Various items:
Because Thing 2 took the End-of-Grade tests 3 weeks ago, the remaining month of school time has basically been spent watching videos and goofing around, at least as far as I can tell. This type of thing sounds fun, but I can't help but think that some actual LEARNING might not be a bad idea. Oh, there is the teacher who is making read Tom Sawyer and then having the effrontery to TEST them on it, so I applaud that, but by and large most folks have mentally checked out.
Such are the dangers of year-round school.
Thing 1 has been out for a couple of weeks now, and I think is getting to the point of almost nearly being bored. The boys has an immense capacity for sitting around doing nothing. He doesn't have a job, no close buddies in the neighborhood, and doesn't have free rein to roam there's not an adult around, so it could be a long LONG summer. I almost have to say that I miss those summer camp days, but those are over for him. Oh, we've spoken briefly about getting him started up in a lawn mowing biz, but he's just not all that keen on working. Imagine!
When I was his age I was working in the neighborhood as a 'mother's helper' for a lady up the street who, I suspect, just had gotten sick of being cooped up with her kids and wanted to have the chance to go play tennis and drink whiskey sours with the girls at noon on a regular basis. It was the summer I learned to hate Neil Diamond. When all you hear all day is Neil Diamond, you learn to hate fairly rapidly. Even now the first tones of him crooning ANYTHING makes my skin crawl. Sorry if you're a fan; I do not share the luv. I believe that the following summer I worked in the same role for a woman who had baby twin daughters, and then NEVER AGAIN did I serve in that role. One summer's worth of dirty diapers was enough to put me right off babies, for a very long time.
Kids now can't work until they're 16, which seems like it's a little older than I was when I started sporting the McDonald's visor and double-knit polyester pantsuit. I'm pretty sure Mom had to drive me to work for the first little while - and always seemed so HAPPY to do it. I wonder why?? Anyhow - so Thing 1 is stuck at home, and I fear it will be a long dull summer for him. This is partly why parental controls got put on the home computer...
And now I'm thinking of maybe putting a lock on the liquor cabinet. He's a good boy, but he is 14, which I hear is a dangerous age for young men with lots of time on their hands.
--
Biff's Mom is being laid to rest on Friday. Those of you on FB have seen the announcements. He's holding up well, from what I can tell. Instead of sending flowers, I'm going to make a donation in her honor to the juvenile diabetes research foundation, which is a cause near and dear to the family's heart. If you're interested in dong the same and need details on names, etc, email me and I'd be glad to fill you in.
--
Lastly, I spent 4 hours of quality time at the dermatologist's office this morning/afternoon have a fair-sized hunk of flesh removed. After 2 rounds of Moh's surgery, lots of cauterizing, and lots of memoir-reading (while they were geeking at my FLESH under a microscope), I'm now cancer-free (at least as indicated by the histopath report), have at least 8 stitches holding together the margins of the resulting wound, can't take a shower until tomorrow afternoon, and have to go back in a week to get the stitches out.
Oh, and also I get to live in fear of the moment the lidocaine starts wearing off, as it was one hell of a big hole. Something the lines of nickel-sized. They took a picture. I looked. And was then very glad I hadn't had a big breakfast. Lord, lord, seeing my own cheek fat, FROM THE INSIDE, ain't anything I need to do again.
Also - I've forgotten just how gross it is to HEAR your own skin being cut off with a knife. So, that was fun too.
--
That's it. I've turned my own stomach. Time to go.
Y'all have a lovely afternoon. The Things and I are hiding from the heat, which counts as a family activity, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment