Middle School

The boy starts middle school tomorrow. Middle. School. Holy. Hell.

It's not just that he's starting middle school, it's all the kids I know are rapidly growing up. Not so much kids any more. (Although, they'll always be kids to me...) I've had the privilege of knowing a pretty big group of kids for a long time. I've coached them, I've laughed with them. I've given an occasional lecture. Some of them are seniors in high school now. Some are freshman. And, my own, and his little buddies are 7th graders. Middle School.

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To all the 7th Graders in America (but mostly my own),

This is the big leagues kids. You've got lockers, passing times and electives. And, a good chunk of you will become little assholes. For a couple years. Little hormonal zitty jerks. The awkward phase hits. Nice girls will become mean girls. Cool boys will be jerks. 'Going out' starts... jealousy, gossip and everything else.

That'll all roll through 8th grade too. General Jerkdom.

The awkward phase passes.

In good news, most of you will find your way shortly. You'll regroup in a few years. You'll have some hurt feelings and you'll be sorry for some things too. You'll realize that most of the stuff that happens over those couple early teen years is meaningless. In the moment it's horrible. That thing that happened at the school dance? Yeah, that'll be horrifying for awhile. You'll get teased. But you and everyone else will forget about it. And then one day, that'll be a great cocktail party story. When you're 40.

So, my advice...

Hunker down. Do the work. Play sports. Sing. Dance. Be yourself. Hang with your friends. Forget the small stuff - and remember that most of it is small stuff.

Middle school will be a blur. Then you'll hit high school. That's a whole different story...

You'll be there soon enough. As time seems to be passing at an incredible rate.

Love,

Mom

AKA Coach Staci

When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all.

- Paul Simon

Rainy Days and Mondays

The Duke.

When we were teens, the grandparents loaded Dana and I up in the motorhome and took us on an adventure. To Silverwood. It was, at the time, an 'Old Fashioned Town'. Just Regular Grandma's speed. A step back in time, where we could possibly learn something too. There was no giant wooden roller coaster, no waterpark, no delicious junk food. It was people in old-timey outfits and us watching The Flying Leathernecks at an old fashioned theater. In black and white.

That is not a complaint, by the way.

There was a train and an air show too. I'm not saying that it was a downer or anything. It was actually an amazingly good time.






And, where I learned the words to every Carpenters song.

Every. Song.



I long to be... close to you.

Now, you're probably wondering... what?

Stick with me here...

On the afternoon of our Silverwood adventure, it began to rain. Like really rain. Not the nice Oregon mist I live in now but the heavy, dark cloud, hot summer day in North Idaho kind of rain. We retreated to the motorhome. 30 feet of Winnebago in the pouring rain isn't that exciting...

Crank it.

We were playing gin rummy. Probably getting schooled in gin rummy... We needed some background music to liven the place up. My grandparents, like most, had the suitcase thing of cassettes. In it, there were one million cassette tapes. One had songs with words. One. The Carpenters. Greatest Hits. Available now on eBay for 12.99. I'm almost tempted. But, alas, have no technology in which to play a cassette.

So, I did the only thing I could. I put the Carpenters in the cassette player of the RV and cranked it up. All the way to 11. Now, imagine two teenage girls, rocking to Rainy Days and Mondays with their mid-sixties grandparents playing rummy. In the rain. That, my friends, is a solid afternoon. Enough of an afternoon that I'm writing about it all these years later...

The beauty of the Carpenters is that they stick with you. 25 or 26 years later, I still know all the words. To all the songs. You want to freak out your tween? Sing to the Carpenters. Loudly. Then text a picture of said embarrassment along with the lyrics to your sister, their aunt. Because, nothing makes a day better than knowing you embarrassed your tween and planted an ear worm in your sisters ear - right as she's starting her work day.

It's true that Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.

But, don't they get everyone down? If they don't, you might just be on the top of the world. Looking down on creation.

The only ride in 1989.

Yesterday Once More

When I was young
I'd listen to the radio
Waitin' for my favorite songs
When they played I'd sing along
It made me smile

Those were such happy times
And not so long ago
How I wondered where they'd gone
But they're back again
Just like a long lost friend
All the songs I loved so well.

Every Sha-la-la-laEvery Wo-o-wo-oStill shinesEvery shing-a-ling-a-lingThat they're startin' to sing's
So fine.

When they get to the partWhere he's breakin' her heartIt can really make me cryJust like before
It's yesterday once more.

Lookin' back on how it wasIn years gone byAnd the good times that I hadMakes today seem rather sad
So much has changed.

It was songs of love thatI would sing to thenAnd I'd memorize each wordThose old melodiesStill sound so good to meAs they melt the years away.

Every Sha-la-la-laEvery Wo-o-wo-oStill shinesEvery shing-a-ling-a-lingThat they're startin' to sing'sSo fine.

All my best memoriesCome back clearly to meSome can even make me cry.Just like beforeIt's yesterday once more

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

I sees it. I takes it.

I honestly never thought I'd have to write this post. Mostly because, Ruby appeared to be indestructible. She could eat anything. She could swim for miles, in a swift river or in the ocean and be fine. Her favorite thing to do was to swim out past the breakers and surf back to the beach. She dodged traffic - on her multiple trips around town. She even survived the slammer after the dog cops picked her up on one of her adventures.

But, in the end, she couldn't beat liver failure. It came on her quick.

Now, often when someone dies, they become a 'better person' after death. People tend to forget that they weren't that nice and they end up being a little softer around the edges. I'm here to say, that is not and will not be the case with Ruby. She was truly a bad dog. A bad, bad dog. That doesn't mean she wasn't hilarious. But, when you've got a dog ruled by an over active nose and what even the most amateur psychiatrist would call a serious eating disorder, you end up with a lot of bad dog behavior.

There was really no way to discipline her - it was worth being sent to the garage in exchange for two dozen cookies - even if they were technically for Santa.

Socks! My favorite!

We tried to make her uncomfortable with her decisions i.e. steal socks, wear socks... All we had then was a dog walking around in mismatched socks.... Which in and of itself was hilarious. Even to her.

She was great with the kids and she tolerated dress up, lip gloss and being snuggled with blankets and various stuffed animals. She would then steal one for fun. And, we'd have a crying kid...

Her food stealing skills were to the level of legendary and I'm sure she was a cat burglar in a previous life.



She could steal whole meals without disturbing the plate or silverware.

Some of her favorite foods include, but are not limited to, the following:

They were delicious!

Pancakes
Garlic bread
Frozen chicken
Gingerbread houses
Chocolate chip cookies
Pizza
Birthday cake
Candy melts (that was a really, really bad night)
School lunches
Beer
Cupcakes (especially if they need to be taken to a party)
Hamburgers (she preferred deluxe, with tomato and pickle)
Hotdogs




Now, will it be nice to not have to store cupcakes and cookies on top of the fridge to keep them from her reach?
Yes. Of course.

Will it be nice to not sweep and vacuum up piles of retriever?
Yes. Of course.

Will the house be quieter?
Yes. Of course.


And, that. That is the part that gets you...

Ruby Tuesday.

The most wonderful time of the year...

It's on. The countdown. To back to school.

I love summer. 

For the weather. 

What I strongly dislike is the lack of daily schedules. Bedtime routine is shot. Morning routine is shot. Dinner is late. Oh, there's fun. There's soccer in the yard. There are barbecues. There are parties. There's shenanigans. All of which contribute to no schedule.

Stupid unscheduled fun.

Even though it's busier, the school year is easier. Schedules. Homework. Bedtime. Wake up time. Breakfast time. The day divided by units. My favorite thing.

And so it is with glee that we wind down the month and get school supplies and school clothes and school shoes. We pack backpacks and book bags. Everything is organized and hung on a hook. It's a beautiful thing.

But, lets talk school supplies for a second, shall we. I revolted a little last year and didn't buy every single God damn thing on the list. Because, well, it's stupid. It wasn't enough to write about, just enough to complain about. Until this year.

Because this year...

For the 7th grader. He's to have 12 mechanical pencils with lead refills. AND three pencil sharpeners. What in the hell might he be sharpening? Because last I checked, the mechanical pencil negated the sharpener... Sharpening the colored pencils? Doubtful. The colored pencils go to school in August and return home in June in the same condition. They appear to hardly get used. Even if the sharpeners are for the colored pencils - are THREE required?

TANGENT: Now that I read that, does 'colored pencils' sound sort of racist?

Then the 3rd grader. Well, she needs 4 dozen pencils. Sharpened. I'm certain that I, in my lifetime, haven't used 48 pencils. How much writin' is she doing? Or going to do? In third grade? Are they raising money for schools by having third graders scribe books in the basement or something?

Back in my day...

Well, from what I remember, my mom bitched about the list back in my day too.