Mellowing out...

Geeze, I must have really hit an all-time low yesterday, people are still commenting with good cheer-lol. Yes, I am the resilient type and all of you are really, just beautiful. People spend so much time complaining how everyone is so negative, I tend to focus on the positive, and it's overwhelming. Val just wrote in with some advice about sunsets and sunrises and stuff and told me to dance naked with no one watching, or maybe she didn't say naked (I just added that-not Val's style)to some jammin' music. I'm taking her advice, can't get naked cause I still have bronchitis, but I'm sure I'll get creative in some way or another. My iPod's freaking out on some shuffle function that I can't figure out how to readjust, so I have to manually select my songs, so annoying.

Last night Jordan wanted me to lay down next to him to put him to sleep, one of those bonding, "I'm there for you" moments that warms the heart of all mothers and blogreaders lol. If I can't laugh at myself...I have been doing a lot of that lately.

And when you just can't find the strength to laugh at yourself, that's what friends are for! I met Sonia at the Bar Stiacciole for our regular morning cappuccino, which is quite the comedy because I have no voice, can't talk, sound like a big, fat hiccup and burp combined whenever I try to utter a sound. Obviously, this means I'm outta work and can't shop, life REALLY sucks right now. Anyway, there has been a major transformation at the bar, because the owner Francesca, another good friend and Italian blogger who also loves Norah Jones, booted the two ogling old men who hit on us every morning. Damn! They weren't that obnoxious and despite being toothless and horny, their presence definitely made for an interesting beginning to every boring day of work.
However, the decor...um improved dramatically, especially because she added flowers to every table, adjusted the lighting and had some Nina Simone playing on the stereo. Amazing how some really good jazz can rock your world. Yesterday I was looking for the song she had playing but I couldn't find it in the full-length version, but I did find that other cute little one about "Forbidden Fruit..."
the story of my life. Talk about forbidden fruit, Adam Levine has just ousted boring Patrick Dempsey with this song, he has given "Kiwi" a totally new meaning. It was like entering another bar until my friends started making fun of me, happens all the time - it's what I get for being the token American. First they called me a "gran fica," and that "I got" (certain things just can't be translated) Then, they called me a "fiore di fica" but I still don't know what they meant, there's nothing worse than being the brunt of a joke you just don't get. I didn't laugh, wasn't in the mood to social bluff. And, I wasn't feeling like a "gran-fica" considering I've been condemned to sick housearrest and parenting skills reinforcement 101.

And my husband?
The perfect husband.

Aside from the "Middle School Throwing Desks Drama," the past two days he has single-handedly taken care of two children, laundry, meals, homework and still managed to make me fresh-squeezed orange juice and tea (that I did not ask for, I'm really not high-maintenance or that bitchy)AND even brought me home gelato from Papete - you ain't tasted nothin' til you've tasted gelato from that place. Caaaareamy and dreamy.
And you know he's just waiting...waiting til I feel better. Men. I know, I am a very lucky woman...*smile*

I got an email from Jill yesterday, an inspirational woman who I have had the privilege of meeting through one of the yahoo support groups, and she is sending JELLYBEANS - JOLLY RANCHER FLAVOR- for Easter to lil' ole me and of course the kidlings!!!! She said she's gonna throw in some National Geographics articles too! Gotta love those emails...and surprise emails from friends, you really didn't know were friends until they suddenly demonstrate that they really care about you. Blogging has really been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life...

Then, my dad sent an email complaining that my email address is bouncing back emails, I have no idea why this is, but it keeps happening, maybe because I have about 1,400 in my inbox. UPDATE: I just checked my emails...there were only 12 - I just had 1388 emails OBLITERATED *WTF!!!* I am now in a profound crisis situation. Dealing...You can only imagine the condition of my house. I wonder which will explode first. He also told me to check out an article on pressbox online, we're in it...Check out what Barry Silverman wrote (THAAAAAAANKS Barry:))Okay, here it is...
RIPKEN AND RALLY CAPS

A very special congratulations to local authors Jodi Cutler Del Dottore and her father Steve Cutler on receiving a hearty endorsement from Cal Ripken Jr. of their co-written book "Rally Caps."

The book, geared to children, tells the story of a child with a cochlear implant who helps a teammate overcome his fear of getting hit by a pitched ball. The story was inspired by Jodi’s son, Jordan, who has a cochlear implant and was written to show that hearing-impaired children are just like everybody else and can be heroes, too.

As Ripken said himself, “‘Rally Caps’ is a heartwarming book about perseverance and courage. Congratulations to Steve and Jodi for taking the challenges in their lives and turning it into a wonderful book that helps teach valuable lessons of acceptance and resilience to kids and adults alike.”

I know you're all getting sick of hearing about book stuff, but this is just another article promoting awareness of the cochlear implant. Through the ups and downs of my daily life, the battles unknowingly and unintentionally provoked and the bridges miraculously built...my only humble intention was to create a little more awareness and give you something you may not have known you even needed.
What is so strange about all of this, is that I'm the one being given something I never even realized I needed, unbelievable.

I am Here to Listen, Reflect and Learn...Today has been a Really Shitty Day

Can you even imagine if my true purpose were to piss people off? I irritate people and it isn't even my intention to do so. Yes, I am assertive, but I am so non-violent. I manage to provoke people's sensitivity unknowingly, see Patti's blog as a reaction to my earlier post. Today, my sensitivity was provoked, yes, I am very sensitive and I am in NO way trying to tell anyone how to raise their kids. This blog is mine, a place where I can listen, reflect and learn from others, not tell others what to do - because, believe me, I am NO authority on life.

Jordan came home from school at 1:00 pm. with two girls from his class instead of taking the bus, because he was too upset to take the jam-packed bus. He asked the mom of these two girls if she would give him a ride, he knew this mom from elementary school. Ah, elementary school, the good old days. Apparently something dramatic transpired in class today and Jordan had an inappropriate reaction to this event. So, we discussed the incident and had him write a letter to the class that he will read tomorrow in school. This is what he wrote:

To my Teachers and my Classmates:

Yesterday, while I was in class and I was playing with a paper airplane that I had made, a couple of my classmates tackled me to break the airplane. In doing this, they held me in a position so that I was unable to move and knocked my cochlear implant to the ground. When I felt my cochlear implant knocked off my head and I couldn't move to do anything about it, I got very angry and frustrated. Without thinking, as soon as my classmates let go of me, I knocked over two desks and chairs. I know that I exaggerated in my reaction and I would like to apologize for this. However, I also want to tell my classmates that they need to treat me with more respect and behave better, also because they need to understand that they could break my cochlear implant. Please remember that for me to hear better, I need to have a lot less confusion in the classroom.
Thank you,
Jordan Eric Del Dottore

To see your son put in a position of such complete and utter frustration is tormenting for a mother. The fact that Jordan threw desks to the ground brought back memories of his behavior in first grade, an extremely difficult and traumatic time. We have come such a long way since then, but the fact that he felt so frustrated that he needed to have such a violent reaction is so painful...for him and for me.

We have also grown a lot since first grade, both of us, so instead of yelling at him and feeling embarrassed that MY son would have done such a horrendous thing, I felt mortified FOR him that other children put him in a position to feel so badly that he had such a violent reaction.

So, I hugged him.

Then, we talked.

He told me how he felt helpless when they blocked him and knocked off his ci, and I validated his frustration. He still would not admit that his reaction was excessive. One hour later, he still would not admit his reaction was excessive, so I grabbed Sofia's plastic work desk and intentionally threw it across the room three times. Then, I asked Jordan how he felt about that. He responded, "Scared." I said, "And that's how the rest of the students in your class felt watching someone they love lose control."

Now, he gets it.

He wrote the letter- strange how writing can be such a cathartic experience, isn't it?

Tomorrow he will read the letter to his class, which will not be easy for him, but I know my son and he will do it...with charisma, because my son has a lot, a whole lot of heart.

How Can You Allow Your Deaf Child to HOPE in the REALITY that is the Hearing World?

Aidan probably thinks I'm a total lunatic (NB. she ain't the only one), every time she writes a blog, I have a problem with a word...but as we have already discussed, words are powerful and how we perceive each word is directly based on our life experiences. I'm still in the bronchitis dazed and confused, sweating, chilled mode, so just bear with me..although, I did take Sofia to school this morning and I even put some make-up on, wouldn't want to scare anyone. Anyway, in my blog from yesterday, I objected to the word "hopeful" used in Aidan's blog:
"The Deaf community strongly believes in collaborating with others in order to raise a happy, healthy and hopeful Deaf child."In response, I wrote, "I don't want my son to be "hopeful," I want him to conquer the world."

Aidan left a couple of comments:
hope·ful /ˈhoʊpfəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hohp-fuhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective

1. full of hope; expressing hope: His hopeful words stimulated optimism.

2. exciting hope; promising advantage or success: a hopeful prospect.

–noun
3. a person who shows promise or aspires to success: the Democratic presidential hopeful.

I am here to clarify the definition of Hopeful. Trust me, I know my stuff. :o)

I wonder if anyone notice that some people have a pattern that they keep on twisting these words into negative such as "Militant", "Hopeful", and many words? What's up with this? Is this a part of fetish thing? ;o)

*AND*

"Jodi, it amazes me that you still do not understand this definition. I am not talking about gambling on a child. I am talking about something that is guaranteed. "Hopeful" means guaranteed in this respect."

When I think of a "Hopeful" deaf child I see this image in my head
and then I imagine this... because a hopeful child is a trusting child and how many people can you truly trust in this world? God, the idea of leaving my child in a position to hope for something that never comes, that sets him up in the position to be smashed by life is so beyond unacceptable. I can place myself in that position, I can allow myself to be completely vulnerable and yes, hope and dream, set MYSELF up to be crushed, but not my deaf child.
So, I arm him with tools necessary to function in the world, like his hearing aids and now, his cochlear implant, and not because his cochlear implant represents success. His cochlear implant takes him from here -
To HEAR -
Would Jordan be able to be "hopeful" in the Deaf Community? I have no doubt that he would once he learned the language, but realistically speaking, we live in a hearing world. If the possibility exists that my son can hear and function AND take advantage of both worlds, I will give him both worlds. Because, based on my life experience, being "hopeful" sucks. Trusting other people to make your dreams a reality only sets you up to be disappointed and deluded. Trusting yourself, knowing your strengths and weaknesses and using both to your advantage, actually, identifying your weaknesses as strengths makes you a truly strong individual. I will be doing a lot of this with Jordan... along his journey of self-discovery and growth...and he is growing up to be a good person. You know, now that I'm thinking about it, he rarely ever uses the word "hope." I've never heard him say, "I hope that he will invite me to his party" or "I hope that I get an A on my test." He gets invited to parties and instead of hoping he gets an "A" he studies the best he can and gets whatever grade he merits.

*Although...*

Aidan, when you say, "I am not talking about gambling on a child. I am talking about something that is guaranteed. "Hopeful" means guaranteed in this respect." I will concede this:

I read about all that your mother gave you, and she sounds like a remarkable and beautiful woman. I come from the bitter school of thought that "Nothing in life is guaranteed." I have transmitted this concept with as much love as possible to my son.
Jordan has used the word "hope" before, when it comes to falling in love. After asking a girl to the movies, he said, "Mamma, I hope she says yes!" I may be cynical in regard to all this "hopeful" stuff in regard to deafness, but when it comes to love, I will allow him and help him to hope.

Probably Incoherent RE: Rachel, Patti, Aidan

Feeling like dog. Fever, chills, aches, bronchitis and my effin neighbors upstairs have been BANGING for the past two hours, not even my iPod can make it stop. I am in hell right now. BANG! Cough, can't sleep because BANG!I have had it with this country and my condominium with paper-thin walls. Can you imagine, you can hear EVERYTHING, so when one couple starts banging (not the strip the bathroom bang THE bang) I look at my husband, he looks at me and we refuse to be outbanged by any neighbor, so the BangWar begins. Yeah, we have a rockin' condominium. Can you tell I've hit the point of total delirium? I CAN'T SLEEP, the NOISE is hell! The last ten days of my life have been hell, and now I'm freaking sick to top it all off. BANG!BANG!BANG! Is it annoying you reading about it, because it's driving me crazy?!!

The worst part of all of this is that I can't think and there were like five powerblogs on deafread.com yesterday. Aidan's was like a mile long, deep as ever and I got lost. However, her grand finale was appreciated and very true in our case, I'm totally into the "It takes a village to raise a child..." Istia-Grosseto all the way, baby! (Aidan, btw, you aren't the only one who has been told she's black under the white skin *smile*)

"The Deaf community strongly believes in collaborating with others in order to raise a happy, healthy and hopeful Deaf child. It takes a family. It takes teachers. It takes clergy. It takes businesspeople. And it takes community leaders. It takes people who look out to protect our rights, education, health and safety, It takes all of us, the village."The only adjective that doesn't work for me is "hopeful," I don't want my son to be "hopeful," I want him to conquer the world. And...I would add that it also takes doctors- Pediatricians, audiologists and surgeons...this is my reality in our journey in deafness.

Rachel's made me cry and I haven't cried in a very long time...must be the fever. Patti's response to Rachel touched me especially when she called her "sister, " and threw out this:
I have refrained from responding to many of your blog entries because i did not want to come off the wrong way. Because i did not want to contribute to any of the harm u have already experienced. Because i do not want to exemplify it's open season on Rachel and Melissa.

It is not and it should not be.

Anonymous left this comment on yesterday's blog:
And, BTW, about being a Rachel fan... I do think she is her own person, independent of her mother. She's more willing to listen than her mother is. I left this on another blog just now: There is a huge difference between a hearing mom like Jodi Del Dottore and a hearing mom like Melissa. While I wish Jodi were making sure Jordan learns LIS ASAP, she is open to everyone. She is not indoctrinating Jordan with the idea that Deaf culture is bad and scary, unlike Melissa. I believe Melissa made it so that Rachel thought Deaf people were bad. So when Rachel sees a tiny bit of anti-CI from a few of us (and it's just a few of us!), she immediately thinks "Mom was right," and reinforces what she learned from her mom - Deaf people are to be avoided.
So I appreciate that you're in here, actively trying to engage us in dialogue rather than huffily dictating to us from a holier-than-thou perch. Thank you, Jodi.

I know this wasn't your intention, but comments like these make me feel like shit.
I love Melissa and Rachel because they are true advocates for the cochlear implant, their experience has led them to take a position. They are taking this position so that other parents interested in the cochlear implant realize what is possible with the ci. Nobody has to agree with them, but their strong voice is present, that is already something. I'm wishy washy. I stand behind my choice for my son, but still regret not having incorporated sign, which honestly, would have been too much. Don't even think of putting a hearing aid in my face to try and compare it to a ci, because then, I will no longer be wishy washy.

Melissa is not indoctrinating Rachel with the idea that Deaf Culture is bad and scary, certain comments left on Rachel's blog take care of that all by themselves. Melissa is supporting her daughter in this new endeavor, depsite being constantly criticized, I mean really, who needs the aggravation of being constantly criticized...but here is the kicker, and this is the kicker for me as well.

Having made it through years of av-therapy, ups and downs, temper tantrums, school meetings where they tell you your kid is violent, heart to hearts with your family when they tell you you are doing the wrong thing for your son, crying fits, hypersensitivity, rejection, peer difficulties to finally reach the point of taking the photo of your kid smiling while talking on the telephone because he can hear his mom's voice, he translates a sentence from English to Italian faster than anyone in his study group, he brings home an "A" on his History exam, he plays the piano on National Television and the guitar for an intimate group of fifty...all smiling. There were no smiles for so many years, just a lot of very hard work. This is why we are here writing about our experience and unphased by any type of criticism whatsoever. There is no woman more powerful than a mother who sees her son or daughter taking on the world.

PS. Happy Birthday DAD!!!! Love you!

Response to the YOUNG DUDES -Oralist's Melodrama

Norah Jones can bite me, today it's Rhianna and Fergie-Ferg, lol. I am NOT a good influence on the little teenagers that I teach, I am MUCH more IMMATURE! Sitting here chewing on a piece of a Mega-chocolate Easter egg...Easter sucks here and will kill me because they don't give you little Mary Sues, they give you HUGE WONKER eggs with little insignificant, but VERY built up prizes inside. The kid channel commercials all hype the eggs by exaggerating the "hot toy of the moment." Of course Sofia goes wild, and of course my husband in love with his princess succombs. Don't all dads? So, I have about a ton of chocolate spread throughout my toiletbowl of a house...and I, being the chocoholic I am, indulge.

Back to my extremely high level of immaturity. Friday, I had two more middle school lessons with really cute kids. Yeah, we talked Tokyo Hotel and High School Musical. Saturday, I was told to F-off twice by one of my students. She was right, I was making fun of her because she was meeting a guy in the Corso - the main street of Grosseto's center, where all the little teeny-boppers congregate on Saturday afternoon. Note: the adolescents in this BORING town are condemned to a life sentence of walking up and down, up and down, up and down the main street, scoping until their parents send them to the University the hell out of this place. She was one of the girls I took to London in July (note, there are pix and a video circulating on this blog, youtube and internet from that little trip - it was a "JOY" *wink* (Okay, here's one photo-of course, I'm first in line-That pale guy's hot, isn't he? It's amazing what a girl will do for some free clothes))
and she needed a little assistance in the "guy" department. I gave her an education, as much of an education as you can give to a 15 year old and not be arrested. And now, she's telling me to f-off!!?? She's growing up...and she's going to Dublin with me this summer again...I will make her life hell - paybacks are all about that, aren't they?? I'm generally not the vindictive type, but if I can make someone sweat...

Yesterday, Luca was playing football (yes, he is forty and still playing/coaching American football - looks damn good in the uniform. My husband has the BEST ass I have ever seen in my life, which is saying a lot. I am married, but I am not DEAD!)and I was with the kidlings all day. Jordan had a birthday party at the beach. EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT! That spring smell is circulating and it was sunny and beautiful yesterday, what better place to be than the beach? I live for the beach and having lived in Baltimore most of my life - three hours from the closest ocean- which is slowly becoming NOT most of my life, living twelve minutes from the beach is just mind-blowing. Allow me to provide you with a photo of my "BEACH EXPERIENCE"...don't cry, it ain't all roses and glory - Winter sucks bigtime, here, but I managed to make it through another one...
Enough talking out of my ass...at least about that:)

In the Oralist's Melodrama Part II - I'll go back to part one in a minute...One of "All the Young Dudes" writes:
OK people, trick question time, if every “deaf” person chose their own preferred method of communication and were put in a room, how would they reach out to each other? Some refuse to sign. Some just can’t pick up speech. Some cue [as in join lines]. Some are illiterate.
My answer is that they would respond just as the bloggers have responded, by writing...and as I responded my first two years in this country, by smiling a helluva lot. Days and days of smiling, tuning into the language, tuning back out, smiling, laughing, bluffing just like deaf people do. How much SOCIAL BLUFFING have I done in my lifetime here? I have a good smile, will make eye contact, so I am as good a bluffer as my child - And because of my experience, I know when Jordan bluffs...and believe me or not, I "get" some of the deaf experience. My missing pieces are slowly being filled in by commenters and people sending emails off-blog, which I appreciate. As you can see, I am not a very private person.

Throwing out another question for you "Young Dudes..." your Episode 1 post had me going until your last sentence, which maybe was trying to be the kicker, but that totally contradicted your line of thinking. You wrote:
Now, to clear up one common misconception, the Deaf world is no more limiting than the hearing world is. Anybody who says otherwise, is a frigging liar. The limits of the Deaf world are those that have been imposed by the hearing world. For all the choices the hearing world has at its disposal, it still values hearing above all else!
People are people and are limited by ignorance, insensitivity, immaturity, envy and indignation. Sometimes ignorance can be a blessing, because only those who are able to evolve, suffer, can understand why they're suffering, but can't do anything about that, although there is always the power to choose. Insensitivity is a form of self-protection and an unwillingness to "go there." Immaturity, I am sure has to do with age and past lives and a need to learn and grow combined with a willingness to do so in this life. Envy, envy is one of those emotions that I do not and will never accept. Envy arises from a lack of self-acceptance and pride, fear and resentment that someone has something you do not.

Indignation, anger at something unfair is a hard one to overcome if you genuinely feel that you have been done wrong by life and are helpless to overcome that situation. Anger stems from a lack of control over circumstances.

When do I lose it? When Jordan was younger he used to push all the right buttons to piss me off and I would get that helpless feeling that only anger could drive away...until I realized that if I took control of situations before they got out of control, I could avoid the anger and manage my child.

This sentence:

"The limits of the Deaf world are those that have been imposed by the hearing world. For all the choices the hearing world has at its disposal, it still values hearing above all else!"

...is a product of indignance and anger. The Deaf world's limits are only those which they impose upon themselves, and the hearing world could give a shit about "hearing," you don't value something that is an inherent part of yourself. You generally only place value on something you don't or can't have...superficial or otherwise.

The strength of the Deaf community lies in the fact that they can't hear, so the use of other senses assumes a totally new meaning. Dancing, enjoying music, smelling Spring is done on a deeper level, without the sense of hearing for some. KW wrote an amazing post "Yes Mike, I Get It" about this different perspective as a Deaf woman viewing the hearing world...
She wrote, insightfully as always:
"I guess the waitress decided Kate was capable of dishing up her own food. After all, Kate could speak. You have to wonder what they think sometimes-- Hearing people. That you need a voice in order to dish up food? I don't get it. But that's when it hit home how different the world is for culturally Deaf people."

Deafhood, Deaf Identity, Deaf Culture, whatever label you want to use, it's all about the collective experience, the interaction with a world full of sounds...and cochlear implants (which are sexy contrary to what another blogger wrote), hearing aids, ASL, progressive, moderate, profound hearing loss, all of you have those experiences -the journey- and are effectively Deaf. The only thing that can limit the Deaf community are ignorance, insensitivity, immaturity, envy and indignation.

BTW- I am a big Rachel fan *smile*

Dear, Really Dear Drolz...

Dear Mark,
God, if I tell you I'm listening to Norah Jones already really sad tonight, (I crash on Saturday nights) your post just made it a hundred times worse *smile*. But, I really feel the need to respond to what you have so eloquently written. I love how you write, so honest and sensitive, it's rare to find a man as able to express his thoughts. Your wife is a very lucky woman, and I can tell from your letter that you are a strong team for your beautiful children.

Your post does an excellent job of transmitting the agony involved in deciding whether or not to choose a cochlear implant for your child. Your family's situation is totally different from mine, yet you are going through the same exact process we went through three years ago. Drolz, your decision will not be the same as mine, our children and their experiences are different. You and your wife are different, yet we have both managed to raise intelligent children with strong heads of their own. (come to think of it- monitor his internet access:))

You have something we did not have...time. You wrote:
I do have my own ideals and I tend to stick to them. However, regardless of who I am and what I believe in, as a parent it’s my moral obligation to at least listen whenever someone utters the magic words, "This may benefit your child." And before I make a decision, I include my child in the decision-making process.

You do not have to decide now about the cochlear implant and you have done what you need to do...ask Darren for his opinion, because at eight years of age with the brain he so obviously has, he has every right to be involved in the decision. He has made HIS choice and you as a father are respecting that, conscious of the fact that there is a fear factor involved. That fear factor is not to be treated lightly, because should you and your son decide to opt for the CI, you both need to be psychologically prepared for the before, during and aftermath of the surgery.

This part of your blog killed me:
There’s more coverage of cochlear implant miracle stories in the media and apparently my hearing relatives are gobbling it all up. They cut out clippings of these success stories and send them to me at every opportunity. I know they mean well, but the underlying message is clear: It doesn’t matter how much I accomplish in life. To them, I’m the broken-eared guy who needs to be fixed. Always was, always will be.
Deciding to go ahead with the surgery for you, raises a series of ethical and psychologically tormenting elements directly related to your experience in deafness, wouldn't want to be in your head! You did not choose the ci for yourself and do not feel the need, but you were FATHER enough to offer the choice to your son, amazing.

I admire you for being openminded and listening to the stories people have to tell based on their lives and their children's lives. Just as you have been listening to my story, I have been listening to your comments, your passion and obvious love for Deaf culture. YOU have made me want to learn more about the Deaf community and I intend to give this to my son...this is such a no-brainer. NOTHING about choosing the cochlear implant is a no-brainer, especially when you have an eight year old telling you he is PROUD of who he is and who you are as a Deaf individual...especially because "He has deaf role models of all ages surrounding him at home and in the deaf community." My son has never had such role models.

Mark, I wanted my son to have the cochlear implant because he could not EXPRESS himself, I needed to give him every opportunity to have a VOICE. Your son has a VOICE and he obviously knows how to use it, so rest easy that you have done everything possible to help your child through this difficult time, you are growing together. Today's decisions may not be tomorrow's decisions, but the important part is that you are deciding together.

Sending a big old bacio your way,
Jodi

PS. No, I am not an audist and your words really touched me...thank you.

We Have a MAJOR Situation Here...

Not quite sure where to begin with this one, but it is very important to share this for all parents of hormonal eleven year old boys who surf the internet. Being the naive idiot I am, I still consider my son a baby. He is not. Lately, he's been surfing the net for War Games, or so I thought. Luckily, my husband monitors Jordan's downloading action, and he's been downloading a little too much action, apparently.

Jordan's computer broke, as I've mentioned, and every day he's been allowed to use mine to play his War Games, my new screensaver is a lovely shot of Warplanes. Luca told Jordan that he could only ask us to download programs and not to do it himself. Well, yesterday when he was home sick from school and I was preparing lunch, he had himself a nice little time Google Searching. Being the clueless (semi-clueless)navigator he is, he left the list of his google searches on the toolbar and Luca noticed he was searching "Sesse," "Sex" and "Sexy." He must have struck gold because when Luca went to look at Jordan's file, he found a series of pornographic photos and videos of a female porn star named "Aria Guerra" (I will provide NO links to this woman). "Guerra" in Italian is "War" so he must have stumbled upon her in his research of games and felt the need to satisfy his curiosity.

Hmm. Two years ago he was dreaming of boobs, Uncle Scrooge and Ilaria. His first day of Middle School he came home shocked because there were students kissing in the halls. And, we do live in Italy where all you see are T and A on the TV. What's a boy to do? When my husband was a child, magazines circulated the middle schools. Now, at least in Italy, mini cellphone videos of lewd behavior get passed through the classes and it is a MAJOR problem. And, my eleven year old innocent angel is downloading pornographic material from MY computer. Where the hell was I??? Luckily, my husband caught this one.

Why am I sharing this "embarassing moment" that my mom WILL call and ream me out about? So that YOU monitor YOUR children because one just never knows. All I can say is "Like Father Like Son." *smile*
PS. I did receive a very interesting email from a very hot naked guitar playing stallion. rotfl