The List.

Ever since the girls were born, I've spent a fair bit of time considering what I'll be forbidding them from doing. It's a natural thought exercise: what activities or groups will I explicitly disallow the girls from partaking in? Because, while I am a progressive sort who finds personal expression and non-questioning tolerance to be solid tenets of a moral person, I also think there's just some crap that would send me through the roof. So, then, here is my list thus far. In a nutshell, if either Abby or Lily find themselves involved with or interested in any of these things, I will be sending them swiftly to the nunnery.

- Scientology (and to be honest, this one started the whole thread for me, because for some strange reason I found myself wondering what it would be like to be Katie Holmes' dad)
- Vegemite (in honor of Chris)
- Elvis Costello (I just don't understand his appeal; it's like nails on a chalkboard for me
- Saturday cartoons other than the ones I watched as a kid (because the 80's nailed it, so why bother? The entire medium of cartoons jumped the shark when The Smurfs faded back into the obscure Belgian wood from whence they came)
- Fundamentalist Mormonism
- "That '70s Show"
- Texting
- Texting about Mormonism
- Participating in an American Idol vote
- Apple
- Portishead
- Not knowing the difference between "your" and "you're"
- Professional arm wrestling
- Amateur arm wrestling
- Irony
- Ponzi schemes
- Country music to include western but excluding alt-country

and, finally:

- Ponies

These things are verbotten.

Certainly you've got your own list. Maybe it's secret, maybe not. If you've ever forbidden your kids from something, please feel free to write a comment and share with the class.

Day one hundred and twenty eight.

Lily waits out a rainy day Saturday.

Still raining.

Abby went down to the crossroads.

Spunky McNugget.