August

What an entertaining blog, where once a month I say what month it is and that I don't know if we'll survive it with sweet Maria.  I can't help it!  I can't know how to stop it, to quote Maria.

Three weeks from Monday she'll start school.  THREE WEEKS.  The other day, Maria's friend Paige stopped by to see if she wanted to go to Charles E. Cheese, but at the same time, Maria's friend Lorelei, our neighbor, came out of her house.  Maria ran out to Lorelei, who she is always DYING to see, and then I called her back and said come play with Paige, who you were just screamingly excited about seeing!  It was hard for Maria, she is just four years old, and she had TWO FRIENDS THERE and she DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH ALL HER EXCITEMENT.  Eventually, she went to CEC with Paige and Lorelei and her brothers hung out here with me and Veronica.

Anyways, the next day I told her that I got her class list for school and, great news, Paige and Tal are both going to be in your class.  Tal is a boy who was in her class last year.  I thought (because I am an idiot) that I could tell her something was going to happen in the FALL, as she calls it, and it would sate her, make her happy for a minute or two.  As usual, and for always, I was wrong.  She started flipping out, saying 'PAIGE AND TAL ARE HERE?  THEY'RE COMING OVER?  WE'RE GOING TO CHUCKY CHEESE?".  I mean, my head was spinning, I was all, what in the what now?  NO!  I am talking about school!  They are going to be in your class?  SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW MOMMY?  LORELEI IS GOING TO MY SCHOOL TOO?  She is crazy.  But she is crazy like a FOX, too, she pretends that if she says things are one way, that's how they'll be!  Then I end up feeling guilty that, that, I don't know, that I can't make it be the end of August?  That I don't take her to Chuck E. Cheese every day?

You know, I had a fun childhood.  We had great birthday parties and we played out in the yard a lot.  We had a playroom and we read a lot of books.  My mother didn't take me THREE PLACES A DAY and I feel like she would have laughed in my face, or done SOMETHING to my face, if I ordred her around!  Yet I worry all the time that I am not doing enough for Maria.  She has me, in short, right where she wants me.