biting his bottom lip

The oldest approaches me, biting his bottom lip.

Mom? Is everything different because Grandpa's sick, or are some things still the same?

I'm not sure what he's getting at, so ask what he means.

Mom? Like, are Daddy and I still going on our trip, or is that cancelled, too?

Ah. The trip. Long planned, long awaited. A few days of just Dad, all to himself.

No, baby, that's the same.

I smile to reassure him.

So, we're going then?

His voice is rising with excitement. And now I am grinning as I assure him he is.

And it's tomorrow? That isn't changed?

He's practically dancing now. I take his hands in mine and cha-cha with him as I reply,

not for all the tea in China
idiom
Not at any price, never. This term originated in Australia and alludes to the presumed huge quantity of tea in China. [Late 1800s]
"not for all the tea in China." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 15 Jul. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/not-for-all-the-tea-in-china

Heeeeere's Lucifer!

I'm in my father's hospital room. He's asleep. I've met with one of his doctors; now I'm waiting on another to discuss where we go from here. My father's nurse comes in to check one of his myriad of machines and asks if I've seen the second doctor yet. Just then, the doctor in question walks into the room, so, of course, I say

speak of the devil
idiom
The person just mentioned has appeared. This expression is a shortening of the older Speak of the devil and he's sure to appear, based on the superstition that pronouncing the devil's name will cause his arrival on the scene. The figurative use was already explained in James Kelly's Scottish Proverbs (1721).
"Speak of the Devil." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 13 Jul. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/speak-of-the-devil

have we no conscience?

I love MSNBC's series To Catch a Predator.
Have you seen it? Its great. Even if you just want to make fun of the fools, its great.
The premise is that adults at NBC pose as 13/14 year olds in chat rooms and then when the pervs come to meet them, they arrest them.

I thought everyone could pretty much agree that child molesters are bad. Right?
Moreover, that catching them before the hurt someone is even better than prosecuting after the crime. Right?

Apparently there are many of my generation that disagree.

We've discussed the show with people in the 20-30ish range and most say "I don't like how they trick them. That's wrong."
Trick?!
They typed out in black and white their lewd intentions and then drove many miles to get to that child home alone!
I don't see how that's a violation of rights, anymore than police surveillance would on a man who threatened to kill his wife.

I'm realizing that my generation is a bunch of anarchists. The only thing we usually agree on enforcing protecting the environment, but that's about it.
There are many who think we should be able to do whatever we want as Americans.
Prostitution? Why not?
Pornography? Free speech.
Arrgh! It makes me so mad. The whole attitude of mind your own business and live your life because nothing is wrong, it's only your perception, is so aggravating.

Ok, maybe my generation is just a bunch of

Libertarians, n.
persons who belong to the Libertarian political party.
Libertarianism is a political philosophy[1] advocating that individuals should be free to do whatever they wish with their person or property, as long as they do not infringe on the same liberty of others.

R and R

Esbee's marking of Wordaholism's one year anniversary reminded me that I had not posted here in a while. I have another blog that gets most of my energy, and I've not posted much on there either for several weeks now.

When one first begins this blogging business one is faced with a mass of information about what makes a good blog and what one can do to bring readers and popularity to one's blog (that was the case for me, anyway). And so I duly spent my first 1/2 year or so attempting to post regularly so that my few habitual readers would find something fresh when they stopped by. And, following Esbee's lead, I even brought in a contributor both to bring some variety and to assist with keeping a regular stream of posts.

But I've come to realize that many of the recommendations offered to me are in pursuit of different goals than mine. I honestly don't want 10,000 hits a day; I wouldn't want the pressure to keep all those readers happy, nor the inevitable issues that would arise from the comments generated. No, I'm happy with a simple outlet for my desire to write things down, and with a small number of engaged readers--pen pals, almost. I think this was my underlying goal from the start.

But that doesn't mean that I should let that small number keep running into the same post for two weeks at a time! But summers are somehow busier, even without kids. There's yard work to attend to, and weekend trips to take, friends visiting and friends to visit. All things that cut into one's time at the keyboard. Plus I've wondered at times about the amount of time spent talking about life, some of which might be spent living it. Here's the opportunity to test this hypothesis!

So I'm coming to think that maybe blogging is, for me, a rest-of-the-year activity, something best suited to cold winter days when I'm looking for a reason not to go out side.

Summer is my

fallow period.

adj.

1. Plowed but left unseeded during a growing season: fallow farmland.
2. Characterized by inactivity; undeveloped but potentially useful: a fallow gold market.

Happy Bloggiversary!

Wordaholism is one year old today. 365 days and 588 entries.

Accordingly, we present a boring highlight show, which practice I believe to be

de rigueur
adjective
Required by the current fashion or custom; socially obligatory.
[French : de, of + rigueur, rigor, strictness.]
"de rigueur." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 09 Jul. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/de-rigueur

The Top Posts (by direct hits)
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006

Top 3 Educators' Posts (by email feedback)
hero (related assignment: define hero by action, using specific people as examples)
wet Keds (related assignment: use a pair of shoes to tell a story)
portmanteau (related assignment: create one. One class created some absolutely superb ones, which their teacher sent me.)

Happy Bloggiversary to the Contributors!