The Care and Feeding of a Football Player

Moose came home from summer school Friday and uttered words that I am completely sure I have never in my life utterred, "I'm going to have to eat a lot this weekend.  My weight was down when I weighed in."  I wasn't even sure how to respond to that.  In my life that is a really, really good thing.  When you are a defensive lineman, not so much. 

This led to a discussion about food.  I am of the opinion that the food should be healthy and protein should be the main focus at this point.  Moose just wants a lot of food.  He says he doesn't get enough at school, he can't get to the galley for food because it doesn't fit his schedule.  Now this makes me a litttle bit crazy, the food in the galley has already been PAID FOR!  I don't think at this point in our financial life we need to ignore already purchased food.  Moose said he would try harder.  Then I asked if he needed more protein powder for after workouts.  His answer floored me,  "Nah, I have plenty.  I just don't have my cup."

"What, why don't you have a cup?"  I foolishly asked.

"I brought it home to get washed last weekend and no one washed it."

He had to be kidding, right?!  Nope, he was serious.  I explained that the cup was washed and with the clean dishes if he had taken the time to look he would have found it.  Of course, if it is that important he could wash and pack it HIMSELF  (Moose, I know you read this so maybe that is a little  HINT for future trips home!)  In any case it was all a bit frustrating to find that more already purchased nutrition was not being utilized! 

When he goes back today I am sending some snacks with him.  I hope these help some.  I am going to make sure he has the cup with him.  I am feeding him a great meal before he leaves (actually Peter Pan will be the cook for this one, Moose wanted Dad's burgers!)  Then I just have to hope he continues to eat and make good  nutrition decisions for some of it.  No one ever told me what the grocery bill for a high school and college football player would be like- it might have led me to put him in a different sport all together- like bowling or badminton, haha.  I understand why colleges charge so much admission to their football games- they have to feed the team!

Prom vs. Skating Competition

Belle is at the prom tonight.  This is a bittersweet night for me.  It really is a rite of passage, even if it is just her junior year.  She is a beautiful young woman now.  In any case, the preparations we have made for tonight really reminded us both of getting ready for a competition.  It was eerily similar in so many ways. 

First came the dress/costume.  It had to look and feel just right.  She chose a beautiful coral dress that really made her look amazing.  Of course she had to coordinate with her date, he also had to match (it reminded me of pairs costuming!)   The jury is still out on whether this is more expensive or not, I think the dress was less expensive than a skating dress, but she will only wear it once so per use it really costs a lot more.

Of course there was hair prep, as there is at any competition.  Only this time I got to pay someone a lot of money to do it for her.  For skating we usually just put it up in a pony tail with some sort of cool hair  thing (I prefer something sparkly, Belle just wants secure!)  It looked great, even though she is still recovering from a super bad haircut not to long ago!

Then of course there was all the extra stuff, packing a bag for after prom, making sure that everything is in order, scheduling with other people, arrivals and departures to plan for.  Yep, a lot like a competition.  Belle actually said it made her a lot more relaxed about the whole process.  She seemed to be in really good spirits when she left the house.  Aside from some rain and a forgotten boutonniere (quicly retrieved by me) all seemed to go well.  I hope that they have a fantastic night, enjoy after prom, and remember all of this for the rest of their lives.  It is a once in a lifetime experience.

Oh, just for the record, as Belle headed off to a great Italian dinner and wonderful evening/night out, Peter Pan, Moose and I had hot dogs and frozen french fries and watermelon.  So much for fancy nights at our house.

I Smell Summer Vacation!

I can smell it, it smells like steak on the grill, chlorinated pool water, and that awesome smell when it rains on a really hot afternoon..  It's summer vacation and it is almost here!  Time to relax and catch up on my...

- Housework, for 1.  I have a ton of undone jobs around this house.  I need to finally take care of them.  I really hate cleaning out the closet, but someone has to do it at some point.  That is just one of the long list of needed chores.  Hooray vacation! 

- Reading:  Oh to relax at the pool with a tacky romance novel, a thrilling mystery, a new best seller or a professional book about teaching.  Yep, first on the reading list is my summer reading for work.  I always plan to knock it out before I do fun reading.  It never seems to work out that way though.  Ask me in August how that went.

- A trip to... Oh the possiblilities are endless.  I could travel to an exotic location and have a wonderful time.  Maybe the beach, maybe the mountains, maybe the big city?  Maybe Wal Mart is more like it.  I don't see that exotic travel is in the financial cards this summer.  If I am lucky I may get to go to New Mexico and see my Mom and my sister and her family.  Oh if I am really lucky I can get the world's best red chile enchiladas with a fried egg on top!  That could be pretty cool.

-Time to enjoy my kids.  We can go places together, cook, do some scrapbooking together.  Who am I kidding, between summer school, summer assignments for high school, training for skating, football and cross country, and just general teenage angst I won't see them unless they need money!   Well good news there, I may see them more than I thought, they will at least stop by the 1st National Bank of Mom (or Mom's kitchen because, "Mom I'm starving!") on a regular basis.

I know that I will get to see them some, and I will get to hear about their training/studying/ work.  I know that I will be helping with 2 Tidewater test sessions and 1 competition.  I know that I will be setting up a new classroom in a new grade level.  I know that I will be watching Jamfest and Summer Camp with enthusiasm!  I can't wait to see this year's guest coaches/skaters.  We love Ryan Bradley and Peter and Naomi!  It has been awhile since they were here.  This is going to be an amazing camp/show.  That is what I know.  I hope I find some relaxation in between.

And before you know it time will fly by and it will be time for school.  And VMI football!!!  So I guess in the end, while I am ready for some fun I can't wait for all the cool things that are coming my way in the next few months.  Life is good!

It Wasn't So Bad After All!

We have been gearing up for state testing for several weeks.  I have repeatedly told my class that they would be fine, they knew there stuff and all would be okay.  We have been reviewing with lots of fun games this week and again I reassured them.  Yesterday afternoon we had a huge pep rally to get the students amped up, ready to go, and of course remind them to go to bed early and eat a good breakfast before they came to school today.  Afterward I said it yet again, "You guys have this!!  You are going to do a great job, just relax and do your best!" 

So why was I up at 4 AM when I didn't even have to go to the rink?  I bet you can guess.  I was in a full blown stress out/ panic attack!  I kept worrying that they wouldn't remember what to do when they got their test booklets, that they would not listen to directions, that they would mess up transferring from the test booklet to the answer sheet, or that (insert dramatic music here) I would be one of the lucky few teachers to have a state auditor in my classroom today.  Now I have no idea why this hit me at 4 AM!  I was the one who wasn't at all worried about it yesterday.  My class is ready for this, they are really good kids and really smart kids!  It just hit me.  

Then I got worried about other stuff- why wasn't Belle up and headed to the rink?  She wasn't happy that I woke her up.  Why weren't the dogs barking since I had been to the bathroom 3 times and out to Belle's room?  Why was Peter Pan still snoring while I was so worked up?  I tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use, I was wide awake.  So I got up and showered, and checked email and played on Facebook for a while.  Then I found a Starbucks card with money still on it so I got dressed, went to Starbucks and went to work. 

The test went just fine!  I had no reason to worry.  The kids didn't melt down, there was no auditor, no one threw up on their test (I can remember this happening to a coworker, and ewwwwww!)  All went well.  I am back to, my class has this!  At least until 4 tomorrow morning...

Cut Backs

Well it is starting.  I am having to start cutting back on skating expenses since Peter Pan is unemployed.  I know that seems like a no brainer- skating comes from disposable income and when that decreases it is an obvious cut.  The reality isn't quite so cut and dry.  Belle is trying to pass her Senior Supplemental moves and Junior Freeskate tests.  She needs every moment of skating- practice ice and coaching - that we can afford.  We were hoping to jump in and get some more compulsory dances knocked out as well, but that doesn't look to be possible right now.  She is already paying for a good bit of her skating with babysitting and her learn to skate class coaching.  She is looking for a job, Peter Pan is looking, I am trying to find a second or even third job.  This sucks!  I know, not the nicest words, but the most appropriate for the situation.  I also know God has a plan, I just don't see it right now.  I am having a hard time waiting for it!  So here is what I am telling myself, even though this is not a 12 step situation it still seems to fit! 

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Now on with Monday!

Too Many Thoughts, Too Little Time

I have been avoiding writing for the last few days.  It isn't because I don't have anything to say, there are many thoughts running through my head, I just haven't had the time to sit and actually organize them into something coherent.  That is the life of a teacher in May and June.  It seems as though things should be winding down, but in reality there is so much still to do!  There are tests to take, papers to grade, report cards, student files to update, state tests to administer, class rooms to pack up (and this year move to a new room), student writing to assess, and all in the next few weeks.  Not to mention the things going on at home.  Moose needs to bring all his things home from school, do laundry and get back to school for the first summer session.  Belle is taking her SAT's and ACT's and will have National Honor Society Induction and a Spring Sports Banquet.  The skating club has an annual meeting, a test session (Belle will be testing her Senior Supplemental Moves, probably a compulsory dance and possibly a freeskate test), and a competition to prepare for.

I want to be witty and funny and full of humorous anecdotes, but mostly I am frazzled, fried and brain dead.  I think it was around this time last year when I was trying to read Norman Bridwell's  book "The Witch's Vacation" to my kindergarten and I kept mixing up witch and beach with some rather unfortunate results.  It is downhill from here on out, that is just not a good thing!

Something Special

The first time you hold your child it begins.  You look into their eyes and fall in love with this perfect little creature.  You see all the potential in the world ahead of them and the hope starts to grow.  Every parent knows what I am talking about.  We all have this hope for our children.  Of course that idlyllic moment lasts only a moment and then you are left with a screaming baby who grows into a rambunctious toddler, mischevious grade schooler, and finally a sullen teenager.  Through it all you carry that spark of hope from the very first encounter you had. 

I actually think that hope is sort of like parental valium, it gets you through the roughest parental moments and into every parent's life come rough moments because kids are exceptional at creating them.  It is a wonderful thing to have hope even when the principal has called to tell you your angel has done something "unforgivable" at school, like watch someone else steal tennis shoes from a locker and do nothing about it.  It becomes even more of a parental salve as they enter their teenage years and begin to distance themselves from you.  The problem is as they grow into adulthood it becomes time to separate your hopes for them from their own dreams and aspirations.  I am struggling with this!

This parental hope, this knowledge that your child is something amazing and wonderful (and they are by the way, I have always held the belief that every child has a gift!) also creates so many other parental issues.  It is the root cause of crazy sports parent behaviour.  Things like parents yelling at officials, coaches, other parents are nothing compared to some of these lunatics:  http://www.cracked.com/article_18541_8-psychotic-overreactions-by-adults-at-youth-sporting-events.html  These people are why we now sign code of conduct agreements from the youngest level of rec league sports to high school sports.  Some of these parents are really insane (way more than me!) 

The thing is, when you watch your child get passed over for the position on the starting line up or not even make the team you are not objective.  Remember, your child is something special (and again I state for the record that they are, just maybe not at that activity.)  Most of us are able to control our frustration and anger enough to move on and do our parental job of supporting our child and helping them to deal with their disappointment.  That doesn't mean that we don't feel it to the depth of our soul.  There is nothing more painful than seeing your child hurt.  This coupled with the knowledge of their unique talents, abilities, skills and amazingness; along with a serious lack of impulse control lead to the crazy behavior.

Now, I have never sharpened my son's helmet till it cut opposing players or bought the whole league to control it, but I have shamefully exhibited some bad behavior myself.  It is not something I am proud of, my kids are mortified when I do it, but it happens when my parental feelings and lack of impulse control get the best of my common sense.

The bottom line is I want everyone to see how amazing and wonderful my children are!  The thing is when I get wrapped up in trying to get everyone to notice that I miss so many of their finest moments!  It isn't really about being the star of the show or the best on the team.  It is noticing when they do those amazing little things.  Moose is such an amazing teammate, he is the best of friends to his teammates, he is loyal and trustworthy.  He is generous and kind, so much more than I could ever be.  Watching him at his scrimmage this weekend I couldn't have been prouder of the man I see emerging.  Belle is the most accepting person I have ever met, she truly empathizes with others and takes there perspective.  She hates when people are critical of others and will be the one to stand up when she sees injustice.  She has a phenomenal way of dealing with children and when I hear her talk about her future aspirations I am as proud as any parent could be.

What does the future hold for them?  Who knows.  I know I am trying hard to let it be their future, their choices, their accomplishments.  I need to appreciate them where they are right now, and encourage them to go for their goals.  It may not always work out the way they anticipated, but life has a way of making things right.  So, here is to hope, hard work, and letting them find their way!