Child

Thoughts & Sayings (June 2012)

Here are some thoughts and sayings I posted on Twitter and/or Facebook in May. To my knowledge, I made these up (for better or for worse). Sit back, relax, and enjoy the write!

Encouraging Words

1. Traveling is always one trip forward and two setbacks.

2. Behind every good gadget is a processor.

3. When mining for knowledge, it’s important to filter the gems from the slag.

4. The distance between ahead and behind is half a body’s length.

5. Think twice about bullying someone. They may be your future boss.

6. My weight has held me captive for so long that I feel like going on a hunger strike.

7. Is it better to be sharp, well-rounded, or a square?

Twisted Words

8. Transfarmers: Robots that turn into domesticated animals and agricultural equipment.

9. You can cross your eyes, but can you dot your T’s?

10. Sometimes I crack myself up. I really have to stop egging myself on.

11. I’m a fruit, and you’re nuts. Let’s make trail mix.

In Its Own Write

12. When you’re a writer, the work never stops. You have to decide when to stop working.

13. Make every word count. Enroll them in a math course.

Holidays & Events

14. April showers May bring flowers.

15. Overheard on the radio: “May Day! May Day! We’re going down…to occupy the park!”

16. This Cinco de Mayo, try not to eat at a French restaurant.

17. A haiku. Mother, mom, and friend. Today honors you all year. No one else but you.

18. Beware, beware, the Ides of May! Oh, wait. Never mind. Caesar has passed.

19. Perhaps the movie “Men In Black 3” starring Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin should been have called “No Country for Old Men in Black.”

20. “Snow White and the Huntsman”: Bella Swan and Thor team up to fight the evil Meredith Vickers on the Prometheus.

Random Musings

21. I’m trying to see what’s happening on the other side of the world, but the horizon is blocking the view.

22. It’s bad luck to throw salt into your coffee.

23. Today I made coffee with sugar instead of salt. It’s going to be a better day. I can feel it. Less bloating.

24. How in the world do I feel tired when you’re just getting started? I must have my days and nights turned around.

25. Get 10,000 Twitter followers in minutes! Be a celebrity. Double it! Tweet crazy stuff too. Triple it! Get in trouble for tweeting crazy stuff.

26. In our 140-character world, wouldn’t it be easier to greet people with acronyms instead of salutations? GM. HRU2day? HAGD.

27. A few years ago I received e-mails from friends. Now my inbox is filled with messages from my pals Facebook and Twitter.

28. My son is a really good back-seat driver. It’s too bad that he doesn’t know how to drive.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. His collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

Understanding children

Try as I might, sometimes I don’t understand children. Tonight our toddler really acted up. He had his mother at wit’s end trying to figure out what he wanted. He took a late nap and was a bundle of energy the entire evening. We couldn’t get him to sleep because he was so wound up. He looked like he wanted mommy to come out and play at 11 o’clock at night. Daddy just wouldn’t do. He was really upset, and because he doesn’t say much yet he couldn’t tell us what he wanted. Mommy was very tired, so she asked daddy to take him out to the living room to play and exhaust the last of his energy. Our toddler cried and cried and just wanted to go back to mommy. I thought he was hungry and tried to feed him some food. He didn’t want it. I thought he might need some milk but he didn’t want that either. Finally, I noticed he was looking at his sippy cup. I finally figured out that he wanted some apple juice mixed with water. I finally understood what he had been trying to tell us all along. We just didn’t have a clue. We were frustrated with him, and he with us. Once he got his juice he was fine. He was thirsty after playing so hard and crying all evening. Juice is what he needed.

You try to be a good parent and listen to your children. Sometimes you just can’t understand them. But instead of losing your temper, you just have to try harder to communicate and figure out what they’re trying to tell you. In a year or so our son will be old enough to put short sentences together and will be able to better tell us what he wants. He already can convey simple ideas like “car”, “bird,” and “diaper”. However, he can’t tell us he’s thirsty. We have to be magicians by figuring it out from his signs and trying to read his mind. It’s frustrating for us sometimes, but no more so than it is for him.

I never understood why children go through the so-called “Terrible Two’s” (which really start around 1 1/2 years of age). I now know that it’s because sometimes children at that age have to resort to extreme forms of communication to get their point across–blood-curdling, mind-numbing temper tantrums. Our son is now in that phase, and I hope for his sake and ours it will pass soon. In the meantime, I’ll keep working on my listening skills.