{back in my day.....}

Last night, I hear Riv pounding the desk and growling til his face turned into a tomato.

He was on the computer, trying to finish up some school work.

I think it's awesome that he can do his online typing tests from home......I don't think it's awesome that he chooses to do it at the end of the day when he is over tired and cranky.

I walk into the office with immediate concern.

"Whoa, whoa.....what's the problem dude?" I asked with a look like Judge Judy on my face.

With frustration, he explained that 

he HATES typing class, and it's no good for anyone, and it's just totally stupid, and how do they even expect him to excel when he can't look at the damn keyboard and is timed and not allowed to have mistakes!!!!!!!! UGH!!!!!!!!

I advised that he needs to step his phalanges away from the asshole-keyboard, take some deep breaths, close his eyes, and visualize the keyboard in his head......continue the visual and add typing the ABC's with your hands in the air.  I tried to get across to him, that typing is memorizing, but it's one of those things that will eventually just come natural without thought and worry involved.

"OH! you wouldn't even know what I'm talking about!  if I can't even do this with my eyes open, how can I do it with my eyes closed?!?!?" he grunted with frustration back to me.

Well, me laughing didn't help the situation.

Rule #1: DO NOT LAUGH AT YOUR KIDS WHEN THEY ARE PISSED...even if they are too damn cute in their anger to hold back the giggles.

I had to pull out the "back in my day" story of my typing adventures.

This is one of those stories you really didn't want to have to share with your child, because you don't want them to think that "oh, mom is a screw up, so it gives me more lenience to be one too!"

I sat his fired up ass down, and said, "let me tell you a little something! Back in my day, we had to take the typing tests on TYPEWRITERS!!!  HELLO!!! Real life typewriters!!  Ya know, those things that have a ribbon and you stick the paper in the top and you cannot correct mistakes without someone seeing you are a total typing lahooooozer!"

And then, since I was on a roll, I proceeded to tell him that I sucked at typing and almost DID NOT graduate High School because of it!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!

He looked at me wide eyed and was in dismay!!!

"you almost didn't graduate because of typing?"

"Yes son, and on top of that, I had to take summer school to recoup credits due to my stupidity!"

After the words fumbled out of my mouth, I was confused on how I felt about sharing that with him.

I mean, it's not like I divulged my everyday of 9th grade going to school baked, but still I let him in on something that could potentially come back on me!  Who knows when he can use this information as leverage to be a failure himself!!!

I can hear it now........

"Oh yah mom!  well you almost didn't graduate high school!  Who cares if I spend my college money on hitchhiking around Europe?!?"

At this point, I think me sharing my "short falls in typing" story has helped him to not be so hard on himself, and to be ok with just being ok.

Do you ever ask yourself...

"Oh god...is there anything more that I can do to f**k up these kids???"

I don't know what I am doing!!