Blog Fodder

I actually have a few "blogworthy" things I've been saving up.

The first is my apparently grown-up son Joey. We knew when we had kids that the birds and bees talk would have to happen eventually, but I am so not prepared for it now. Too bad for me. He has been learning about butterflies and life cycle at school, which I am pretty comfortable with since I have taught that myself. He came home and told Daddy that the callerpitter starts out as an egg, then goes to a chrysalis, and turns into a butterfly. Then he asked us "What does that butterfly do after that?" "Dunno, what?"
"The girl butterfly and the boy butterfly get really close and they make a new egg and callerpitter."
Oh boy. Please let this be the end of the conversation. Please don't ask for more details. ...
So, for now, that was the end of it. But when I brought it up to Daddy so we could prepare for the future, he was in complete denial. He says that what Joey knows is the extent of what he should know and we don't need to tell him anything else right now. So what do you think? How much and when do you tell your kids about s.e.x.? I always try to be honest and tell Joey as much as I know when he asks questions (and he asks a lot that I don't know), but should I really tell him where he came from or will that scar him for life. Daddy is very concerned that I am already scarring him by letting him see me in states of undress.

Moving on...Saturday was our genealogy society meeting. We had Tim Honquest (funeral director) talk about his business. It was morbid and at times gross, but fascinating. He told us stuff that we always wanted to ask but were afraid to. Like cremation. Did you know that the "ashes" you get are not really ashes? After the body burns at 1800 degrees for 2 hours, all that is left is the bones. He pushes the bones into a grinder and that is what you get to take home with you. He also told us that the hardest part of his job is not when children die, it is when a husband or wife loses their spouse of 50+ years and has nothing else. That was surprising to me and also very sweet. I hope 50 years from now that there are still those couples around.
One of the horror stories he shared was that just recently here in town someone cremated the wrong body. Can you imagine losing your loved one and then having them cremated before you even get the chance to say good-bye?

Third topic: Yesterday was yet another beautiful day. We were given a swingset from some family and are finally setting it up, despite Daddy's whining and moaning that his yard is going to be all messed up. Uh-huh. 'Cause dog poop doesn't mess it up. And heaven forbid we should mess up the lawn so that the kids have something to occupy them outside once in a while. So I overrode his objections and we will have a swingset.

Ok I think that's all I've saved up. A big thank-you for your donations to the March for Babies. Our team has met it's goal and I think we are going to set a new one, and I am getting close to my personal goal. Until next time...