Terrible Twos and teens

Wendy Lang Beck Columnist

I sat in the pediatrician’s office behind the “orange door” as he began to gingerly extract something from my 1-year-old son’s ear. The 3-year-old brother was curled in a ball in the corner, pretending to be invisible for obvious reasons. I sat in the chair too mortified to move. This was not our usual bi-weekly trip for an ear infection. This was bigger than big. There was, we found upon extraction, a ball bearing in my baby’s ear.

With one look at my blood-shot eyes, the days-old remains of leftover makeup, and the never-ending dark circles, he asked the nurse to take the boys down the hall for suckers. He gently informed me that the “terrible twos” was a time period that began prior to age 2 and often lasted well into the age 3. He asked me if I had heard of them and continued without waiting for an answer to the obvious. He went on to ask me if I knew why God gave parents the “terrible twos.” I, of course, had no clue unless it was by virtue of a wicked sense of humor. He informed me that God gave parents the terrible twos to prepare us for adolescence. He then patted my hand and told me to check the valium dispenser on my way out. There was, of course, no valium dispenser, but those words turned out to be quite prophetic.

As of this weekend, I have not one, but two teenage sons and I’m still thinking God has a pretty wicked sense of humor. To the son who doesn’t like to see his name in print, Happy 13th birthday. I love you, Jorge Will!

Real Talk

Raising teens is hard, but I’ll be the first to admit that being a teenager is harder. I pretty much knew when I got braces and glasses the same year I started middle school that life was not only not fair, but it was also just plain tough. I have learned, however, that I am tougher ... just ask my boys.

It is with that in mind that Real Talk has another event planned for both teens and parents. On Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. at the Princess Theatre Center for the Performing Arts, speaker and musical sensation Jill Parr will amaze you with her talent as well as her determination to see others succeed and develop self-worth. Her roots of faith go deep as she encourages others along life’s journey through music and the spoken word. Sponsored by 88.1 WAY-FM, Parr will share her love for and understanding of the adolescent species of this planet.

When it comes to the Christian music scene Parr is no newcomer. She has five national and international radio hits, been on numerous promotional tours and is the recipient of the coveted Billboard Magazine Critics Pick. Tickets are $10, available from JUG members, Princess Theatre or by calling 214-1988. Group discounts are available, so please don’t delay in making your plans to attend.

Guard that stew

I love the pageantry of a football game. The band, the flags, the colors and the gallantry all come together to make a mere game an event of magnificent proportions — at least it does so here in the South where football is a religion.

But the Decatur High School Color Guard doesn’t quit after football season. They are Energizer bunnies hard at work competing as a winter guard and raising money for uniforms and competition fees. Under the leadership of band director Robbie Stout, his wife, instructor Gina Stout, and Andrew Paul, this group of diligent teenagers is constantly learning new moves.

They are taking orders for quarts of homemade chicken stew to be distributed Feb. 7 at Ogle Stadium between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. The stew is $5 a quart and tickets can be purchased from these amazing members of the DHS Winter Guard: Yvette Barboza, Caroline Bishop, Sally Clark, Sara Doran, Destiny Garrin, Anna Marie Hamilton, Emily Jackson, MJ Letson, David Rich, Erin Ryan, Cristina Scharoni, Nira Wright, and my nearly niece, Caitlin Marman.

Piping hot stew on a cold winter day is easily a family favorite, and the recipe is, I hear, a winter guarded secret.

For information or tickets, call Ann Jackson at 340-9979 or Jenny Letson at 340-9249.

Troops need a taste of home

For those of you watching your weight, you still have cookie options and for those of you like me who are merely watching your weight expand, this is for you, too. Just in from our friends at the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama: Cookies are being collected to send to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan through March 30.

Cookies for soldiers can be dropped off at any Girl Scout Service Center in North Alabama (our closest drop-off spot is on Sparkman Drive in Huntsville) or you can purchase cookies at a booth location and let the girls know that the purchase goes for deployed troops.

In addition, donations to assist in the costs for shipping can be given at a booth sale or to your neighborhood Girl Scout. For more information, please call 800-410-8338 ext. 227 or log onto www.girlscoutsnca.org.

Remember that cookie sales will continue through March 7. Buy a box or two of my personal favorites, Thin Mints. Not only is it good for the waistline, but it encourages free enterprise as well as the simple, yet often forgotten, art of sharing.

History happened here

I am a history buff. My minors in college were history and English. They were about the only two classes I could pass my freshman year. Maybe my love comes from hearing “what goes around comes around” a few too many times, but either way you cut it, our fair city has a history all its own.

The Morgan County Genealogical Society will meet Sunday at the Morgan County Archives building. Archives intellect John Allison will be the keynote speaker and present a program on the Scottsboro Boys Trial, which was held in Decatur in March 1933.

The Morgan County Archives and Allison’s predecessor, Susan Bzdell, were instrumental in the documentation of this trial and assisted in the PBS documentary “The Scottsboro Boys: A Trial of Tears,” a history of this illustrious case involving nine black males and two white women during the Depression.

Allison has been equally as instrumental in assisting others with photographs and other documentation. You won’t want to miss this riveting chronology of events. As I spoke with Allison this week, he said he was excited about this time of discussion and plans a slide presentation along with a chronological timeline of events.

Last month’s meeting, under the leadership of society president, Anthony Patterson, ushered in two new members, Bob and Judy Crawford. Also announced was the society’s purchase of mannequins to be used for military displays. In addition, both the archives and the MCGS have purchased glass display cases to house various artifacts.

Anyone who wants to donate military uniforms, particularly from the WWII Women’s Army Corps, can call 351-4726.

Patterson also acted as keynote speaker discussing Scot-Irish research; not Scotch-Irish as is often misused. One fascinating tidbit gleaned from the meeting was that Malcom Patterson, a Madison land surveyor in the early 1800s recommended the name change from Cotaco County to Morgan County, and so here we are.

For information, contact Jessie Sturdivant at 773-7989.

Please share with me your ins and outs and ups and downs. We’ll both be glad you did. E mail me at chatterbox@decaturdaily.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Don’t forget

Tie that string around your finger this weekend and remember:

Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers will appear at Princess Theatre at 7:30 on Friday night. Call 340-1778.

The Flashbacks will perform a celebration concert at the Princess at 7 on Saturday night. Call 340-1778.

The Morgan County Junior League American Girl Fashion Show model search will be at Decatur Country Club on Saturday at 9 a.m. for girls sizes 6x and 10. Call 351-8442.