B, G and J Day: Part of the Problem

From the bottom up, this time.  And with a little "A!" thrown in.

A!:  Bryan and I both take the kids to swim lessons at the Peterson AFB indoor pool on T and Th evenings.  We lap swim while they do their thing.  (And they're both really good for their ages.  It's fun to watch them.)

I completed 7 laps on Thursday.  That's 14 lengths, which is 350 yards.  Of course, I caught my breath after each round trip.  Still.  This marks my progress.  I can actually think about something else while swimming, the strokes are becoming that natural.

Does that sound lame?  To have to concentrate so hard on something as simple as a free style swim?  Part of the problem for me had been is that I am super-sensitive to water up the nose.  Just a tiny bit really hurts.  So I started wearing a nose plug and voila! 350 yards!

Did I mention that I was wearing foot-fins during this swim?  Hey.  If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'. 

G and J:

The other day, I made lunch for myself and the kids.  That is, I re-heated the pizza we had made the night before and that Gemma had gladly eaten. 

This time, she looked at it, grimmaced and asked if she could make herself a PBJ instead.  I told her "no."  Because that's the kind of mother I am.

Josh and I finished up while Gemma sat at the table, pouting.  Not eating. 

I had several things to get together before moving on to our next thing, so I left the table and began darting around the house.  Gemma snipped at me.  I don't even remember what it was.

Josh asked, "Why did Gemma just say that?"

I said, "Because she's cranky." 

She whined back, "No I'm not."

Josh said, "I think she's still cranky, Mom."

This made me laugh.  And it annoyed Gemma.  So he repeated it, "Gemma is cranky."  This annoyed her further.  I shook my head at him, making that non-verbal Mom-cue that he shouldn't say this.  Then I went on with my tasks.

I headed down the stairs and heard him say, "I think Gemma's still cranky."

Gemma: "No, I'm not!"

Josh: "See? Still cranky!"

Gemma: "Josh!"

Josh: "See? Still cranky!"

Gemma: "Josh!!"

Josh: "See? Still cranky!"

Then two seconds of silence.  Then the sound of Joshua wailing.  By which time I was headed back up the stairs with my last item.

"Gemma pinched me!!" he reported.

Gemma's lips were closed tightly.  I know my daughter's looks.  She regretted hurting him.

I said, "That's what you get when you choose to annoy people on purpose."  This made him scowl.  It also made Gemma nod in vindication.

I told her, "We don't hurt people on purpose, even when they deserve it."  And this satisfied Josh, too.

Then I looked at them both and sighed.  "You two are both part of the problem."  But they'll read this one day and see that their worst problems with each other are just another version of their delight.

B:

On Monday, Bryan began work as a Government Servant.  He's still doing his same job at the same desk with the same e-mail and same co-workers.  Through May, it was the US Navy that wrote out his paycheck.  In June, July, August and part of September, it was a government contracting firm.  And now it's the US government proper. 

Timely, too.  Secretary Gates just announced a 100% hiring freeze on all government servants in the military effective Thursday.  So. . .is three days too long to be considered "the nick of time"? 

How does this fit into today's theme? 

Are you kidding me?  Bryan's a government servant!  This kind of makes him part of the problem. . .