I call ...

I have noticed lately that Sean has caught onto Brian and his friends "calling" things. You remember from when you were a kid - I call the big swing, I call the front seat (when it was legal!), I call 'not it', I call the blue plate, I call I'm on his team, I call the first popsicle. Fill in the blank with whatever you wanted at the time.

But now the kids have a new one that I never heard of before. They both say it so quickly that it all runs together. I had to get them to slow down and say each part separately. This was difficult for them - especially Sean. I am not sure he knew exactly what he was saying. He was simply repeating the sounds and syllables that he heard at the appropriate times. It goes something like this - "I call _______, permanently, no back shields, no erasers, no take backs." And apparently is is law on the playground and works.

I wish the same held true for adults. That we just had to be the first to "call" things. Man, I would be up before dawn just to get a jump on people. I cannot stop my mind from running with a huge list of things I would "call". Hmm, let's see. So, I call the following - permanently, no back shields, no erasers, no take backs.

When I was going through fertility treatments it would have been a great power to have-

I call I get pregnant this cycle!
I call no miscarriages.
I call I get a healthy baby in nine months!

Now that I am finished with treatments, I guess I will turn my list toward housekeeping -
I call no making lunches.
I call no changing dirty diapers.
I call no cleaning toilets.
I call no doing wash.
I call no unloading the dishwasher.
I call no cleaning up kids' rooms.
I call no picking up dog poop - and Sean poop - out back.

The problem here is that most of these things I can call and will have no competition since I am the only one doing them. I guess they would just never get done. Can you imagine?

I guess it could also work in the positive -
I call I get to read to and play with my kids every day!
I call we get a referral sooner rather than later.
I call my kids grow up to be kind, loving, compassionate adults.
I call we all live happily ever after! (whatever that is)