...reboot

Unlike computers, children don’t degrade with each and every use, instead they thrive on attention. In fact, a built-in attention-getter feature called an I.P.G. (ingrained programming glitch) comes standard on each of these little human mechanisms.

Journal,
I’m convinced that computer programs are designed to automatically upgrade themselves until they fulfill the Peter Principle. They progress until they crash. Those computers that lie dormant really have a longer period of workability than one that is ever turned on … There is no control, alt, delete to reboot children. All it takes is one big unplanned crash of any type where the hard drive gets scrambled and then there is no data retrieval. When the messages become garbled and mixed, there is no downloading the upgraded version. …if there were a sliding scale that estimated the number of days a computer could safely be used before it crashes, we would know upfront what we were getting into.
Ah, ha… Suddenly I’m get it. Duh, Terina.

But, unlike computers which reach maturity and are abandoned, the end product of good childrearing has infinite potential. That’s what I’m in it for, the payoff at the end. I want to be in on the cutting edge of innovation, not just the new and improved version, but something mind-blowingly inventive that’s never been seen before--an extra-ordinary individual. When the husband signed on knowing the level of difficulty, he could have warned me.

Reality Bite: Filibustering or stunned silence—either can prove to be an effective debate tool.