My Single Mom Life

Mark will be turning 17 on August 15th.
It's so hard for me to believe because I remember like it was yesterday bringing him home from the hospital after giving birth, how small he was, I remember every little detail of him over the last 17 years.
My baby boy is almost a man, well, he's already man-sized, standing at 6foot 2inches tall, broad shoulders, a deep and booming voice that confuses people when he answers the phone. *laughs*
He's a great kid young man, despite the fighting with his brother, despite the rolling eyes he gives me, he's just an awesome human being.
Smart, caring, compassionate, a free-thinker.
He's way cool in my most humble mom opinion.

Anyway, (stop recalling his kid cuteness before I make myself cry) his birthday is coming up and all he wants is money.
That's typical of most teenagers, they want cash so they can go and buy their own things, so he doesn't have to politely say thank you for that sweater that a great aunt spent 2 months knitting for him, so he doesn't have to hurry up and make a list of things he might want, and also so that not one single person has to pay the full price of a video game he wants.
He said if everyone gives him like $20 bucks, then he can add it all up and get a couple of games, or just one game and put some money away for something else he wants, or to go to the movies or whatever.
I'm cool with him just wanting cash, it works for me so that I don't have to go hunting for that game he wants at busy back-to-school shopping time with hundreds of frantic mothers and screaming kids yelling they don't want to try that on, or hoping that it gets shipped in time for his actual birthday.
Cash works, cash is good.

But I do know that we'll be going to the movies that day.
It's on a Friday, and it's also opening day for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the first ever animated Star Wars film from LucasFilm. (click that link to watch the trailer)
He doesn't read my blog too often, so I think I can safely say what I'm planning to do.
I'm going to go to Buy.Com and and see if they have one of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Visual Guide books as part of their 10% off the price of Amazon books promotion they are running, and if they do, I'm going to order it within the next two weeks, and give that to him on the morning of his birthday.
Sort of a hint kind of gift. *wink*

I'll give him a card with cash in it too, just like he asked for, and then I'll go hop in the shower, get dressed, and then tell both of the teens to take showers too, tell 'em we will be going out for dinner like we always do on their birthdays, so they need to be cleaned up and ready to go when Aunt Jo gets here after work.

Then I'll have to make up a reason to leave the house at a little before noon, tell the cabbie over the phone to take us to the mall but not say anything when he actually picks us up, and then take both of them to the theater for a matinée showing of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
I know he wants to see it, he's a huge Star Wars fan, and he's been talking about this new animated movie for several months now.
He has a good-sized collection of Star Wars action figures, and even though he no longer plays with them like he used to do when he was younger, he still keeps them in really great shape, all tucked away in a box nice and neat, and he has never opened that collector's edition Boba Fett I got him about 4-5 years ago for another one of his birthdays.

I kinda want to see it too, I have always liked the Star Wars films myself, and I'm really curious as to why the MPAA gave it a PG-13 rating for sci-fi action violence throughout, brief language and momentary smoking.
When did they start giving movie ratings based on smoking!?
Over the last few years, I've really taken issue with a few of the MPAA's ratings of some films.
I just don't agree with some of them, and what good do they really do anyway if you go to see a really dark, really violent, rated 'R' movie late at night, and there are parents who bring really small children, like kids under the age of 7, and babies(!), and these kids are scared, crying, and throwing a fit because what they are seeing is terrifying them, and the parents, instead of getting their kids and leaving, tells the kids to shut up because they are watching the movie?!
Babysitters people, babysitters.
And if you can't afford a sitter, then don't go to the movies until you can afford one.
Not only is it cruel to subject your children to images and sounds that will give them nightmares for the next 2 months, but it's not fair to every other person in that theater who specifically waited for a late showing so they could avoid screaming and crying children who are totally ruining their movie going experience that they paid a lot of money to go see.