The Average Blogger

So Long, 2012.

I'm wondering if this blog has jumped the shark. I apparently lack the time and inclination to post regularly, and Facebook is so much easier, with the photos and the feedback and the stuff.  Then again, I'm a little appalled at how easy and lazy things are on the Internets and was telling a friend the other day that I probably ought to spend more time looking into anti-social media.  Jury is still out on all that.

The past month was pretty good, though.  The cookie party was a success-- had about 30 people show up.  We changed things around and invited everyone we know for one time, instead of splitting it up into work people in the afternoon and neighbors at night.  Only one neighbor came, but it was the neighbor I like best, so that worked out well.

We spent the past week doing the family visit thing, and that was nice.  It felt a bit short and rushed, as usual, but maybe that's what makes for a good visit -- to leave wanting more.

The Young Prince was very happy with his holidays and the trip. He was also so happy to get home he spent a good ten minutes hugging the dog, which is something I never thought I'd live to see.

And now, because I do this every year, to read in my dotage:

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
I went to work for a think tank, where I feel very inexperienced and ignorant. I view this as a good thing, however, because it means I'm learning more.  We went 15 rounds with the public education system, and while I don't think we won, we weren't totally defeated, either. I do hate that it felt like a 2-month fight, however. We also took the plunge and medicated the kid, and it's turned out to be a hugely good idea. Even my mom seemed to think so.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did not gain 40 lbs. This year I resolve to watch TV 25 hours a day.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, although we didn't get to see the sprite for nine months or so. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, huzzah. Made it through another one.

5. What countries did you visit?
Does Harry Potter Land count? Our one big trip was to Universal in Orlando.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Same as last year: more free time.  For everything.

7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Nov. 1; the first day of the New YP.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Not killing bitchy public bureaucrats and fast food cashiers.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Time management. See No. 6.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
We had a shitload of doctor bills, but they weren't for anything horrific or worth mentioning.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Uh. Well, I'm pretty fond of the iPhones.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
The Young Prince's, far and away. It was a rough first 9 months, but I truly believe he came out the better for all of it.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
It was an election year. 'Nuff said.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Time off. Time with NYAB.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?
I'm sorry to say it is Call Me Maybe.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    i. happier or sadder? Much, much happier.
    ii. thinner or fatter? About the same.
    iii. richer or poorer? About the same.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing. Reading.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Working. Facebook.

20. How (did) you spend Christmas?
We had two! One for us, and one with family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
I fell in love with Concerta, for sure.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Walking Dead? Downton Abbey?

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Yes, a certain Threat Assessment Coordinator for Prince William County. I wouldn't mind her head on a pike.

24. What was the best book you read?
I read a lot of brain candy last year. I'm not sure I'd call any of it Best.  

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Well, I like Hugo quite a bit.

26. What did you want and get?
The way the YP has been for the past two months.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?
The Avengers. Yeah, yeah, shallow violent whatever-ness. It was awesome.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 41. I ate myself sick on ice cream cake with Miss Angela, and Not Your Average Blogger was most solicitous and lovely.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More money.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Lazy, same-old same-old.

31. What kept you sane?
Hope. Faith. Not so much charity.

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
Watching the YP get all fired up about the presidential election.

33. Who did you miss?
I spent a short while missing my old job when I got the new one.

34. Who was the best new person you met?
Erin, who is smart and sharp and nice and like-minded.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
Don't give up. I already knew this, but it was driven home in all manner of ways. 

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
It's getting better all the time.

OK, Break's Over!

And there's so much you've missed!

Not really.  A lot has happened, but as I've said before, while I am almost never bored, I find it hard to believe anyone else would find my life anything other than dead boring.

So, let's see.  What's changed?

The kid escaped third grade with all A's and B's, although it seems like he cut it awfully close.  This summer he's dedicating his time to behaving himself, relearning his states and capitals (same as every summer) and mastering the fricking multiplication tables he opted not to lean while his teacher was going over them in school.  Actions, as they say, have consequences.  I'm hoping the consequence of repeatedly reminding him that if he'd learned them when he was supposed to, he'd be free to watch more movies this summer will be that he does his classwork in class next year. 

As for the summer, he's been to a day camp where they made rockets out of soda bottles. He's been to a camp where they play a lot of games and run around most of the day.  He slammed his thumb in a car door and got a brace for it even though it wasn't broken.  He was absolutely stellar on the Fourth of July, and he's got all kinds of excitement in store for him in the next couple of months.  But I'll need blog fodder in the future, so I won't share what that stuff is just yet.

The house is still the house.  Lots of dog hair, lots of grass, lots of lethargy as far as doing anything about either. We survived the "derecho"  with the power going out for a whopping 20 seconds, and the cable/internet/phone mysteriously going out 4 hours after the storm and staying out for about 36 hours.

Not Your Average Blogger is still trucking along.  He's working on a new book.  Because I "shamed" him into it.  What I actually did was suggest he resurrect a book he wrote several years back, retool it and start shopping it around again.  Apparently he'd rather REsearch than REwrite, because he took on a new idea instead.  I have already told him that I'm going to take on his old book and turn it into gold, but I'm not entirely sure when that will be, because......

1: I have a new job! and,

2: An editor liked my YA superhero book!

So the new job is as an editor with a wonky think tank and I absolutely love it and I'm reading all kinds of very cool stuff that I'm not going to tell you anything about unless or until I get explicit permission to do so because, HELLO I GOT FIRED BEFORE I WAS HIRED last time I talked about work. I will say that I really do believe that the first six months of this year were serendipitous: The fact I got jilted by That Other Place simply meant I was free to take this job, which is a monumentally better fit for me and infinitely more interesting -- and, not for nothing, seems to have much nicer and much saner people on the payroll. (And someday, yes, someday I will tell you exactly what I think of That Other Place and the assorted nonsense that transpired and how Your Tax Dollars factored into the whole sordid mess, but today is not that day.)

The book news is very exciting.  Now I just need to figure out how to carve out 16 uninterrupted hours to go through the thing and retool, rewrite, reshape and reform. I'm hoping next weekend will provide the time.  I may have to check into a motel to get the distraction-free environment, I'm not sure. But I'm hella excited that someone is hella excited and wants me to put the work in. 

The problem with a new job and a book rewrite is they aren't exactly compatible.  In my new life, I can actually sleep until a reasonable hour, and given the option, I choose to take advantage of it.  So where I used to get up at 4 a.m., be at work between 5 and 5:20, then usually home by 3 or 4 and able to watch the kid and write and do assorted other things until I dropped dead at 10:30 or 11,  what now happens is I get up at 6, run the dog, leave for work by 6:45 and arrive between 7:30 and 8, workworkwork until I leave at 4, and get home around 6, which really only gives me four hours to Do Stuff, Including Dinner.  Four hours is barely enough time for me to figure out where I left off on a manuscript, certainly not enough for me to get back into the mood and voice and make any headway. I was all set to work on it last weekend, but we had no cable/internet/TV -- which meant no GoogleDocs. (Because that's where I started storing the thing after my hard drive crashed. I'm constantly outsmarting myself.) This weekend we have a concert tonight, and dinner with friends tomorrow, and I really really do need to do some more yardwork ... or housework ... or napping. Probably napping. So, maybe next weekend. 

The only other thing worth reporting on is that the Fourth happened, and it was probably one of the nicest days we've had in years, despite the fact it was literally 100 degrees out.  We started the day with NYAB and myself taking the dog for a walk, then everyone packing into the car and going to a ballgame, which was a great, great show. And sitting in the Red Porch seats means the wait staff don't want you to keel over in the 100-degree heat, so they brought out ice water along with ice-water drenched towels for all the delicate flowers.  It was great.  The kid pulled his usual trick of playing his videogames instead of watching the game, but he was generally well-behaved and as a reward we took him to see Spiderman -- a much better outing than the Toby Maguire version, I must say, although a bit alarming to me in its liberal use of recombinant DNA gene-splicing stuff (upon which my book also hinges, le sigh.)  After the movie we headed back to NYAB's office and watched all the fireworks shows in a 50-mile radius.  It was as lovely as last year, but it also made me a little sad to think of how much has changed in the intervening time.  On the other hand, the 2 hours it took us to get home hadn't changed a bit, and reminded me I don't miss commuting from the Capitol at all.  

And now you're all caught up.  See you back here in a week? Maybe? Maybe not. Time will tell

Number Nine...

Nine years ago, Not Your Average Blogger and I took the day off work to go kill some time in a hospital, and we emerged with a brand new boychild.

For the most part, I think we've done a pretty good job on the upkeep.  A few scratches, a few dents, but the Young Prince is still running great.

(Hmmm.  Wearing the same sweatshirt as last year, I think.  Or we are dreadfully uninspired in the clothing arena...)

As if the universe knew I was going to write about him today, a bunch of material came home from school yesterday.  He got all As and Bs during this grading period.  He took a bunch of standardized tests and the results came back that he's an ace reader and reasonably good at "nonverbal reasoning" -- what NYAB refers to as "FSO" tests. Also not surprising, his math scores were pretty abysmal -- but even this isn't necessarily cause for dismay -- there were 60 problems and he finished 30. Of those 30, he got 29 right.

So I suspect this score is actually yet another chorus in the "Dude, pay ATTENTION!" song. He CAN add and subtract, he just DOESN'T.  I also suspect that many of the B grades he got could have been A's for the same reason. I continue to believe that once he finally figures out that These Things Matter, he'll start acting like they do. Now it's up to me to figure out how to make them matter in the micro, so he'll be equipped for the macro.

He also brought home a note alerting us that his bus driver had died over the weekend, possibly (although I can't verify this,) preceded by some mishap at the school last week. ("He fell and had to go to the hospital, and the buses left late," Thomas said. I don't know if this means the man died because he fell, or fell because he was dying, or the two were completely unrelated.) In any event, this was a bit more complicated than grades, needless to say.  The YP was quite fond of this man apparently.  The guy used to call him by a different sci-fi name every day when he'd get on the bus, and those of you who know anything about the YP can imagine what this meant to him. So this is a note of sad growing-up-ness in a week of birthday celebration.

And yet, the kid still loves his Captain America gear. And his Tron shirt. Well, yeah. 

Last weekend, obviously, was gifts.  The haul included the above, along with a Kindle Fire, assorted Tron items and videogames. This weekend, NeighborGirl is home, so we are making a day of it and going to Steak and Shake, then to see Star Wars in 3D.  That pod race should be something else.  We are all quite excited. And if I'm lucky, I'll finally get a few decent photos of the kid where he isn't "posing" with ridiculous Steve Perry-esque facial expressions.

Happy birthday, YP.  I'm gratified that I will (probably) still be taller than you when you turn 10.

 

Year-End Wrap-Up

So, that whole holiday thing happened. It was nice. Low-key.  Restful.  Got a lot of reading done, and some writing, and lots of eating and sleeping. Saw the White House and Capitol Christmas trees/displays. Went to a movie. Went to a museum. The high point was finding a Steak and Shake within 50 miles of home.  So. Awesome.

So here's where things stand for 2011:

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
Watched two of my favorite people marry each other. Went to a ballgame and sat in seats that showed up on TV. Fell in love with Chincoteague.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Ha! My reverse pyschology plan worked. I will continue that this year. I resolve to gain 40 lbs.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Hm.  People I know became parents, but I don't know that I'd say I'm close to them.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, huzzah. Made it through another one.

5. What countries did you visit?
We went practically nowhere this year. And it was everything I thought it would be.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Same request as last year: more free time.  I would use it to sleep, write and run the dog and the kid into the ground.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Aug. 25, when NYAB and I ditched the kid and played like grownups.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Losing weight and keeping my temper, to the extent I managed to do both.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I continue to feel like I'm shortchanging my kid. I continue to wonder what would make me feel like I wasn't.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Only the usual.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Well, it would have to be either the new septic system, the new electrical breakers or the dryer. The dryer made me least angry, so I'll go with that one.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Certain folks of my professional acquaintance. And everyone I count as a true friend.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Cough. Certain folks of my professional acquaintance. And those who done wrong the folks I count as true friends.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Repairs. Grumble.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Time off. Time with NYAB.

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Forget You, by Cee-Lo.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
    i. happier or sadder? Happier.
    ii. thinner or fatter? Thinner! Huzzah!
    iii. richer or poorer? Poorer.  See aforementioned repairs.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Writing. Parenting.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Work. Yell.

20. How (did) you spend Christmas?
At home, reading and watching movies.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
In and out and in again -- with my son's behavior, I should have hastened to point out.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Walking Dead.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I'm too tired to hate anyone. But that also means I'm too tired to be nice to people who piss me off.

24. What was the best book you read?
Mine, goddamnit.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Uh.  Was Hot Chelle Rae this year?

26. What did you want and get?
To be 10 lbs lighter.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?
Super 8 was a nice surprise, but Fright Night wins.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 40. I got a piano that I'm still not playing, and I had the best ice cream lunch ever courtesy of Miss Angela, and everyone was super nice to me, and the next day we went to Opening Day, where we all froze to bits.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More money.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Same as 2010.

31. What kept you sane?
I'm not sure I stayed sane. To the extent I did, it was due almost entirely to good listeners.

32. What political issue stirred you the most?
I'm no longer stirred by politics. No point in it.

33. Who did you miss?
My carefree booze-swilling youth.

34. Who was the best new person you met?
Er. I am going to say Tammy in IT, who actually answers email and gets things done.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011:
Being around unhappy people makes me fucking miserable. 

36. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Several years ago I said goodbye to my own sanity. But I don't, no, I don't, no, I don't mind at all.

Stop and Go

So, I figured things would slow down a little bit this week, with no parties/plays/etc. to prepare for.

So far, it's been at a dead stop.

Saturday's party was lovely.  The place looked nice, the food was served, the guests were wonderful.

Sunday was productive. I got the garage cleaned and put together my new not-rusted-out wheelbarrow that my parents gave me for Christmas. It's so nice, y'all.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling lousy. But I went to work anyway. Where I felt REALLY lousy.  Got an email that the kid was also lousy.  And another copy editor. 

Good lord, I thought, I've poisoned us all.

Well, no. But some kind of nasty stomach bug did make its way through a few of us.

So yesterday the Young Prince and I were on the SAD diet (Sick As Dogs) and we both slept a lot.

The stress was more than Not Your Average Blogger could take, apparently, as he does not have our affliction, I don't think, but he also hasn't gotten out of bed yet today.

Perhaps our regularly scheduled lives will resume tomorrow. Right now, I think I need a nap.

And then I need to wrap gifts/go shopping/pick up the drycleaning/help the kid with his projects/write my books/lalala.

Yes. Definitely a nap.

Cookies, Carols, Curtness

I'm in 50th place on my "writing" contest.  Eh, whatevs.

We had a fantastic weekend, y'all.  Saturday started with a peppermint milkshake and Christmas tree decorating and wrapped up with the traditional lobster and chowder dinner. Omigod, the dairy. Yum. 

Sunday was the Wolf Trap sing-along, and it was much more fun at a balmy 40-50 degrees. Much easier to eat dinner afterward when you can feel your fingers. The Young Prince sang along more than he did last year, and he didn't get really nuts about wanting to jump around and dance til halfway through, so I count that a success as well. I hope that if we keep going, it will wind up being one of the annual events the kid remembers fondly as a perennial part of the holiday season. I would like that. It's like caroling without the exercise or the panhandling. What's not to like? 

This week has been given over to baking for our party on Saturday and to working with the kid on assorted gift projects he is tussling with. Excellent, reasonably creative-not-cribbed ideas.  We'll have to see how he does on execution.  I'm trying to be Nice Supportive Helpful Mom, and not No, Stop, You're Making It Hard On Yourself Mom. 

I haven't really learned this lesson very well, though you'd think I would have by now.  It's just so frustrating to watch the kid do math with his fingers -- and in the wrong, longer, time-wasty-er direction; if he has to add 8 and 4, he'll start at four and count up 8 EVERY SINGLE TIME. But he gets the right answer, and I guess I should just lay off and figure that someday someone will shame him into memorizing them or flunk him on a timed test and he'll just do it when it matters.

It does make me wonder, though.  He is (well, he was, I assume he still is,) certifiably diagnosed with borderline ADD.  I'm not certifiably diagnosed but it's pretty clear I'm desperately afflicted with full-bore IMD (Impatient Mom Disorder, dontchaknow.) And I wonder if maybe they're not a bit related? I've spent countless hours jabbing at him to hurry up, come on, get it done, JEEEEZZZZZUSSSSS!!!  He's spent countless hours resisting, trying, arguing.  Maybe I should see what he does if I say, "Know what? I want you to work on this, but I want you to stare at the page for a full minute before you write a sentence. And then I want you to take 45 seconds to write each letter. No. You're going too fast."  Hmmm.

(The argument also could be made that impatience stems from my having ADD, I guess -- I'm ready to be done with this shoe-tying nonsense. Let's go! Something shiny! Time's a-wastin'!)

So for those of you who will be receiving a gift from the Young Artist, I can't promise a delivery date. I can only hope it will be worth the wait.

Anyway, this is all the long way around to saying it's business as usual at Casa Blogger, and we're all having a lovely time waiting for the year to end.  Hope y'all can say the same!  And if you're in the area, come to our cookiefest.  We take all comers after the hour of noon!

Here Goes Nothing...

So, I've been dabbling in writing, as most of you probably already know, since I do tend to go on about it.

Most important? Please go here and vote for my story to win. Not only will it make me happy and published, it will also give an infusion of books to the grade school in the weensy Illinois town my family hails from (whence my family hails? Sounds snobby.)

Second most important: I'm going on about writing even more, but I won't do it here as much.  If you want to see the writerly side of my sparkling and multi-faceted character, head on over.  I'm also back on Twitter.

But family news and whatnot will continue to show up here, however sporadically.

Thanksgiving was a lovely affair, with the delightful Porter/Graham-Silverman/Player to Be Named Later as our company. They make excellent desserts, y'all. I had pie for dinner last night, that's how good it was.

The rest of the weekend was gorgeous weather, yardwork, playing with the kid and the dog, and several visits from NeighborGirl, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed. Say what you will about leaf blowers and emissions -- one gallon of gas and about 8 hours accomplished what probably wouldn't have gotten done in 24 hours with two people raking and swearing and acquiring blisters upon blisters.

We also headed out to the theater and saw Hugo.  It was a nicely done movie; very pretty and artful and true what I read of the book. (The Young Prince read it on his own but showed me huge chunks and asked about a thousand questions.) The sad part of where I am in my life right now is that most of the time I was watching it, the refrain in the back of my head was, "Damn. Can you imagine hearing that Martin Freaking Scorsese wants to make the movie of your book? Sigh. Screw you, Brian Selznick, you amazingly talented and rightfully recognized bastard."

Now the family is into a headlong downhill slide toward Christmas. This weekend is a sing-along at Wolf Trap and baking like mad; next weekend is our cookie party, the weekend after that is another friend's party, and the weekend after that is the big day.  (Not to mention assorted school and extracurricular events for the YP.)

I keep saying it because I keep being surprised by it: I am far too busy for a person with no social life!

A Lovely Weekend

It was a long week last week.  Lots of weird work hours, lots of errands and school stuff to deal with, lots of rust to kick off after the congressional recess.  Plus, my parents got a puppy. So the Young Prince has a new retarded aunt. Another family member also has a new arrival scheduled, but it isn't any of my business to go spreading it around and I'm really just marking it here as a reference tag for when senility kicks in and I can't remember what year other people's milestones occurred.

Saturday, the YP's school held a fundraiser for the local library.  The YP took part in a singing contest, along with 10 other grade-schoolers, something like 5 middle-schoolers and 2 high school girls.  He did not win the prize for his grade-level -- that went to some home-school kid who played Annie's Song on the guitar. I am told that the public-school kid who played the piano was robbed. I am also told that the YP had the most stage presence and vivacity of any of the kids performing.  This does not surprise me, he is definitely more an actor than a singer. Maybe next year they'll have a standup comedy contest and he'll blow everyone out of the water.

It was funny to read his score sheets. There were four judges; one of them is the music teacher at his school, and that guy said he was keeping his scoresheets to go over with the kids individually.  Of the remaining three, two of them were close together on scoring the kid -- scale of 1 to 4 -- as 3's on musicality and 4's on personality and performance.  Judge No. 4, however, skewed the whole bell curve -- all 2's, with a 1 for stage presence. The funniest part was that the YP handed me her sheet and said, "Yeah, she HATED me!" in the most non-angry, non-disappointed, simply matter-of-fact, "huh, whatchagonnado" voice I've ever heard out of his mouth, especially contrasted with his excitement-slash-mild-anxiety of what his music teacher is going to tell him this week.  I have to say, seeing that reaction was probably the highlight of my day, because it is an indicator that he has already figured out when to take things personally and when to blow them off -- a valuable skill I still haven't quite mastered, and one that will serve him well in any case but especially if he decides to keep going down this road and auditions are really what he wants to spend his life doing.

I did not see any of the performance firsthand, however, only the aftermath. I was in another part of the high school manning a booth selling my homemade jam and jelly and making my maiden outing in small business.  Very small -- so small, in fact, it didn't occur to me to bring bags or business cards to the event.  Live and learn. I did, however, sell 12 jars, at least three of them on the strength of free samples. So I know what I've got is good enough for people to want to pay for it. I am now motivated to find other venues -- farmers markets, online, etc. -- and jump slightly further into the effort.  Maybe.

After the sale, I came home and mowed the front yard. And looked around and figured it was finally dry enough that I could slide my way through our swamp and into the back field and mow there.

Yeah, I was wrong about that.  I got the mower irretrievably stuck, and even with all 3 Blogger family members pitching in, that thing wasn't going anywhere. 

Next morning, I called a tow service to haul the thing out, and it required pooling all the cash in the cash in the house to pay them -- minus $4 that the guy gave back to me in lieu of a jar of strawberry jelly. Chortle. I'm not sure if it was a pity purchase or what, but he seemed genuinely enthused. He also gave me the sage advice of next time using my garden hose as a tow chain between the mower and the car.  Which will definitely be cheaper and faster, if a whole lot muddier.

After the tow job (or toe-job, as NYAB and the YP referred to it with peals of laughter -- laughter that derived from very different mental images, I'm relieved to report,) I was presented with cards, flowers, a booklet of gratitude from the boy, and we then went out to lunch for pizza and ice cream. Because, yes, as a matter of fact, my list of preferred culinary delights does rival that of an 8-year-old. We also rented Harry Potter 6, since the YP finished that book about a week ago.  He's now on a hard deadline to finish Book 7 by July so that he can see both those movies back to back, the last one in the theater.  I rather suspect he will be going to the midnight premier with NeighborGirl, who is home from college for the summer. I further suspect I will not be joining them, but anything is possible, I suppose.

Once the movie ended, we packed it back up and the boys went to the driving range while NeighborGirl and I went to visit her mom, who works weekends at a restaurant/bar. Turns out everyone else's mom was there too, and the place was absolutely jammed.  NeighborGirl and I had one drink each, talked to her mom for about 45 seconds, and bolted to a grassy area near the parking lot to wait for the lads to come back.

Home again, I spent the evening finishing up the laundry and working on a new writing project that I'm fairly excited about and the whole family isn't sick of hearing about ... at least, not yet. My dear, dear friend from college who now lives in YA publishing let me rattle on at her for 10 minutes about it and at the end told me that this is definitely in her wheelhouse, depending on a few squishy sex details, and that I needed to start writing immediately. So there's that. Between jelly-slinging and fiction-writing, I imagine it will be a rather busy summer. Plus, you know, that whole day job thing.

Can't wait to get started! Best Mother's Day ever!

When Mozart Was My Age....

... he had been dead for five years.

Yesterday was the big day. I turned 40.  Funny how much it feels like 39, or 38, or really pretty much any year in recent memory.  I don't know that I'm changing much. I might be a better manager, which I can largely ascribe to having been a parent. Too tired to argue about little stuff, too farsighted to pick fights about inconsequential things that once upon a time would have been the Beginning of the End of the World. 

I've sort of been celebrating for about a week, though.  My parents sent me my gift last week, which included a cookie press to replace the one I burned out the motor on last December (The Young Prince was elated: "We can have Christmas again!") along with a couple movies and a very nice check that we applied to the cost of a piano -- delivered the same day we bought it, last Saturday.

So I've been sorta spoiled already, but yesterday was absolutely lovely. It started at 5, like my days usually do, but I got a surprise around 7 when the Young prince came barreling down the stairs and put on a little song and dance number for me.  Then he played me the C major scale, flawlessly. (Next step, getting him to play it with both hands at the same time. Still, not bad for what has probably totaled 15 minutes of practice.)  Then he joined me for a conversation.

"Mom, what's your favorite holiday?"
"Erm. I don't know. Halloween, maybe. Or Christmas."
"Huh. I like Easter. You get all the candy but you don't have to go to anyone else's house to get it. Although, I think I've figured that out."
"Figured what out?"
"That there isn't really an Easter Bunny, right? It's just you and Dad filling up plastic eggs and hiding them?"
"Well, yes. You're right."
"I thought so."
"But what about Santa?"
"I'm not sure on him. I mean, I guess he's real. But you know, Brian got a basketball from Santa last Christmas, and it had a pricetag on it. Elves didn't make that. They don't put pricetags on stuff. So ... I don't know. I think Santa is a real STORY, but not a real PERSON, maybe?"
"You think?"
"Yeah, that's my best guess."
"Well, yeah, you've basically got that right too.  Santa is ... have you ever heard the term 'frame of mind'?"
"No. What's that?"
"Well, it's like a feeling.  You know how good you felt when you came down and sang and made me happy?"
"Yeah...."
"Well, that's basically Santa.  Santa is wanting to make other people feel good."
"Ohhh!  YES! I figured it out!"
"Yes, you did.  Now listen to me. Part of this Santa business of making other people feel good is letting them believe in him, and figure it out for themselves, same way you did. OK? So if you hear little kids talking about Santa, don't go telling them they're wrong, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am. I won't."

Sigh. My birthday, and he's the one growing up and hitting milestones. (Well, sort of, anyway.)

So then I went to work, and received an absolutely lovely lunchtime surprise when my partner in crime Angela showed up in my office with a giant bag full of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (Three flavors. And by the way? Late Night Snack? OH MY GOD!) plus hot fudge sauce plus whipped cream fresh from the Starbucks on the corner.  She is so awesome.  And she knows me so well that she's aware the only fruit I'll touch is maraschino cherries, so she provided those and didn't try to futz up the ice cream with that stuff.  I heart Angela to bits, y'all.  

Of course there was way too much, so I shared -- but I also ate twice as much as anyone else and found myself rather full and sleepy for the rest of the day's meetings.  Win-win!

After work, my boss took me out for a birthday booze drink, so I swilled my Manhattan and we talked about all the stuff we usually talk about -- work, segueing into movies and personal anecdotes and I don't know what all.

And then I got home and discovered the YP had also gifted me with another good day at school, while Not Your Average Blogger gave me a card with a certificate for a massage and facial in it.  Which means he's also going to take the kid one of these Saturdays while I go off and luxuriate for several hours. And then there was more ice cream, in the form of a cake.

Plus, I got calls from my parents and grandparents. Not to mention the kerjillion nice people who Happy Birthday'd me on Facebook.

And as if all that weren't enough, today I am taking the day off work and we are going to Opening Day for the Nats.  It is currently 37 degrees and threatening to rain. It is going to be a miserable weather. But it is a ballgame, the first ballgame for 2011, and spirits are high even if the temps aren't. 

40 is looking pretty good to me. 

The Day Everything Changed

Eight years ago today, I was in a hospital feeling way too happy to be as weepy as I was at the Young Prince's arrival.

Seven years ago today, I was almost over the feeling that any minute now someone was going to bang on our door and insist a terrible mistake had been made and they had to reclaim the YP and take him away Right This Second, and my life would be over.

Six years ago today, I was wondering if the little scamp was ever going to open his mouth and start Really Talking.

Five years ago today, I was trying to figure out how to make it all work so that my job didn't suffer but the YP didn't either.

Four years ago today, nothing made me happier than to watch the YP and his dad tell stories and belt out songs on our morning commute to work and day care.

Three years ago today, the YP could name all the presidents, knew all the states and capitals, and I was worried he would be bored to death in kindergarten.

Two years ago today, I was wondering if he would manage to graduate kindergarten.

A year ago today, we were snowed in, celebrating with dinner cooked in the fireplace and a week in a hotel with a pool -- oh, and electricity.

Today, I am just so grateful for the past eight years, and so excited about what the next 80 will bring.

When did you get so skinny? When did I get so maudlin?

And just for the record -- we celebrated your birthday a day early (on Sunday,) with gifts (Boxcar Children books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, a Harry Potter book, an Iron Man mask, Dr. Who Tardis control playset, and -- when spring returns -- a giant trampoline for the back yard,) lunch at McDonalds, (where you held the door and ordered for all of us,) and chocolate cake (with a Tardis theme, as requested on short notice.)  Today you get cupcakes at school. Next weekend we are taking you and several of your friends to a movie. Lord only knows how that will turn out.

Happy birthday, Young Prince!