Child Psychology 101

When I was a kid sitting in the back of the car, I would envision myself leaning out the car window with a lawn mower—nay, a DR Field & Brush Mower—and cutting down all the shrubbery on the side of the road.

It. Was. Satisfying.

I told Andy this and he said he had a similar backseat OCD habit growing up. He would pretend he was hitting a tennis ball over every lamp post on the side of the highway. He quickly realized that lifting his pretend racket up every few seconds looked funny, so he allowed himself to use his jaw instead. Much more discrete. He would open his jaw, then shut it quickly to fling the tennis ball over. Open, shut. Open, shut. Open, shut. By the time his fam arrived in Germany, a 13-hour road trip, his jawbone would be aching like crazy.

Ram Williamson, age Ram

Oh, I also had this thing where I had to touch the person in front of me in line at the grocery store. Not obviously. Just a very, very light touch—maybe my coat accidentally brushed against theirs or a magazine I was holding happened to catch the edge of their purse. The people were never the wiser. Still, I felt weird about it. And I didn't like the fact that I felt so compelled to do it. The solution? I dared myself NOT to do it anymore. Worked like a charm. I'm nearly 20 years clean.

The moral of this post is that kids are weird. I took Child Psychology in Cyprus, but we never covered the fact that kids are just plan kooky. Also, as mother Nadinski says, everything's a phase.

That's all for tonight. Stay cool in this heat wave.

So long,
Margaret

Look right down any crowded hall

I was thinking about Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield today and wondering what they're up to. They must be, what, 31 by now? They were 27 in the final book, 'Sweet Valley Confidential', so yeah...that makes them about 31.

Ignoring everything that was in Sweet Valley Confidential, I would guess Elizabeth's married to Todd and working as an HR manager for a major publishing company. Jessica? Well she just sent in her audition tape for the next season of The Bachelor. She works in social media and loves to Instagram her thigh gap.

Anyway.

Sweet Valley High played a major role in my childhood and teenage years. In our house, Sweet Valley books were part of the furniture. They were squished between couch cushions, stacked up on the back of the toilet and shoved inside the Suburban's back seat pockets.

There was always one close at hand. It didn't matter where you were with a certain book, you'd just pick up the nearest one, open to a random page and read. Chronology wasn't a concern.

Most people, including myself, liked Jessica more. She was fun! The only thing Elizabeth had going for her was being smart. That and Todd Wilkins, who, let's be honest, was a bore.

Sweet Valley went through many incarnations over the years. Sweet Valley Kids covered the elementary school years and Sweet Valley Twins took place in middle school. Then there was the Unicorn Club spinoff, which focused on Jessica and Lila's exclusive group, The Unicorns, and its snobby members.

Of course, Sweet Valley High was and remains the pinnacle of Francine Pascal's career. More specifically, Sweet Valley High: Senior Year. This particular series introduced new characters (former El Carro High students who transferred to SVH when their school burned down) and took the Padden cousins by storm. I think I read books #4 and #5 at least 30 times each.

Now here's the burning question: what is it about Sweet Valley that spoke to our souls?

Let's ruminate on that this week.




Yikes. It's 11:38pm and I've got to wrap this up.

Top 5 Children's / Teen Book Series of All time

1. Harry Potter
2. Sweet Valley High
3. Boxcar Children
4. Babysitter's club
5. Fear Street

Goodnight,
Margaret