Alert reader Doc, from Virginia, is complaining of withdrawal symptoms due to my blog inattentiveness. I need to provide a little methadone, I guess.

My confession: I've been working on another blog. I tearfully admit my infidelity and beg forgiveness. But I'm going to continue seeing the other blog. Call me a blogamist if you must. Just don't make me move to Utah.

At the moment, the other computer in the room is under the control of four pre-teen boys doing MadLibs online. You know MadLibs, right? You arbitrarily choose words to fill in blanks designated for nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and then you read the wacky story that results. These preteens--Andrew, 12, Aidan, 11, Garrett, 9, and Jackson, 6--have the lowest common denominator of potty humor going for them right now. So, as I type, I'm listening to MadLibs filled to the toilet seat with "crap," "crappy," "poop," "pee," etc. They're laughing so hard that two of them have the hiccups. They will mature into fine young men, I assure you. But, sometimes, I think that parenting boys is like the adage about making sausage. That crappy adage about sausage.