Well, blogging must not be my thing.  I'm no Julie of the famed book and movie Julie & Julia .  I'm too busy living life - mostly tending to parenting - to blog about it.  At least for the moment.  I blog in my mind, but the experiences and thoughts don't make it from my head to the computer.  Nor do I find the time to read the blogs others are putting out there.  Some blogs are just too wordy.  Surely I'm not alone in stating that I cannot take the time during my day to read about someone else's day.  With this brief commentary - or shall I say this brief "blog" on blogging, I feel a bit like Andy Rooney.  Enough said, as I really don't like to blog.

My daughter and I shared some special bonding time recently when we took a trip together, just the two of us.  For some reason, I had this idea to suggest a round of Truth or Dare each night before nodding off to sleep.  She may have giggled shyly about it the first night, but after that she was expecting it, too, upon tucking in and lights out.  Perhaps it reminded her that I'm on her side and not too old for fun.  If she thinks that such games are just for secret times with friends, then it may lead to troubles.  But, I hope if she thinks it's no big deal - not even too big a deal to play with Mom - then maybe she'll see it simply as silly fun and not take things to seriously (as tweens can do).

My dad had a stroke and passed away in January, so I've been busier than usual and haven't had time to write on here.  Even though he lived in a different state, his passing has, of course, forever changed the family dynamics here. 

Also, due to logistics, I had to compromise my previous choices in some areas of parenting.  As example:  I was very strict about sleepovers, but because my husband and I had to be out of town for a while we had to put our daughter's care into the hands of a good friend.  Perhaps when forced to loosen the grip a little my daughter actually benefited in that she got a unique chance to mature and prove herself.  It's not a scenario I had wished for, but I've learned, too, that I can rely on friends and have to be even more flexible.

It's been fun this holiday season to not only watch some special and timely movies but also to watch some of the old television programs.  On Christmas night, we watched a Little House on the Prairie episode about Christmas - from the first season.  Oh, and we also watched holiday episodes from The Odd Couple and That Girl.  Probably just about every sitcom and drama has a holiday episode.  The shows simply make for a nice change of pace from the movies many of us know and also love so much.   The whole family can enjoy such programs in a short amount of time.   My daughter loves watching the olds shows and that's really a testimony that 'everything old is new again'.