It was a busy weekend.
- E had a friend sleep over on Friday night. It went well. It is a friend who I have had some issues with before – her behavior, her negativity, her influence on E. There was none of that this weekend. She was flexible, fun, and really pleasant to have around. It was very nice. She’s the daughter of a friend, so it was good that it went well.
- Both girls had basketball games on Saturday a.m. Beloved took J to her early game (where she scored a basket, and was very proud, because it was against the Tall Team). E and her friend walked to theirs alone. No. I did not go. There are only two teams in their age bracket (b/c it’s 6-8th grades, and 7th and 8th graders can play for the school teams, and usually choose that over the town team). Every week, the two teams play each other. It’s very casual, not competitive, and frankly — boring. E doesn’t care if I’m there or not, just enjoys running around with her friends. If I am there, she spends more of her energy monitoring my conversations with other parents (to be sure I don’t say her name …. even if I say “Oh, E is due for a teeth cleaning” or “E’s birthday is in September” she hears her name and has a fit) than she does playing the game.
- My parents came in at noon on Saturday. Mom was having some back pain, so they were a little slow-moving, which was fine with us.
- E went to a movie with friends.
- J had a girl scout meeting – where she baked bread.
- Me, Beloved, Mom and Dad went to see a three bedroom apartment that is for rent. It was pretty nice, but short a bathroom and probably one room. I also was totally put off by the other occupant of the 2 family house, which may or may not be the owner’s mother-in-law. Things were a little fuzzy. I think that the space issues could have worked out, but the downstairs person was the deal killer.
- Once we collected the girls back at home, we all went out to dinner. At your typical chain steak-house, which is the sort of place we always go with my parents. They don’t like my favorite places, they find them “weird” – but I’ll take a steak any day. J had salmon, and E ate a 1/2 rack of baby back ribs. The food was pretty good. My dad got all sappy on me when I offered to pick up the tab …. something about being so proud that I am now in a position where I can do that, but that he won’t let me until I’m “caught up.” I don’t know waht that means. Do I have to catch up with HIM? Catch up with my bills? Pay off all my school loans? Whatever he meant – thanks for dinner, dad.
- Then, this morning, we cursed the time change as Beloved trudged off to a Sunday morning meeting and my parents and I left two sleeping children to go and see my office. My parents were duly impressed. They liked my view, the name plaque on my door, and the building at large. I think my air-conditioning-fixing dad was a bit proud of his eldest child. He couldn’t have said so more times. Mom was just happy to see all the pictures of E and J around the room (and both her nephews, as well). I think she was reassured that my job does not mean that I’ve forgotten that I still have 2 kids.
- We then came home and I dragged the girls out of bed at ELEVEN AM!!! Shit!! I know it only felt like 10 them. And 10 is a normal weekend wake up time for them. But today it was ELEVEN. Which does mean that now, at 11:28 p.m., I can hear E tossing and turning and sighing heavy, frustrated, insomniatic sighs.
- My dad made waffles. I don’t know what he did, but the house still smells like syrup. What the fuck? We had pancakes yesterday, and the house didn’t smell like syrup all day. I think it’s because despite the real Vermont maple syrup that we stay stocked in, Dad brought his Aunt Jemima’s, and those artificial flavorings have chemically attached themselves to the paint. Even Beloved’s stir fry couldn’t rid us of the smell.
- I did 8 loads of laundry.
- Mom, Dad and I went to 4 open houses. As in – homes for SALE. There were several nice ones. I am not going to push to buy right now. Even though our jumbo mortgage limit in the Boston area was raised to the point that I likely can buy a few of them. I’m just not willing to do so just to find myself upside down in a year or so, wanting to move b/c my condo is too small for 2 teenagers and all their friends that they keep dragging home. I’m resigned to be a renter for a couple more years. Just not here. It’s too small.
- Then they left. My parents. And I was going to go with E to a play, but I was quite frankly exhausted, so I bowed out, and spent some time organizing my ridiculous amounts of clothing, hanging out with J and Beloved, and resting for a minute, because I knew I had to …
- Go to the “let’s talk about our 6th graders” meeting that was scheduled for tonight. Ugh. That was stressful. It was about relationships and dating. About whether or not kids have sex in high school, whether there’s kissing in 6th grade, and whether kids are “grinding” on the dance floor at their little dances this year. This requires a post of its own. Because from that discussion came at home discussions, and things just went spiraling off into weirdness (as J called it, until I told her it was NOT weird, it was normal, because it all happens to everyone, and if it didn’t, then there would be no people). Oh yeah, we had a sex talk, baby. Replete with erections and ejaculations and the difference between semen and urine. Beloved was dragged into it, and was stellar. I shall try to remember to post more about this tomorrow.
- It’s a little more stressful that next time, I somehow ended up the chair of the meeting. Ugh. We will be talking about Freedom for 6th graders.
- Then E caught me snooping around on her phone. I tried to turn the volume down, and was looking at who she called and who called her, and she came out of her room. I had time to hide the phone in a towel, and she said, “I’m looking for a book.” And Beloved told her to go to bed. But then she found her book and said, “oh, I should put my phone in my purse. Oh. Where’s my phone? I thought I put it right there.” Dammit. She totally heard me before I turned the volume down. All I could was laugh and say, “fine, it’s right here, you snot, stop erasing your text messages.” She laughed at me and said, “mom! They were all to you!!” But she didn’t erase her call log, and there’s no denying that a certain boy has been calling her almost daily. The calls are quick. Not long. She tells me that they involve questions about homework and such. Hmmmm.
And that is what happened on yet another weekend where Zuska brought her work computer home just to leave in her bag all. weekend. long.
Fortunately, there are no deadlines until Wednesday.
I don’t blow off deadlines.
Really.
