The Year in Rebuked: Part 1

We began 2008 at a waterpark across from Starved Rock state park. One of the kids didn't shut the sliding door to our 1992 Ford Aerostar, so when I returned for more luggage, I found some critter had sprayed the interior. I tried to wash the minivan out with shaving cream, then bought skunk scent remover when we returned, but the odor never completely went away.

This year, the youngest twins finally began speaking almost entirely in English, but in January they were still making statements like "I love this not, this piece like I" when selecting pizza slices or "Can you this in my bowl make" when asking for cereal.

In February I switched parties and voted for Ron Paul in the Illinois primary.

My children's library job ended on Friday June 13th. I didn't work again until October 6th- for a third less pay, an extra hour each workday , an extra 2 hours of commuting time, and a health care deduction costing twice as much as my previous one.

In the fall, all five of our kids began attending the same school, thanks to a new public pre-school program thqat accepted three year olds. Although Governor Blagovitch is a corrupt Chicago style politician, he did support public preschools and supported the All Kids health care plan that briefly insured my kids while I was unemployed.

While I was a stay at home dud, the kids shared a lot of useful information with me. My youngest son admonished me for leaving a corkscrew out, handing it to me gravely and saying "this could KILL somebody!" He also told me confidentially that "if you put someone in the oven it will kill them."

When I asked my 8 year old daughter Becca, who was quietly sitting in the kitchen, where mom was, she said "Oh, she's upstairs telling us what to do."

The last week of school before break, my son proudly announced at dinner that he had learned a new dirty word. "May I share one?" he asked.