its time to blame the teachers…

Warning: spoilers about the best teachers in NLR elementary schools. This post is 100% SNARK FREE.

It’s rare to have the perfect elementary school experience. I grew up over in the Spa City and attended 4 different elementary schools plus a private kindergarten. My situation was unique- death of a parent, shuffling in and out of schools until my dad remarried and we moved to Lake Hamilton- a district well known for educational excellence. Where I graduated from and was inspired by the holy trilogy of English teachers and the single coolest librarian ever to walk betwixt bookshelves. But more about them next week.

We moved into our house in Indian hills 2 full years before we had kids- not knowing a lot about the neighborhood or the elementary school but hearing that the school was “great”.

               Turns out, great is a gross understatement for amazing.
Because Cole has had 6 consecutive years of AMAZING teachers.

scooter

“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else- through hard work.” (Vince Lombardi)

most people don’t go by nicknames in real life. they just don’t have the moxie or stones to pull it off. i know a few who have the confidence to do so- ridiculous sounding nicknames. and i’m blessed to have worked for several dynamic individuals.

scooter was one of those people- nicknamed and dynamic.

a bank president and self-made millionaire- a hard-knock life, street-smart, educated man. like charles dickens epic character. so vivid and charismatic that he must have been written about instead of real.

yep, a bank president named scooter. only in the south, right?

i quit. then came back.

I’m a MAN…

Ok. maybe not. Maybe I’m just a mom-living in fear of the next phase of Thing1’s life.

He’s been threatening us with puberty. Verbally threatening. As in “I think my voice got deeper”- which I say “ok”- I mean, really, I pick my battles. And then the next day he comes in and says ‘look at my pits- do you see anything?  Get a magnifying glass mom’. and I laugh. And I get the magnifying glass and flashlight. And I tell him there MIGHT be FUZZ.

But last Friday night, something entirely different happened at our house. And while I won’t rehash the exact conversation or events thereof (only because I know he’s already gonna need years of therapy because of my FB/Twitter feed), I am aware that he may be starting the process.

At 10. I didn’t mature at 10. Or 12. I was what you might call a late bloomer.

Which, honestly, scares the crap outta me. mostly because I know I’m not ready. And I suspect that emotionally, he isn’t either. but then again, it takes years. And its puberty. And what little I remember from some of the horrifying, catastrophic, what-i-thought-were-life-changing-events at the time actually suck.

I’ve mentioned here that I want to freeze him. Right now. At this age. Where certain beliefs in mythical gift bestowers still abound. And the world is still good. And Superman always wins. I want to protect him from the broken hearts, where minecraft is still his obsession instead of a gal along the way.

I won’t lie to him. We’ve started the conversations about puberty. He even got a little brochure and I already have the ‘books’ for him to read, because he’s a reader, like me. and he’s approaching the entire thing with a fair amount of anticipation and through a scientific lens. Because that’s who he is.

he’s talking to us. About EVERYTHING. Especially changes. And I’m so thankful for that- whilst for the first time in my natural born life I try to control my snark and sarcasm and have real, honest conversations that are truthful and delicate.

But I have to say, its taking every single ounce of willpower not to LIVE tweet or PODCAST the hi-lar-ious  conversations that are occurring. They are epic. They are award winning. THEY ARE PURE COMEDIC GOLD.

But I know I only get one chance with this kid to get this part right. or as right as I can get it. Because I’ve never been a 10 year old boy. But I vaguely remember being an angst filled, angry, hormone driven girl- and it was horrible. So I want to rise up and be the parent and ears and support he needs.

No matter how much it stabs me in the heart.

 

“LIDO DECK”

maybe i never blogged it, but i went on my first cruise last year. my blog header = a pic i took on that cruise.  and maybe one day, i’ll actually post the real pictures.

however, a co-worker is leaving on a cruise next week. which made me all wistful again for cruising. and then i remembered to share ‘what i wish i had known’ prior to my departure. since i’m only 14 months late with an update, here’s the “tips” i provided last night to her:

Spend some time going over the possible excursion list. It’s overwhelming on the boat and packaged beautifully. read the reviews. I heard lots of people complain about theirs. Also, remember that you’re with a lot of other people. And kids. And possibly other ships in port at the exact same time.

Always order the drink of the day. It will be 30-50% cheaper. Buy drinks at the bar vs having them delivered. Wine is WAY overpriced.

Everything on board charges to your room. We purposefully used cash to control expenses. They don’t like that.

First thing, buy the refillable coke cup. They are awesome. and have the cruise line name on them. SOUVENIR!

As awful as we appeared, the ID holder/lanyard was super easy to keep up with room key/cash on the go- both on the boat and in port. its not like the camera already tipped off the locals that i’m a yokel.

Don’t buy anything from the onboard mall area (it’s like tables with stuff on them in the atrium) until the last night before you leave. Only exception is liquor/cigarettes- those sell out first and can’t be discounted. They keep the liquor and give it back to you when you disembark.

Honestly, you will not wear everything you take. pack light. The boat is big, storage is not.

If you use the Internet via inet cafe or business center, it may be cheaper to pay by minute unless you plan on using the full hour.  I used it a lot to check on my kids and only used 22 minutes, over 3 days.

Quite honestly, eating the late seating of dinner sucked. But I’m not a night owl. And I was hungry as hell by the time we got to eat.

The lido deck buffet rocks. Also, it’s just cool to say “lido deck”

Prepay your tips if possible. Then take cash to tip your staff. I can’t say enough about my stateroom attendant. She is Filipino and supports a family of 6 back home. She gets 4 days off for home every 5-6 weeks. I found myself feeling slightly guilty about being messy. also, i keep her business card handy. so i can remind myself that my life is ok.

The dinner stewards were a little much for me. Sit down dinner takes a while. We ate at the buffet at 4ish and then went to late seating. You don’t get our food until 9:45.

We had motion sickness patches from our doctor.  These are prescription.

If you need the concierge/pursers desk, there are long lines.

All of the staff is amazing.

Do not play blackjack in the casino.The slots on our boat took real change and dollar bills, unlike vegas.

Turn your phone completely off before you leave port-as in power down or remove the sim card. The lines are a little blurry on that whole “open waters”/roaming thing.

The first time they drop anchor for your first port stop, You’re gonna think titanic. Stay calm.

The lifeboat drill at the beginning sucks. The staff acts like total a-holes. It only lasts 10 minutes.

Unless you have a suite, be prepared for the  bathroom. Airplane bathrooms are bigger.

There’s literally nothing like Caribbean waters.

Not a lot of outlets in the room

Towel animals rock

Take some Kroger sacks. You may need them for carrying purchases on island or packing souvenirs on way home-like those nifty coke cups.

I don’t remember an alarm clock. There was a wall clock.

Hand sanitizer is your new best friend. We took the little sprayers.

Being carnival, the pools should be moderately bigger. Which means about the size of a nice backyard pool

Don’t let locals in open air markets see your cash. Everything is negotiable.

The hair dryer was, at best, a child’s toy.

The pool dance party was really fun. We thought the clubs/shows were horribly cheesy.

Royal Caribbean had a private island.

Best part was sitting on the top deck. In a chair. Watching the ocean go by.

Cruisecritic.com rocks. You can research your ship there. No one gave us a map when we got onboard. It also helped us pick excursions. also, all the decks had “names”.

Of swimmers and gymnasts…

do you remember reading of mice and men for the very first time?  i do. i was in Mrs. Golden’s 7th grade ‘advanced english class’ at LHJH.  george protects lennie as his guardian and best friend.

if you haven’t read it, stop reading this post now. you have not completed your reading requirement to continue following this blog.

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(spoiler alert)

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that’s exactly what the 2012 summer olympics feel like to me.  i feel like we’re lennie- simple and stumbling- unable to grasp anything other than petting our rabbits and wildly screaming ‘USA USA USA’. and then there’s the lennie-wheelhouse of NBC- “acting as our guardian into the olympics”. “bringing us all the triumphs and personal stories from london as they happen” or at least, that’s how it was billed in the MONTHS of promotion leading up to the olympics.

except that the events happen 8 hours earlier than we see them. and unless you’re without any form of media, its virtually impossible to remain ignorant of the results prior to settling into your 4-hour olympics stupor watch party each night. if its not the internet, then its social media. if not that, then its a stranger you hear talking in an elevator screaming “the women won the gold”. over a 1/3 of americans have some form of DVR.

BREAKING NOWS: i’m not knocking the olympic games or the athletes participating.  what they do is incredible. each and every athlete- regardless of their country’s medal count- have worked lifetimes for these moments. its not like they get there and then ‘phone it in’. or say ‘hey, i wanna come in second’. they work hard each time. and all of it is condensed by NBC into ‘sound bites’ with dramatic music and ‘enhanced digital options’.

the NBC coverage enrages me. and right now, while 2012 london coverage and viewership is up 10% over 2008 beijing, NBC is already saying that they’ll ‘break even’ on this olympics. NBC seems destined to be its own worst nightmare in terms of spoilers, unnecessary comments and overblown production value. and quite frankly, i’m not sure there’s any worse reporting that bob costas on a 5+ hour tape delay- looking smug as he tries to ‘engage and excite you’.  but he ALREADY knows the outcome. hey, guess what- WE KNOW THEM TOO.

with social media, the world wide internets and ‘breaking news’ updates about standings and medals notwithstanding, this may be the first olympics where all of the results are known far in advance of the televised events.  and why, of all days, that these popular events aren’t shown live on saturdays/sundays is beyond me.

go back and re-read of mice and men. or old yeller. and marvel at your lack of shock when the endings happen.

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(spoiler alert)

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lennie doesn’t make it. neither does the dog. but phelps got the gold. usain was the fastest. and the little vault girl fell.

 

 

 

 

 

STOP (spinning tires on pavement…)

at least, in high school, that’s how we referred to stop signs. all yelling gleefully from the back of somebody’s mom’s stationwagon:

“SPIN TIRES ON PAVEMENT”

looking back on the last 2 years- i’ve been helplessly spinning tires on pavement- in neutral.and working feverishly to stay in place.

it has not been without challenge. or heartbreak. or triumph.

(which i may or may not talk about)

but i’m ready to come back. come back to “therapy” and come back to my outlet. even if it is for my own personal sanity. also, i KNOW how much you all miss me.

we’ve missed a lot together – internets. actually, only the blog has missed alot. it seems that the facebook, the twitters and foursquare have kept me sufficiently connected. or as connected as i wanted to be.

the Things are good. actually, they’re great. it breaks my heart to type the next line:

Thing1 will be a 5th grader- yep, its his last year of elementary school.

i can’t talk any more about that because it makes me cry. like ugly cry. like first day of kindergarten for Thing2 ugly cry. sobbing, over the top, italian widow cryin. mainly because i want his innocence to stay intact. i’ve never wanted to freeze him more than i do right now. at age 10. this summer. because he still trusts. he believes the good guy always wins.  and before he gets jaded and pessimistic. but i slowly see the tide turning- seeing the angst we parents all dread. no more for now…

Thing2 remains a riddle, wrapped in a mystery,  inside an enigma. he is growing ‘up’ so fast that i marvel at him- without really seeing him. in my addled brain: he remains my baby, tucked in my arm, snuggled close. in reality: he’s a smelly boy with a penchant for trouble. i’ve always said that i’m the funniest person i know- and i think i’ve been superceded: by a 7 yr old with a random sense of humor and a wickedly funny grin.

Hello- Hotel Cray-Cray?  i need a single, non-smoking with a minibar, a decent view, a balcony and an internet connection.

i’m checking back in.