Phone Calls and Errands:
-Called landlord, explained that we now have no mailbox thanks to someone who decided to take a joy ride and knock down 6 mailboxes on Friday night.
-Went to post office, explained that we have no mailbox. What should I do? Filled out hold form. There was no mail to pick up because it had already gone out on the truck. Will return tomorrow. (They weren’t surprised by the way about the mailbox, apparently it happens whenever school lets out and right before school starts back up again.)
-Called police department, asked for insurance information for the driver who rear ended my car last Tuesday. I haven’t heard anything about any repairs yet. They had no number for the insurance, but gave me name and policy number and insurance company. Said to call my insurance. While I was on the phone, I also took the report number of the mailbox incident so my landlord could get a copy for the owner’s insurance.
-Called landlord, gave him mailbox incident report number.
-Called my insurance. Didn’t have claim number, talked to some very helpful people who gave (for the second time) my claim number and adjuster name and number. They also were able to look up the contact number for the other driver’s insurance.
-Called the other driver’s insurance. No accident reported. No problem, we’ll file the claim now. We’ll just have to ask you some questions, should take about 15 minutes. What kind of car hit you? What color was it? Did you get the license plate number? Was it the owner driving the car? Did he have any scratches or dings on his car before he hit you? (How should I know?) Do you know his phone number or address? Finally, they got to questions about my car, which I was able to answer quite a bit more easily. Now, we do not at this time accept responsibility for the damage to your car, but we would like to look at it. Can you drive it to Farmington? That seems a bit far. OK, we’ll send someone sometime this week. Are you normally home 9-5 every day? Yes, but not every day. Well, they will probably call first. Here’s your claim number and your adjuster. He’ll call you in about 2 days.

Conversations with the kids:

Will: What we do ‘night?
Me: We have to go to Fayettville.
Will: After we come home, what we do?
Me: Then we’ll eat supper. Nothing special going on tonight.
Will: Oh, we eat with Dad?
Me: No, Dad is not here. Remember he is gone on a trip, he will be gone for several days.
Will: Oh.

Elise (to our employee Melissa who brought a dog to play today): Can I go with you to take the dog home?
Melissa: Well, I don’t know if that would work very well, because then I would have to go to my house and then bring you back with the dog in the car.
Elise: So? That’s OK.
Melissa: But then it is just like you are going for a ride with the dog.
Elise: That’s fine with me.

Will (at naptime): Where’s Dad?
Me: He’s on his trip, remember?
Will: I want to go.
Me: He already left, you can’t go.
Will: But I want to go.
Me: Will you aren’t old enough to go.

Me (during clean up time in Will’s room): Will, I need your help. Where are you?
(I hear the garage door open and close and Will’s voice from the hallway): Right here!
(I come around the corner to discover him holding a screw driver poised to puncture the large beach ball he’s been playing with.)
Me: Will, don’t do that! You will break it and then you won’t be able to use it again. Don’t get into Dad’s tools! Now come and help me in your room. I have a job for you. Come on big boy!
Will: Big HUGE boy! Big huge MEAN boy!

Elise (after just starting Othello with me and discovering it is harder to play without Daddy sitting next to her giving her advice even though when he does she is annoyed by it): I think I want to play another game. This one is too had without someone helping me.
Me: No, let’s finish this game.
Elise: Please, I don’t want to play this game.
Me: You need to finish it. Didn’t you play it with Nana by yourself. And then you won?
Elise: But she wasn’t playing it the right way. It is easy when you don’t play the right way (we discovered after she’d played it twice we’d left out a rule)
Me: Well, we are either going to play this game or no game tonight.
Elise (after playing and losing and now in tears): It’s not fun to lose.
Me: Elise, having fun playing the game is more important than winning.
Elise: But I want to win.
Me: If you can’t learn how to lose, then maybe you shouldn’t be playing.
Elise: But I want to play the game.
Me: Well, next time we play if you can’t lose gracefully, then maybe I will decide not to play this game with you again.
Elise: But I want someone to play with me!
Me: Well, do you like to win?
Elise: (just looks at me)
Me: Don’t you think other people might like to win too? Don’t you think you should be happy for them when they win? If you always won and everyone else always lost, do you think that would be fun for them? And if you always cry every time you lose, no one will want to play with you.
Elise: If we had been playing another game I wouldn’t be crying.

Another lesson in Williamese:
Qualifiers: Some words must have qualifiers in order to have any meaning at all. Examples include:
up, up high
big huge
and way far or way loud or way just about anything.