Have you Seen It?

My zen...my inner peace...my third eye that balances me and keeps me sane, calm and happy.

It's not unusual to lose it during this time of the year. Not unusual at all. But you see, between a moody 14 year old who is about to be a FRESHMEN in high school, although he really attends a "mid high" so not technically in the high school yet, but still a 9th grader, a Frosh, and you know - making me even more old by proxy, well, you get the picture.

As I was saying...

Between a soon-to-be 9th grader, a soon-to-be 7th grader and a soon-to-be 2nd grader, I seem to have lost my calm.

Like, it's totally gone.

Last night Katie wanted me to explain what it meant to be "in limbo."

Perhaps we've been watching a little too much Inception in our house.

So I tried to explain what being "in between" meant, in the real world.

"But what about doing the limbo?" she asked.

"The dance?" I answered.

"Yeah, the dance. How is that in between anything?"

Without the proper encyclopedia handy at the kitchen table, I improvised. I told her it was called the "limbo" because it was in between up and down. I have no idea if I am right or wrong and she seemed perfectly content with that answer so, yes, do you regularly improvise (read: flat out lie) to your kids when you don't know the answer to something?

Obviously, the jig will be up soon like, say, when she's smarter than I am - and I fear we're getting dangerously close to that time. In fact, all I have to do is try and help her with her division homework and I know I'm going to be in a lot of trouble. And yes, this is first grade math...I never claimed to be mathematically inclined and my husband knew this when he married me. So.

That zen?

I can hear her her in the living room, asking her older brothers how to spell "vampire." Awesome. I still have a leg up on her, intellectually, for a few years.

Do I want to know why she needs to know how to spell "vampire?"

No.

I'm just happy that the boys have their hands off each other, there is no screaming, and the dog is not having a rodeo with our new cat.

It's a little slice of heaven, bring on summer vacation.

I'll just try to hold onto this happy place for the rest of the day and try to forget that I just heard my oldest asking his brother why the cat pees so much because he's never seen so much pee in a litter box before.

Aaaaaaaah, parenthood.