I thought I would be the best parent in the world when I had no children and everything was based on my thinking things out calmly and rationally. I can hear all the long time parents laughing way over here in Congers. Calmly? Rationally? What were you raised on Leave it to Beaver or Father knows best? No but all my best intentions were. I have rediscovered that bad ass temper that was only supposed to come out when no one was looking, and I don’t like it. Eric and Tony saw it on Sunday and Eric commented about drawing a line in the sand and that may have been true, but did I have to go from zero to sixty in the temper department to get the message across to Nastia it was time to go and her saying no she was not going to go to change things? What bothers me even more is it happened so quick I didn’t know it had happened until I was almost done scolding her.
The incident went something like this; I tell Nastia and Elena it is time to go and they ignore me. I say it a second time and Nastia says she doesn’t want to go and something else. Maybe she says she is not going to go. I don’t remember. The temper in me rises and boils over before I know what is happening. And I start the Once, no, second time no. do you want to find out what three times no is? While I’m saying this my hand is going under the net of the trampoline she is on and I am getting ready to smack her. I stop and she gets off and the storm has passed and Eric comments about drawing a line in the sand. I feel like crap and try to act like it never happened. What makes it worse is that they remember and they are trying to be really good kids and I think sometimes they behave out of fear. God I hope that is not true. It is taking a lot of work from all of us to make this work. I never would have thought it would be this kind of work. I thought it would be the school calling us up and telling us the girls are acting up and they are out of control and if you can’t calm them down they will be thrown out of school. I was all geared up for the problems to be their problems not mine. In school they are well liked and sometime get out of control when they are together, but they are doing well and are well liked. All the teachers and the office people all look after them. It’s great.
We went to El Bandito in Spring Valley on Friday. We didn’t really have the money to go but Teri and I needed to get out and relax. It was a real good time and the food as usual was great. We really didn’t expect any problems from the girls. They had tried tacos and other Mexican food we had made at home and loved it all. So we figured everything would go well. We get there at about seven thirty and get a table almost right away. With the economy still not great tables are easy to come by. We all sit, Tony came with us to make five, and almost at once the girls have a light in their eyes, there is live music. They are all smiles and are watching the band as the adults try to figure out orders. Teri and I have the usual, Tony has a peppers and chicken dish and the girls get two tacos, rice and refried beans, no cheese for Nastia. Chips and salsa are on the table, with cheese filled flour tortillas on the way.
It doesn’t take the girls long to get up from their chairs and start dancing. Every so often we have to tell them to move away from where the waiters are coming with food. They dance until the food comes and when the band leaves for a break they ask where the music has gone. How do you tell someone with only a little English they went on a break?
The girls sort of eat their food and Teri has a drink and I have one as we watch the girls dance. It was a really good night.
Saturday started out not so good. For some reason Teri and I were angry at each other. We could not get out of the others way and we had Sally Ann’s party to go to. I thought once or twice about not going. I have never been a big fan of going to parties for little kids, but this was Sally Ann and it was for her daughter and she has always been there for us and it was important to Teri and She was already angry at me and I at her, so even if it had disaster written all over it I was going. So did going to the party when I was in a bad mood.
We got to Sally Ann’s house a few minutes late I thought and there were no cars. Teri commented that we must be the first ones here. I let it go figuring I must have not known the correct time we were expected. I get some chairs and Teri asks if I need help and I say no. On Sally Ann’s front porch are Tasha and Amanda they say hi and offer to help. They take a chair and start towards the door at the door they stop and say I should go in first. Then I notice the blind in the kitchen bend down and then quickly go back up. It all starts to come into focus and I try to push the girls in the door first figuring out this is the party Eric had mistakenly mentioned about a month ago, and the taco dinner my mother had talked about a month ago was not. I walk in first and take off my hat and try to fix my hair as everyone says ‘surprise’. Just about everyone was there.
The girls acted great and they were dressed in dresses so they looked like ladies even if near the end of the party I had to tell them to sit like ladies. The party went really great. The high light (sorry Sally Ann) was the free porn on the TV.
Now for all of you, who were not there, the TV had shown Scooby doo cartoons earlier and someone had turned it off. Well now the girls, Elena specifically wanted to watch some more, and I guess Phyllis being the caring person she is turned on the TV. Instead of Scooby there was a man and a woman going at it like rabbits. Well for the seven seconds it was on that was what it seemed like. Everyone got a big laugh from it and we were all terrified to turn the TV back on. Later it turned out to be a tape that had been in the VCR and was turned on. Sally Ann was a little upset, but she faced everyone right away which was good. If I had been in her shoes I would have done the same thing and made a joke out of it.
The party broke up around 9 or so and we stayed around until 10:30 until the place was clean and we loaded a mess of gifts for the girls in the car (Thank you everyone) and almost didn’t have room to fit everyone. It was a really nice party.
