he never leaves home without them either. They accompanied us on our recent trip to California.) The idea that he and a friend would sit in the comfortably appointed den, have some privacy, but not too much, watching a movie sometimes, sounded good to me. Big Walker dealt with the ordering. The additional cost to our satellite bill is minimal. Everybody wins.

But I forgot about the Ghostbuster Trap. It’s available on E-Bay, for only $79, new in box with all the required stickers. If it’s what he wants, I’ll order it for him and let him pay me back with part of the generous birthday money he received from friends and family. Is it a good idea? Probably not. But, heck, it’s his birthday.

The Michael Jackson CD and Tee were much more to his liking…probably because Sarah and Ned are way cooler than Mom. Oh well.

I hope Walker learns to be more gracious this year. I hope he might outgrow the adolescent stage we seem to be stuck in. I hope I learn to live with it if not.

Blessings,
Janie

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