Blooming

Well here I am "feeding" you again. Not avoiding homework, just feel like writing, sometimes that happens as well. Especially when has had a particularly hard day or HOUR.
Being a teen is hard, being the parent of a teen is harder. Being the parent of a teen when you both have a high emotional response tendancy is downright painful. I won't go in to details but AFTER the tirade and crying and emotional responding, by the way all done by me. Small Fry comes to me here is what he says:
Mom, here is how I see it, Big Fry is just having a hard time right now, he is like, like a flower, but not blooming yet. Like there is something really pretty deep down in there. I  KNOW there is niceness deep inside him, like when he was younger and really nice to me. He is just a little lost trying to be a ma, like in a maze and just has to find the way out it, really mom. I KNOW this. Just don't hate him, he thinks we all hate him, give him a chance"

Oh Small Fry just what I needed

Fishing with Karl, Part 2 and Karlisms

Do you ever see those books like the "World According to Winnie the Pooh", or "According to Mr. Rogers" where there are these cool sayings and they lead to metaphors and deep thinking? I love those (I have a great one for later). Anyway as I was in the boat with Karl and he would throw out these one liners, my first thought was ohhh-hhhoo this is blog worthy. Even hubby looked at me and said, wow you need to be writing some of these down. So here they are, some hilarious Karlisms. Now I know they may not be all that funny if you aren't sitting scrunched up in the freezing wind on a small boat, or if you already have good fishing lingo, but Hubby and I have incorporated many of these into our daily conversations. As I thought about them, I thought some of the Karlisms can be related to the real and crazy lives we all lead so here they are.


"Pounding", or "Pound it" this was Karl's expression for the biting fish, as in "they are really pounding it" meaning fish are hungry and going for it!
"Fish ON"-as soon as the line went down and bobbed you are to yell at Karl "FISH ON" and he will come with his net ready to drag it in the boat.
"Ruler of Death" if you happened to get a "fish on" you put him on the "ruler of death", 15 inches on the ruler meant the fish was out of luck and went into the...
"Box of doom" -I will never look at a cooler the same way again.
"Pandemonium"-This was our favorite Karlism-see when the walley were really biting we would barely get our line in and we would have 3 or all 4 of us pulling in a fish at the same time. This led to needing more minnows from the "Captain", putting fish on the "ruler of death", untangling lines (which were referred to as a "devil of a mess"), and "pure pandemonium"

So I think about it and all the metaphors and connection to life I could get out of our trip with Karl...but in the end here is what it amounts to. All Karl had to do was call Small Fry "Captain" and he was hooked (I was hooked), you think that kid had been a deadlist catch crew member all his life. He was the only one of us who ever stood and WALKED on the boat while it was on the lake. Karl told us on the boat as Small Fry was scurrying to help, and in the car back. How great our kids were, he says he has taken lots of families out and some are well you know-and he rolls his eyes. "These two here, you got nothing to worry about". Thank you Karl, thank you very much. I am really hoping Karl meant a little more than just as fisherman.

Fishing with Karl, Part 1

This Memorial Dayweekend weather was crap as usual. But the Daniel/Griswold family had a date with walleye destiny so we packed up and away we headed for the blustery town of Pierre. Hubby had arranged a one day fishing guide as a surprise for the boys, he was determined to catch walleye and lots of them. He researched a guide and found us Karl. Karl fascinated me, he LOOKS like a fisherman, while we do not, I learned much from Karl. We met up with Karl Monday morning, he looks at the sky, the forecast is wind and more wind. He talks about white caps, and maybe the fishing won't be good. Hubby's face gets that pinched stress look-after 19 years together you recognize it, it isn't good. Karl's enthusiasm is still there, he tells the boys we will find them.
We head out, I first realize that Karl's cool overall gear is not just cool, it is pretty functional, he looks WARM. I on the other hand am not warm. Then as we hit 3 foot waves I am not warm OR dry. The boat is rocking, I think to myself-there will be no sea sickness, please no sea sickness. I of course man up and check on Big and Small Fry. I am shocked to see adventurous Big Fry, white knuckled, not moving and QUIET as we head onto the rough lake. I ask him if he is ok, he replies "Um ya, I just don't know about all this water around us". Small Fry meanwhile sits up front, tells me he doesn't feel good, but the minute we stop and Karl starts calling him Captain and having him fetch him minnows and gear the kid loved it. He always said he loves the ocean-he may have found his calling.
We start to fish, and we start catching walley, some keepers some not. The boys are having fun and we learn lots from Karl (see later post). The most important thing I learn is that boats are not female friendly as far as bathrooming goes. Hubby ask Karl, "Do I just pee off the side or do you have a snake?" Karl tells him to use the snake, I am INTRIGUED! I think great where is my bathroom, I turn to Karl and say "What do I use, I don't think the snake will work for me." He tells me the live well works great, just open it and sit and he won't even look. I don't have the heart to tell Karl that I already blogged once about getting caught with may pants down peeing in the desert, I CANNOT blog again about it on a rocking boat in 20 mph winds. It wouldn't be pretty.

By the end of the day the sun came out and we were pulling them in like crazy, full bladder and sea sick stomachs forgotten, covered in walleye poop and had a great time. We went back to the camper in the big subarban with both boys falling asleep before we even got on the highway. Thanks Karl

Just one more

It is AMAZING how much blogging I can get down when a teen is in its cave and I have homework to do. One more story, a Luna story. In an attempt to keep Luna from eating my underwear and very expensive biking shoes (out of boredom) we have been taking her with us to soccer. Luna is a very good dog at soccer. She eats any crumbs tiny smaller people have dropped, she sits calmly at the side line, ignores the players and ball, even if they run right by her. But this is what she really likes about soccer. There are random people who walk by, some walk by and she glances and thinks to herself, "umm nope not the one", then all of you sudden you see it, the tail starts to wiggle, than the tail wiggles the butt, the chewbacca/wookie sounds start to erupt and she is all of sudden off the sidelines and you know she has found the ONE. The one who must have caught her eye, gave her SOME kind of look or body language that said "oh a dog, isn't she cute". And then all is lost, the tail wagging the hind end must be petted. She is like the kid in the class the teacher never calls on and is sitting at the desk, waving her arms madly. "Pick me, oh pick, me just call on me, I sooooo have the answer pick meeeeeee"  but in Luna speak it may be "ohhhh pet me, just come over here, pet meeeee, yes meeeee, I must be petted, meeeeee"

NOW I must do homework.

Forgotten tidbits

Ok, so the typing on the ipad was a little slow going, I abandoned ship and now I am back with some forgotten tidbits, that I am sure you are all wanting to hear about.
Let's see, I FINALLY met the 30 mile mark on a ride, It was not pretty, timely and after fighting a headcold, I wouldn't say I enjoyed it. The desire to stop at mile, which happened to be where the car sat, was overpowering, but I pushed on. So now since Sunday I have have road umm 5 miles.
I did try to so some weights this morning-pathetic-also this biking cuts into my weights. This makes me very sad. I kind of say this training stuff-at something that isn't your favorite-is for the birds. I just have to remind myself that in 7 days I can do both. I of course do like the bike accessories, hubby searched to the end of online shopping to find the perfect pair of clip pedals that are PINK, match my bike. Now me using the clip pedals is another story. Practice session story number one to be posted at another time.
A proud dog owner moment-final day of obediance class (ummm round 2, round 1 was at 6 months of age). Luna May and I voted by classmates as most improved! Ha ha, I think it was by default only because Hubby took Luna the first night and lets just say one of my coworkers who was in the class commented that it wasn't good. They all ooooed and ahhhhed and how much she was LIKE Marley and hubby's reply, "THIS is my wife's dog, I am just filling in". Really we had no where to go but up.

Basements, did you know teens over the age of 13 love the basement, especially their room in the basement. I sometimes forget I have two children. Then it comes lurking up to eat, complain, phone a friend, argue and I am brought back to reality. I usually end of sending it back down into the depths of its sanctuary.


Well it has now been 30 minutes and not one word has been typed on the homework document...

7 days left

And some other things. I am typing on my IPAD with fancy new key board, ahhh I love the IPad but typing without a keyboard stresses me out. I do not like this font though. Blogger posting on the Ipad also stresses me out. So bear with me. I am really putting off homework. That's right 7 days left and I am hauling stuff home to da crazy! I don't really like it, but due on Friday so time is running out. I am looking forward to the weekend, hubby and big fry are off for camping and fishing adventure while small fry and I watch the home front, he had a bday party he didn't want to mess. We have many things on our list to do. Including small fry's yearning to go to a storage auction. Yes a storage auction, can you tell we have been watching a little too much a A and E channel, I try to tell him that his beloved Storage Wars is well, a little fake. Also that the discrepancy between a storage locker in California and one in South Dakotak may be, well, you know, a gap shall we say. We have the MS walk and then what I thought would be a glorious free afternoon, until hubby calls and says "Hey want to pass out flyers for the bmx track at Kohl's Bike Rodeo" Ummm let me think about it...not really.. but ok. Sigh, still waiting, seven days and then a "not-do" list will be my only priority

Not just about stamina but survival

Survival-ok so I looked up the definition and maybe I am really not facing life threatening obstacles (like tornado winds and flying semi's) but we are way past the definition of stamina.

13 days, nope actually 12. A person can endure anything for 12 days right. RIGHT?

listening and doing

A conversation in the principal's office (last week):
Me-So why are you here?
Student- I wasn't listening
Me-Really? What were you supposed to do?
Student-Not go out to recess, I lost the privilige
Me-So you HEARD the direction right, and understood it
Student-Well ya but I didn't want to
Me-You didn't want to? Well, I am guessing then you are excellent at listening and just not at the doing, correct?
Student-I guess
Me-I think so, I think you are really good at listening, it is just the doing part we need to work on. That is the key, the doing. So now say it back to me so I know you understand what your next steps.
Student-Well, I AM good at listening, I just need to get better at the doing.
Me-Perfect, not go out and do....

Fast forward to today:
Student-Guess what Mrs. Daniel,  I have had a great week, no problems. I have been really listening.
Me-Great and you have been doing!

Sigh, sometimes something actually works.

For Bobbi

Ok so since I am still failing miserably at figuring out how to make comments here they are in bullet form
-I  am putting junking with you on my "bucket list" (see junking post)
-The number 3-Who doesn't love school house rock, you just can't not smile when you watch it or hear it. Conjunction Junction, what's your function...
Green, plants, grass. Someday, on my bucket list, Bobbi planning and doing my landscaping

Ok I can take one thing off my to-do list. Respond to a friends blog.

Stamina or Lack of

Stamina: resilient energy and strength: enduring physical or mental energy and strength that allows somebody to do something for a long time

I am running low on this, very low. I am sitting here thinking how the heck am I going to make it through the next 3 weeks. The numerous things that keep being added to the to-do list, both fun and not so fun. Work to-do's and not work to-dos. The mental energy to close the year out for 570 kids and 60 staff members is weighing heavily, because really when the sun shines I just want to go home and play and do NOTHING. NOTHING.

The idea of riding a 35 mile ride this Saturday as part of the "training schedule" for Rag Brai weighs heavily. I get exhausted just thinking about it. Oh and then on Sunday to turn around and do 25 makes me feel a little overwhelmed and think what the heck was I thinking. Really? Oh I know, I was thinking I could wing it. Well now I know not so much.

Already thinking of NEXT year. Next year and how can I be even better, and make everyone else better and hoping, hoping, hoping that all the changes I asked teachers to make this year show some results. We all need results or feel like the work was for nothing. It is hard to ask people to "jump" off a bridge with you based on trust and nothing else and then the look down and think "well that did no good". I hope that doesn't happen, I really do.

I keep thinking why in the world I can't comment on Bobbi's board consistently. I feel like an unresponsive follower, trust me Bobbi, I read EVERYTHING and post when blogger doesn't save my comments in some deep dark hole until you find them and approve them.

So there it is I need to find some stamina, some energy and strength to get through the next 3 weeks before I bite someones head off, drink too much wine, or eat too much food. Well ok a good principal friend said May doesn't actually count. Every day is wine Wednesday and some things just have to be let go. Maybe that will help.