Family

Little Son went with my parents this weekend upstate. He came home happy, tired, and with a Mohawk. Yes, my sister, master at the scissors, gave Little Son a hair cut and left him with a Mohawk. It looks good on him. It is not an extreme Mohawk, only sticking up about 2 inches. But, like my sister said in her post, he is the type of person that can carry it off. He has done odd things to his head in the past. One time, before a big race, he had his hair cut short and had his kart #'s shaved into his head. Another time he had his hair cut except for his kart #'s. He won't do this anymore because other kids are copying him. We are trying to come up with another idea.

I read my sister's post about my Little Son's weekend and it made me so proud of him. It is so important to me that my boys not only know their cousins, but look out for them, play with them, and teach them.

My grandmother has told me many times that she is so proud of her kids and grandchildren. Not for the usual reasons: successful, wealthy, etc. No, she is proud that her children have taught her grandchildren values and respect. She tells me that she brags at her senior meetings whenever the family has been together about the grandchildren (this includes great grandchildren). She tells them how great everyone got along, the kids didn't argue and how happy she was to see them all together. She says that she may not always agree with the decisions that we make, but she is satisfied that we will all look after each other. And we do.

This has always been true ever since I can remember. I never remember fighting with my cousins ( one reason is because I'm SO much older than them) but I remember looking after my younger cousins. I see this continuing and so does my grandmother. When our family gets together, there is no complaining because so and so comes and lets their kids go and doesn't control or watch them. No, in my family, when we have a "family" event (which is whenever any of us are together) we all watch each other's kids. If my boys ever came to my husband or I and complained because one of their uncles/aunts/cousins/grandparents corrected them, I would say "oh well, you have to listen to them, they're the adult." But very rarely does a kid complain. If they do, it is because an older cousin is paying more attention to another cousing than them. Or, more likely, that an older cousin isn't playing with them enough. Usually it is the kids looking after the kids, with the older kids having the authority. This may seem odd or even as if we are passing the "buck" so that the adults can have a good time. But that is not true. The "cousins" all seem to gravitate towards one another, with the Older Cousins (20 and above) talking, catching up, and laughing at the younger ones and reminiscing.

My grandmother has done an amazing job of raising her children and grandchildren. Yes, that's right her grandchildren. We have ALL spend time with her, slept at her house, and are very protective of her. The older she gets, it is more important. Ask any of her 11 grandchildren and 5 great grand-children and all will have a different, but very personal experience with her. My experience with her is totally different than my 7 year old cousins. My 14 year old son's experience with his great grandmother has been totally different than his 4 year old cousins. But this is what makes a "great" grandmother.

So even though I went WAY off track, I got a tear in my eye reading my sister's post. If nothing else, I know that I've raised a boy who is compassionate and caring.

While Little Son was with my parents, Sat. night Husband and I took Big Son to Middletown to watch dirt racing. There was also a County Fair at the race track. The first hour all Big Son did was complain: This Fair is weird, the animal smell, I don't want to watch a race if I'm no racing too, I don't like dirt racing, etc. Husband and I counteracted all this with stories of his grandfather's racing stories. By the time 4:30 came around, Big Son wanted to go in the stands and see the track (husband and I were going to take him into the pits and see the cars and all but for $40 each, NOT worth it).

The last time I was at that track and watched, I was pregnant with Big Son, about 8 months, and my dad had a huge crash. He flipped in the air, hit a light post, flipped back the other way and landed upside down on top of another car. He knocked the lights out in the pits and back field viewing area, and the stands shut down the lights because they thought he was dead. Husband jumped across the "stream" and fought with the officials to get to my dad. My mom was screaming and my dad's friend was holding her back from following husband. I had my dad's friend following me with his hands under my stomach and holding my back as I threw up. My dad has told me that he didn't remember anything for the next 2 days. Of course my dad refused medical help. He had to be the big man and walk not only off the track, but with the tow trucks bringing his car in. It was the last time he race.

By the time warm-ups started Big Son was enjoying it. Plus he knew some of the names from listening to my dad's stories and also from going to Atlantic City and watching. By the end of the night, he was talking to the men around us about racing, telling stories about my dad like he was there, and wanting to race at Middletown for the "experience". In 358 Modified, which probably costs $50,000 a year. No. I feel like taking him there and telling stories and experiences from my dad, I gave him a piece of history. Now he wants his grandpa to take him their.

After the racing and walking back through the fair to get to the car, Big Son enjoyed the fair (except for the animals). I talked him into going to the "freak"shows with me and he was grossed out. He was more amazed by the people. "Mom, I never knew what white trash was before but I guess when you see people with no teeth and who speak weird and dirty, that must be white trash. We are only an hour from home. People upstate and down south aren't like this. And why are these people so happy to get a stuffed animal from a game? The people at the race track weren't like this. I feel sorry for the people at the fair that they waisted their money on games instead of watching racing." To get to the race track you had to walk through the fair and to my son, racing was the only reason to be at Middletown that weekend (after he watched racing).