J_B, it's posts like yours and Soz's that make me wistful about not having a daughter. Sons are different.
On Saturday night at 10:30 p.m., I asked hubby & son what they had planned for Mother's Day...would I need to be up early?
Son ran upstairs and talked to hubby, then came back down and said it was MY day, and they were willing to do anything I wanted.
I told him that was Not Good Enough! They needed to make some plans!
(stomp, stomp, stomp, back up the stairs)
Five minutes later, hubby comes down and says the day is all planned. "Don't get up before we wake you up, understand? Son wants to make you breakfast in bed. We'll tell you the rest then."
The next morning, I was greeted by fresh pancakes & syrup (yes, the 12-year-old made them himself!) and orange juice on a tray, along with a rose from my garden and the Sunday paper. The two guys and the dog got on the kingsize bed with me and we all had breakfast together. It was wonderful.
My son's annual piano recital was in the early afternoon. He looked so good all dressed up in his navy blazer and khakis, and he played perfectly. His teacher bragged on him, and I was so proud.
Later we went to my favorite place in town...the art museum. They had a glorious new exhibit on the Pre-Raphaelites I hadn't seen yet. The paintings literally glowed.
Then we played a round of miniature golf (I lost) and went to Red Lobster for dinner.
It was a great day.
Summer adventures ~
M and Mr B depart this evening for a two-week stint in New Orleans helping out with Katrina relief. M will be working at a women's shelter while Mr B guts houses in the upper ninth ward. They are taking the train from Chicago to NO and will arrive in NO tomorrow afternoon. She's excited and a bit nervous, I'm nervous and a bit excited.
K departs Tuesday by plane to spend some time with my sister in FL. This will be her first unaccompanied flight, more excitement/nervousness in that quarter.
I will be having significant me-time for the first time in twenty years. I'm very excited
K is on her way to FL. I was able to get a gate pass to walk her out to the boarding area for her flight. Another girl struck up a conversation with her ust before they boarded and it turned out that she (age 14) was travelling alone as well. They decided to see if they could sit together on the plane and headed down the gateway together without looking back. The other mom and I waited for them to leave, sharing stories and concerns.
M is being kept very busy at the woman's shelter while Mr B guts houses in the 9th ward. They forgot to tell him to bring his own water/gatorade but now he knows. M sounds very upbeat and happy, Mr B is pounding water and Tostidos to get some salt.
... and I am by myself for the first time in 20 years. WOW!
Enjoy!
(By the way, kudos to Mr. B and M for what they're doing...)
Thanks, soz.
Big drama last night. The phone range around 11:00 but I didn't get to it in time. I noticed that calls had come in to both the house phone and the business phone from Mr B's cell phone. I called him back and M was having a meltdown over a large palmetto bug that had dropped onto her chest (she's on the top bunk of the room they're sharing) just as she was about to fall asleep.
We don't have palmetto bugs in IL and she'd never seen such a creature in her life. Also, as brave and daring as she is, she's always been freaked out by bugs. Mr B isn't so hot with them either. I'm not sure what they thought I could do about it from 900 miles away, but I think M just wanted a mom-fix.
In an email from Mr B this morning he says that M finally fell asleep with her sheet pulled over her head but he was up most of the night.
M wants to try gutting houses so she might go out to the site with him today.
J_B wrote:I'm not sure what they thought I could do about it from 900 miles away,
Quote:but I think M just wanted a mom-fix.
Awww... that's actually very sweet.
I just have to share this. RP and I recently visited friends who have a 16-year-old son. And apparently one day he said, "Mom, could you stop being so
interested in my life?"
Yesterday, Mr B told me that M is an amazing person. I knew that already but it's nice for them to spend so much concentrated time together. He joined K on her European orchestra tour in March and now he's spending two weeks with M. It's good for all of us to mix up the dynamics a bit.
Mr B's crew finished gutting the house they were working on yesterday. They'll start on a new one today. The next step for the gutted house will be for a small FEMA trailer to be moved onto the site and then about a one month wait for the trailer to be hooked up to power at which point the residents can move in and start working on their house. At one point yesterday an elderly couple came up to them and pointed down the road to their house. Mr B told them how to get on the list for volunteers to come gut their house (the house list currently has over 400 addresses). He also met the man across the street who is working on rebuilding his own house. It's a very slow process but little by little the neighborhood can start to rebuild. I have pictures but I'm wary of posting someone else's house on the internet.
M is discovering a whole different way of life and we're proud of her for wanting to do what she can to help.
K is enjoying her week in FL. They were at the beach yesterday and plan a day trip to St. Augustine today.
I'm spending tonight downtown and, although I miss the troops, I'm having a ball.
K arrived home safely last Tuesday. She had a nice time with my sister and has been busy with her friends since her return. I was still been pretty much on my own last week and spent another nice day in the city.
Mr B and M are on the local communter train heading north from Union Station. I can't wait to see them and to hear more details of all the stories. Mr B has repeatedly told me how wonderful M was at working at the shelter, bonding with the residents, kids and staff, preparing meals, serving, cleaning, etc. The shelter director told him they were really going to miss her.
I'm off to the train station to pick them up
....
Five area teens were involved in a car crash last night. Two died (one a neighbor) and three are injured. Apparently they attended a party after the football game where alcohol (and possibly drugs) was available. Today's Homecoming parade is canceled and grief counselors will be at tonight's dance. K was/is close to two of the boys, including one of the two who died. It's a sad day here.
Oh no! That's such terrible news.
it is indeed terrible news and unfortunatly not uncommon in any country.
Having taught my daughter to drive it still scares me to think of her and friends barreling down the interstate on the way to this party or that festival. I try not to dwell on it.
M is hosting a party, which means that 'we' are hosting a party and M is a guest at her own party. It's a bonfire/pizza/brrrrr/move inside/hangout kind of party. Mr B is in charge of the bonfire. I'm hiding until it's time to be in charge of the hangout inside part of the party. The pizza is ordered (if Domino's can be considered pizza), the bonfire is BURNING and I'm waiting.....
h
e
l
p
Oh, and K (a junior in HS) has announced she won't stay here with 16 freshman and is calling everyone she knows to help her escape.
h
e
l
p
Any alcohol JPB.
bonfires and alcohol + teens = bad idea.
Hide any accellerants.
I saw about that crash, I'm so sorry.
I can't help, I'd be in the next county...
Yeah, alcohol might be in my future, but certainly not theirs. So far, so good. K is dialing away like a madwoman, M has announced the boombox batteries "Suck" and she's running an extension cord outside. I'm still hiding......
OK, wondering, is any kind of silent minutes/prayer a good or poor idea?
Probably poor, but it is the elephant in the room.
bad idea now, great idea later.
The pizza arrived, they all ran in to grab pizza/drink and then went back outside. I'm still on reprieve until they get too cold to stay outside. Mr B just poured himself a tequilla
