The Four G's

See that Lego game up there?  It's not as innocent as it seems, my friends.  The tv commercial for this game is clearly harmful to grown women with teenage sons.  It has reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. How on earth can this seemingly child friendly game cause so much heartache and distress?  Allow me to weave my tale of woe for you....


A few days ago, I saw this commercial and immediately said to Irish Dancer Girl, "Your brother (aka Teen Caveboy) would love this game...He's such a Lego freak!"  She looked at me like I had just told her aliens had invaded the neighborhood.  "Uh, Mom...he doesn't play with toys anymore, remember?"  She was edging toward me slowly.  "He stopped playing with toys back when I was a little girl."  (she's 8 years old...)  The truth in her words smacked me in the heart like the Karate Kid hitting me with a five finger death punch.  Tears welled up in my eyes.  I was a blubbering fool in all of 30 seconds. Irish Dancer Girl threw her arms around me and said, "It's ok, Mommy. I still have lots of toys for you to play with."  I hugged her tightly and then went to distract myself from my breakdown with the laundry.


Later that day, I went into Teen Caveboy's room to put away some clean clothing.  I looked around and realized his life is now all about "The Four G's"...Guitars, Grub, Games (video) and ahem...Girls.  I looked at the guitar picks and sheet music scattered on the floor, the XBox games strewn about and realized my wee baby boy is growing up.  Not a toy in sight...sigh....I leaned against the wall and tried not to cry again. Time really does fly by in the blink of an eye.  It seems like just moments ago that I was cleaning up Legos and stepping on Hot Wheels in his room.  Wasn't it just yesterday that he was playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero....not playing a "real" electric guitar like the talented musician he's become, for goodness sakes?  And is he really going to be old enough to drive a car next summer???


Heavy sigh...I hung up the clothes in his closet and turned to leave.  But wait!  What do I spy with my wandering eyes up high???  Let me show you....

Toys! I found toys!  Sure, they're scary glow in the dark zombies attacking some plastic army guys, and of course, they're purely for room decoration, but they're still TOYS!  My heart was filled with joy!  There is still some of the "boy" in my amazing young man.  So while I'm not a fan of this G word term...Growing Up...I'm Grateful that I still have a bit of my wee baby boy hiding out in plain sight in Teen Caveboy's room.


We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
                                                                                                                    - George Bernard Shaw
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Shakin' Our Shamrocks

Look at that awesome toe point on Irish dancer girl!  We are finally finished with what we lovingly refer to in Irish dance as "March Madness"! Whew!  As you might imagine, Irish dancers are pretty popular come March.  We've just completed our two week tour of performances all over Tucson.  We wrapped up the season yesterday with a viewing of the movie "Lord of the Dance 3D". 
Here's a little peek at what we've been doing!

Cat with Brandon Mull, author of the fabulous "Fablehaven" series of books! We met him after her performance at the Festival of Books! What a nice guy! (and if you haven't read this series, do it!  It's fantastic!)

Parade Prep on the firetruck for the St. Patrick's Day Festival and Parade...

Taking a bow at Pima College's St. Patrick's Day celebration...

And here's a little video of Irish dancer girl in action!  The stage floor was super slippery, but she still managed to knock out some great dancing! 


Have a wonderful week!