Page 14 - Giv'er Miramichi Magazine - Spring Giver 2025
P. 14
The Bad Day Book: Parenting Edition
By Gail Collette
Everyone could use a laugh at this point. the three terrified children, with her baby in
One way to get-your-smile-on is to enjoy The the front carrier laughing all the way. Of
Bad Day Book: Parenting Edition. A line on course, the only harm done was to the frayed
the front cover is ‘Parenting without while nerves of the family.
losing your mind.’ Other stories include a mystery as to
Amilee Weaver Selfridge has compiled whether a-diapered-one swallowed his
this anthology of funny parenting anecdotes in mom’s wedding ring. Then there is the two
story and poetry forms. Cartoons on the and four-year-old that used markers and
subject add to the antics. stickers to decorate their mom all over, while
One story is written by Miramichi she napped. The surprised mom was trying
resident, Gail Collette. People who have been hard to stay awake while fighting the flu.
in a writing group with Gail know that she A poem by Tony Daly starts as follows.
loves writing about and for kids. “There’s a snowball on the floor. Its name is
In The Bad Day Book, Collette has a story Baby and it’s getting bigger all the time.”
called ‘White Water Canyon Kids’. This true Moms and dads will relate to these
story happened on a water ride at Wonderland stories. Maybe the anecdotes will even give
near Toronto. The story shows Gail a new perspective. Parents might see the
questioning a teen ride operator why her youngest is not humor during their own misadventures with kids. After
allowed on the river ride with the rest of the family. reading The Bad Day Book: Parenting Edition, a parent taking
Meanwhile her two toddlers and their grade school cousin a child for a flu shot, might remember the story where a little
have boarded the white water raft and started thrashing down girl says to the nurse with the needle, “No. I want the flu.”
the rapids of the fair ride. Gail ran along the river bank after The Bad Day Book: Parenting Edition is available online.
14 www.GiverMiramichi.com spring 2025
