Every Wednesday, my oldest son goes to the Framingham Center for the Arts to take a guitar lesson. While he is taking his lesson, my youngest son and I wander next door to the public library, which has the best graphic novel and CD section of any place around.

Now, my son and I had about twenty minutes to square up the traditional delinquency fine with the librarian who was sporting a disapproving sour puss and then, grab some new stuff. I was deep into my usual spaztic-efficency mode and was speeding around the extremely crowded CD section with my son trailing me….

“Mom,” my moon-faced cherub asked, “What is this?”

I shot a quick glance at him, saw nothing out of the ordinary, and continued flipping through CD covers.

MOM..WHAT IS THIS??!!!! He asked more insistently several seconds later.

I was now looking through the graphic novel section and shamefully..I responded with only a bit of a grunt.

Mom!…Mom!…..Mom!!  …His little voice tugged at me as I, Mother Of The Year, ignored her child.

Finally, my spawn had had enough. My son planted his feet in the middle of the library and shouted for all the world to hear….

“MOM! FOR THE LAST TIME……WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!!!” He bellowed..determined, this time, to receive his answer.

I and the rest of the hundred or so people in the library stared at my frustrated son who was holding both arms up over his head. In one hand was a extra-long maxi pad with wings and in the other was a green and white Super Absorbency Tampon that he must have fished out of my unzipped purse while he was looking for change for the candy machine.

It could have been worse…at least they were relatively clean….

“Nothing,” I said, lunged toward him, and snatched the articles from his hands with viper speed.

He shrugged with the suprisingly mature look of a man who had just dealt with a crazy woman. So much for raising boys who understand women…..He’ll be fine, I’ll just rent him a couple of Tori Amos and Ani DeFranco CDs.