There are two kinds of families in this world.

The first is the family of chance--the one you are born into. (You can include the one you marry into as well--you may choose your spouse, but his whole dang family comes with the package!)

The second is the family of choice--those people we choose to share our life with, to share life's ups and downs, to help (and BE helped) through rough spots.

I have been very lucky with both my families! I was born into a loving family who was always there for me. I was loved unconditionally, supported in my efforts, hugged when I needed it, and even when I didn't!.

I married a wonderful man who spends a good part of his life propping me up emotionally, and cashing my "reality checks". His family has always treated me as one of their own.

I have found myself in several wonderful "families of choice".

And now, I can add another to that list. I have been "taken in" by a fantastic dance family. I have a wonderful feeling of belonging somewhere.

Good families are better than Prozac, just a bit harder to come by!

Tribe is a really nice place to meet people, some of whom I already knew. That is, some of the people I find in various tribes turn out to be people I know from a totally different facet of my life.

It's good that we have Tribe because I'd never know how much I have in common with some people. I don't exactly make friends fill out an "interests form" , and some things don't come up when we're in a different place.

So I just wanted to post here to say I'm happy to be meeting all my new friends, and a couple of old ones as well!

Sunday was the second anniversary of my mother's death. My sister and I think it is rather strange to see all the flags at half-mast on that day. She died on Sept 11, but in 2003, not the well-known "Sept. 11".

Her birthday was on Christmas Day, so right before her birthday every year, all the stores and buildings would decorate beautifully (they still do). Being Jewish, her birthday didn't conflict with "that other holiday", and we got a kick out of answering, "What do you you people DO on Christmas Day?" with a puzzled look and "We celebrate Mom's birthday."

It's nice to see all the fuss for our mom. She was a good person and a wonderful mother and friend.

I'm about to lose whatever is left of my tiny little mind!

My kids are both on summer break, and they are driving me nuts! The older one is positive that THIS new term will be the one where he fails miserably (he has year-round, and starts on Monday). This from a kid who has a 3.9 GPA and goes through this sort of hysterics every year. He's taking it out on his little brother--the one with the hair trigger temper!

That leaves me to deal with them both...all day, every day. I stop battles (verbal and physical), make sure they take their medications, find them something "more productive", or at least "less harmful" to do, and talk them down from the verge of hysteria. Many times a day.

I swear, those two have a time clock hidden somewhere that they punch to take it in turns to aggravate Mom!

The next person who asks me, "Are you 'just a mom', or do you actually WORK?" is going to find him/herself on the receiving end of an Unforgivable!
I have a wand, and I know how to work magic!
(Of course, that's sort of how I ended up with two kids in the FIRST place...hem, hem!)

Parenting is definitely an interesting proposition. It's kind of a grab bag, having kids. It's not like choosing a puppy, or a new hat. You don't know what you are going to get.

My older son has mild Asperger's Syndrome, which is a kind of autism. He functions very well now, as a result of (a way-too-delayed!) proper diagnosis, therapy and medications. Most people who met him since about three years ago have no idea that he sees the world "differently".

"Aspies" take things literally. Very.

I just finished explaining to him, for about the thousandth time, that when his teacher told the class last week during final exams, "If you've worked hard, your grade in this class will be good.", that she didn't mean HE would be failing since he didn't work hard at all.

He doesn't work all that hard. Some subjects, like Math and Science and computers, come easily to him. He has been a straight A student for about the past 3 terms.

"But the teacher said.... "

My life is a lot of things, but it is RARELY boring!