lil' andes benedict had his first taste of discipline last night. he was not amused, and neither was i. like any scorpio baby he was up and around waaaaay past the time most 8-month olds go nite-nite. and i allow it, to some extent. it's great that he learns to socialize with my friends. nik did, and he's ok, so far.

we were at his tia's house; he loves her. he also loves merrymaking, puppy bashing, party-time. while we say "viva la revolucion," he shouts "viva la fiesta." so thrashing around the living room he broke a flower pot. mortified i picked him up and said very sternly ENOUGH! NO MAS!A DORMIR! time to go to bed. and he yelped and cried and like that he went to sleep. oh cholito social creature, what we will i do with you? and you with us? don't you know you've been born into a family of tortured, introverted outsiders? i swear i sent the memo!

i'm very relaxed with the children. until i'm not. the yin and the yang of parenting. i'm not a hypocrite. i practice what i preach. it's simple. breaking flowerpots, not good, so baby is not allowed to get away with it. we cant correct the child if we carry on in the same way. we are their real, live examples, forever teaching, forever setting patterns.

on that same token, if i eat in bed, then lets have a picnic, if i leave a trail of shoes all over the house, well...its shoefest09. so i try try try from the moment i wake up to be exemplary. little eyes are watching my every move, hanging on to every word. it's a lot of pressure. i'm medicated, i mean dedicated.

i'm very big into prevention, after all, family patterns are hard to break. i spent my life doing this. i grew up with a strange, if not disconnected crew that made us, well, very unfamiliar with our parents. they were loving dictators, but dictators nonetheless. the children were one thing and the parents another. we were the ecuadorian von traps, los vontrapos.

my experience has shaped my approach family culture; for us we've chosen a democracy, with a dash of totalitarianism. we is a big word in our house. so is share. even though mom is the voice, issues get discussed and voted on. we are raising each other, growing and learning together. we don't talk down to the children. after all, they'll be the ones choosing our nursing homes.

in this environment personal growth is encouraged; independent thinking is key. sharing those thoughts is supported, applauded, but on the the inside we will forever look after each other, to each other we belong, unless one of the boys starts to pay my mortgage, or gets married then i'm toast.