Inalienable Rights...

As I sit here in Toronto, I realize this statement not only applies to folks fighting for their independence, but also to kids and their right to be just that...kids.

I think I take for granted that my children will behave in a civilized manner. That they'll listen when I ask them the first time and display all the appropriate pleasantries when addressing others. What I've come to realize is, that when push comes to shove, kids are just kids.

So here are a few truths I've learnt over the course of our imprisonment with the grandparents. Sorry, that should be visit with the grandparents.

1. Kids can last about two weeks without their friends and toys before cabin fever sets in and they change into loud, indistinguishable creatures who will argue over who gets to argue.

2. Kids never tire of riding the same roller coaster or watching the same movie. This is why you always rent the movie for seven days and why amusement parks have season passes. They only hand out adult ones so the kids have someone to buy them lunch at fifty bucks a pop.

3. Piggy-backing on my last comment...whenever a place has you locked inside their gates with no reasonable means of escape, they'll charge you ten dollars for a slice of pizza and you'll gladly pay for it if only to stop the whining.

4. Kids can swim for hours a day and still have enough energy to bounce off the walls until midnight because they're not bouncing off your walls, but your parent's. And apparently they make more noise than yours do.

and

5. No matter how much you shout, how many threats you make or how much you bribe them, kids will always revert back to being kids.

Here's smiling at the inevitable and hoping they can refrain from killing each other as I finish the last 2000 words of my book.

Have a great day and I'll post again as soon as this monkey's off my back,

Kris,

Romancing life...one adventure at a time.