jennifer patel

On a recent night at Target, it was a rare trip alone for me...sans two-year-old.  As I was savoring walking up and down the aisles being able to actually look at stuff, I did the last of my impulse buying and headed to the front check out.  I was walking behind a group of young, stylish, barely 20-ish? year olds who were spending a night of their free life at Target...just because they could. They were talking and laughing about how they always act rich at Target, thinking they can buy whatever they want, even though they know they can't afford it.  They were debating whether they really needed nail polish and all the other stuff they had.  Then one of the girls started singing "We'll never be royals..." (a Lorde song) and they all laughed. I also laughed. Their laughter stopped as they turned around to look at me. *  *  * Other than this being classic me and one of many reasons I can't make new friends, I envied these girls for a minute, think...

When I get home from school in the afternoons, Alex has usually just woken up from his nap.  Like any great mom, I give him a sugary snack and turn on the TV while I take a short power nap.  I always pick a 30 minute (~24 min) show and it's usually Curious George because he has loved that monkey since he arrived in this country.  Truth be told, I love that monkey, too. About a week before Halloween I was napping during George and was very suddenly awoken by a loud and fearful scream from Alex.  He then [very slowly] jumped (slid off) off the couch and ran (shuffled) into my room like he was being chased by a monster (a very slow monster).  Of course I was startled and groggily looked for the source of his distress.  Only later did it become funny because he does nothing fast.  It was a slow motion and very dramatic event and even though I would never abandon him during the zombie apocalypse, I am already resentfu...