Thursday, May 26, 2011

Memorial Day... What's the point?

So I was listening to my favorite radio station this morning. I listen to it live on my computer at work. To anyone who needs a new radio station, I highly recommend it. It's entertaining, it's informative, it's slightly silly, but in a good way. It's www.hot995.com If you have any time, listen to the Kane Show. You'll love it.

Anyway, I was listening to the Kane Show this morning and they were talking about how 80% of people born in the US don't know why we celebrate Memorial Day. To this I ask, is there anyone who knows (without googling/binging/wikipedia-ing it) why we celebrate Memorial Day? Please tell me I'm not the only one. They were also talking about how they asked people born in the US simple US facts (who's the VP, when is Independence Day, etc.) and they couldn't answer them. This makes me think of the show, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" and "Repo Games". Shows like this make me laugh because these shows are there solely to give you money. They're usually simple questions too! How can you miss those? I'm appalled at anyone who doesn't know the VP of the US. Now if you were asked to name the last 3 VPs, I'd understand. It's hard to narrow down which 3 were the most recent. But not knowing the current VP?? I'm floored.

On another, completely unrelated note, I think I'm finally over my "I Hate Boys" phase. I was talking to my friend, Jill, who always seems to put things into perspective, as she remembers my "IHB" phase VERY vividly. I was talking to her about how when you find a guy you could be mildly interested in (heaven forbid you actually like the guy), you find your girl friends who know that guy and pick their brain. Jill told me I was crazy. In fact, she told me that no normal girls do that. Let's completely bypass Jill calling me crazy and focus on the issue at hand. Help me out, girls. I need someone to settle the score. Do other women do this or is this just my friends? I can list off at least 5-7 girls I know that have done this. I can list at least 5 girls that have called me for information on one of my guy friends. Is this my circle of friends? Is this a Southern thing? Is this a Charleston thing? What is it? I need some insight.

Another unrelated note: I'm South Carolina bound in 26 hours. Get excited. I know I am!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Mother's Day thoughts


So with Mother's Day in our more recent past, I've begun thinking a lot about motherhood. Two mothers in particular. One, obviously, being my own. My mother is great. The older I get, the more I realize that I am truly my mother's child. My mother and I never got along. Not in elementary school, not middle school, not high school. I always thought she was no fun. I always thought she was too serious and too brass. I thought that she was the exact opposite of me for most of my adolescence. Now that I've grown older, I realize that I'm more like my mother than I would have ever thought. It's truly frightening.  If you know my mother, you know that: She's little, but she packs a wallop. She rarely ever says things she doesn't mean and she takes everything literally. She remembers most of what is said and is quick to throw it back at you, should the time ever come to do so. If you're in a bad mood, she makes pointed remarks to let you know that your attitude is ruining her attitude. She exhibits a serious lack of emotion. To all things emotional. She talks to cashiers in stores and waiters in restaurants. She sings songs outloud that are playing in stores. She ALWAYS gets a buggie, no matter what store she's in. If you know me well, you know that I have all those traits. The older I get, the more I realize that the traits I have are definitely my mother's. I have also come to realize that they're not nearly as bad as I thought they were. I don't know why I've been so adamant about turning into my mother, when I clearly already have. I've come to accept and embrace it. I've come to love it. Even the qualities that aren't so great.

The other mother I've been thinking about is a mom of one of the children I taught. As most of you know, I taught 3rd grade for 3 years. In my 3 years of teaching, I have had one child that has truly affected my life. This child drives me crazy. But it's a good crazy. The kind of crazy that even though I want to throttle him for not paying attention, I loved the feeling when he wraps his arms around my waist, puts his head on my stomach and tells me what a great person I am. Now, I admit, I was pretty hard on him. I pushed him a lot. I pushed him to do better than he was doing and pushed him to do what I think he could do. I've been thinking about this child's mother a lot lately. This child comes from a home that's a bit challenging. His mom and dad are no longer together and his father is remarried. His stepmother, try as she might, is nothing like his real mother. He is not her child.  And we all know it. We all see it. We all feel it. Earlier this year, his mother died very suddenly. More recently, his father and stepmother have decided to divorce. I keep thinking about this child and how, on this Mother's Day, he has no mother to celebrate with. No mother to wrap his arms around. No mother to tuck him in at night. No mother to give him his lunch money and kiss him on the forehead and tell him to have a great day. It breaks my heart. I cannot stop thinking about the fact that his mother will never get to see him graduate from 5th grade, 8th grade, high school or college. His mother will never get to meet his first girlfriend or the love of his life. This mother will never get to dance with her son on his wedding day.

This Mother's Day, in addition to calling my own mother, I hoped and wished and crossed my fingers that this day wouldn't break his heart. I have learned to appreciate my mom for all the things she is and isn't. I have learned to appreciate the fact that my mom is still with me, even though I don't see her as often as I'd like. For everyone lucky enough to still have their mothers, I hope you were able to spend some time with (or talking to) your mothers. To all those who have lost your mothers, I hope you had a full day of rememberance. I'll be thinking of you next Mother's Day as well.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Almost Summertime! An update.

OK, so I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I'm going to try to get better. Now that all 3 of our 99 lists are posted, I realize that I knocked out a whole mess of stuff at the beginning, then tapered off. I'm lame. I know. Now, I'm back with a vengeance. Here are a few updates on what's going on in my head.

First things first: I'm going to tackle the 5K goal on my 99 list.
One of the lovely ladies in my Meetup group is doing the Couch 2 5k program and I'm going to start it as well. I am finding the motivation to do it. I hope it's going to go well, as it looks like a pretty easy plan. Any runners out there, please feel free to give me some tips!

Second thing, I've got some travel plans in the works. Starting Memorial Day.
I can't even BEGIN to describe how happy I am to be going to Greenville for Mem Day. I'm esctatic. I'm thrilled. I'm positively through the roof! I haven't seen my Gvegas loves since New Years Eve and that's a long time to go without seeing your favorite people. I'm super excited to see Sasha and Scott. I thank my lucky stars that they both haven't become too cool for me. I miss the silly, yet somewhat serious comraderie I have with them. I'm super excited go to the Pub. The Pub is like the Greenville version of Big John's. A bit of a shithole, but otherwise, amazing. I've never had a bad time at BJ's, nor have I at the Pub. It pretty much encompasses everything that I love about summertime. Grills, Beer buckets, Cornhole, friends, sun. What more can you ask for? I miss SC so much sometimes; this is a nice way to get a little dose of the South. I'm hoping even some of the teachers will venture out to the Pub. I'd love to see them all. I miss them more than I ever thought I would!!  

Third thing, Charleston.
I love Charleston. I miss Charleston. When I die, cremate me, get drunk at Big John's and sprinkle my ashes in Alhambra Hall. That's where I want to live out my eternity. Until then, I'm going to take a little mini- (read: working) vacay back home. My plan is to take off about a week or 2 in the summer (probably around July 4th) and go down to Charleston. Take my laptop and do my work on the beach. I fully believe that I can be just as/if not more productive on the Carolina coast :)

Last week, I found out that my oldest and best friends has set her wedding date. I'm so excited. I can't wait. Meagan will be the first one in my immediate group of friends to be married. And her fiance is awesome. I love him. I love her. I love them together. They're both such amazing people, I can't wait for them to be married. This will be the best wedding of 2012. I have no doubts about that.

Everytime I go home, I realize how much I miss being close to my Charleston friends. I also realize that after I have a catch up phone call with them. Especially with Kristin. I love Kristin. There's a special place in my heart for Kristin. She's so laid back, everything just rolls off her shoulders. I love her perspective on things. She is probably the most positive person I know. I spent almost 4 hours on the phone with her, talking about everything under the sun. Her life, my life. Her relationships, my (lack of) relationships, getting her opinion on people. I love it. I love the feeling when you finally get to talk to someone you haven't talked to in awhile. That's the feeling I get when I talk to Meagan and Kristin. I need to catch up with Dana too, but I know she's not a phone person. Being so far away from everyone, you feel like you lose connections with everyone. I'm so glad that through high school, college, and post college, I still haven't lost connections with old friends.


Fourth thing: Boston.
I really need to take a trip up to Beantown. I need to go visit Jill. And I haven't been in a hot minute. I've never been out in downtown Boston either. That definitely needs to happen. I love Jill too. She's another of my favorite people. I believe that Jill will be the next married. Either her or Dana. It's a close tie. We had a talk about Maids of Honor a couple of weeks ago that triggered my curiosity about MsOH. How do you pick a maid of honor? Do you pick your best friend? Your sister? Someone whom is close to both people being wed? I don't know. She and I have a unique situation in that she and I are close. Her boyfriend and I are not. In truth, I can't say that we actually like each other. We've had our share of disagreements in our short past, and we all know that I hold grudges like they're somehow going to disappear into thin air. Not right, but still, that's me. If I were to get married, I have so many women that are important in my life, I can't imagine making such a difficult decision. How do people do it?


Fifth thing: My new (not so new anymore) job
I love my company. I love the flexibility of the corporate world. I love my boss & the fact that he's the most low maintenance person I've ever worked for. EVER. However, I do miss my lovey, huggy, chatty, funny 8 and 9 year olds. But I do NOT miss the administrative bullsh*t. I do not miss lesson plans that don't meet ridiculous criteria that in no way influence the way you teach (activating strategies, anyone?). I do not miss IEP meetings and A-Team meetings that ultimately do nothing to assist the child about which you are meeting. Changing careers is so bittersweet sometimes!

Last thing: Boys.
I love boys. Boys are fabulous. Boys who text are even more so.

Ok, this one was kind of random and kind of lengthy. I'm going to make more of an effort to do this more often. Let's see how it goes!