Thursday, August 25, 2011

Wrapping Up Summer

But only in a lightweight shawl because it's still 95 degrees here.

We have reached the end of another summer and this week was the beginning of our 19th consecutive school year. When I think of that it blows my mind. I have been doing this for a looong time. What's really strange is only getting one child ready for school. The biggest change since the 'awesome' two years I had 3 kids in 3 different schools. I was thrilled when that was over and I have to say I will be thrilled in 2013 when I never have to do this again.  And yes, I mean that. :  )If even one of my kids had been excited about being there I might feel differently. As it is the youngest regularly states that she is ready for high school to be over so she can move on with her life. Ditto.

So, how are we ending our summer....?

Biggest called.  She said:

"Decent Guy and I went to- 'the historical town nearby'. We wanted to go for a quiet nighttime bike ride. It was horrible!  The place was crawling with packs of  juvenile delinquents roaming the streets and drunks pouring out of the bars. It was ridiculous! It used to be such a quiet, peaceful place! Now it's out of control. We went down the street where 'a landmark cemetary' is and it used to be a nice ride. Now they have some bar right next to it blaring techno music! It was disgusting! It's disrespectful! The whole place was full of drunks and punk ass teenagers and the cops aren't doing anything! and more....and more.....

I said:

"You are completely right! That is ridiculous! You just put it very well. As a visitor you should let the city know how you feel. They depend on tourism. You should write a letter to the City Council, their local Newspaper and their Chamber of Commerce!... I'm not laughing. What do you mean laughing?
Why would I be laughing? No I'm not.... ; )"

Middlest finally wore me out. She applied to a few different colleges. Dithered..procrastinated...hemmed and hawed.  Then she decided not to go anywhere and to postpone school for awhile and work full time at the sub shop she's been working at since November and do art festivals. Yeah. Ok....I surrender. But. Her ideas for her future career took an interesting and actually very appropriate twist. She isn't old enough to do what she's interested in yet and I decided not to blog about it yet because every time I post about something that I think is great and I think it will go well, it immediately falls apart. (Digression)- As witnessed by Americas Got Talent sending home one of the best performers ever on the show in favor of a dance troupe who were very talented - exactly like the other half dozen dance troups this year with the exception that they were dressed like zombies. Really? REALLY????
So anyway, more on Mids new idea next year if she follows through. In the meantime... a nearby college sent her a welcome letter for her enrollment and a Parking Pass yesterday. I told her it was a sign. "Apparently God enrolled you in college so you better call and find out what classes he signed you up for."
"Oh, and he wants you to get a drivers license."

This is a year for landmark birthdays at our house and Littlest will be ending the summer by turning 16 next week. She already has her gifts in the form of a heavy bag, gloves and shin guards and it has been determined that a big Sweet Sixteen party is not on the agenda. Her scraped knuckles and bruised shins will not be accessorizing any formal gowns and that is fine with her because as she says, "I don't actually like any of my friends anyway." Which is interesting because this morning she was commenting on three different groups of friends she has been dividing her time with. She stopped for a moment and pondered, "When exactly did I become a social butterfly?" When indeed.
And when exactly are you getting your drivers license?

Cause I'm as over being a taxi as I am high school. She doesn't even have a learners permit yet. But there's hope. After all, Middlest at least got her learners permit...  two years ago.

And what about my goals? What have I accomplished this summer?

I did not clean out the closet under the stairs. I did not do any gardening. (Magic pumpkin vines not withstanding)  I did not read as many books as I wanted to. I did not get much of a tan. I did not go on vacation (Again) but I also did not bring home any giant dogs to make up for it. 
And last but not least,  I obviously did not teach anyone to drive.

So for now,

TheSeaMonkey is beside himself with joy because he has a brand new surfboard and something to ride it on but I am feeling thankful that it appears (so far) I will not be eating canned beans by flashlight and awaiting the arrival of a free skylight on my roof this week. But my thoughts and prayers go out to all those that may find themselves in that predicament in the next few days.

I still have a week of August to get through and even longer until it feels like summer is actually gone but I am ready to get the hell out of here now. Let's send it out with MacNeice.

August is nearly over, the people
Back from holiday are tanned
With blistered thumbs and a wallet of snaps and a little
Joie de vivre which is contraband;
Whose stamina is enough to face the annual
Wait for the annual spree,
Whose memories are stamped with specks of sunshine
Like faded fleurs de lys.
Now the till and the typewriter call the fingers,
The workman gathers his tools
For the eight-hour day but after that the solace
Of films or football pools
Or of the gossip or cuddle, the moments of self-glory
Or self-indulgence, blinkers on the eyes of doubt,
The blue smoke rising and the brown lace sinking
In the empty glass of stout.
Most are accepters, born and bred to harness,
And take things as they come,
But some refusing harness and more who are refused it
Would pray that another and a better Kingdom
come,
Which now is sketched in the air or travestied in slogans
Written in chalk or tar on stucco or plaster-board

- Louis MacNeice, "Autumn Journal" 1939

19 comments:

  1. There was 10 years between my oldest and youngest. I didn't think I would ever be finished getting one or the others off to school somewhere. When one of them mentions me getting a life and not sitting around on the computer, I remind them that I've done my time and did beyond plenty when they were at home and by gosh, I'm retired! (even though my mothering career didn't provide retirement benefits)

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  2. A perspective I can see myself having in the future with all of my children! I'm on year 1 of who knows how many and I'm already done with it! He! Thank you for not sugar-coating this!

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  3. Rushing but wanted to pop over and say how much I appreciate your visits to my blog and that I've passed on an award to you there and hope it brings many more readers to enjoy your great blog!

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  4. Ms. A: I hear you! But I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever retire from my taxi driving career ; )

    Jaime: I didn't look ahead when I was younger. If I had I might have run screaming from the room! Nah, not really. But I was 21 when I had my 1st and I would like some free time before my brain completely atrohies.

    Cheryl: How sweet, Thank you : )

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  5. Just as my kiddo gets almost done with school, I decided to prolong it by going back myself. What was I thinking?

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  6. so much to comment on here, but what i really want to say is.... what is up with young people NOT GETTING THEIR LICENSES these days??? trust me, yours are not the only ones. i couldn't WAIT to get my permit and license as a kid.

    so... did God sign her up for any interesting classes? I would think He'd be pretty intuitive about it... ;-)

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  7. Cripes, I've been terrified of my kids wanting to get their licenses - never thought of the annoyingness of the alternative.

    Sounds like you're all at an exciting time. I'm kind of blah on the whole school thing right now. Early school is a lot of fun. The midle years? I have to say, the kids have a point. Which is why I don't hesitate to yank them out for the thinnest of excuses (hangnails. Haircuts. Pancake emergencies.) Sorry. I've been away, sleeping badly and driving too much.

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  8. Mrs. Tuna: I was barely out of school when I started having them. It's like I have gone to highschool for 14 years.

    Elissa: I did try with Mid this summer but I've never seen anything like it. One day she'll do great and I think she's almost ready. The next it's like she's never been in a car before. As for the classes I'm not sure what's up yet. If that wasn't a blatant wake up call I don't know what is. But we shall see. She's been seduced by having money of her own but it may not do her any harm to work for awhile till she figures herself out.

    Bibliomama: Pancake emergencies! I love it: ) Sleep was my enemy this week too. My brain had just settled in to staying up and getting up later and I jerked back to up at 5 am.

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  9. Sounds like we did the.same.thing this.summer.I.still.haven't consistently taught my.daughter.how.to.drive. shame.on.me. LOL at God signing your daughter up for school. I never looked at it like that. Been doing.this.school thing for 12 yrs.now and got.a long way.to go. Sorry for all the periods. My touch screen is.sensitive. removing them would take longer than telling you.about it. LOL

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  10. I got a long way to go with school around here-LOL! Good luck to you too :)

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  11. What happened to my comment?

    Aaargh..

    This won't be as funny as the first one.

    I've been taking Mr World by the balls out driving.

    He thinks he's ready.

    He's ready to run some poor old lady off the road is the only thing he's ready for.

    God, I pray I PRAY the road test person flunks him.

    WITH A CAPITAL F>

    Boy's not ready, he has NO IDEA.

    It's called DRIVING, not AIMING the car.

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  12. Nicole:I have been terrible about it but so have the kids. They just aren't that interested. Mid rides her bike to work and doesn't even care.

    Susan: I feel like I got out of school myself and then immediately went back. When does it end......?!

    Alexandra: At least he's aiming : ) With Mid it's like the car is driving on a greased road, we are all over the place. Or, I'm not kidding, she will stop and we will sit..and sit.. and I'll say something and she'll go, "OH! Sorry, I was thinking....."

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  13. My summer didn't go exactly as planned either. Although I have one threatening to get her license (not until next June), I still have three more that require my taxi services. It's gonna be a long winter...

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  14. AE: Yes it is. And you have me trumped there because if I remember correctly you will be doing driving duty in snow!

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  15. Hey, I understand about the license thing. I was 22 or 23 before I got mine. I was scared to death to get behind the wheel of a car and only learned when it became an absolute necessity - I was given the choice of learning or walking.
    Since I don't even like to walk to the mailbox, I learned.

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  16. I can only say I don't know how folks live in that heat! The West Coast (particularly near or in SF) is about 67 degrees year round. Some people say that's boring, but it's really not!

    Isn't it cool when your kids become responsible adults!!!

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  17. ethelmaepotter: (I Love Typing That)I do too. I was 18 before I got mine. My oldest daughter is 24 and still doesn't have one but thankfully now it's her husbands problem most of the time or she uses the bus. Every now and then I still get a pitiful call that she missed it and it's raining. Now I know what my mom meant by that look : )

    Linda: Heavenly weather! Our oldest sends us into hysterics regularly with her responsible adultness. I can't wait till she has kids! The middle one? I like to say she's a slow cooker but she works hard when she sets her mind to it, she just needs to figure out where she wants to set it : )

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  18. I solved the driving problem when I told my daughter that she could drive my car when she could pay for her own insurance. She went to work. She did it. And now I feel bad for making her do what her friends did not have to do.....BUT, by working she didn't really have all that much time to DRIVE my car.

    oh oh....maybe I WAS being evil!!

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  19. Beau's Mom: I would be happy to let her drive mine and one of her 18th birthday gifts was that we would pay her insurance for a year if she drove. At our house if you choose not to take the extended childhood route and go to school you are responsible for all of your own expenses at 18 and have to find a full time job. She has 30 hours a week right now. We are trying to give her time to save up for a car by not charging her rent yet but that's no good if she can't drive it!

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