Weed and 10,000 Hits

Does your kid act like a child? Do you find yourself asking, "How did I get so irritable?" There's got to be a better way!



I've found that smoking weed while parenting makes me feel good enough that it outweighs the negatives, like the cost and the comedown period. Other than that, it doesn't affect my parenting skills, probably because I don't overdo it. I have a puff or two in the morning and it lasts thru the day.

Coffee helps, too. Oh man, the two in combination is awesome. I tend to lump caffeine and marijuana in the 'safe drugs' category. The fact that pot is illegal and is remotely frowned upon is a bunch of malarky, seeing as how the legality of alcohol doesn't make it safer or less health-reducing or less inebriating as pot, yet consuming it is totally socially acceptable. It doesn't add up. But coffee and weed--they're great, and safe, and weed is slowly becoming more legal across the United States, while cigarettes are being smoked by less and less young people. God bless us, every one.

So, parents--if you know your tolerance, and it's legal in your state, and you obtained it legally--smoking weed may make you a happier parent. There's a chance. It may not. Lots of my friends don't like how it makes them feel, and I've of course customarily eliminated them from my contacts and FB friends lists. But for me, it's medicating. I'm able to more readily obtain fascination from my kids' mental musings, physical exploration, and artistic outputs. Kids need happy, supportive, understanding parents, right?

I say give yourself that little mind-altering thing you like to do. It's okay. Don't feel guilty. Parents need a break. Some turn to prescription drugs or wine. Just don't overdo it. You've gotta be careful not to get too far out on a limb of your own dumbassery, though. Cause it is a drug, and it can inhibit you, so it's of ultimate importance to your family that you know what pot does to you and that you can handle in combination the buzz, the daily chores, and maintaining a level head.

Society has a lot to say about what you do in your own house, but you have the judgement necessary to make those choices. After all, isn't using judgement what parenting's all about?

Often it's difficult. We must ask ourselves, 'What does my kid need right now?' and then go do it! It could be a major or minor upset to your routine. Maybe it's switching jobs to make more money, or just changing your outlook, or discarding a bad habit or two, or finding a better place to live, or just deciding to continue in the day-to-day cleaning and feeding of one or several little humans.

Other questions a parent may ask herself:

• Am I smoking too much weed lately and turning my lungs into a black, rubbery resin forest?
• Am I drinking too much?
• Am I yelling too much and losing my temper too often and doing things I later regret in a destructive cycle?
• Am I driving my partner crazy doing something I'm either aware or unaware of? (never hurts to ask. MEN.)
• Am I supportive enough to help my kids develop strong self confidence?
• Am I disciplinarily consistent and measured?
• Am I ever hypocritical?
• What are my kids learning from both my witting and unwitting examples?

Parents should always strive to reach a bar higher than the one we're currently achieving, as a survival mechanism. We become lazy when we think we're complacent. We need to ask ourselves if we're being the best parents we can be, because once one has parented long enough, the mind tends to forget, or at least lose track of the Prime Directive: kids need shit and we gotta put down our shit to do it.

And not only do we have to ask the questions, we have to follow thru on the answers.

A big one for me was quitting my fucking swearing. Right?!

Since Lucy's been getting older, I've had to get better at not smoking around her. She's four years old as of last March. She's seen me do it, of course. The time will come soon for us to talk about it. I'll have to use my best judgement when it happens. I figure that time will come when she points to the bong and asks me, directly, "What is that?"

What I don't plan on doing is hiding my habit from her and being dishonest. It helps that I'm in a state that doesn't legally punish pot smoking, so I don't have to worry about my job or family being on the line if my kid says to someone, like a teacher or a cop, that her dad smokes, no not cigarettes, the green stuff.

My temper lessens when I'm high. More things roll off my back like water, yet I'm still functional enough to both do everything physically I need to do around the house, and to communicate with my girls on a level they understand.

I mean, you--you, the non-smoking parent (and thank you for not smoking cigarettes, that shit's going bye-bye fast and is bad for everyone)--you gotta admit that you have a temper, right? I mean, do your kids fill you with nothing but happiness and joy all the time? Or even if they're great--is your partner great? We all need a break sometimes.

If you look at what comprises some parents' Facebook updates, you'd think their kids were angels, always clean, shining and backlit. Oh man, what a lie. But no one really talks about how hard it is to be a parent. It's misleading. Single people become afraid of kids in this way. Or they should, if they think logically. Like a Vulcan.

I've got a classmate friend who wants to make friends with my wife and I, but says that she's really scared of kids. And I totally understand. But I'm going to tell her this: Some kids are crazy. Some kids are cool. You never know what you're gonna get. But you can't go around saying you hate adults based on the behavior of a few bad ones that you met, can you?

In other news, today my poor little Lucy is sick. She woke us up last night around midnight and luckily got all but a little splash of puke in the toilet. Megan took care of her, losing sleep, while I stayed in bed like a lazy asshole. She has to work a shift at work today, and all I have to do is stay home with the kids.

And right now, what am I doing? Oh, editing a blog entry. Big deal. Does that make us money? Does that comfort my sick or my healthy child? What a butthole I am.

She puked twice this morning, but since then she's held down an entire sippy cup of cranberry juice/water, about half an egg and some crackers. Signs of betterment. Dad is less stressed. Cause damn--the stress of one of your kids being sick is where parents can get really crazy.

In other other news, hey look at the page hits counter near the top of this blog, right underneath the title! It's surpassed 10,000!

I feel special today. Thank you everyone for reading my incoherent thoughts and ramblings. I do love to feel appreciated.