Whiplash

7 to 7:30 pm this evening was an interesting half hour. We were just finishing up an amazing dinner... t-bones grilled to perfection, sweet potatoes and corn on the cob.

Now turn your head to the left.

Emma asked, for the 50th time this weekend, if I would let her have a SuperSecret account. For those of you not in the know, it's a hybrid online game of social networking and playing games. It costs $60 a year (!), but "Mom, it's half price right now! It's on sale for a limited time only!"

Sorry, but I just don't see paying for online games. As soon as you pay for registration, they're going to find another way to jack up the price or make you pay for the next higher "levels". This is the way of all the silly online game sites... Disney, Club Penguin, PopTropica, etc... They're expensive and I'm not going to pay for it!!!

When I informed Emma that I absolutely would not get her a SuperSecret account, she went ballistic. I think if they'd had their windows open, Grandpa and Grandad down in California could have heard her screams.

She was a tornado of tears and throws and sobs and slams. And yells. Lots and lots and lots of yelling. We parents apparently don't love her enough. Her life is terrible and we just don't understand. All her friends have subscriptions to all these online places and she doesn't even have one!

Oh, the drama! Life is so hard!

She almost had me crying at one point, though. The poor girl was hiccuping from all the sobs, her eyes were red and there was just such desperation in them. I (briefly) felt like the worst parent in the world and I was milli-seconds away from giving in.

I held strong, though. Between Scott, Hayley and I, we managed to help her understand that those companies are out to make money and they're just going to keep asking for more and more. Then we pointed out the computer games she has on cd-rom and the hours of fun she's had with them.

Finally, I was able to distract her by getting her to show me the most recent zoo she's created with her Zoo Tycoon game.

Crisis over. Not averted. But over, thank the good Lord.

Now turn your head the other way...

Hayley, just before dinner, actually loaded the dishwasher without being asked! Yes, it's true! She did! And then, when dinner was over, she cleared the table, put the food away, rinsed and loaded the dishes, did the hand washing, wiped down the counters and the table and finally refilled Scott's water glass for him.

Let me repeat... Without being asked!

Scott and I were stunned to the point of complete glee. I didn't want to go overboard, but I kept telling how great that made my night. And my morning tomorrow.

Waking up to a totally clean kitchen? $1 million
A daughter who did it all of her own accord? Priceless