the wet t-shirt buscapades

one of the best parts of working from home is thinking up new and better ways to embarrass my kids.

it's a fine art, really.

"girl" is 11 and has just tipped from "my mom is the coolest" (which she still claims often in private, especially when i'm paying her commissions for doing her chores) to "MOMMMMMMMMMMM YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME".

the other day john and the kids were in the pool with their new "super soaker" water guns. i walked through the sunporch to grab my laptop and they all screamed for me to come outside so they could "tell me something".

yeah, right.

i was about to get wet.

really really wet.

so i blew apart their evil, diabolical plans and ran outside, fully clothed, and jumped in to the pool.

'bout that time my neighbor debbie popped over for a visit ... she could hear the ruckus in the pool.

i hopped out of the pool to chat and 11-year old was horrified.

mortified.

totally embarrassed.

now, pamela anderson i am not.

but i was putting on the 42 year old mom version of a wet t-shirt contest to my 42 year old mom neighbor.

big deal.

i guess it is when you're 11.

so i gave her a little something to be embarrassed about and shook it for all i was worth.

debbie got it.

she's got a 12 year old daughter.

daughter horrified. mission accomplished.

so today was the first day of school and in these parts the bus actually picks up and drops off at the house. at the end of our driveway to be precise.

we happen to be one of the first houses on the route so when kid-dropping-off time rolled around this afternoon john and i rolled a couple of old office chairs still sitting neglected in the garage out to the end of the driveway to await her arrival.

i could see her horror through the packed windows of the bus.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" she mouthed at me as we waved and jumped up and down like mad-people.

she's just lucky john didn't pull the old "pull my pants up to my neck" trick and mambo out to the curb to greet her.

like i said, it's an art.

we figure it accomplishes a couple of things:

1. it'll make her tough ... 'cause it's not about to stop.

2. it keeps life interesting ... these are the conversations we have late at night ... "how do we rock her world tomorrow?"

3. hopefully it'll teach her to find humor in everything.

4. she'll eventually drop the "what will other people think?" when she realizes it's WAY better to have both parents who love her enough to be at home, waiting for the bus in the middle of the afternoon jumping around madly excited to see her ... she's got her own private cheering section.

i think tomorrow i'll wait by the curb for the bus in a wet t-shirt and see how that goes over ...