THE permanent record. It's all caught up with us and I have been pacing and muttering all day long about it. I have to provide a transcript for Dan for the Naval Academy. It should not be a big deal. I've kept copious records throughout our homeschooling journey. We have test scores and tons of paper trails . . . But . . . (you know there's always a but, don't you?) this is it.
If I screw this one up, ugh! I want to be honest and truthful and, yet, I know that Dan on paper is NOT Dan in real life. And, part of me knows that the Navy will know this too.
I've got everything I need to do this in my little notebook (and boxes of records around my ankles if the notebook fails me). I just have to work up the nerve to type it out and make it official. Oh, puh-leese don't let me screw this up. I much prefer the boys screw things up themselves AFTER I've done my part.
Go ahead, pat me on the back and tell me Dan will be OK no matter what I do at this point. I'm really flummoxed at how much this has thrown me off. Being flipped out was not in my plans.
OK - this is it. For real. I'm going in. I'm going to commit it all to paper, write my 2000 allotted words on Dan's behalf and call it good. If you need me, I'll be under the bed.
The boys, Bing and I went to the beach today. We've all been struggling getting back into our routines and school and today was just beautiful and no one had to be anywhere and we're spoiled and lucky to live so close to the beach, so we packed a lunch and went.
We went to our regular Beach #1 at the Canaveral National Seashore. Since school is now in session throughout Florida and most vacationers are gone, we had the beach to ourselves for the first couple of hours. Early in the afternoon, an older couple marched down the boardwalk and headed up the beach with their chairs and books and cooler. We all nodded hello and didn't think much else about them. They were about 100 yards away from us and upped the total of beachgoers to a whopping 7 (5 of us, 2 of them).
Bing and I were happily ignoring each other, reading our books and snacking. The boys were out in the water playing some kind of football game that involved using Andy as the actual football. It was only when the boys came up to eat "second lunch" that we noticed. Well, Bing and I didn't notice, but the boys are young, weren't reading and have way better eyes and they noticed. Noticed what, you ask?
Well, they noticed that the lovely older couple we'd only recently nodded to as they joined us on the beach was romping butt nekkid in the surf. I didn't believe the boys at first. Neither did Bing. It was only when they found the camera and used the zoom that Bing and I accepted that, for once, they were not exaggerating. See? I'm sharing the picture here for you to enjoy as well.
I dunno. The boys were kind of freaked out about the whole thing. It made me smile. Good for that couple! They weren't bothering anyone. They weren't close to us and it wasn't like they were running around playing volleyball or doing yoga or something. I just hope they had good sunscreen.
And, I would much rather be a football field away from nekkid old folks than a great big shark any day.
(And by old, I mean long-time friends, not necessarily people that are old.)
I met Janet on an AOL pregnancy message board back in 1999. The only thing we had in common immediately was that we were both due with babies in February 2000 and we were both from Pittsburgh. Fast forward 11 years.
Andy and I drove out to the territory known as Disney today to meet up with Janet and her family. Over the years I've come to count on Janet as one of my go-to friends. We aren't constantly in touch, but she gets me and I get her. When I need sound, sane advice, I go to Janet. I haven't seen her in about five years. For some reason, she and her family choose to live in stoopid Oregon which is, like, rilly far from here.
As we were driving out to her hotel, I found myself panicking about dumb stuff . . . what if she sees me and shrieks "You look like the Creature from the Crypt" (a la Freaky Friday) or what if we no longer have anything in common? or did I remember deodorant this morning? what if Andy goes feral on Janet's kids and scars them for life? I dunno, that's how my brain works. Does anyone else do this? I swear I'm destined for a mental hospital one of these days.
Of course, it worked out just fine. Janet is still sane, I'm 96% certain I used deodorant and it was working and it only took about 2 minutes before we were talking like we were neighbors who had just seen each other. She never once shrieked at my oldness or Andy's weirdness. We spent a few hours just hanging out and it was wonderful. Andy and Janet's kids got along like they'd always known each other. (I'm hoping this visit planted a spark in Andy's head and he'll eventually marry Janet's daughter. Good match personality-wise and they'd have totally cute kids. Don't tell Andy yet, I want him to think it's his own idea when the time comes.)
This afternoon was a terrific reminder to me of how important friends, even ones you rarely see, can be and also, of how much my life has changed since that first afternoon that happy voice told me "You have mail."
Thanks, Janet!!!
I guess that's where we are right now - milestones. Last night Danny completed his Board of Review and he's now officially an Eagle Scout. He's been working to this goal since he was about seven. And now it's done. Ian is nearly done and, since Andy and Tim have no interest in Scouts, that part of life is over. Weird, weird, weird. It is just done.
On Monday, Ian, Dan, and Tim all left to attend their classes at Seminole State College. Andy and I were left to wander around bereft at the lack of noise and distractions. This is what we've planned, but to have it happen is kind of shocking. I don't know what I thought - maybe one of the older boys would call me sobbing saying he hated this or that class, but that didn't happen. It's so weird, everything is going according to my ancient plans, but I never factored in the "alone" feeling I would have when this started.
I am doing my best not to smother Andy and he is doing his best to resist my latent attempts at smothering him. All of his books arrived (finally) yesterday and things are feeling a bit more normal. Andy will start piano lessons on Thursday and he's excited about that. He'll also start at the Y's swim team. He's not AS excited, but I'm hoping he'll like it once he gets going.
As high school juniors, Ian and Tim are pretty much submerged in school-work right now. I hate it, but it is all about test scores for the next few months. They both seem ok with it all. We'll see how the semester goes.
Dan has some ambitious plans. He's in the process (or mega-process) of applying to the US Naval Academy. So far so good. It's a lot of paperwork and just work. For Dan, the Naval Academy is such a perfect fit - he's the only one of the four boys (at this point) that I can see applying and doing well in that situation. We'll see. It's up to him for the most part. It's up to me to shut up and let him do what he needs to do. (Any other control-freak moms out there, you KNOW how hard and painful this is for me - lol! I'm reminded of my friend Julie's saying "I'm not much but I'm all I think about." I have to keep telling myself this is him, about him and for him, I do not factor into the process at all.) Cross your fingers.
And, so, I am struggling to figure out my "new" life here. Schooling one. Nagging three. Trying to find an outlet for my energies/brain in the meantime. I haven't come up with much so far. I am enjoying playing Scrabble over at the Internet Scrabble Club. But, that's not really what I'm looking for long-term. However, if you like Scrabble and want to join there, look for me 'all4mine' if you want to play.
Additionally, Mike and I are having to figure out "us" again. Suddenly we have some free time and only one child that really, really needs us. This is strange new territory. We've been together for 23 years, but only five of those years have been kid-free. It's a brave new world for us as a couple. I imagine it's only going to have to get braver and stranger before we figure it all out.
So, that's been my week so far ... how's your week going?
Take pity on me. I'm sore confused. Anyone have a good Yoga dvd they like? I'm thinking yoga might be good for me.
Sorry to be gone so long - busy, busy week. Right now, I'm scrambling to get all the badges sewn onto Dan's Boy Scout badge and to move all the patches from Dan's old Scout shirt to his new one. Tomorrow evening is his Board of Review for his Eagle Scout award. It's the final step for Eagle. Sure, I had 6-7 years to sew all of those patches on ... but there was always plenty of time. Gah!
Last night, I put the patches on my favorite neighbor girl's new Junior Girl Scout sash. At least her stuff had pretty colors and rainbows and stuff.
One thing, though, that I am finding troublesome, I don't know if I just never noticed or what, but can the Girl and Boy Scouts of America not find even ONE supplier of badges and emblems that doesn't require a "Made in China" sticker? Is it me or is that really off? NO ONE in America can make these badges - even if the cost is a little higher? Or am I just being pissy for no reason?
I'll be back to fill you in on our week - you know, because we're so important. ;) In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves about the made in china badges.
Yep. I'm a wimp. My kids are all at "hard" ages (like they all aren't hard) and I'm fighting the urge to wake up each morning, grab my pillows and my blankets and curl up again UNDER my bed hoping all the hard stuff will go away. So far, I'm not doing this, but there are no guarantees it won't happen tomorrow. Living in a house of men, I seem to be the only one feeling this way full-time. Over the years I've learned a lot about how men react to things and I know this is normal, but it's kind of lonely on my end lately.
Dan's girlfriend left this morning for college. He's ok, but sad. It's hard to know someone for so long and to know them so well and to have them get up and start a new chapter of their lives while you have to stay and live your same old life. I don't know how it will all play out, but things are kind of at a stand-still with Dan right now. I figure I'll give him a couple of days to wallow and then, if need be, pull a Cher and tell him to "Snap out of it!" and move on. Gah! You could not pay me to be that age again.
Ian has been practicing all summer with the high school golf team. This week was team selection week. He was not selected. Ian was very bummed. I was very bummed. I am bummed because I think the selection has a lot more to do with my confrontation with the Athletic Department's secretary over the insane amount of paperwork we had to complete because Ian was homeschooled (never mind that our compliance with state rules is IN the state database going back to him starting second grade). I allowed a bitchy woman to bring me down to her level and I HAD to have the last word. And, now, my son loses out. I'm sorry to Ian. I'm sorry for Ian. I detest the system that allows this kind of random behavior on the part of the adults in charge. Ultimately, though, I let Ian down.
All three older boys start classes at Seminole State College this coming Monday. I pity the Sociology teacher, she'll have all three boys in her class. LOL The boys managed to group their classes fairly well so there remains a possibility of Andy and I actually leaving the house on occasion. We'll see. The boys are all taking three classes each, one class at the local virtual school and as a group we're doing our self-designed American Literature study. I'm looking forward to our literature studies. We'll be reading: Catch 22, The Grapes of Wrath, White Noise, The Sun Also Rises, 1984, the Autobiography of Malcom X. Should be interesting if nothing else.
Andy is hitting the "rough ages" where one of his friends has moved to middle school, all of his friends are starting to get obnoxious and stinky and awkward and constantly hungry. I knew it was coming, I was just hoping to put it off for another five years or so. He's not my baby anymore.
That all said, if you don't see me, I'll be hiding under my bed. I've stuck a picture of myself, my annual photo, at the top. Strangely, I look just like I think I look in this picture. I don't know that that has ever happened in my whole life. Weird, huh? I guess if I look the part, I can figure out how to act the part, right?
Really, it is the last one. I promise. Here are the fun family photos and some artsy-ish photos taken by people who are not me. After this it's back to the daily grind here on the blog and in real life.
More Melbourne (FL) pictures.
I miss our beach "foot faucet" and this is a cool photo.
This is one of the manatees we were actually swimming with at Sebastian Inlet. No zoom was used, Ian was actually about 18" away from the mom and her calf when he took this picture. The water was too murky to get an underwater shot.
On our second night, we were out for a walk (with our turtle safe red lights) and look what we nearly stumbled over? A turtle mom heading up to lay her eggs. To give you an idea, I'm about 5'5" and I could have comfortably laid on top of this turtle. She was HUGE. We left her alone but will always remember seeing her.
On ensuing nights we were quieter and ran into a large turtle nearly every night. For as much time as we spend at the beach, this was something I'd never ever seen. Amazing.
One person we met early on was a woman we all called "the turtle lady." She drives up and down the beach every morning and again in the evening. One evening, she gave the younger kids in our group this baby loggerhead to release into the ocean. Sure, he's cute, but he's also stinky! It was pretty exciting. She also showed us a baby green turtle (think Finding Nemo) but she let some kids further down the beach release him.
Lest you think I forgot the mineral. Here are the kids building our anti-sand-castle masterpiece. Actually, we're not anti-sand-castle, they just wanted to create a tribute to Homer Simpson. (Yes, I am proud.)
To think Mother Nature did not see fit to wash this face off of her beach for nearly three days!
Nope. The kids were not working to scale, but
still . . . it achieves its purpose. (The beer bottle was removed every night when the tide came in and replaced every morning Homer was not washed out to sea. We are weird.)
You did not honestly think I could stop at two measly vacation posts did you? Oh no . . . there's so much more!
Obviously, we spent a lot of time in and around the water. We had a huge piece of beach right in front of "our" house and for the most part the entire beach, as far as we could see, was empty. We ran into some nice families a couple of different days and one weekend, a nice young couple let Mike and the boys borrow their kayaks for an afternoon - very cool.
Here is Dan with his "girl-that-is-a-friend." She is leaving Wednesday for Florida State. Aren't they adorable?
Andy, who is learning to surf, waiting for waves with Bing and my sister.
Ian caught this picture of Danny surfing at Sebastian Inlet. The jetty creates great waves for surfing. There was a whole "tribe" of surfers out there all day long.
We are really liking the underwater feature of this camera. Here's Ian underwater early in the vacation. You get an idea of how clear and turquoise this part of the ocean is.
Here's Mike, my husband who is deep-down in his soul still eight-years-old when he gets to the beach. Not too bad for an old guy, huh? 8)
The boys decided to test out an old camping mattress as a raft. At one point all of the cousins, Mike and my mom were out there on top the raft. A random wave took them by surprise - the smaller of the kids were launched as if they'd been shot out of cannons. The bigger folk were dumped unceremoniously on the shore. Scout was there to collect them all.
Andy, Mike and Mitchell take a more relaxing ride on our "beach mattress."
It was strange to have seven kids on vacation this year where not a one needed a nap, they all cut their own food up and they were all able to entertain themselves for long stretches of time! Those of you with short people, hang in there, your day will come as well.
I'm going to try to pick on picture of each kid that best captures them. Here goes:
Danny, 17, is the oldest of the kids.
This is Jesse, the only girl and our youngest child in the family. She'll be 8 a a few months. Isn't she gorgeous?
Here's Mitchell. You can't buy that kind of surfer hair, huh? He and Andy are the same age, 10.
Here's Tim, 16, graciously posing for my mom and me.
Jamie is 12. He was the bridge between the younger kids and the older kids. Sadly, this trip he felt he was too old for me to hug constantly for no reason.
Here's Ian, 16. We dragged him off the golf course and out from behind the camera for this picture.
Last, but not least, here's Andy. I just love this picture even though it doesn't show his face.
I miss the beach and the beach house and the ocean already! We are the luckiest family in the world to have been able to share a house right on the beach every other year for the past 13 years. This was Dan's last vacation as an official child - he turns 18 in a few weeks. This transition and other changes in all of our families made this beach vacation a little bittersweet. Mostly, though, it was amazingly fun!!!!
I'm still sorting everything out in my head, so I think I'll divide it into categories and work from there. Sorry if it's boring, but I want to keep it for our own memories.
So, let's start with the house. We found an amazing house right on Melbourne Beach. We needed a house that would sleep 14-16. This house fit the bill exactly. I don't know that I've ever spent time in a house so large. Actually, they rent the upstairs and downstairs as two separate units, we rented both. It was nearly 4 times the size of our house here - 2 full kitchens, 2 laundry rooms and bathrooms everywhere you turned. It was kind of crazy.
Once again, my mom was right, everyone spends their time in the kitchen. When we were all in the house, we spent all of our time in the upstairs kitchen and the deck right off of it.
The upstairs kitchen was my favorite place in the house. It was like walking around a magazine kitchen in my bathing suit with bed-head. How often do you get to do that? It had everything. I'm not completely sold on on the granite counter tops, but they were fun for a couple of weeks!
This was our first vacation with a pet. I was not sure how Scout would handle the beach, but I really was relieved to have her with us and was prepared to sit inside with her if the need arose. My fears were unfounded. Scout loved the beach. She went back to her herding roots, set up a perimeter around our house and spent her days happily counting who was in the water, who was out too far (she'd bark until they came in closer) and eventually, she'd wander back to the house and pass out cold until the next day. Who knew we had a beach-border-collie?
The house itself was decorated in neutrals, no beachy themed rooms at all. A lot of beautiful wood and tile floors, lots of black, rich browns and creams were the base of the decorating. If you've read here at all, you know I'm too tempted by color to be so tame, but I do love spending time in such calm places. (By the end of the two weeks, however, I was dying to put some red or bright blue somewhere, but I resisted!)
My parents had the upstairs master bedroom. It was a beautiful room in the quietest part of the house. Attached to the room was a ginormous bathroom with a monster tub, separate shower that could probably hold 8-10 people and LOTS of mirrors. After my wee mom spent a few mornings in the bathroom, she was convinced her butt, which she could see in a Chorus Line vision in the mirrors behind her when she brushed her teeth, was MASSIVE.
Finally, I went in. Since I've turned 40, I have no butt. None. I never had hips - used to have a good butt, though - sigh. (We're not going to talk about tummies right now.) I stood in the tooth brushing position. Umm... can you say bench seating? I sent Danny, who is as thin as a person can get without being sick, to check it out. He came out proclaiming himself a wide-ass too. It was a like a bathroom full of bathing suit dressing room mirrors - not a good thing, no matter how tastefully decorated. My mom opted to use the bathroom without her glasses for the duration.
wish you were beautiful. (Sorry, it's vacation, Jimmy Buffet is kind of a requirement.)
Here are some pictures for those of you who need a vicarious vacation!
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