Adjustments

It has been a hot summer. No silly not hawt. Just H-O-T.

I love H-O-T. OK I love hawt, too, but that's another post.

After a few days of 100+ degrees, I got used to it.

After a few weeks of 100+ degrees and 99% humidity, I awoke to temps in the 70's. I got in my convertible...and turned on the heated seats.

Oh yes I did. Really. It was 76 degrees and I was freezing. I put the "Just In Case" sweatshirt back in the car, too.

Any questions remaining on why I need to move to Florida?!

Heard Around the House

ME: [in my bedroom Screaming] Sh*! Damn and hell that HURT!!!!

SON: MOM ARE YOU OK???

ME: Yes Damn and Shi# and Frick OUCH OUCH OUCH

[exit Stinky Butt scurrying under the bed to escape the screaming Grammy]

SON: [yelling through my bedroom door] What did you DO?

ME: Smacked my foot into the doorway and twisted my knee - MY HURT KNEE frick frick frick!!

SON: Whaaat? How did you do that?

ME: I WALK INTO THINGS - WHERE DO YOU THINK DAUGHTER GETS IT FROM?!

SON: Oh, yeah. Right.

------- ----------------------------------------------------

[SCENE: morning before school starts - Daughter having been ready 20 minutes as usual, waiting for Son to show up from Next Door to leave for school in my car]

DAUGHTER: Grrrr we are so late YOU are Driving - I am NOT getting the speeding ticket

SON: [dragging feet and generally going as hit snail pace] NO I don't want to drive I'm tired. Plus you weren't really ready, mom just handed you a check for tonight's flute lesson. So I was ready first.

DAUGHTER: NO we were killing time waiting for you - YOU ARE DRIVING.

SON: Oh I forgot a jacket...[snail snail snail up the stairs]

DAUGHTER: [in the driver's seat fuming after backing the car out of garage to attempt to hurry him up]

SON: What are you doing? I'm driving!

DAUGHTER: NO you are late, I'm driving get in.

MOM: [WT*?] Buh-bye kiddies - always nice to see you [waving as they back out of the driveway]
-----------------------------------------------------

MOM: Have you studied for the SAT test yet? {you know the one you asked to retake b/c you didn't study the first time and you know you could do a lot better and really want to go to Dartmouth?!}

SON: I have off school two days next week - I'll study then.

MOM: Those days off are AFTER the test - your test is this Saturday.

SON: Oh yeah right. No I guess not....

The Morning Drive

A glimpse into my morning. Why? Because it makes me laugh.

Daughter driving. Me riding shotgun putting on makeup. "V" (also 16) playing dj with her IPOD. We started with the theme to Pokemon. No I am not making this up. Pokemon.

Then a song from Twilight written by paramour. Next the doobie brothers "listen to the music." All on one ipod. All chosen by one child. Meanwhile Son quizzes V with her SAT words - one I had to admit I had never heard "oevre" couldn't even pronounce it. Meaning? "complete works of an artist." OK I have learned something new today.

And the grand finale? "Crazy" by Brittany Spears plays loudly with Son doing a dance in the back seat. Oh wait, time for one more. "Africa. "

No I am not making this up. I can't imagine crazier stuff than real life.

Welcome to my morning. I will miss this next year when they drive alone....

I looked down and thought Frick I better not have a meeting today.

Day 2 of Back to School, back to kids, back to Life - oh but I'm still in 16-hour-a-day-Pretrial Mode.

I have finally convinced the 16 YEAR OLDS to make their own lunches. Whaddaya know they can do dishes and even - gasp - make breakfast. So I'm getting help there. It's crunch time people and I need a team effort.

I awoke early this morning, took Queen Bee and Stinky out, made time for my 10 minute trainer - oh BTW in which he lies b/c they stop that little 10 minute clock every time they change moves, so it's really closer to 12 minutes plus warm up and hey I need 20 minutes to do my 10 minute training. But I digress...

After showering, listening to radio, hear Big Accident on our normal route - oh and we are out of gas in the car and it was raining too hard to go get gas last night. Frick Frick Frick.

Hurry up, yell to children to hurry up, grab an outfit. Do I have a meeting today? Don't remember - better wear at least a semi-suit. [we have "dress your day" - I can wear fairly casual business clothes or a suit, depending. On Fridays it's jeans or capris in the summer. Unless I have a meeting. Who plans meetings on Fridays? Not me]

Grab my old standby Talbots purple silk suit. Not really PURPLE but kind of deep purply blueish. Properly muted as only Talbots would. White shell? Naaah that's boring. Hey there's an old shell I never wear - has some purple in it, a little muted green, some grey a little black. Perfect. Throw it on. Realize I can't find my hair straightener - maybe it's at work. Hurry Hurry run run. Finish packing lunches (what? they need checking - yep they forgot the fruit) and do Son's breakfast to go. Get in car a couple minutes earlier than normal, which is about 10 minutes later than we should have.

Get the kids to school on time - small miracle - get in the driver's seat (kids do the driving to school) look down at myself in the now sunlight and realize FRICK I DO NOT MATCH. Not even a little. The purple in the shell? A bright lilacky purple that in no way can even be in the same color family as my suit. You know how when colors are in the same family but not right they're worse than say, wearing Green and orange? Yeah. It's like that.

And I mentally run through my day and think, "Please God Don't let me have a meeting today."

And then I wonder how awake my Daughter was this morning - you know, the one driving? the one who is quick to tell me how terrible I look? Did she really not NOTICE this ensemble before we left the house?!

Note to self: Keep white shell on back of office door, just in case....

Amazing Surprises on the Morning Commute

Today I took the road less travelled to work. Ok not really because that doesn't exist in DC. But I did take the Beach Road (why do they call it that? There's no beach. It just makes me wish I were on one) through Rock Creek Park to work. Well, not to work. I had to go pick up Someone Special at the airport after dropping the kids at school. And I remembered that you could go from the kids' school to the airport this back way.

Thank you mr. Garmin.

For those of you not familiar with Rock Creek Park, it's the Nation's first federal park, right in the heart of the city. Which means you can commute to work, surrounded by trees and birds and deer and plants, going 25 mph on tiny 2-lane roads built long before the SUV existed. Daffodils and cherry blossoms fill the air this time of year. Even in the down pour this morning, I was taken aback by the breathtaking beauty of this enormous national park, sitting quietly between the raceway of 16th street a few block left and Connecticut avenue a few blocks right (at least for some of it.).

The commute can be confusing through the park - my trusty GPS wound me through all the twists. Of course it would have been a safe bet to follow the 378,000 other cars going the same way.

As I got closer to the city, I travelled familiar roads I ran a couple years ago in the Marine Corp. Marathon. And I smiled at those memories - looked up at the bridges overhead and remembered the throngs of people cheering and waving and giving me the energy to Keep Moving.

But what I didn't expect was to come out of the park, winding past the Pentagon and the beauty of the city as I made my way to the airport. As I drove past the enormous edifice and the endless parking lots on the other side of the street, I took a moment to Remember. And pray for our Troops and their families. And appreciate the beauty surrounding me.

It is an amazing city. Amazing to be lost in the woods just minutes from the White House. We complain about our traffic here - all the time, 24/7. But sometimes you find the road less travelled, at least by you, and you are reminded of the gifts of living here.

Tomorrow, we will enjoy spectacular temperatures just in time for the Peak Cherry Blossoms. the Captain and I are looking forward to a day celebrating Spring!

Image courtesy google images http://enjoylifeandprosper.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/washingtondc20cherry20blossoms202.jpg

MEMORY MONDAY

DATE: JULY 28, 2008

TIME: 10:20 A.M.

PLACE: MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION

PRESENT: MOM, SON, DAUGHTER




Who says Memory Monday has to be about a distant Memory? I think the memory of this morning will last a lifetime. The day they got their Permits. The day they got behind the wheel and DROVE. (Um well maybe we did a little illegal driving through the neighborhood and in parking lots, but never on a "real" road....)


Cute how they wore matching shirts, no? OH yes, daughter didn't realize it until I pointed it out at MVA when they were about to have their photos taken. AUDIBLE GROAN.


Honestly, I'm not sure who was more excited, them or me. For some reason everyone tells me I'm supposed to be nervous about this. But I have been looking forward to this day. I have enjoyed every stage of their lives and haven't wished them to stop growing up or wanted to go back and do over - every age is so awesome and, in some ways, each age just improves over the last. I think We're Rare and Blessed that way.


Some great quotes from the 1.5 hours of driving.


MOM: Daughter, slow down a little.
DAUGHTER: But My foot's not on the gas.
MOM: TRY BRAKES!!!!!!!!
DAUGHTER: Oh, yeah, huh.


MOM [to Son]: A little slower on that next turn, ok?
SON: But I was trying to negotiate the turn and stay in the correct lane.
MOM: Just try it a little slower next time, ok?
SON: Well if I go slower next time then I blah blah blah
MOM: GO SLOWER ON THE NEXT TURN OR YOU'RE DONE
SON: Oh, ok.


MOM: WHOA Go left! Too close to the mailbox!!!!!
DAUGHTER: But I was trying to get around that parked truck on my left.
SON: YOU WERE ON THE GRASS I"M HAVING A HEART ATTACK BACK HERE!
DAUGHTER: Oh, sorry...



SON: THERE ARE CARS COMING AT ME!!!!!!


I think they'll be great drivers. Nope, my nose is not growing. I have confidence in them.