Dear Roger: Manners, Even When Its Difficult

I am trying to instill good manners in my children, and Lord knows it is not an easy thing to do. I have always taught them to say,"Please and Thank you and Yes Sir and Yes Ma'am" and thing of that nature, as well as taught my daughter the basics of how to act like a lady because there was no way in hell I was going to raise the first,"Girl Gone Wild" or titty dancer in the family. I am enough of a scandal as it is without that kind of shame out there, so this past week since she has had a bunch of presents and cards rolling in for her birthday, I have made sure that she has been keeping track of the envelopes and the addresses so that she can carefully handcraft and address a personalized,"Thank you" to each and every person who sent her something.
I have been terrible about that in years past and it was one of my resolutions this year to get better at it, or to at make sure my kids started getting better at it but between trying to get her caught up in the schoolwork she got behind on when I allowed her to take a day or two off and just be a kid, as well as the day lost when she went with me to pick up Sticky's Ipad, "Thank you" notes have been a slow go. The distraction of the Ipad in the house has not helped us at all either. Her brother and her spent most of the first day it was here, just teaching Talking Tom how to say vaguely,(and not so vaguely) objectionable things and playing Angry Birds together. after she got done with her days schoolwork.
She has been quite the trooper about that and has managed to catch it all up and then some, in a short amount of time and I am very proud of her, I wish her big brother had her work ethic. Today she started working on the,"Thank you" cards and she is having fun personalizing each one to the person, speculating about what they might like and how to draw it.
She has been in pretty good spirits, especially since the 100 Monkeys released their new single and she loves it! We both do and she is eagerly hoping that they will come up this direction and play a show she can attend. She has tweeted at her favorite boy a few times, but gotten no response and she is convinced hes mad at her for some strange reason. I've tried to tell her that hes just off doing boy things, but shes a little kid and she is still learning how people are and in her world when someone disappears from your life, its usually for a bad reason. I'm going to just keep her busy and distracted with other bands, the goings on of the band boys that are left and the looming summer movie releases that look all kinds of exciting. She was front and center when we saw that Johnny Depp has "Dark Shadows" coming out and her comment was,"Dont even THINK for one MINUTE you are leaving me home for that one!" I wouldn't dare, she gave me such a look when she said that! I trust Depp to make something that will be okay for her to see, because with rare exception,(Sweeney Todd being one), he and Burton tend to make movies that kids like her can watch over and over again and enjoy for years to come, in fact, our movie collection includes most of them and often when we are home with nothing better to do, there is one playing in the background, so keeping her distracted and busy will help I am sure to soothe any hurt or worry and with her play coming up soon, she will be busy with rehearsals and planning for her summer camp and if she is going or not, then I think she will soon forget any worries.
I am so ready for the wet and cold winter to be over with. We get a couple of days of nice weather where the sunshine comes out and everyone gets all hopeful and happy, and then all hell breaks loose again with the rain and even the snow. It has really taken a toll on everyone's good mood most days, especially the little boys.
Stubby is not a fan of Oregon and he lets me know about it over an over, on pretty much a daily basis. I just tell him that I am sorry he hates it here, but there really is no alternative for him. His father is currently bouncing around in L.A. with whomever he hasn't worn out his welcome at, and hes still claiming poverty. He was so impoverished in fact, he couldn't send his daughter anything for her birthday. I ask him about helping out with the kids expenses and I get the same story I always get,"I dont have any damn money!" as he puffs on a cigarette and then proceeds to tell me about his adventures around L.A. and hanging out at the beach. Stubby finally asked me the other day what child support was and I very carefully explained the legal terms for it, refraining from mentioning that I would be owed 32k if the state of AZ hadn't quashed his fathers when he was incarcerated for domestic violence,(never should have done that little bit of math)its done nothing but make me crazy ever since. Stub said,"So if its to help pay for us, then why does dad say its bullshit?" I just simply shrugged and waited until he went to school before I walked into my room and cursed into my pillow for good 5 minutes, it wouldn't have done me or my son any good to have acted any other way and I, at least have good enough manners to know that.