Sweden to Mom: You May Not Rock, Rock On

MSNBC.COM -- Sweden's tax authority gets to approve of all names. (Perhaps not a bad idea? Kid in Rachel's daycare named Ahmunique... get it? I'm unique. A great beat-me-up name.) Anyhow, they've declined some woman's attempts to name her child "Metallica." Oh, I should mention her child is a girl. And even though she's been denied, she's appealing. (Or appalling?) Anyhow, they've had to cancel a trip already because with the name in limbo, they've been unable to get a passport for their daughter. Ha. More...

Sweet Little Girl

Twice recently Rachel has just surprised me with her kindness. One night we were sitting in the "cave" I'm building under the deck -- eventually it'll be a place where we can sit out of the rain and relax outside. (Right now the rain still drips through the slats, but I'll fix that eventually by adding a little "roof".)

But we were sitting there, Rachel and I. Her mom was at choir practice, so it was just the two of us. The edge of the excavation left a ledge for me to put my feet up on, but it wasn't quite high enough. It was nice but I remarked that now all I needed was something to put my feet up on. She looked around and announced "I'll go get a ball for you." Odd, I thought, but whatever. She hops off of her chair, runs across the yard to where a not-completely-full soccer ball lay. She carried it back over, I lifted my legs and she sat it down and wouldn't you know, it was just right to elevate my legs.

Then on Saturday I was reading a book in the living room. I was wearing shorts as I always do in the house and had my feet up on the ottoman. She declared that my legs were cold and went to her room and came back with a blanket which she spread over my legs.

Kid never ceases to amaze me.

Kids Are Quick

(thanks to Marcus for this one)

TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.

MARIA: Here it is.

TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?

CLASS: Maria.

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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?

JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.

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TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell "crocodile?"

GLENN: "K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L"

TEACHER: No, that's wrong

GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

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TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?

DONALD: H I J K L M N O.

TEACHER: What are you talking about?

DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.

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TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.

WINNIE: Me!

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TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?

GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

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TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting w ith "I."

MILLIE: I is...

TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, "I am."

MILLIE: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."

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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?

LOUIS: Because George still had the ax in his hand.

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TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.

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TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?

CLYDE: No, teacher, it's the same dog.

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TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?

HAROLD: A teacher

Unable to Predict the Future

As a parent, I sometimes think about what it must be like for a parent to have their child snatched from them. I don't necessarily mean kidnapped, but if something unfortunate were to happen and suddenly the child was no longer part of their life. I think it's a natural worry when you're suddenly responsible for such a tiny little life you've had the joy of knowing since birth -- and in some ways even before.

As I watched her brush her teeth tonight, I realized that's part of the equation. It's not just that one minute they're there and the next minute they're not. But that up until that point, everything was normal. You're standing in the doorway watching them brush their teeth.

I guess in some ways that's part of the uncertainty of life and same could be said of a car... you parked it and went into the store. You walked away and it sat there happily awaiting your return. And then a meteor hit it while you were in the store and you came back out to find only a crater.

I suppose I'm not making any sense. But I guess it's all about how you can never predict anything. And also that you can't worry about life or you'll turn into a useless ball of jelly afraid to leave the bomb shelter.

So instead all I can do is Thank God for breath, for life, for family and pray for future protection and leave it all in His hands.

In completely other news, I finally uploaded new photos. As always, sign in for the actual pictures of people.