And now, a few words from Chris Erskine
Our Man of the House, Chris Erskine, has moved to Saturdays along with the rest of the Home section. Today, we give you a teensy peek into his fevered, suburban brain:
It’s only September and our kids have already broken out the Christmas mugs, guzzling big vats of hot chocolate, sometimes laced with coffee for added energy, sometimes laced with other stuff to calm their jangled nerves. Parenting tip No. 1: Lock the liquor cabinet. Swallow the key.
"You been drinking?" I ask the little guy the other morning before kindergarten.
"Dad?"
"Huh?"
"You think anybody could live here sober?" he asks.
Well, those weren’t his words exactly, but that’s the drift. He’s had his frustrations lately with home and school. Kindergarten is so regimented. The lines of authority too rigid.
So we now walk him into class each morning, forgoing the carpool line and hoofing it to that shimmering schoolhouse on the hill. In the first week, we discovered that if you don’t walk him personally to the kindergarten door, that he will somehow wind up down at the local supermarket, ordering deli food.
Can't wait to read the rest tomorrow? Try cooling your heels in the Erskine Archive.
-- Veronique de Turenne
