Amy Lane is here today talking kids and their hysterics inducing shenanigans and to promo her second in The Mannies series, Manny Get Your Guy. See our review HERE!
Manny Get Your Guy—Blogpost 4
…Too Quiet… (2)
So, in my blog post at Open Skye Books, I talked about how most parents and caregivers of small children know that too much silence is a bad thing. It’s like watching a cartoon character tip-toe from behind the refrigerator to behind the couch—you just know that duck is up to no good.
But sometimes, the kid’s quiet is masked by the sound of your own activity—and that’s even worse. Cause you think that kid is safe. You think that kid is tended. You think that kid is… oh dear…
Eleven years ago after Squish was born, I went back to work full time because I was insane. And broke. Okay, we were broke, but I was also insane. The year was a disaster—my computer was literally eating my grades (not my fault, once we discovered the cause), the principal had purposefully given me sophomores who I hadn’t taught ever, and one of my two classes of juniors had 13/33 kids who had passed maybe two classes and were going to continuation school—in SECOND semester. (Yes, this too was done on purpose.) I could go on—the list of disasters that occurred in Squish’s first year was long and painful, and exacerbated by post-partum hormones and, hey, hello, ulcerative colitis. Welcome to public education.
So I was already exhausted by the third week.
I remember this day. I had it all so perfectly planned in my head. A. Get home and change myself and Squish’s diaper. B. Have Zoomboy playing in the fenced in back yard while I start dinner. C. Sit down and nurse a crying Squish while I wait for the water to boil. Such a simple plan.
I get to the part where I finally sink into my chair to have Squish nurse, and I think, “Wait—why can’t I hear ZoomBoy in his Big Wheel in the backyard?” Believe me—I could hear him before, cause it was a loud loud piece of equipment, and because he made “ZOOM!” noises while he rode.
And just as I think that, there is a knock at the door.
Three neighborhood women are standing there. One of them is knocking, one of them is holding the Big Wheel, and one of them is holding ZoomBoy’s hand.
He is naked.
Naked.
“We think this is yours,” says one of the women.
I open my arm and he runs and jumps up on me, so I’m holding two children. He is laughing maniacally, I might add. “I got out!”
“Oh my God.” (Literally, the first thing I could manage to say. Now, after another eleven years of child-rearing, it would be like “Oh holy fucking Jesus,” but back then I was trying to behave.)
“Yeah,” said the woman handing Chicken the Big Wheel. (She is also laughing hysterically cause she was a sarcastic little shit then as now) “We saw him riding by naked once and didn’t see anybody behind him, and we thought you’d be along shortly. And then we saw him again, and thought, ‘Where is that kid coming from?’ And then we saw him a third time and thought, ‘You know… she might need a little help,’ and we followed him.”
I almost broke into tears. Oh my God yes, I needed a little help. And I got it. I never saw those three women again—not in ten years of walking myself and my dogs in this neighborhood. I have no idea where they came from. But they obviously knew me and my kids, and they stepped up.
And didn’t judge.
Goddess bless them all.
When it was Taylor’s turn for “too quiet” (in which much less drastic things happen than happened to me, because I didn’t want the storm of “He’s a horrible neglectful man who should never watch kids!” to hit my inbox like a tsunami) I gave him that heart stopping moment of “Oh my God where’d the kid go?”
But I also gave him an ally (yeah, sure, a romantic interest, but an ally nonetheless) who wouldn’t judge him. And someone who could tell a story about the time the same thing had happened to the entire family.
Because when your heart drops to your feet (and your bladder comes close!) and you think “Oh my God what almost… what could have… oh holy fucking Jesus how could I not have…” it really does help to have someone there holding your hand and going, “Kids are hard. Sorry, man—I wish I could say, ‘This is how you fucked up and how to never do that again’ but kids reinvent the rules every single time. There is always a way they can get into trouble—that’s why we hire nannies and day care places and beg relatives and pray. That’s why they age us worse than cigarettes and heroin, and that’s why having one more—even when you’ve got half a zillion already—is always a big deal. The only good thing going here is that now we have you, and you’re on the side of good, and you’re gonna look out for kids like we looked out for yours.”
Whether that person is a family friend, a boyfriend to be, or three angels with a naked kid and a Big Wheel, having that sort of support from the universe is the thing that keeps half the parents of the world from dropping down from heart failure and anxiety.
It just really helps to have someone on your side.
The Mannies
Starting over and falling in love.
Tino Robbins’s sister, Nica, and her husband, Jacob, are expecting their fifth child. Fortunately, Nica’s best friend, Taylor Cochran, is back in town, released from PT and in need of a job.
After years in the service and recovering from grave injury, Taylor has grown a lot from the callow troublemaker he’d been in high school. Now he’s hoping for a fresh start with Nica and her family.
Jacob’s cousin Brandon lives above the garage and thinks “Taylor the manny” is a bad idea. Taylor might be great at protecting civilians from a zombie apocalypse, but is he any good with kids?
Turns out Taylor’s a natural. As he tries to fit in, using common sense and dry wit, Brandon realizes that Taylor doesn’t just love their family—he’s desperate to be part of it. And just like that, Brandon wants Taylor to be part of his future.
Links:
Amazon
DSP
The Virgin Manny
Blurb:
The Mannies
Growing up and falling in love...
Sometimes family is a blessing and a curse. When Tino Robbins is roped into helping his sister deliver her premade Italian dinners when he should be studying for finals, he’s pretty sure it’s the latter! But one delivery might change everything.
Channing Lowell’s charmed life changes when his sister dies and leaves him her seven-year-old son. He’s committed to doing what’s best for Sammy… but he’s going to need a lot of help. When Tino lands on his porch, Channing is determined to recruit him to Team Sammy.
Tino plans to make his education count—even if that means avoiding a relationship—but as he falls harder and harder for his boss, he starts to wonder: Does he have to leave his newly forged family behind in order to live his promising tomorrow?
Link:
Amazon
Blog Tour Dates:
June 24 - MM Good Book Reviews
June 27 - My Fiction Nook
June 28 - Open Skye Book Reviews
July 1 - Boy Meets Boy
July 3 - Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
July 5 - Love Bytes
July 6 - Long and Short Reviews
Thank you so much for hosting my blog tour--and I"m so glad you liked the story!
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