Common Ground

I absolutely love having five daughters because, among other things, it ensures that I will always have plenty of dance classes to take them to.  We could be doing something else and that would be great, but we're doing this, and we like it.  It's what we share.

This is us after the season finale of Dance Academy.  Golda and Ruby have been rationing out the limited number of episodes, watching 15 minutes a day so they don't run out.  I didn't even see it, but when Golda and Ruby started sobbing about the boy who died in a car accident the day of the grand prix, right after his strict Jewish father had finally said he was proud of his son, even though he chose ballet over medical school and sometimes had to leave class early on Friday nights to get to Shabbat services, well, I cried too.  He was so close to his dreams!  We needed a lot of ice cream that night.

So that's having daughters.

Having sons is another story.  Man, I'm thankful for Freestone and Ptolemy, and the way they bring things into my world that weren't there before.  Yesterday, Ptolemy kept saying, "Butt.  Butt.  Butt."  I told him we don't say that, but he patiently explained to me, "I have to, Mom.  It's one of my exercises."  Oh, well then, go right ahead.  Ptolemy brings a whole new vocabulary to my sheltered existence.  We have tried to convince him not to call people idiots, so he has invented new put-downs.  Instead of screaming, "I can do EVER I want, you IDIOT!," he now screams, "You're in the bug's mouth!"  We don't know why that's bad, but it is the strongest insult.  You do not want to be in the bug's mouth.  Freestone goes in the bug's mouth a lot because of all the teasing he dishes out to Ptolemy.

Freestone is the guy who brings whole worlds into my world.  Whatever he's interested in, he tends to get obsessed.  As everyone knows, the current obsession is Minecraft.  He loves to watch YouTube videos called "Mary and Dad's Minecraft Adventures."  (Another parent sharing a hobby with his kid.  Love it!)  Freeestone wasn't as prudent as Golda and Ruby and didn't ration out the Mary and Dad episodes, so he has seen them all and is desperate for Season Seven to come out.  Since the people making it are probably just regular folks, we have no idea when that will be, which is excruciating for Freestone.  In the meantime, he can be found lecturing on and on about Minecraft at any given moment.  Here are two:  A little tour of Freestone's Minecraft house and some basic information about something Minecraft on the way home from violin this morning.

The first time I was invited to Freestone's Minecraft house, he made me a character and took me on a tour, me using Ari's Kindle.  It was cool!  I fell down the stairs because I didn't know how to navigate, so Free promised to build me a railing.  Then I got stuck in Freestonen's basement and he had to rescue me.  Later, I went outside and wandered off and got lost.  Freestone laughed and said, "Turn around, Mom!"  I turned my guy around saw the house in the distance.  Free thought I was hilarious.

What I've discovered is, whether you're in an alternate reality or a ballet studio, in front of the TV or on the sidelines of a game, there is always common ground under your feet.  You just have to stand on it and look up.  For me,  I don't want to look up and find myself standing somewhere else, somewhere less magical, less hallowed.  Somewhere that ultimately just doesn't matter.

All of that being said, kids really aren't that cool.  Here's proof!