Thursday, June 16, 2011

100 Degrees and Counting

Wow. I almost thought I didn't really have any full moon incidents and as I was staring at my computer last night dumbfounded....

Biggest Called.

She said: You promise you won't yell.

I yelled. WHAT?

And then she told me a story.

Middlest who had just returned home and went straight to the shower had been standing outside a convenience store talking to an acquaintance. A young man she has know for a few years and who has mental issues and has been in trouble many times. She has been told, begged with, and ordered to avoid this person. His behaviour toward her has bordered on stalking from time to time but then seems to level off and she will (stupidly) speak to him because he is acting normal. Which he was doing last night until he suddenly grabbed her wrists and shoved her up against the wall of the building and pinned her there, made some profane comments and refused to let go until after she had struggled with him for several minutes and got her hand free long enough to strike at him and then ran and took off on her bike.

Following family tradition, with the police department right around the corner and a row of businesses to go in for help and a cell phone in her hand, she called:

Her Sister.

Who then called me because Mid was afraid to tell us because she thought we would be angry at her for talking to the boy to begin with. Which is of course insane. Please reiterate to your children. Always tell! And call 911 for Pete's sake. We taught her that as soon as she was old enough to dial a phone.

It brought up the question again of why Mid is our only child not to learn a martial art but she did attend a self defense class at our local police department a few years ago. She was so shocked and surprised by an unexpected attack from someone she knew, and was having a normal conversation with, that it all flew out the window. But, this guy has been known to do this kind of thing before. Where she made her mistake was assuming it would be ok because he had not acted that way with her. Yet.

So anyway, by that time Biggest was in action. Bat Girl went into full duty. When she told me they were driving around and she had her bat in the back of the truck I told her to get her Bat Behind to my house and knock it off. We were calling the police. Bat girl hasn't interacted with the local PD in a long time and I think she was a little let down when we told her to leave the room while Mid made her report instead of leading the investigation herself. But we made the report and I don't know if anything will come of it this time around but at least we have a start if we have another issue.

Middlest was scared to death. I've never seen her that shook up. I was very concerned about her being afraid we would be angry with Her because she was talking to the guy to begin with. Was it a bad decision? Yes. Does that matter? NO. My usual best parenting advice on this one. Talk. Talk. Talk. and then pray. That's about all you can do. Hopefully some of it will stick. Eventually.

Littlest's offer to take him apart because she is still underage and can get away with it wihtout getting in as much trouble was Declined.
But the thought was deeply appreciated.

The Legendary Bat Girl, Biggest turns 24 tomorrow which is always a week long celebration and this weekend we will celebrate the once very young and new daddy who came home from the hospital the night she was born to find our cat had kittens in the closet and fell asleep on the floor with his head among the shoes and gentle purrs of that mama and her babies because he could not be with us. Almost half a century ago. Biggest says next year she stops counting birthdays. I somehow don't think that will include not counting presents....; )



Other than that. Summer time is here. If you don't know how I feel about that yet, you soon will.
It has been an average of 96 to 100 degrees here the last couple weeks. I haven't Actually shriveled up and died yet but there is still time.  It's a little early for these temperatures,  even in my warm climate, so I am paying my dues for having a nice chilly winter to enjoy.

So we are having a hot, hazy, lazy summer. No plans. No details. Some funky moon to start us off last night. We will take this summer as it comes. Too hot to move. Too hot to even talk much. We escape as much as possible. We sleep late. We read. We listen to the crickets and cicadas harmonizing in the trees. Swinging on the porch swing. Daydreaming in the grass beneath the trees. Hide in the bushes with our baseball bats in case crazy people show up..Watching the sky change colors in slow motion. Rising...Purple..Pink...Golden...Blue...Gray...Green with the rage of rain in the afternoons of those lucky days... to Pink ..... Yellow.... Orange....Periwinkle....lasting forever before turning down to a milky black that never quite hits it's mark with only the stars and that Big Old Moon to swing and dream on.

We wait until dark to come alive on those endless days when there is No Rain.

© 2011 All Rights Reserved


 
MOON MUSIC




19 comments:

  1. I hope everything works out with middlest & tell Batgirl to calm down. Sounds like he needs to be on medication. Thank God your daughter told someone & your oldest didn't keep it from you. Tell batgirl happy birthday l party hard

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  2. Be grateful she told Biggest, if she was afraid to tell you. That's a good thing. Tell her, her safety and well being, trump "mad" any day.

    We are sweltering and haven't been getting rain. I sympathize.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BAT GIRL!

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  3. goodNESS. glad she called her sis at least. i agree..... talk until your face turns blue. pray, repeat. there are so many things i find (even at their young ages) myself repeating and repeating to my children only to have them ignore it again and again but i continue to believe that at some point it will sink in. so, so glad she is okay. it is a tough line to walk... always seeing the good in people... when you are a young lady.
    happiest of happy birthdays to biggest and squeeze littlest for me for being so awesome as to know that she could, ahem, "get away with murder." ;-)

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  4. My biggest fear - crazy boy bullies messing with our girls. I don't know. I think I would have taken off with bat girl to find this hoser. Nothing makes me madder! Glad she is okay and did call big sis (who has a bat). Lots of hugs to you all! And happy birthday to bat girl. :-)

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  5. I'm the big sister and I always have a bat handy.

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  6. I remember getting into my first car accident and the first person I called was my big brother. I was too scared to call the folks. BTW...loved Littlest's strategy. That girl's thinking.

    Hope all is OK.

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  7. God, your kids are so awesome. And you're so awesome. My daughter has a bully, and while I frequently want to threaten the little sociopath with a baseball bat, the one thing I'm glad about is Eve always tells me everything. You're so right - getting them to understand that they should never be afraid to tell you anything is HUGE. Although some of the stuff my sister and I didn't tell my Mom bonded us Krazy-Glue tight...

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  8. HelpMama: hee hee, exact same words came out of my mouth, 'Calm Down!'He needs to be locked up. There have been multiple incidents but the girls are afraid to tell because they are scared of him.

    Ms.A: She has been told by everyone so many times to stay from this kid and strangely Biggest is the most vocal about it but that is who she turned to!

    Elissa: So true, she always sees the best of people and is 'oblivious' till something happens. Ah Littlest, This boy assaulted one of her friends awhile back too and the girl didn't tell. I think she was hoping for the chance!


    Angelia: We practically had the whole family ready to start a posse. Including cousins and friends that Bat Girl got riled up. I warned everyone, 'you could cause us more trouble, his family is crazy.' My husband responded, 'So, haven't you noticed our family?'

    mombshell: Big sisters are awesome creatures! Mine has a gun ; )But she used to be a cop so she uses restraint.

    AE: My elders were good about standing by me too.
    They never told on me for stuff. Littlest is a planner for sure. This guy is about a foot taller than her but I'm pretty sure she could cut him down to size with about 2 moves.

    Bibliomama: I keep my bat beside the front door and this little sociopath turned 18 recently. If I ever find him at my door it will be a homerun, in more ways than one.

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  9. I am so happy that they are close and rely on each other.

    That's what I want for my children.

    What a mama you are.

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  10. Empress:Alexandra, It's true, they do rely on each other. What's strange is that they also tell me when one confides to another. And they all know that they will. And they do it anyway.

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  11. I think being young is being optimistic. Poor baby, I'm sorry this happened to her. We like to think we can treat everybody the same and interact with them. Alas, we cannot. It's a lesson that must be learned, but it's a shame. I'm just glad she wasn't hurt. And I'm sorry for the disturbed person who was improper with her. And I'm glad she has your family of protectors!

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  12. Linda: All of my girls are very sensitive to not being judgemental. Unfortunately this sometimes leads to them having a lack of judgement. On one level, I do feel sorry for the young man. His home life has been horrific and he is most likely a product of his environment and possibly genetic mental illness as well.

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  13. Even though the attack could have been much worse, Midlest must feel so violated! I have felt horrible and violated for far less, like when someone has taken my parking spot. I'm sure the repercussions will last a few days, but hopefully knowing Bat Girl was willing to...err....go to bat for her will be of some comfort!

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  14. Sandra: True. It could have been worse. Like the time at the grocery store when a woman walked up and reached across the front of me and grabbed The Last rotisserie chicken while I was standing in front of it, looking at it and thinking about buying it. I was all "Did You See What She Just Did?!!!!" to my husband but he didn't get it.

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  15. Oh my goodness, how scary!! My kids, even though they bicker and tease each other until I'm ready to pull my hair out by the roots, rely and depend on each other like that too. And I think that's wonderful. It makes me happy. My daughter is very petite - she probably won't get much taller than about 5 ft. And I worry about her and about something like that
    happening to her.

    Did the police give you any feedback at all as to what would happen
    next?

    I don't know where you're located, but if it makes you feel any better we are having the same temperatures here in north Florida. And it is HUMID. Horribly humid. Plus the state has fires everywhere, so the past few days we've had horrible smoke and ash everywhere. It's looking like a nice, long summer...

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  16. Ivankuiken: They said it was he said/she said, this time around but we have a report in case there are further problems. Mid is a tall strong girl which helped her get away. My other two are just over 5 feet but I wouldn't want to cross them if I was a bad guy : )

    Mrs.Tuna: You're welcome to the posse!

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  17. Wow. You're a much better parent than I. Not only would I have yelled, I would have gotten my baseball bat and joined Mid. Congratulations on being such a great mama!

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  18. So sorry about the scare. I have to tell you, though, stories about you and your daughters always make me want to break into song: "We are family, I got all my sisters and me...:)"

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  19. Melissa: Oh, I was ready to whack something too!

    Peryl: Yeah, if they're not beating on each other they're offering to beat FOR each other ; )

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