Mid-CenturyModernMoms

Like sands through the hour glass

This summer, the Roo-girl has developed a fondness for soap operas -- "General Hospital" in particular.

She finds it hilarious that, in my youth, I also was addicted to the hijinks of the denizens of Port Charles, as well as the folks of Pine Valley's "All My Children."

So Roo has made it her business to re-hook me on her soap, offering play-by-play and background information as we watched several days' work of "GH" reruns on the Soap Network on Sunday.

It's not working particularly, since there's very little of MY "Hospital" characters and plot lines remaining, and all the mob stuff is a little off-topic for a soap, in my opinion.

But it has been yet another opportunity for mother-daughter time, which of course I grab every chance I get.

And so it was that we were watching the Soap Network when some weird commercial/episode'ish thing came on.

It's called "What If" and seems to be a meeting of two characters from two separate ABC soaps -- in this case it was from Blair Cramer of "One Life to Live" and Tad Martin of "All My Children."

I was barely paying attention until the visual and the audio finally clicked in my head.

The Tad Martin dude on the TV screen looked like this:

Excuse me, but this guy? This guy has gray hair.

Now, back when I was young and watched "All My Children," Tad Martin was an orphan who was dumped in Pine Valley and was adopted by the Martin family.

AND HE WAS 10 YEARS OLD.

Can I say it again? This guy has GRAY HAIR!!!!!!

When I told Roo that MY Tad Martin was 10 years old or, at the most, a teenager or young adult, she burst into hysterical laughter.

"Oh. My. GAWD. MOM!!!" she gasped. "Do you feel old now?"

Yep. I totally fart dust.

Crossposted at From the Planet of Janet

the final countdown

Becca moves into her dorm in just two days.  In just two days she begins her life as a (semi) independent adult. 

She's actually moving in a few days early.  Her school solicited volunteers for various community srvice projects -- New York City is filled with such opportunity, and her school emphasizes "social justice" and education of the entire person.  she moves into her dorm Friday and participates in a service project Saturday.  On Sunday, when all the other freshmen will be moving into the dorm, the students who participated in the community services projects are invited to a brunch.  Orientation starts on Monday and classes start on Wednesday.

The other reward, of course, is that she gets to pick which bed, desk, dresser, etc. she wants....of the 8 girls living in her apartment, only one other  girl has volunteered for community service.

Yes, 8 girls in one apartment.  It's really meant for 7 girls, I think, but they've added an additional bed. the school guarantees housing for all four years of undergraduate education, and let's face it, in New York City most sutdents can't aford to move off campus and commuters are usually living with their parents.  It's got three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen, so it won't be too bad...I reminded Becca that Jen's freshman dorm was a traditional dorm, force tripled  (three girls in a  room originally designed for two) with the bathroom down the hall and shared by the entire floor.My freshman dorm was a suite -- three bedrooms, suite room and one bathroom, shared by 6 girls.  It's all part of the college experience.

It will be weird having Jen home and Becca away, I'm really used to having Jen away at school and Becca still at home.  In the overall scheme of things, Jen's college starts "late" -- her first day of classes isn't until September 8. She's liiving off campus this year, there are 5 of them renting a beach house about 20 minutes away from the school.  It's a 5 bedroom house.   The three girls have the upstairs bedrooms, the two guys have the rooms downstairs.  I must admit I had qualms about Jen moving off campus; although she's headed into her junior year, she's still only 19 years old.  But I've known since her orientation that the culture of her school ....well, there's very limited dorm space and there is a lot of affordable housing off campus, and most people move off campus by their junior year. 

Not to mention her choice of housemates....I am sure many parents would absolutely forbid their daughters frrom sharing a house with male classmates.  I am more than a bit nervous about the arrangements...but when she asked me,  I took a deep breath and co-signed her lease. 

And my daughter has her act together, she handled the real estate broker, the lease, arranging for utilities, etc. like a pro.  I look at Jen sometimes and wonder who this competent and mature woman really is, and what did she do with my little girl?

So...in just a few short days my nest will begin to empty....

cross posted at Songbird's Crazy World

Laundry

Hi hum. 

The little girl is home from camp and the laundry is getting done- both at the house and at the condo. 

Ho hum. 

 We even moved some of the camp stuff back to the storage locker so that it's not all over the place. 

Ho hum. 

Supposedly Rosie's room will be all cleaned up before she leaves to go to stay at her boyfriend's house for 2 nights and then he comes back here for two nights..... 

 ah, what?????

(The BF is the one in the blue shirt.)

More on that next week.  But I do know that the BF's mom is a riot and we both agree that the two moms need to talk directly and not filter it through the kids.  And we seem to be on the wavelength.

Yep, she's back

We were sitting around on Sunday night ... just Roo, Wonderhubby and me. We were watching a little prime-time television and quietly enjoying each other's company.

It had been another too-short weekend, filled with errands, football picnics, cheer practice, our traditional $1.49 hot-dog-and-soda combo lunch at Costco. The usual.

And I sighed dramatically.

"I don't want to go to work tomorrow."

Roo turned to look at me and shrugged.

"I don't want to go to cheer tomorrow. But you know," she continued, looking deep into my eyes, "we ALL have to do things we don't want to do ..."

*pregnant pause ...*

And I fell out of my chair laughing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

OK, people, if you haven't checked out my post on the Room 704 site, now would be the time. Leave a comment too. That way, I can look like one of the popular kids. Heh heh heh.

Crossposted at From the Planet of Janet

Road Trips: the radio

The first thing Amigo does when we enter a hotel room is follow this routine: take off his shoes, stretch out on a bed, and fiddle with the clock radio. He did this on Sunday night, but all didn't go as planned. Instead of music or news, we kept hearing frogs. And crickets. and babbling, bubbling water.

"Mom, how does this work? Can you help me get real radio?" This from the teenager who can figure out just about any electronic device, despite being unable to see it or read the labels.

Well, I took a closer look and found this:

The "Listen to" section was set to Brook. We had options of Ocean, Wind Chimes, or Music/Radio. If we used the clock's alarm feature, we could choose to wake up to a standard buzzer, a high pitched bell, cathedral bells, or radio. I showed him the buttons, and he figured out what he needed - a country music station. Of course - we were on a trip sponsored by Wisconsin Public Radio, and he was listening to Country.

Somehow, in the process of exploring all the buttons, Amigo must have set the alarm. Around midnight the buzzer sounded. In his sleep - he remembered not a bit of this the next morning - he rolled over, turned it off, and made himself comfortable again.

Then we went back to sleep, eventually waking up to (drumroll) Amigo's talking clock and its rooster alarm. And coffee, of course. 

the inexorable march of time

so Becca's college prep continues...filling out the financial  aid forms, registering for classes, obtaining medical forms, getting her housing assignment and room mates...

it's not as intense for Jen, she's going into her junior year and already registered for classes, but there's prep for moving into her off-campus house, things to buy, arranging for utilities...

I should have a count down ticker .. a clock ...something...to amrk off the days....

the days until each girl goes off to college...

and I have to deal with the empty nest.

time for a few changes, perhaps?  maybe it's time to get serious about the gym... volunteer for a political campaign....something else to fill my time?

nothing too drastic, of course.

not like my neighbors.....

they have two sons, one who is a college senior and one who is about to start his freshman year.  I found out last weekend that they just sold their house and bought a condo, and they're planning to move a week before the boys head off to school.

but still, I'm contemplating the possibilities....

Home Again

Rosie is home from camp.  I haven't seen her in a month, nor gotten many letters, but we did talk every Friday afternoon.  But she's back now, and very, very, sad.

Why?  She just spent the last summer ever with this whole group of kids who she's been with every summer for many, many years.  She has some incredibly close friends.. and she has a new boyfriend.  And this boyfriend lives several hours away from us.

Even before she came home, she knew that she was going to be depressed, so she asked me to get her some ice cream to eat.

She was sobbing hysterically when I arrived at camp.  One of the other girls said that Rosie had been crying for 3 days.  We got the car packed and then she roamed around saying goodbye to everyone (including the boyfriend. but no long lip locks).

And then on the way home she started crying again and then just turned sullen.  That behavior is going to go on for many more days, I'm sure.  Sh's already been busy IM-ing and texting, and even a little bit of talking on the phone.

And the laundry is started...

Sometimes, all you need is a little retail therapy

I wish I could say that Roo has had a great summer, filled with friends and excitement.

But the truth is that Roo has mostly spent the summer with me.

In the last couple weeks especially, Roo and I have made multiple let's-get-the-heck-outta-here excursions.

One trip to the mall, where we took in a movie and -- in a moment of spontaneous goofiness -- we each put a second set of holes in our ears.

"This is so cool," Roo said as we left the store, giggling together, with our little list of post-piercing instructions and bottles of antiseptic.

And I had to agree.

The next trip started out less auspiciously.

It was 10:30 at night, and the walls -- and the mean girls -- were closing in on the both of us.

"Can we just go out and drive around?" she asked me.

I looked back at her tear-stained face.

"Let's go to the movies," I said.

"What?" she asked, incredulous.

"Seriously -- let's go. Now."

So we did.

It was a midnight show, and we were literally the only two in the theater. We put our feet up on the seats in front of us, talked out loud, shared popcorn and Sour Patch Kids.  And when the credits rolled, my baby was smiling again.

We got home at 2 in the morning. My 6 a.m. alarm was not a welcome sound, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Roo and I have had our moments. When she was 13 and 14, I was ready to sell her to the gypsies.

When she was 14 and 15, she pretty much wished that I would disappear.

Now that she is 16, we have discovered something pretty darned important.

We like each other.

A lot.

Now how cool is THAT?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, the very cool ladies of Room 704 have published the August edition of their very cool site (cool because -- ahem -- I'm one of them!).

Check out our posts on the theme of "growth."

Especially mine.

Crossposted at From the Planet of Janet

Simple pleasures

What a weekend. La Petite and her boyfriend went to Lollapolooza - Lolopalooza - Lollapalooza - you know, the big outdoor rock concert in Chicago. I can't spell it. Can you? She came home full of stories and adventures, one of which involved running into her high school best friend in line for the rest room in the train station. The friend wasn't even headed for the festival; she was on her way home from grad school in Iowa. 

Amigo had another visit with his baby cousin, this time at our house. Baby, post nap and post supper, sat in our living room on a blanket, playing with toys that used to be Amigo's. Buttercup the bunny approached her with curiosity, nudged and sniffed this tiny visitor. The tiny visitor WAILED her displeasure. I caged bunny. Amigo, finished eating, sat down with baby and entertained her, and all was well. 

The next day SIL and I took advantage of morning nap time to go secondhand shopping. She found baby clothes and a cool jacket; I found a pair of jeans in my brand & my size for $2.25. w00t!! 

Finally settled at home, after a good night's sleep, daughter and I are bonding over sushi and old episodes of Glee. 

Simple pleasures, indeed. It's great to see the kids growing up, enjoying each other, having fun. It doesn't make for dramatic blog posts, but it does make a happy family.

unbelievable

Not only do you have to worry about the way your child drives....you also have to worry about all the other morons on the road.

Once again I am dealing with insurance adjusters, tow trucks, body shops, accident reports....

Jen was broadsided as she was pulling out of a parking lot onto the roadway. Jen says the other car came out of nowhere, that she looked both ways before pulling out of the lot and didn't see anyone coming. The guy who hit her says he was doing 30 MPH....but the damage to her car makes me doubt it. The accident happened just south of a very busy intersection, and my guess is that he wanted to make it through the intersection before the light changed.  And, oh yeah, the guy who hit her is NOT a teen driver...he's older than I am.  

I keep telling both girls "Drive as if everyone else on the road is a moron, because most of them are."

And now we have to figure out how Jen is going to get to work while her car is in the shop.

My insurance wasn't high enough, I had to have this happen now?

Calgon take me away.