Wonderland!

No, no. In spite of writing novels in the fantasy genre, Simone has not finally slipped into a fantasy world where all's well that ends well. No. Yesterday, the 13 year old decided to go to Canada's Wonderland, an amusement park, with a couple of his buddies. This entailed procuring a ride there (from Simone) and back (from a buddy's parents).

The morning of the event, the 13 year old was, to put it bluntly, full of vinegar and the other unmentionable. He bounced off the walls, decided he needed to buy two bottles of Gatorade from the local store to bring with him, refused to have breakfast and claimed there was not enough room in his backpack for a lunch. He asked belligerent questions that made little sense, argued and generally made a nuisance of himself.

Simone, shortly before walking the 11 year old to school, told the 13 year old that he was welcome to find other transportation to his event: she wasn't going to drive him. She got the stroller, the 2 year old and the dog and headed out the door.

"Are you serious?" the 13 year old chased after her, his face a mask of wounded disbelief.

"Yes," Simone told him. "I'm very serious. If you can't be nice, I don't have to be nice to you."

This stumped the 13 year old. He considered Simone's words. "Okay," he said soberly. "I'm going to clean up my room and have breakfast and make a lunch. Maybe we can go then?"

Simone sighed. "Yeah. Maybe we can go."