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What a Supportive Team!

Posted on August 16, 2012 by auburnchick

Although teachers in my district did not have to “officially” be in our classrooms until yesterday, I, along with others, went in on Monday.

Some of us had loads of work ahead of us.

I’d had another night of insomnia and didn’t get to sleep until well after 2am, so I slept in.  By the time I got to school, my friend, Barbara, was already there.

As she’d promised, she helped me move the desks that had mistakenly been placed in my room (I seat my students at tables).

We began chatting, as friends do, while beginning the laborious work.

I started tearing up when I talked about the weekend I’d spent dropping Rooster off at school.

Barb had recently taken her son to Southeastern…the same weekend that I had taken Chicky…so I’d expected her to commiserate with me.

She gently reminded me that I could have it worse, and she told me about sitting next to Madison’s parents at church the day before.

Then she told me that she’s friends with the parents of the teenager who most recently lost his life in an automobile accident.  Barb has been reading his mother’s Facebook updates, and they are incredibly sad, as one can imagine.

So, what Barb was ultimately saying to me was to buck up…at least my babies are alive.

She simply wouldn’t let me cry, dagnabit!

We joked around a bit as I told her that I needed her to let me indulge in self-pity, not give me tough love!!!

😀

Shortly after we had our conversation, my friend, Maegan, one of the sweetest girls you’ll ever meet and a PHENOMENAL reading teacher, came into my room.

She and I really connected last year, and I love her dearly.

She kept telling us how much her legs were itching.

Meanwhile, I was going on about my missing Rooster.

Basically, we took turns complaining…venting.

Finally Barb told us both to hush because our woes were nothing compared to those who are missing the youngsters who passed away this summer.

She’s right…and we both knew that…but we couldn’t help but chuckle as I commented about how supportive we all were of each other.

It was such a relief to laugh, while crying at the same time.

It was a little bit of a tough day as I teared up when I didn’t want to, but I’m starting to get in the routine of things while doing my best to ignore the fact that I don’t have my human babies waiting for me at home.

As Maegan reminded me, I have three classes of other young ones’ lives to touch.

She’s right.

Now, if only my heart would let that fact swallow the sadness that still makes me cry unexpectedly.

Truly, I am grateful for the wonderful team of teachers I work with.

We are not only professionals, but we’re friends.

I think that’s going to be a recipe for success this year…both at school and in our personal lives.

Filed under: children, Teaching | Tagged: , , , | 2 Comments »

Blogging at 1:29am

Posted on August 10, 2012 by auburnchick

It’s 1:29am as I’m beginning to type this post.

I am in bed, propped up on my elbows.

I can hear Molly and Pele breathing deeply as they dream sweet puppy dreams.

I should be dreaming too, but alas, I find sleep to be elusive tonight.

This is the last evening for a while that my Rooster will be tucked into bed under my roof.

We leave in a few short hours, making the several-hour-drive to Auburn, where we will stay for the evening before helping him move into his dorm tomorrow.

He’s been packing for a couple of weeks…

20120810-013516.jpg

I had to chuckle when I saw his toiletries on the bathroom counter…

20120810-013615.jpg

Boys don’t need much to keep themselves groomed, it would seem.

I’ve got my own toiletries laid out as well, ready for the second college-dropoff-trip in two weekends in a row…

20120810-013815.jpg

I’m going to ride with Rooster as we caravan to Auburn. I’m looking forward to the last few hours I’ll have him to myself.

I’ll have my knitting and the fourth Harry Potter book I’m halfway through with, but I suspect I won’t pay attention to either of them.

I have a sneaky suspicion I’ll be studying Rooster’s profile, on the down-low, of course, marveling at the fact that when he began school many moons ago, it was I who sat in the driver’s seat while he was along for the ride.

I have a lot of emotions coursing through my heart right now, and I’m fighting desperately to maintain control of myself.

I love my children fiercely.

It’s a bittersweet time. While I’m preparing to be sad, I cannot help but be excited at the new adventures that await my boy.

Just as Chicky took flight three years ago, so shall he.

I’ve got Kleenex, and as I continue to ponder my thoughts, I’ll discretely wipe my eyes as needed.

It’s going to be an interesting couple of days.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

No, It Is Not Okay

Posted on June 16, 2012 by auburnchick

Dear Chicky,

I know you’re trying to be smart by taking summer college classes.  You even got free housing the first three weeks because you took a face-to-face class and that was the school’s reward.

I know you’re trying to be mature by getting a just-about-full-time-job and moving into an apartment with a friend for the last two months of school…just so that you’ll be able to graduate a semester early next year.

But…

And that is one large BUT, and I’m not talking the bootie-shaking kind…

I must tell you, emphatically, that no, it is not okay to ride your bike four miles to work…

At 4am…

Otherwise known as O’Dark’Thirty…

Just because you’re short of money and don’t want to ask us, your parents, to cover you until payday.

(Bet you weren’t planning on wearing a helmet either.)

Maybe you think this is a way you’ll show how grown up you are…taking care of your own problems…but as your mother, I see larger, potential problems if you follow through on such musings…

Like the plan-a-funeral kind of problem…

Because someone has kidnapped and done horrible things to my trying-to-be-a-big-girl Chicky.

That is why I am so glad that you happened to mention your plans to me yesterday on the phone, and I was able to stop you from carrying out this madness.

Please try to do something when making decisions of this sort:

Think like a mama.

Examine the issue from a mama’s eyes.

And ask yourself, “Is there potential for danger (I’m not talking the falling-out-of-bed kind)?  Am I setting myself up for someone to do physical harm to me?”

If the answers to the questions are “Yes,” then step away from your proposed solution and call home.

That’s why I pay your cell phone bill.

So you can.

While using up our unlimited minutes.

Or send a text.

Or Facetime me.

Hey, now that’s a thought.  Do Facetime so you can see my WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING OF face when you propose your plans.

That, my dear, is my lovingly administered advice for the day.

Love,

Mama♥

Filed under: children | Tagged: , | 4 Comments »

Just Pull the Bandaid Off

Posted on August 7, 2011 by auburnchick

Life has been busy around here the last few days.

Chicky had spent last week getting ready for her return to college…

It was a sight I had been dreading all summer…

She loaded both of our cars on Wednesday night so we could leave early Thursday morning…

It was going to be nice taking two cars.  We wouldn’t have stuff packed to the top.  Even Chicky’s car had room to spare…

The Mr. took a picture of us, and we were off.

We stopped after a couple of hours.  I had an appointment, so Chicky ate lunch with Coupon Queen and Grand Pooba.  Then, we hit the road for the rest of the trip.

We drove to the hotel, checked in, then headed out for some dinner, meeting Guy Friend at Chipotle, a place similar (a little tastier) than Moe’s.  For the record, this restaurant has delicious sweet tea!!!

Then, we went back to the hotel.

As we carried our stuff inside, I made a discovery.  Unknown to either one of us, we had packed our overnight stuff in matching bags…

She grimaced.  I smiled.  Like mother, like daughter!

LOL

We got to the room in time for me to indulge in a summertime guilty pleasure…

Yep.

Big Brother.

I can’t help it.  I am a people watcher, and not in a weird way but in a lover of history/human behavior kind of way.  Evil Dick (pictured below) was one of my favorite contestants from this show…

Chicky watched one of her shows on her computer…

Soon, we headed to bed.

I couldn’t sleep.  I’ve already posted about that, though.

We got up and headed out.  I was a little sad because I knew that I would be returning to the room later…by myself.

Sigh…

Chicky led the way…a first.  She knows her way around Lakeland, where Southeastern University is located…

First, we met in the sports complex so she could attend a team meeting.  Then, we had about thirty minutes for lunch, so we ran to Subway.  After that, we had to return to the school for physicals.

Finally, it was time to move her in.

What a hot day!  It was so much worse than last year, and her room is on the second floor this year…

Not.  Fun.

She’s in an 8-man this year.  It has a common room…

There are two bedrooms on each side, and each bedroom houses two girls…

The bathroom has two sinks, two showers, and two toilet stalls.  Because this is a room with handicapped facilities, one shower is longer and has a bench in it.  This is perfect for one of Chicky’s teammates, who recently had hip surgery and will be on crutches for a while.

We started the arduous task of unloading the car.

Because we didn’t have the Mr. there (he had to work), we were concerned about the lack of manpower.  Chicky’s roommate from last year made a few trips back and forth.

I quickly figured out that my overachieving self had to slow down…

Oops.

Don’t tell Chicky.

We set a few things in her room.  It was going to be a long afternoon…

I didn’t mind though.  A mom doesn’t complain about the workload when she knows that she’s not going to be with her baby in a few short hours.

We put stuff everywhere.  Her roommate isn’t a soccer player, so she won’t be arriving at the school for another couple of weeks.  We took advantage and used her bed to set things on…

Chicky tried to figure out where to put things.  Not having her roommate there was a little difficult because she didn’t want to hog the entire room…

I tried to be a good mom and not take over.  Chicky “allowed” me to hang her clothes after she put them on hangers.  I felt so honored.  LOL

We decided to take a break.  We went to Bed Bath and Beyond.  I had a $5 off of $15 coupon, which came in handy when we bought this $16.99 cart ($11.99 after the coupon).  Because there are not bathroom cabinets (handicapped feature), the cart will be used to store toiletries…

We went to Sam’s, where we got her stocked up on water, Gatorade, and snacks…

We just added Chicky and Guy Friend to our membership, so they will be able to replenish their supplies whenever they need to.

This is just another sign that my baby girl is getting older.

Sigh…

While we were out and about, look at what we came across…

Oh yeah.

We just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit our favorite store.  We were good girls, though, and did not buy a single thing.

The Mr. can exhale now.  His bank account was not depleted during this trip.

The fun had to end, though, so we returned to Chicky’s room and continued to unpack…

What a process.  As a parent, you have to let your child set things up the way he or she wants things.  This can be difficult…especially when you are an anal organizer, like I am.

Fortunately, so is Chicky.  She worked hard to get things straight…

After we got her bedding on, she remembered that she needed to raise the mattress so she could stack things on the shelves under the bed.

Oy.

What a job.

We had to take the mattress off of the bed, turn the bed to the center of the room, turn it upside down, and jump on the frame to force it out of the bed posts.

We weren’t strong enough.

Neither one of us weighs much more than a hundred pounds.

We called for help, and a couple of girls came in.

These girls were strong, let me tell you, and it didn’t take long until we got things fixed and put the mattress back on the bed…

Before we knew it, we had to head to the team/family dinner.

I could feel the clock of doom ticking on…the time when I would have to pull myself away from my baby.

I wasn’t hungry.

I didn’t eat.

After the coach said the blessing, I opened my eyes and discovered that they were filled with tears.

Chicky looked at me in that moment, and I was mortified.

I had done so well all day.

I had not cried at all.

I have no idea why I found myself sad all of a sudden.  Mentally, I was fine, but I think that looking through the window of that meeting room and seeing the position of the sun in the sky reminded me of the difficult time I had last year.

Fortunately, I composed myself quickly and didn’t let the tears spill over.

We had a good time listening to the coach discuss his philosophy and watching him try to come up with rhymes for the girls…on the spot.

Before too long, it was time to head back to the room to finish unpacking and do the dreaded deed…say goodbye.

Chicky got things fairly organized, which made me feel like I wasn’t leaving her unsettled…

Finally, I was satisfied.

One of Chicky’s suite-mates took a couple of pictures of us, and then we headed outside.

Oh my word.

It felt like I was being escorted to the gallows.

I usually do not have a problem with goodbyes, but when they involve me being separated from my children, then they are hard.

Chicky walked me to my car.

We shared a hug.

Let me explain that Chicky does not give big hugs.

She “allows” herself to be hugged while she stands there, stiff armed.  Sometimes, if you’re lucky, she might pat your back…once…if she feels like it.

Seriously.

She’s just not a touchy-feelie kind of girl.

On Thursday, she embraced me.

Oh my word.

It had been years since this child had wrapped her arms around me in such a loving, sincere way.

It felt so good.

As she started to walk away, I hurried back to her for one more hug.

I’m sure she rolled her eyes a bit, but she humored me.

I snapped a few pictures of her waving goodbye.

She was a bit annoyed because we’d done this last year.

After the third picture, she said, “Just pull the bandaid off, Mama.”

What she meant was for me to get it over with…that the pain would only hurt for a little while.

Sigh.

Such wisdom from my child.

And so I drove away.

I didn’t cry as I left, but my heart was heavy.

Although I had told her that I would find something vegan-friendly to eat for dinner, I didn’t.  Sorry, Chicky.

I just couldn’t.

When you feel your heart breaking, you don’t want to eat.

I drove back to the hotel and turned off the car.

All of a sudden, I didn’t want to go inside.

I didn’t want to enter a room that would only have my stuff in it…one bed that would be slept in…

That is when I cried.

It had been a wonderful summer.  I had watched over my girl as she balanced four jobs, two online college classes and one horrendous college professor who still has not returned my child’s phone call.

I had been there to nurse my girl through the horrible virus that she had suffered through.

We had explored the world together while out on our cruise.

We had discovered a new favorite store…Ann Taylor Loft.

Yes, we had yelled at one another…especially in the days leading up to her departure…but this year was different.  We recovered a lot quicker from our anger.

This was progress, folks.  It was the growth of maturity in our relationship.

Chicky doesn’t understand why it’s so hard for us parents when she leaves, but she isn’t a parent yet.

We cry because we worry.

We cry because we want to be there to witness their new experiences.

We want to protect them from the hurts of the world, and we want to rejoice with them over their triumphs.

Somehow, it’s just not the same when we’re doing these things from afar.

But do them from afar, I must.  It is my duty as a parent to let go, and I am.

Chicky is at a wonderful college…surrounded by other Believers.  She is learning what it means to serve Christ in everyday life, and she’s getting a wonderful academic education as well.

She is learning that God is present in a college classroom, on the soccer field, and in the relationships she is developing and nurturing.

As a mom, I couldn’t ask for more.  These are the things that lessen the sting of ripping off that bandaid.

God is gracious even in times like these.

Filed under: children, Christian | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

She Still Needs Me

Posted on May 21, 2011 by auburnchick

Thursday night, I headed to bed…rather late.

I’ve been burning the midnight oil as I desperately work to finish up my EPI classes.

So, I hadn’t been asleep very long when I heard a female voice whisper, “Mama.  Will you come sleep in my bed?”

“Huh?” I asked groggily.

“Mama.  I watched Criminal Minds before I went to bed, and I had a bad dream.  Please come sleep in my room.”

So, I did what any mother would have done.

I rolled over, turned off my alarm clock, grabbed my phone on the way to her room, and set the alarm on it.

“You can have as much of the cover as you want,” she said, as I crawled into bed beside her.

I think I heard her sigh in relief.

Chicky’s not much into sharing her personal space, let me tell you, so this was a very big deal.

As soon as my alarm went off at o’dark thirty…as dawn was peeking through the slats of the blinds, I heard her say, “You can go now.”

I’d been dismissed.

I thought she’d learned her lesson.

Ha.

As I was typing this post, I received a text message.

It was from Chicky.

She’d gone to bed a scant fifteen minutes ago.

“You can sleep in here again if you want.”

“Ok,” I replied.

I’m signing off now…heading into her room to chase the bad guys and demons away.

It’s nice to know that my 19 year old baby girl still needs me.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , | 6 Comments »

Beat of Life

Posted on March 4, 2011 by auburnchick

Yesterday, Rooster attended a pre-tryout percussion clinic.  It was held after school with the purpose of preparing those who are going to be trying out for the percussion section of the marching band.

Rooster had informed me that he probably would not be finished until 7:30pm.

I left home around 6:30 and headed to Panera to pick up dinner.  I wanted to make it home before American Idol started.

As I meandered my way back to my house, I took a back road that led me past Rooster’s school.

Because the weather has been absolutely glorious here, I had my windows down.

As I passed by the school, I heard drumming, so I turned my head to see what was going on.

Standing beside the school were several bass players, drums hung over their shoulders, practicing their little hearts out.

Rooster was not among them.  He is trying out for snares this year, so he was practicing somewhere else on campus.

Still, I was touched by the dedication of the students I heard playing.

Who really wants to be at school from 7am until 8pm when they could be home watching TV or playing Xbox?

When Rooster finally came home at 8:15, he was dead tired.

His feet and legs hurt.

His hands were sporting three or four blisters as well.

The band will be under new leadership next year, but the changes that have already been put into place have been positive ones.  He has a renewed love and enthusiasm for this school activity, and I could not be happier.

As I listened to him tell me about his long afternoon, I was reminded of the poem he submitted for a poetry contest last year.

He wrote it for extra credit for his English class (I, being the mean mom that I am, made him do the extra credit to earn some much needed points).  His poem was one of several selected to be published in a booklet that the contest’s sponsor produced.

The poem is below…

Beat of Life

With every measure of  music I play
The beat of life comes rocking my way
When I hit my drum with all my heart
I also have to remember my part
If I don’t keep up with the rhythm
Then I may have to put up with the schism
If I make sure to play it right
My line will make sure to keep it tight
The better and better that my chops get
The more and more that my spot is set
So if you think I can’t survive
The beat of life allows me to stay alive

Rooster has always marched to the beat of his own drum.

The song he plays is music to my ears.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

A Belated Birthday Surprise for Chicky

Posted on January 30, 2011 by auburnchick

A few days ago, I received an email from a friend.

On Saturday, he would be headed to Lakeland, where Chicky attends college, and he wanted to know if the Mr. and I wanted him to deliver anything to Chicky.

It took me all of two seconds to decide what I would send.

Meanwhile, the Mr. went shopping while I got things ready at home…

He got home, and we happily compared what we had pulled together for her.

This was my contribution…

It’s my Chocolate Chip cake!

It became an instant favorite the first time I made it two years ago.  I posted the recipe back then, but I thought I would post it again…

Chocolate Chip Cake

Duncan Heinz Butter cake mix
1 small package Jello instant vanilla pudding
1/2 bar grated chocolate (I usually use German chocolate – it’s in a green package)
chocolate chips
1 cup oil
1 cup milk OR water (if you’re lactose-intolerant like me)
4 eggs
A bundt pan

(Let me just say to start – grating the chocolate is the most time consuming part of this cake. I’ve found that using a zester instead of a grater works so much better. In any event, grate your chocolate first before doing anything else and you’ll be happy you did.)

With mixer, beat together cake mix, vanilla pudding, oil and eggs. Fold in grated chocolate. Put half of mixture into bundt pan, add enough chocolate chips to your liking, put rest of mixture on top (and maybe a few more chocolate chips?) Make sure chocolate chips are pushed into the top layer of cake mix. Lick the spoon, bowl and detach and lick the mixer blades, seriously. It’s that good.)

Bake at 350 deg. for an hour or until inserted knife or toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool in the bundt pan (I can’t stress this enough!). Once cool, tip over onto plate and cover with powered sugar if you wish.

I called Chicky to let her know that the friend would be calling her later to hand her some “stuff” from us.

She sighed in the “I don’t really want to be bothered” sort of way.

I growled to the Mr. that she was being a little unappreciative for someone who was about to get a yummy surprise.

I called her later in the afternoon, and she was still waiting to meet up.

A little while later, I saw a Facebook message from Chicky’s roommate:  “Mrs. AuburnChick, I just ate a piece of the best tasting cake ever!!! thank you so much! it was delicious :)”

Ahhh…I figured Chicky had gotten the cake.

Then, I realized I had left my phone in the car from when I had been out earlier.

I ran out to get it, and I found a missed call from her.

I called her back.

I could hear her smiling on the phone.  You know that sound.  Even though you might not be able to see a person’s face when you speak on the phone, you can hear body language.

She very gratefully thanked me for the cake and commented on how moist it was.

I had remembered to add the pudding mix this time.  It makes a lot of difference.

She was also thankful for the bottle of expensive hair serum I had included in her goody bag.  The stuff is $17 a bottle, but she needs it to keep her hair from frying when she straightens it.

I told her that I had missed making her birthday cake this year.  In fact, I missed having her at home that day.

This was my way of making it up to her.

I also told her that no matter how mad she gets at me, I wanted her to know that I always love her.

I think she got the message.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , | 4 Comments »

Chicky’s Home!

Posted on December 19, 2010 by auburnchick

Chicky arrived home from college on Friday…

It didn’t take her long to set up residence again…

It’s amazing how much better you sleep when your babies are home again.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Chicky is a Graduate!

Posted on June 2, 2010 by auburnchick

It’s 12:36am, and I really should be in bed.

I do, after all, have to sub in seven hours.

However, I am still decompressing from the highlight of the school year…

Chicky’s graduation…

But let’s back up a bit.

A lot of stuff happened before the cap-throwing moment shown above.

First off, Chicky got up and went for a run.  She’s working out every day to get in shape for college soccer.

Afterward, she went to the pool to cool off and relax.

I ran errands, getting $29.95 worth of BBQ pulled pork for free and two cans of shaving creme for $1.02.

Cha Ching!

The day progressed…Chicky did the usual girlie things to get ready for the event that would mean lots of photo ops.  She straightened her hair and dressed up.

Of course, what graduation is complete without a little drama.

I had a breakdown, and no, it was not a “I’m sad because my precious child is graduating and leaving home soon” kind of cry.

No, it was just my usual self, having a melt-down after being stressed.  Chicky tends to pick up on my stress, and between the two of us, there are fireworks when I’m in this kind of mood.

I got “emo,” as the kids like to call it, had a good cry, and called a friend (thank you, Rabbitrescuer).

Then, I pulled up my big girl panties, wiped the tears from my eyes, and fixed grilled cheese sandwiches for my nephews, who had just driven in with Super Sis, Super D, and my mom.

I left home early to get in line at the stadium, and I learned a lesson.

When Rooster graduates, I’m leaving an hour earlier.  The line snaked away from the stadium through the parking lot.

Chicky’s best friend met me there, and when administrators made an announcement that they were opening a side gate, we made a run for it.  She later confessed to Chicky that I was leading the way (Chicky figured I had been left in the dust).

See, I knew where I wanted to sit.

I’d done my homework…scoped out the land and knew how things would be set up.

Plus, I needed to save a mere 14 seats.

Yeah.

It got a little ugly.

It’s one thing to save two or three seats, but quite another to save two entire rows of a football stadium.

I emptied out my purse/knitting bag of everything imaginable to represent bodies, and then BFF and I guarded our spots.

Finally, the rest of the family arrived, and we began stretching out, as more members of the group arrived.

Now, graduations should be happy times.  We’re all happy for each other, right?

Some lady must have eaten something that did not agree with her, because she gave Coupon Queen, who is among the sweetest, most Southern ladies around, a hard time!

The woman did not want our stadium seats to knock into her legs, and she demanded we leave the seats in front of her vacant.

For real?  This is like church.  You cram together, and you don’t complain.

Well, as I later found out, the woman went so far as to accuse Coupon Queen of acting like a kindergartner.

Real mature, eh?

To his credit, the woman’s husband seemed embarrassed and was most apologetic.

Nevertheless, I moved my party slightly over.

Anyhoo…

We kept ourselves busy, admiring the setup on the field…

Finally, at 7:30, the seniors lined up, waiting to take the field…

The speeches were short and light-hearted, which surprised my crew, who expected much more serious words of wisdom.  The graduates sat politely…

Finally, we got to the part of the program that offered my main reason for being there…to hear my Chicky’s name called out.

As she lined up, I got my camera ready…

And then, just as her name was called, a man who had been sitting near me, got up and walked right in FRONT of me!!!!

I could see him coming, and as I recorded, I said, “No, no, no…”

But yes, yes, yes.  He sure did.  Blocked my view, got me disoriented, and when I tried to resume filming, I lost momentum.

Or rather, I lost my Chicky.

But it took me a half a minute to realize it.

In the meantime, I started filming the wrong child.

I followed a girl all the way down the stage’s stairs, and when I saw her shoes, I realized my error.

Chicky had purchased high wedges for the event.  This girl had dark flats.

I heard myself exclaim over my mistake (and the video clearly captures my oopsies).

I tried to find her, panning over the students, before finally, finally spying her, coming back my way…toward her seat on the field.

All was not lost.

People, seriously, check around you before getting up during a ceremony like this.  Make sure it’s not a bad time for someone else.  Throw up in your shoe of you must, but do not, I repeat, do not cross in front of a mama with a camera when her baby is about to cross the stage at graduation.

Consider yourself warned.

After the names were called, a couple more short speeches were given, and then the class sang the alma mater for the last time, gathering together in front of the stage…

And then it was over.

We found Chicky and took a couple of family pictures before saying our goodbyes to Super Sis and her crew.

Then, I played the part of Chicky’s Personal Photographer and followed her around, snapping photos with this friend and that friend (and her back, just for fun)…

I had wanted a semi-profile shot for the blog, but she wasn’t cooperating.  Instead, I got you a full-on back view of her graduation cap hair.  See the line across the back?  heehee

We ended our evening by eating at Bonefish Grill…

The food and service (even at the late 10pm hour) were wonderful.

Chicky is, at this moment (of writing, that is) at Project Graduation.  This is the safer alternative the school provides for seniors…instead of having them attend graduation parties after.  The school buys and gets donated goods to give out as prizes throughout the night.  It’s like a lock-in.  The doors lock at 12pm and runs until 5am.  If the kids leave, they’re done for the night.  But, there’s incentive to stay later as the best prizes are handed out right before the party is over.

Chicky is hoping for a good prize…maybe a mini-fridge or a television set.

I’m headed to bed.  I will be subbing for the Senior class sponsor, who is actually working Project Graduation, and I will have three Spanish classes to tend to.

I’m afraid my hola will be spoken in a tired, but happy way.

Oh, and for the record, I did not cry during the ceremony.  I had no desire to!  It truly was a light-hearted, fun event.  Plus, after my pitty party earlier, I was cried-out.

Just thought I’d share.

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Sibling Bonding

Posted on April 20, 2010 by auburnchick

Chicky and Rooster have taken on a new challenge:  lifeguarding classes.

The course runs for seven nights (6 to 10) at our community college.

I figured this would be a neat sibling-bonding experience, and this is exactly what it’s turned out to be!

The first night of class, the Mr. and I anxiously waited for them to get home.

Chicky came in first, loudly announcing, “That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do.  If I was a quitter, I would never go back.”

She then headed to the bathroom to grab a shower.

Rooster came in next and filled us in on the details.

See, although we’ve lived in Florida all of the kids’ lives, Chicky has never been particularly fond of “formal” swimming.

The kids learned to swim right after we moved to Miami.  This was the time I got to quit my job and become a stay-at-home mom.  Needing something to do with two children under the age of four, I took them swimming twice a day.

We would eat breakfast, let our tummies settle, and head out.  We went home in time for lunch and a nap.  Then, after a snack and a brief tummy-settling time, we headed back out for session #2.

Rooster learned to swim the summer he turned two, with Chicky learning around the same time.  She was four.

I paid for swimming lessons a few years later, just so they could learn how to do the strokes properly.

Chicky was not super fond of these sessions.

So, the kids grew up, attending pool parties and swimming pretty good.

Rooster swam on the middle school swim team during seventh and eighth grade.  He loved it!

Rooster’s coach was the nicest lady.  She also coached the high school team.

When Chicky tore her ACL in 9th grade, Coach offered to let her do laps with the high school team.  Swimming is one of the best cardio workouts and because it is non-weight-bearing, it is the perfect exercise when rehabbing.

Chicky showed up one morning, did a few laps, and declared herself non-swimming material.  She never went back.

With this history in mind, it’s a wonder she decided to take the lifeguard class in the first place!  But, the desire for a job and the money that goes along with it overruled her objections.

While she was in the shower, Rooster told us how she struggled during the 300 yard warm up.  100 freestyle, 100 breast stroke, and the last 100 whatever you wanted.

Chicky had no idea how to execute the breast stroke.  Kicking her legs out sideways really made her nervous given her knee stuff from years ago.  She’s uber-sensitive to some motions.

She doggy-paddled the last 100 yards, literally dog-tired.

Next, they had to swim from the shallow to the deep end of the pool, take a breath, and dive down to retrieve a 10lb brick and tote it back to the shallow end…in two minutes.

Chicky did pretty good, only coming up for air once before successfully grabbing the brick.

One other thing the students had to do was, while treading water, use the motion of their arms and hands to propel themselves up and then down through the water to touch bottom of the pool (11 feet, I think) with their toes.

Chicky has always been coordinated, but she could not get the hang of the motion.

Rooster said she kept going sideways under the water instead of straight down.

Poor girl.

Chicky came out of the shower, and it was Rooster’s turn, so we got Chicky’s side of the story.

She pretty much repeated the same things Rooster had said, but she told us something funny.

She said that at one point during the 300-yard warm-up, she got to the end of the pool, took a moment to catch her breath, and looked up at Rooster, asking, “Am I doing this right?”

Rooster squatted down and clapped his hands for her, encouraging her.

Oh my gosh, but when I heard this, my heart swelled with joy.

For those of you who have children who argue more than they hug, and I’m not talking hugging to squeeze the life out of the other, then let me give you this hope.

They do grow up.

They do wind up, most of the time, liking each other.

See, they have a commonality with each other that others don’t have.

They know what it’s like to be raised by their particular set of parents.  They can share the injustices of being grounded for “nothing,” doing chores til their fingers fell off (yeah, right), and eating burned food three nights in a row (heaven forbid).

The kids take the final test on Monday.  I have every confidence they’ll pass.

I also know that though my kids will have their own lives as they get older, they’ll always have this special week together.  It’s something they and I will cherish.

Filed under: children | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

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