Questions and Blogs

How do you explain to a 5-year-old what you don't even hardly understand yourself?

Luckily, to my aunt and myself, my two eldest cousins don't remember my father at all. Zach doesn't remember that dad focused in on him whenever we came to family events. Mary doesn't remember... well, anything, because when dad was around, she was 2 or 3. So, because of this, the kids never have really asked any questions about where Uncle Dan is, since Aunt Ree and Kel and myself come to visit all the time.

So I didn't really expect it when Mary asked me today about why my dad isn't around. My aunt and I had been talking about how the kids are lucky that they dont remember dad and that, if they do, the only memories they have of him are good ones because he loved little kids (because he could relate to them?) but couldn't handle young adults (because we weren't full adults or something... I don't know why) when the conversation went like this:
Mary: So, then your dad turned bad?
Me: Well, he's in a lot of pain and he's not married to Aunt Ree anymore and doesn't enjoy life.
Mary: Is that why he turned bad?
Me: That's the basics.
Mary: So... if he met me... if he met me...
Me: He would like you, Mary.
Mary: Because I'm little?
Me: Yes. He liked little kids your age.
Mary: But... he's your dad.
And at that point, I was saved by two of the kids friends coming over and not having to explain any more. Because how do you explain to a 5-year-old why you have a "bad dad" or why he isn't married to your mother anymore?


On the flip side of things, I went with mom, my aunt, and my aunt's sister last night to see Julie & Julia, which, if you don't know, is about a woman named Julie who tries every single recipe in Julia Childs' cookbooks (all 500-something of them) and blogs about it. It was a wonderful movie, funny and sad all at the same time, with Meryl Streep playing the fumbly Julia Childs and Amy Adams playing Julie. I would definintely go and see it again. (That is, if I had to money to go see movies more than once.) I, however, am saving up my money to see The Time Traveller's Wife, which should be a good movie if it made me cry in the preview (or that could have just been hormones - you never know 'cause I'm a girl).


Julie & Julia got me to thinking that I needed a project. Short term goals, Julie said, which is why she was doing the daily blog after ever single recipe. I have my goal of finishing draft 2 outline by October 2, I know this, but a daily goal of something else would be nice. So I'm on the search.

You just wait.