Jimmy the Spider

The kids are dying for a dog. They talk about dogs, they look at dogs, they run after dogs on the playground, they look at dog pictures, tell dog stories and ask for one several times a week. I am not dying for a dog. Not because I don’t love dogs – I do.

The first love of my life was a St. Bernard bitch, big and lazy. She shed everywhere, slobbered profusely, couldn’t do any tricks, ate the food off my plate if my attention lapsed for even a second, and woke me up in the middle of the night to let her out. Also, she didn’t like children much (except for me), and she really didn’t like them to run. That made her crazy, and she’d growl until you slowed down. I loved her to bits. I used to lie on the floor hugging and kissing her and playing with her paws. When I was smaller, I’d push the footstool up beside her, climb on, grab her collar and ride her like a horse around the living room until I slid off her loose coat. She was brilliant.

However, I just can’t handle a pet in the house right now. I’m barely able to cope with two boys, and I can’t imagine throwing a dog into the mix – with the walking and the feeding and the attention and the training and the commitment and the vet bills. Not right now – but someday yes. In the meantime, I thought recently, I’ve got to get them to stop haranguing me for a dog. I keep saying soon, and the 5 year old is starting to think that soon means never.

The other day, I had Max, the 2 year old, on the counter in the bathroom, changing him. Zach, 5 years old going on 13, was washing his hands next to us. I heard Max yell, “Ah! A Pider!” We looked up and there was a GIANT spider on the far wall. Zach yelled, “Yikes!”

They freaked out (the thing was the size of my hand), until I said, “Hey, guys, what are you screaming about? That’s our new pet Spider! He’s come to live with us. He’s the perfect pet – very low maintenance.”

That calmed them down immediately. They started smiling at the spider, looking at him in a new light.

“What should we name him, boys?”

Zach and Max stared at each other for a minute, and then Zach piped up: “Jimmy!”

So, after that, we started calling him Jimmy the Spider. He had webs set up in every corner of the bathroom ceiling and the game every time we went to the bathroom was to look around and try to find Jimmy to say Hi. Jimmy’s been her for a while – I’ve lost track. In fact, Jimmy’s been here so long now we’ve made up a song:

He’s Jimmy the Spider
The Wonderful, Wonderful Spider
He sits
He stares
He walks around
Sometimes, he eats a fly
He’s Jimmy the Spider
Hey!

Jimmy’s awesome. I don’t have to feed him, I don’t have to walk him, I don’t need to microchip him and if, perchance, tragedy were to strike and someone were to smash him, I could easily find a replacement.

Friday night, the way kids do, Max pulled on my guilt cord. After a bedtime nappy change he looked for Jimmy. I zipped up Max’s pyjamas, picked him up and told him to say good night to Jimmy.

So he did: “Good night Jimmy. I love you.”

How bad a mommy am I, pretending a household pest is really a household pet? A wave of shame washed over me as I realised, these guys need a real pet. Not one who’s going to die or be eaten in three weeks.

Hmmmm....a dog...

Anyway, the following morning, we noticed there was a second spider in the bathroom. I thought: oh dear, this is getting out of hand. It’s an invasion: I better get rid of these spiders.

Zach looked up and said, “Hey! Another spider!” He Thought for a moment, “We’ll name him Oscar! Now we have TWO pets! We don’t need a dog at ALL!”

On second thought, they can stay.

Stand for Children

An election campaign enters its last days here in Ireland. I’d like to suggest that people consider the rights of children when they cast their vote. How will children fare after the election, if your preferred political party gets into office?

“Poverty is the root cause of many challenges facing children. The recession has compounded the difficulties for children already living in poverty. Their family incomes have been slashed by cuts to social welfare, increased taxes and increased family debt. At the same time, the public services many of them rely on for support in their education and development have been cut back. Some children have lost vital services that made all the difference to their learning and well-being while others are waiting longer for services already stretched to breaking point. Ireland’s most vulnerable children have paid enough for the mistakes of grown-ups; they must not be asked to shoulder any more burdens of recession. We must protect them as we try to rebuild our economy in the interest of protecting their childhoods and futures.” (The Barnardo’s Children’s Manifesto)

What can you do?

Barnardos are running a promotion that aims to put children’s rights at the centre of the political manifestos for this election. They’re offering people the chance to directly contact their local candidates to express their concern through a Facebook app. (Or, you can write to them directly yourself!) The link to the facebook app is http://on.fb.me/hihvhc

It’s worth checking out The Children’s Manifesto on their website, at the following link: http://bit.ly/g6E83S. The Barnardos website is http://www.barnardos.ie/

I’m going to think not only about my children, but about other, vulnerable children in Ireland when I cast my vote on Friday.

This is a charitable post. Barnardos contacted me asking if I would share this information with my readers, and I was only too delighted to do so. I received no payment for this posting.

2010 Roundup

How was your 2010? I hope it was good and that 2011 brings you happiness.

My 2010 was, on balance, good.

Financially, it was not good. If any of you made a fortune, big or small, in 2010, share it with us in the comment section, below--I’d like to know how you managed it.

Professionally, it was good. I was awarded an arts grant in March, started my blog in July, was appointed fiction leader at a local literature centre in the Fall, got a new literary agent, completed the first draft of my second novel (working on the second now), was featured on mamapedia.com twice, wrote a feature for an Irish newspaper and was asked to submit more, got included in an upcoming literary festival, and did other stuff, too, but these are the highlights.

My father passed away in May. You must think I’m nuts or heartless for thinking 2010 was good, but I’m so happy and grateful that I got to spend the last week of my father’s life with him. I flew home to Florida alone, and without the distraction of children just sat in the hospital room with him every day, until his last.

My kids made it through 2010 intact. They’re always a worry as they spend a huge amount of time bonking each other on the head and pushing each other face down onto grassy lawns, so I always wonder will one of them not make it to see a new year. They did. I’d like to take the credit for keeping them alive, but I suspect chance had more of hand in it than I did.

2011 started as I hope it means to continue: Family together; friends over on New Year’s Day for a visit; me on the computer doing a little writing.