duckymama

This summer started, was interrupted by, and ended with family funerals here at the Duck Pond.  So keep in mind we have gone into the school year this fall cranky and depressed already.  And the beat goes ON -

This week alone has been enough to make me rip out my home-colored hair.  However, let me recap the October highlights for those not in the know or those who have managed to move on better than I have done.    One child is having some accute health issues from a chronic problem.  Ok.  Dealt with appropriately with many offices and facilities etc.  But still and always will be ongoing to some level.  NOT thrilling the pants off of her, I might add.  The other child is trying to decide if he is applying to college.  The answer and the choices change daily.  DAILY.   At his usual home setting of raging hairiness.  His SAT was finally taken on OCTOBER 1.  Everyone else has gotten their results that sat for it the day he did….but him.  Really?? Currently playing daily harrass-the-child about finding out why he doesn’t have his posted.  And yesterday he had in school restriction…for too many unexcused tardies.  I am ok with that punishment, I am not ok with my child needing to be punished (HIS fault.  ENTIRELY).

Parent at school with allergy child.   I understand the fears with this.  I really, really do.  I’m NOT just saying that.  I also have been doing this for twelve years, as has the friend’s teacher.  So please give us the trust and respect we have earned before you got here….and stop requesting meetings, calling, emailing or showing up every single, solitary day (including before said friend started classes with us). YOU ARE BREAKING THROUGH MY ANXIETY MEDICATIONS!!!  WE GOT THIS!!!

Children who do not go where they are supposed to with their purple dismissal slip clutched in their hot little hands!!  Parents who do not tell the school someone else will be picking up their child today and then said other adult picking up thinks WE are clueless (technically we are without the clue we need, but that is mommy or daddy’s lookout…they did  it to us and made us look like incompetent nitwits).  SERIOUSLY??

Staff of various kinds not behaving like adults.  Insert person and issue here _______________________________. (write more on the back  because you know there will need to be more room than that)  BE GROWNUPS.  EVEN BETTER, BE PROFESSIONAL GROWNUPS.

Children not staying out of recess and PE when they know they should not be there for health reasons.  Twice.  Mommy is on the edge, please stop pushing her (and Miss Melinda). YOUR MOM WILL READ THIS BLOG ENTRY TO YOU AND THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF NOTORIETY YOU WANT.

Children requiring a talk from me this coming week in their classroom due to the frequently flying escapades they are pulling on their very competent and fabulous teacher.  YOU PEOPLE ARE NOT IN THE FIRST GRADE.  ACT ACCORDINGLY.  I DO NOT LIKE TO HAVE TO USE MY TEACHER VOICE ON PEOPLE.

And all kind of everywhere,  ill and injured friends and family of dear friends.  I am a knitter and my knitting group are some of my closer friends.  We currently have: recently discharged inpatient family,  still inpatient family,  in ICU family, and  in ICU friends.  As well as a sweet canine family member who had to be put down this week. We are just not that huge of a group here, people. There is more, but those are the highlights in this area. Lots of these family and friends are loved by others with big hearts and slightly squishy mental states.   We love a lot and well and we are really feeling overloaded…with our own pain and the shared pain one has for those they care about.

This along with the rain, flat tires, no lunch, meetings, reports, every single member of our office crew including admin out at various points of the week for necessary things (which are necessary but throw off the vibe),  and the usual day to day of life like bill paying, money management, laundry, dishes, updated shots for me, broken glasses, RX refills that don’t go at all smoothly and general chaos (not to be confused with major disaster…that is in the above paragraph).

In and amongst this month and week from hell, there have been some good things: Last night my dinner was a nice Riesling, fudge made by my daughter and a tasty barbecued chicken sandwich made by my husband.  I’m pretty sure lunch will be a repeat of same.   I got to see my favorite knitting author this week, have her sign my book and made it onto her blog with my lovely daugter and in the company of friends.  That’s pretty stellar.   A few really nice days at a wonderful friend’s house. Great substitutes in the office for when we’ve needed to be out.  We heart them with every fiber of our beings.

So…God currently understands that I’m mad at him.  I’m pretty sure from the level of “REALLY????”  and   “ARE YOU KIDDING ME???” that I have directed his way in the last month or TWO even, that it’s not a surprise.  We are feeling a little concentrated upon, in not a good way, in my orbit right now.  I am ok with being mad at him right now.  He is a big boy, and he can take it if anyone can.  And since we have been in such a long term relationship, we both know I’ll get over it.  But this means Y’ALL need to do my praying…because I’m not talking to him.  That is right, I am being a petulant small child to him about it all.  Which will be REALLY interesting tomorrow when I am at New Life Church with the fam watching in school restriction boy be rebaptized.  He was baptized at six weeks old but he feels this one is the REAL one, since HE is choosing.  I guess I’m glad he’s come around since age ten when we usually confirm and he couldn’t possibly have cared less.

October - you currently have about three redeeming qualities: lower temperatures, no humidity and pretty leaves.  I got NOTHING else.  So get it together for this last week and TAKE THE BAD JUJU WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO.

I now must spend the rest of today trying to calm the F&!k back down, knitting and reading about knitting.   They really are the things that work best…with the fudge and Riesling.

With a nod to Herman’s Hermits, I do have a lovely daughter.  She is sweet, she is spicy and fiery, she is smart, she is kind, she is knowledgeable and she is lovely.

Twenty years ago today just after 6pm, she entered the atmosphere.  Her father and I knew someone was in there, but we were not prepared for the force of nature her little 8 lb self was going to be in our lives.  We have all been through much together, the four of us (us, she and Brother-man). Never, ever has it been boring.  There are no minutes of it we would trade for all the world.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl.  We love you Most.

Technology, people.  It is in so many instances a wonderful, amazing, awe-inspiring thing.  What humankind has done with machines, electronics et al in the last 50 years alone is nothing short of groundbreaking.    It can take you to places you have never been before, virtually or in actual person.  You can learn, work, do and BE in so many ways only a few had imagined.

So why does technology hate my guts?  Is it just this cumbersome to use now that we have so much and it can do so much?  Or does it just hate me because I am not always the nicest person I could be? 

The day before yesterday, I spent almost an hour of my life on hold to a call center in India.  I know you all feel my pain, because at one time or another, all of us in desktop/laptop owning land have done it…at least a few times.  This installment of is “Karma getting back at me” is a duet of devices, and goes a little like this:

Last week I bought my first smart phone. I had a regular little cell phone, and an Itouch, and an MP3 player and a Palm Pilot.  The goal here, other than being able to search for more info on the go (I am a know it all…you all know it), playing Words with Friends anywhere (I also love words…you all know that too) and Facebook anytime, I was looking to consolidate the technology.  One device may be able to replace four??? Hot damn!  I took my personal know-it-all-in-training, the Drake Jr. with me to the phone store.  To say the Geek Squad is missing a member may be understating things.  His 17 year old self and the 20 year old phone salesman exited into Phone Klingon dialect soon after we entered and stated our intentions.  Gave me at least two pitying looks in tandem when I asked them to translate what they were speaking about.   I walked in wanting an Iphone.  I left owning an Android Incredible 2.  Both geekteens agreed that it was bigger, badder, faster and gonna rock my world SO much better than the Iphone.  And it was $50.00 less.  So off we went home.  Verizon uses Google Marketplace for their apps.  I encountered problem number one at home within one hour of purchase: Marketplace did not want to launch.  So after some intense dithering around by Drake Jr., he discovered that he didn’t know what it’s issue was either and had to go take a shower to go to work.  Saved by the job.  As a cable had been left out of the phone box, I had to return to the phone store anyway…so off the phone and I went back.  Roger, an adult geek, had another customer’s phone sitting at the counter trying to suss out it’s same issue (same phone!)  Another 30 minutes later, updates had been installed, and back to home I went.  Much fun was had searching, downloading, trying to figure out just how many screens this phone has and where things have landed. 

The next day, with things going well, I decided to try to sync my new phone with my Napster account.  1000+ songs in my library and still growing.  That is not going as planned.  Verizon has a Napster app.  It works fine…for downloading new things wirelessly.  As far as uploading my old stuff…we are having some translation issues (Phone Klingon still applies HERE).    My phone, though loaded as a new device along with two others, still does not want to sync.  The Drake Jr. very kindly, sternly and loudly offered to take over this particular issue.  Since he was the one who PROMISED me with all of his geekknowledge that this would work if I purchased this phone, I found no reason not to throw, I mean give, him the laptop and the phone to work it out.  Currently I sit at my desk in the summer school clinic with my laptop logged into the wifi…because it is STILL trying to download songs.  To my hard drive.  I think.  I also think it’s going to take DAYS to finish.  Because this is a shared with the Duckling Napster account.  There are 3000+ songs in the complete library.  Sigh. 

So with all THAT also going on, it was time to renew my Norton Anti-Virus programs.  I clicked, and paid etc.  When it came time to download the updates…the Symantec server was being uncooperative (now doesn’t THAT just inspire confidence?)   I logged back on on Monday and had a message to the effect of  “is this your activity” from them.  I confirmed that it was, it asked me for my product serial number, which I located where it told me to…and then it didn’t recognize it.   Sigh.  Moan.  Really????????  I then attempted to click onto the contact info.  I got Nathan my virtual rep.  Now I know Nathan really doesn’t look like the picture they have up on their site and his name is probably Rohan or Avinash, but I digress.  I type in my basic question, which at first it does not understand.  THEN, it gives me answers that are not really germaine to my issue.  Really????????????  I finally succeed in finding an actual contact number.  I dial it’s 800 number self, and after 5 minutes on terminal hold, I find myself connected to THE CALL CENTER.  I spent 47:52 minutes on the phone, mostly in silence while updates occured after the nice Indian gentleman remote accessed my computer.  He updated, fixed and all was well.  I sorted three baskets of clean laundry on the bed while holding the phone.  Sigh.  In the meantime, Napster is not even a 16th of the way through the downloading it is doing on my hard drive.

Yesterday and today, I have carried in to summer school with me the new phone, the itouch, the mp3 player that I cannot currently sync due to the downloading in progress, the Palm Pilot AND the laptop.  Not getting any lighter, the bags.  ONLY getting heavier.  Yesterday everything I had either needed to charge or sync.  And there is a desktop here too.  I think there were desks at Mission Control during that last shuttle launch that did not look as automated as this one did.

So at some point in the next few days THAT BOY (Drake Jr.) WILL finish sorting out my Napster sync problem or I WILL get him.  I am learning the new phone technology, but I keep forgetting where certain apps are stored.  Like my bookmark function…FML  or my CRS brain. 

Philosophically speaking, this is my quandary: does technology really hate me or is this the universe’s way of saying “be nicer….don’t talk about so and so that way…invite that slightly annoying person along…don’t gossip…”?  I really thought God preferred sending me flat tires when I’ve been bad.

Loudoun County where I live is still one of the fastest growing areas in the nation.  We are building as fast as we can (blech) even during this recession.  There are two Harris-Teeters within 5 miles of my house on the dirt road now.  There are new schools opening every time we turn around, and they’re filling up fast.  Community services are hard-pressed to keep up with everything. 

With this we have dump trucks, loaders and other William A. Hazel related vehicles ALL KINDA EVERYWHERE on the back road I take from my house to summer school.  These fellas don’t appear to know that this is a PUBLIC ROAD NOT YOUR CONSTRUCTION EASEMENT!!!  I could rant on about THAT for quite some time, but I’m trying my best not to counteract the effects of my blood pressure medication.  From the dirt road I bounce along, I see curbs poured for not-yet-existant houses.  This land development has always made me angry/nauseous.  I get more angry/nauseous the closer it makes it to my own home, which is way too damn close. I was even more bothered when the Drake worked for a company that did the same site developing Hazel does…ripping down the trees and making way for the building of more little boxes made out of ticky-tacky, and yes they all do look just the same.  Hard to reconcile the roof over my head being paid for by that.

That being said, I am still smiling about the saga that began day two of me working summer school (July 6). I’m bumping along in my usual way to summer school, dodging dump trucks, watching for any sudden moves by loaders, and have to come to a pretty quick halt.  No dozers, no construction workers – two Black Angus and a Jersey or Swiss Brown (I think).  Standing in the road, crowded up against the wire fencing (not being chickens, they know enough to move out of the way of oncoming traffic).   Two adults and a calf.  After they move,  I call 911 so we can move the road hazard… I get rerouted to Loudoun Dispatch (apparently I am so far south in Loudoun that cell call pinged into the Prince William County 911 area).  I tell them what’s up, they don’t laugh or sound irritated and say they will send someone along.  On my merry way I go, late for school.

Three or four days later, there they are again without the calf.  I call 911 again, ask to be rerouted to Loudoun, they put me through to the Sheriff’s department who tells me they have someone enroute already…and that the cows are out sightseeing.  Gotta love Deputies with a sense of humor.

Bombing along the road for a few more days, I’ve gone back to my normal routine of dodge-the-dumptruck.  Then over on the side of the road in the middle of a large cleared area are three cows.  Two of them have become very familiar to me and the LCSD, and this time they brought Black Angus Adult number two with them.  They are lined up facing the road in a nice, neat little row.   The deputy is on one side, and the farmer is on the other.  I swear the cows looked like they had just filed in for a lineup.  I kept waiting for someone to ask them to turn right for the profile view!!  I rolled down the window as I pulled to a stop, and hollered “Again?” out the window.  Farmer is laughing, female deputy says “They transferred me down here on the fourth and they’ve been out every day since!!” also laughing.  The farmer tells me to tell them goodbye since I won’t see them any more (I hope they are just moving them or getting better fencing up).  I holler back to please not turn them into hamburger.  They were beautiful cows, and their image is still making me smile.  They wanted to see what all that grading and noise was about too, so I guess they got their chance!!!  Nature vs. progress.  In the end, we all know Nature will win, even if we are not here to listen to it mooing.

I am a Knitter.  It is important to know that there is a difference between knitters and people who knit.  People who knit can put it down for years and years at a time.  They do simple things, and complex things, large things and small things, but while the people who knit enjoy doing it…well, they are not necessarily Knitters.  Knitters are CONSUMED in small or large part with knitting.  We live it, we breathe it, we have whole communities of friends we know just BECAUSE of it. We have process knitters and project knitters.  We have knitters with many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) and knitters who will only have one project on the needles at a time. They are a smaller sub-set, but we have seen them!  We have knitters who are into bright colors and novelty yarns and knitters who are into tweeds and fine, smooth wools.  We have the wool loving, and the wool allergic, the organic cotton lovers and the lovers of the resiliency of  acrylics. We have gadget happy knitters (who, me?) who love almost any and every tool involved in knitting and there are a lot more than just the needles out there, people.  We will plot family vacation travel routes around where the yarn shops are along the way, even if along the way involves 20 miles OUT of the way.  We speak of Elizabeth and Cat and Norah.  We speak in a code of DPNS and PSSOs and Kitchener and Circs and Noro and Jojoland and Repeats that give our Muggle friends and family (non-knitters in this case) serious headaches. 

The reason why we love Knitters are vast and varied.  The knitting is The Great Equalizer.  It brings together pairs and groups of people that would surely never find each other any other way. I do include our Crocheters/Spinners/Weavers in this group too…but for purposes of blogging…I’m not doing Knitters/Crocheters/Spinners/Weavers all the way through here! 

My current group of LYS friends (Local Yarn Shop for the not-yet-fiberholics of you) is pretty interesting.  We have teachers of all kinds, nurses, headhunters, engineers, social workers, retired double-dipping military, librarians, students, clergy, web designers, roller derby queens,  computer nerds of all varieties, folks on sabbaticals, from all religions, ages, colors and creeds.  We even have some guys and some children.  It is pretty cool.  Most of us would not have crossed paths with each other but for the string, pointy sticks and hooks.  But what happens over time is that friends and family are created along with some beautiful pieces of wearable fiber art.  In some cases, in lighting fast amounts of time and in others slowly, like a fine wine ages.

We knit and crochet and spin and do bobbin lace. We tat, we felt and we dye.   We wind yarn and double ply our strands and bless out our test knits “It’s wrong…it’s wrong…it’s just wrong!”. ”I can’t see out of this hat”  “That’s because it’s falling down over your eyes…think it just might be too big?”  “Um, yeah.”   We rip projects back inches, if not feet sometimes when they don’t behave.  And we take care of each other.

We bring food to share at our weekly meeting.  We facebook friend every single one of us we can find.  We give each other rides when the car is in the shop. We bring food to the sick friends.  We help move house when needed.   We call, email, or send up smoke signals to each other when someone has been missing for awhile.  As we are SHAMELESS, we have been known to send the young, cute one over to compel those who hole up at home for too long to pick said knitter up.  We share our lives, our stories, our good doctors’ phone numbers, our stash, our snacks, our time.  Because we love each other.

Recently, a dear Knitter has suffered the most awful, sudden loss of a child. Our friend was, no big surprise, at a fiber festival in a neighboring state when she got the horrible news.  Our friend is here and her (adult) child was far away in another state.  She had to fly down by herself at the last minute.  But we are Knitters too.  And we love her.  So one Knitter talked her through her whole drive home so she wouldn’t crash.  Another Knitter channeled angels and told her to make sure she told at least one flight attendant what happened so she would be looked after and make her next flight.  And they did (I bet they knit).  Many other Knitters and Spinners called her, texted her and sent her messages to keep her going and to see what they could do to help.  All the Knitters cried for her, and the rest of her family.  When the friend was talking out of her terrible grief about coming home before any services were had or any fellowship had been gathered for, the Knitters sent her a valuable donation:  Another Knitter (in truth that Knitter sent herself, but she has the love and thanks of the crew).   The friend has found out how many friends she had, and how much we love her.   The friend seems to be surprised by all of this…but the friend does many things without thinking it’s any big deal.  She designs beautiful lace knitting patterns, which bring us joy.  Without many resources herself, she makes sure that homeless people in our local big city have warm hand-knitted things to help them over the cold Fall and Winter months and show them some caring.  She also drags in, er, recruits others to help with this project.  She holds the hand of other Knitters when their children are in a bad way and they need some comfort.   She baby-sits children of our medically sidelined Knitter friends.   She has been known to dog sit too.  She is a Knitter.  And Knitters, like so many other numbers of people that are group-specific in some way, we take care of our own.

We love you, Bead Sue.  We are with you in heart, spirit and stitches.  We are hurting right along with you from afar, and we will hold you and your lace-knitting hands when you get home for as many years as you need.  Because you are OUR knitter.

Love,  The Knitters, Spinners and Crocheters

In Memory of Kimberly White

For awhile I managed to blog about once a year.  NOT SO MUCH NOW!!  Wow.  It’s been over two years since I clicked into the blogosphere to write mine. 

The Ducklings are now in their teens, the drake has alot of gray feathers, where there are any at all and I’m on the Duck Reduction plan again (Weight Watchers).  WW is alot like AA – “It works when you work it!”  I’m going to try to work it again and slim down the overabundance of pressure on parts of my body…my hips, my knees, etc.

Today’s topic is snow in the Metro DC area.  I have lived here most of my ducky little life and it never fails to amaze me how dumbstruck and unprepared people are when it SNOWS.  IN THE WINTER.  In a region where we get snow every year.  It is not a shock to the system and the culture at large like it is say, oh, in Atlanta!  We have snow plows, chemical and sand trucks, snow shovels, snow boots, etc.  Those poor friends down south had six snow plows for a major metropolitan area.   Needless to say, in some places, snow should shut you down.  It’s unexpected.  It’s quite possibly a once in a lifetime event, inches of snow.  They ought to take a moment and revel in it…and swear at it. But it does snow here.  We ought to know how to comport ourselves, however we have another breed here.  Washington area commuters.

Despite the overabundance of technology to predict, forecast, and TRACK the weather, They go to work when they know it’s coming, rather than having sense enough to take a personal day.  They go shopping, when it could really wait a few days. They don’t cancel unneccesary appointments.  They could hurt themselves, their vehicles, or DIE trying to get to them, but they go anyway. There are many that do call their employers to say in the wonderful, immortal words of Chuckie from the “Rugrats” : ” I don’t think that’s such a good idea”.  They get blasted or at least frowned upon through the phone about it, and go in anyway.  Against some of their better judgement.  When they and their bosses see the error of their ways at the 11th hour, they start flowing out of their various workplaces.  Then someone decides THEY SHOULD LET THE FEDERAL GOVERNTMENT OUT ALL AT THE SAME TIME.  Really?  Really?????   Hello, you people have a nifty little thing called the liberal leave policy.   At long last, people start meandering their way to the suburbs only to have good old reliable Mother Nature (you remember her?) dump four inches of snow on an already icy area in about an hour or two.  Suffice to say that those snow drifts you saw on the GW parkway and route 50 were not snow drifts…they were abandoned cars.  In the middle of the road in many places.   God bless VDOT, MDOT and DCDOT for having to deal with the impatience of the masses as well.  I am wondering how many little cars got squashed by salt trucks in the midst of this.  It can’t have been pretty.

We here at the pond, primarily stayed put through it all.  The duckling who was out, was back in before noon when the mess really started revving it’s engine. The drake and the other duckling and I stayed home entirely.  Imagine that.  Four less vehicles on the road because we decided there was no where we had to be that badly.  Nothing was going to grow legs and run away if we didn’t get there while the sky was dumping white beauty on top of everything in sight.

The aftermath is settling down, we’re all on our way again, except for many of the friends with damaged cars from weather related crashes and those who are still trying to find what yard their car was towed TO.    And we expect more of this…on Wednesday.

Hmmmmm.

Hopefully we are all seeing the “Beautiful Wahloooo”as we call Lady the dog here at the Duckpond.  I am trying to learn a new thing every once in awhile and I have (I hope) managed to upload the dog picture.  Most of the new things I set out for myself to do are knitting related, but this one was tech related.  Since I am trying to not be quite SO woefully behind the children, I finally succumbed to a digital camera.  Hopefully there will occasionally be more beautiful pictures to put up here.  Since I HATE LOADING NEW SOFTWARE, DOWNLOADING ANY DAMN THING AND READING MANUALS OF ANY KIND the fact that I have figured out any of this is a wee little milestone here.

We have two other lovely mutts round the place, but this was a decent pic of herself on a reasonable background.  And I love this dog the mostest.  She is the best dog.  About 5 years old now and her only close-to-being-faults are the licking of any part of her people she can get close to and the incredible Gas-Grille-ness.  Silent – usually.  Deadly – ALWAYS.  Be glad there is no smell-o-vision through the pages of the blog.  Flatulence thy name is Dog.  This is on days when dog treats and forays into unknown nibbling areas haven’t happened.  Imagine days when she has had pizza crust, dog treats, a Greenie or two. Ack.

In other update land, I am still coughing periodically after a Christmas bout of the crud, but it seems to have settled into the winter asthma cough.  The ducklings and the drake are currently well (this turns on a dime around here, so we’re going with it) and we had a day off from school today due to a piddlin’ little bit of ice.  The day half the metro area skidded into one another on the way home we were not even released early.

 I will see if something delightful can make it on to the blog next time since it tends to be a rant of some kind about the woes of middle age, health or dogs most of the time!

I went back to my doctor today.  He is an allergy/asthma specialist board certified in allergy and immunology.  I like him and I actually think he knows what he’s doing (they don’t all graduate at the top of their class).  Today he decided to say the ‘v’ word to me…viral.  Now I know this is probably viral, but that word has a specific meaning to me.  It is doctorspeak for “I don’t know what it is”  sometimes coinciding with “I do know what it’s NOT”.  I respect this guy (he has had the whole crowd here at the duck pond for about nine years and all the stuff that goes with that).  I managed not to roll my eyes at the ”v” word.  Computer techs use the ”v” word when they don’t know why your server crashed, your blog won’t show pictures, your keyboard is only typing 666 despite what you have your fingers on or any number of other techno-maladies they cannot explain.  Sigh.  So Sudafed and an Rx nasal spray have been added to the arsenal of alleged remedies for the coughing.  I am already taking two inhalers, nebulized inhalable steroids, an antihistamine, an asthma inhibitor, an expectorating cough suppressant, aspirin, vitamins, and calcium daily…do I hear two turtle doves?  Eight ladies dancing?  Sigh.

 On better notes of the knitterly and other varieties I finished a scarf, a baby blanket and have some decent progress going on some things for Christmas.  The duckling drove drake jr. to school today and no blood was shed or hair was ripped on the way.  She and the car made it home in one piece yet again.  I’m still not freaked out about her driving….of course it’s day three and nothing horrible has happened.  But I’m getting a little freaked out that I’m not, you know, freaked out.  Shouldn’t I be on pins and needles every moment she’s gone?  Shouldn’t I be wondering minute by minute if she has driven up a tree, run over a nun or gone screeching through a red light with the cops in hot pursuit?   I’m just not.  Hmmmmmm……

About two weeks ago I thought I was just having my little autumn asthma cough.  I had attended one evening football game (duckling is in marching band color guard) and one 125-135lb weight class football game of the local recreational league (drake jr. spent this fall pounding on other people). Outside in the finally cool fall air, slightly windy, tree mold abounding, etc. etc.  No big deal.  By the second game of the weekend said young drake played the next day (third game total) I was sure it was GERM RELATED.  Sore throat. Of course the 30+ temperatures a day I take would have nothing to do with that at all.  Close to germs.  Sigh.  To keep from boring us all silly, I will be as brief as I can (stop that…brief for me is NOT brief for other people.  We all know it.  Spitting your beverage out will only short out your keyboard)  I went to the doctor tagged on to a routine visit we had for the duckling…I was coughing so hard she drove.  She turns to me in the car when we are just about there, as I have been bronchospasming to beat all hell all the way over there and says to me as calm as you please, “so if lungs actually come out and splatter all over the windshield, should I pull over?”  As we were in lung-spitting distance to the hospital, I told her the ER bay might be a better choice.  After one doc visit, another doc phone call and several rounds of Predisone, nebulized Xopenex, Mucinex, 5 days of Azithromycin, oral asthma meds, antihistamines, honey/whiskey concoctions and all of the allergy and asthma inhalers I take daily anyway and new ones added besides…I am still coughing.  Still.  I have had really and truly enough of it so ANY and all suggestions will be welcome.  Prayer, witch doctors, voodoo, lit candles, icons of any kind, jars of the recipe, goosefat and brown paper…I am sick of being sick.  It is really getting old, tired, nasty and sorry.  I have the utmost respect for Beanns of the Bookshelf because this ain’t nothing compared to her personal fun and I have had enough of it.  I would be the most hateful chemo patient in the world, because I am certain the one thing I would have left after it all is this…just enough energy to bitch.  “A little crabby” is my daily setting with nothing adverse going on in my world.  So just imagine…16 days of almost constant coughing.  (I am also sick of my medication and the side effects, but I do know it could be worse)

 My side bar story is this…the duckling has a live driver’s license now.  As of Friday, she is permitted by the Commonwealth to operate large equipment with no adult in the car any more.  She took herself to and from school twice on Friday with nary a scratch or Bambi sighting.  We are happy.  She is a good little driver, actually, and I worry not about her (just other people and deer on the road).  Her father….may need some valium…prozac….some candles of his own.

I am a firm believer in the full moon affecting all kinds of behavior and upping the birth rate in hospitals.  At school, we get the weirdness we expect in large volume during the days surrounding and including a full moon.  Over the last year or so I have noticed that we get weird weirdness during the NEW moons.  As if we needed any more help dealing with the snot of America’s entitled youth.
One of my kindergarteners started up bright and squirrelly on Monday am giving me direction on how I was to handle him in my room.  Went over about as you would expect with me…not at all. 

Every year I give my own children a speech about behavior at school/in the world right before school starts.  They did it verbatim for my dad about 3 years ago (which made us both laugh our asses off, but they know it is serious, that I mean it, and that their father backs me up in this)

“If Mommy or Daddy get a phone call from the principal, the teacher, the guidance counselor, the secretary, the nurse, the lunch ladies, somebody in the building who knows us from around, about our behavior ever, wish for GOD to take us before Mommy gets there because she will vaporize us from across the room with her eyes”

At this stage (ages 13 and 16) I say “August speech” and they respond with “Behavior – vaporize us with your eyes”.  And despite Igor the terrible’s (my son) daily ranting at home, it has apparently taken.  I get “pleasure to have in class” along with his good grades on the report cards.  I don’t know this kid, but apparently he is mine.  Mr. Hyde gets back off of the school bus every day, but oddly enough in the TEENAGE years, we are seeing some improvements.  His older sister is tired of his nonsense and has finally after years of letting him get away with bloody murder, has begun to speak up.  So I am having to put a lid on “the easier one”. 

I just want to know when we gave up our rights as adults and started to let these tiny people with NO education, NO vote, NO income, NO car keys and NO respect talk to us like we are the help?  I am SO OVER IT!!!  I never did it, but I have to suffer through behavior of people’s children who did.  The sense of entitlement that these little people (and many of their 30something year old parents) have is unreal.  I am not that much older than their parents (in some cases I am NOT older than their parents) so I fail to see the generation gap.

Sigh.  I am going back to relaxing over the weekend now.  The little darlings will be back on Monday morning and so will I.