20 Things About Life for Banana and Squish

I was contemplating the other day the things Banana and Squish have grown up with in their lives that didn't exist, or were very different when their dad and I were growing up.

1. I don't think Banana and Squish will ever truly understand the correlation between a cassette tape and a pencil.

2. They will never know a world without cell phones/smartphones.

3. They have grown up knowing DVDs, and now Blue Ray. While Banana and Squish can use a VCR and have several videos, they don't know that the video store actually used to rent VIDEOS. Not only DVDs.

4. They will likely forget the video store ever existed. With Netflix and the Red Box, Satellite, movies On Demand and the proliferation of pirating, which I am against, the video store no longer exists.

5. They would probably never believe that my family didn't own a computer until I was 13, and that we used the PHONE LINE to connect to the Internet then. They don't know that laptops were generally unaffordable alternatives to desktops.

6. They'll likely never use a DOS based system.

7. They've never seen the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre, except in pictures and on tv during commemorative footage.

8. Animated movies, for them, have always been Pixar or DreamWorks, and computer animated. Even what they see on tv is mostly computer animated.

9. They will never understand what we mean by Saturday morning cartoons and quality tv.

10. Thanks to channels like DejaVu and TVtropolis, I have been able to introduce them to
Some of the quality tv their father and I grew up with - like Golden Girls or All In The Family.

11. They'll likely never know what a triptik is. Everywhere we go, we use our GPS. They've never had to navigate with a map.

12. Israel has never included the Sinai for them.

13. The Loonie and Toonie has always been in circulation for them.

14. They may forget what a Canadian penny is.

15. They have grown up in a world where news is instantaneous. Twitter, Facebook, and other news sources can be updated in an instant. They will never read tomorrow's newspaper without having already read or heard most of the news already.

16. They take for granted the amount of technology available to them. When I was their age, I used a Commodore PET computer and my school only had two. Both in the library.

17. They'll likely never know what a mimeograph is. Nor will they get "high" on the fumes.

18. They will not be able to relate to the Cold War. Even their dad and I have trouble fathoming "Duck and Cover".

19. When they study history, they'll be asking us where we were on 9/11, much as we asked our parents where they were when Kennedy was shot or our grandparents where they were when Pearl Harbour was bombed.

20. They will likely find emailing much more natural and convenient than posting a letter in a letterbox.

I could probably come up with more, but this list is already pretty exhaustive. And it's 1:30 am. And I'm tired.

Banana and Squish and Boston

We weren't there. Thank Gd we weren't there. I was watching the news when Banana and Squish got home from school. I turned it off when they walked in. Not to shield them from it, but because I still hadn't processed the images from the news and my news feeds on my phone, computer and iPad. The news came in from every possible source. How could I explain to my children what happened in Boston when even I couldn't make sense of it?

Of course, when I went out with some girlfriends last night it was one of the top topics we discussed. We still hadn't all made sense of what we'd seen and heard. And a lot of what was being reported was still at the rumour stage.

But when my children ask about Boston, and they will, I will say what has gone viral lately. I will say what Mister Rogers' mother is said to have said. I will tell them to look for the helpers. To look for the people who ran TO the smoke, fire, and injured people.

My thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.

Life IS Like a Box of Chocolates.

Sometimes it's all nuts!

Banana and Squish had a fun weekend. Saturday, we started our day with swimming lessons, then came home and instead of packing for their overnight at Bubbie and Grandpa's, they decided to clean... The garage!? This included sweeping and pouring some concoction ("cleaning mix", I'm told) that consisted of, as far as I could tell, water, leftover bubble liquid (so, essentially, soap) and rocks. I guess for their exfoliating properties. Since my car was parked in the garage, they could only clean their dad's side. I'm not sure that its so bad that they couldn't clean my side...

I had been making them lunch, so they came in, ate some lunch and then went to pack their overnight bags. Once they did that, I tasked them with cleaning their rooms. Then it was off to play with their friend from their old school. The only kid they've kept in touch with from that school.

I got a couple of hours to myself, watched a movie, and then picked them up to take them to meet my dad to take them to his house for the sleepover.

We went out with my husband's brother and his wife. A nice dinner, no kids and plenty of drinks. Yes, we had a DD.

With Banana and Squish out for the night, I took advantage and slept in this morning. We then headed over to my parents for a pizza dinner with them, and my sister and her fiancé.

Dropped the hubs and Banana and Squish off and headed to my sister in law's for maj. Because yes, I AM that old.