My son just realized last night that he is due to go to his dad's from Wed. thru Sat. Until recently I was the less favored parent. I made him go to school, bathe, eat right, do homework, have manners, be accountable, etc., ad infinitum. But he was BUMMED! He wants to stay here, to get ready for Easter, to visit his pal Marshall, he's never been bummed to leave me before. I think the wolf and the birthday must have had some impact on him. Dad is WAY funner, no rules, no bedtime, drink caffiene, skip teeth brushing, skip homework for video games, EVERYTHING is better at dad's. Usually. He wants to ask dad if he can stay here, he's 12, so legally in Wisconsin, he can decide for himself about placement. But dad's a hateful, spiteful person. I'm nervous for him. And I can see he is frightened, too.

I always used to have twinges of guilt about being so stern about homework, honesty, bathing, dental care, blah, blah, blah. And to appease my guilt, birthdays and holidays were as big as I could get them. But I LIKE watching kids get big huge eyes when they rip apart the wrapping. I LIKE that. Some of my favorite memories are of spending the entire DAY on XMas, installing batteries, putting together Legos, watching the new movie. And at bedtime, we would still be in our PJ's.

Poor kid, all this time he thought disney dad was better, until he almost flunked his reading project, and had a horrible, unacceptable birthday, all in one weekend. Now he has to come to grips with the idea that a whole different reality could be the prefered choice.Hiswhole perception of good and bad and right and wrong could be crumbling.

I'm torn. I'm glad he's learningabout this while he's still a kid, butI feel so bad for him, this has got to be so hard…

As for my daughter, she's 16. She SHOULD be begging to go to the mall, hanging on the phone and her email, and IM, but she's so sick. Just a big bag of fevered snot. Poor thing. I bought Doritos and pop, thinking a week at home should be like a treat. My boy had some. She hasn't touched it. Apparently, I should have used that money to invest in Hall's and Kleenex! They even brought their instruments home, they were going to practice together all week. Talk about feeling helpless, wishing I could make her feel better and all I can do is wait it out with her.

I will miss them next week when they go back to school.