Someone shared this picture with me today and it brought me to tears. It is of a father and son at the first space shuttle launch and, again, at the last one.

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Photo courtesy of Chris Bray

It reminded me so much of these.

This is my husband at Cedar Point Amusement Park, circa 1975. Please excuse the watermarks. This is what happens to your pictures when you’re old.

This is my daughter at Cedar Point in 2003.

And, this is my son on the very same ride in 2007.

I got so choked up looking at the picture of that man and his father; I think because his dad looks so young and spry in the first photo and in the second one, all signs of youth have been covered by gray hair and softened skin. It feels, to me, that 30 years goes by in a fleeting moment.

Already, my daughter looks nothing like that little girl in the red rocket. My son looks exactly the same, but dudes, the kid doesn’t grow.

I’m sure that someday I will look back on his photo and think how quickly he changed from that little boy into a man, the way that I look at my daughter and barely recognize her here. Last night we were talking about how, in six years, she’ll be 18. EIGHTEEN. And, six years goes by like that. *snap*

I hope that someday my kids recreate a picture of their childhood with their own children and that they cherish the shared memories. And, I hope that I’m around 30 years from now to see that they do. Gray hair, soft skin and all.

But, more than anything, I really hope that Cedar Point gets some new rides.

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Have you ever had something that you love to hate? Or, better yet, that you love to hate to love?

Yeah, well for me that’s Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

You can not deny that there are a lot of things to hate about that movie. Go ahead and try to tell yourself that you enjoy the eternity that it takes Charlie to find the golden ticket, or the four grandparents playing Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (if you’re younger than 40, your punishment is to Google that). Or, worst of all, Gene Wilder’s manic singing during the boat ride to Psychedelia.

Yes, I just made Psychedelia a place. It’s probably a lot like Detroit.

But, have you ever really watched Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Have you grasped the lessons of generosity, honesty and kindness that it blatantly teaches us? Don’t be greedy, don’t be rude, don’t be a glutton and stay away from creepy men who whisper sweet nothings in your ear. You could get through your entire life armed with that information alone.

Despite the fact that I knew I would be singing, “I’ve got a golden ticket…” for a good week, we sat down with the kids the other day to watch this movie.

Throughout, we openly discussed the mistakes and bad behavior of the children. We talked about the importance of following your heart, listening to your gut and which 70’s fashion to stay far, far away from.

When it was over, my husband turned to our son and asked, “What did you learn from that movie?”

My boy looked up at his dad, thought for a second then said, “Ummm…well, I guess that I learned the Oompa Loompa song.’

At least we have that going for us.

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For nearly four years, I have chronicled my son’s blatant honesty in this space. I never thought I would say what I am about to say.

He’s been lying a lot.

Of course, he doesn’t hide the truth when it comes to telling someone that their forehead is greasy, or that their hands are wrinkly or that his 53 year old therapist must be “younger than mommy because she is smaller”. That one was a double whammy.

No, he’s been lying about whether or not he got toothpaste on the counter, his socks were put down the laundry chute or if he put the skateboard away. These are things for which he wouldn’t be punished, yet he lies about them nonetheless.

These untruths are spoken despite the fact that we have a steadfast rule. You will not get punished if you tell the truth.

The other day I sat him down and said, “Enough! I have taken away your video games, the TV and your controllable car. I have sent you to bed early and denied you dessert. You need to understand that you have to tell the truth! It is important and this is final, buddy. WE DO NOT LIE IN THIS HOUSE!”

Then he looked up at me and asked, “So, can I go outside and lie?”

Make sure you stop by my review page where I’m giving away a $100 gift card to Best Buy courtesy of BlogHer and sponsored by Samsung and a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods courtesy of BlogHer and sponsored by Gatorade.  Leave a comment on the individual posts for a chance to win. It’s that simple! And, I’m not lying!

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Some of the most embarrassing moments with my son have taken place at cash registers.  As if it isn’t bad enough to fork over $75 at Target when all you wanted was a roll of paper towels, try having your son tell the cashier that she looks like “kind of a girl” or that her big lips make her resemble a fish.

This would be why, a couple of weeks ago, my 12 year old daughter was a quick-thinker and pulled her little brother out of the grocery store line.  I had no idea what she was doing, until I stopped removing items from my cart, looked at the cashier and noticed he was wearing an eye patch.  Clearly, that guy was going to get called “a pirate”.

But, when we approached the register at the grocery store yesterday I didn’t see anything that might cause him to make a comment.  I was proactive and chose a cashier who was nice looking, clean and without blemishes.

And, of course, it backfired.

My son spied the young, blond-haired girl scanning our items and said, “Ohhhh, you’re pretty!”

She smiled as he gave her his shy look and smiled back.

Then his shy look disappeared and his expression became one of excitement as he looked over her shoulder, pointed to a different cashier and said, “Wait.  Actually, that girl over there is the pretty one!”

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