I'm baaaack......

Finally. I am back from the land of overly large sequined bows and glitter eyshadow blended with sweat and athletic endorphins. I will admit the kool aid kicked in the last few weeks especially with 3 or 4 first places in a row and two of them national championships. The endorphins start running vicariously and I guess I can see how the parents get hooked.
It was nuts, but the right thing to try. Glad I did. May repeat with certain major revisions to the approach, but not immediately. Grades suffered during competetions. Life suffered during competitions. Heck. Life was, the whole family, competitions. Too much.

And that brings me to my next " what is WRONG with this world ?" rant.

More on the subject of too much. K1's class trip for 8th grade to was to NYC.
They went to Madame Tussauds, on a boat tour around the statue of liberty, to see the Blue Man Group . Lunch at Mars 2112. The trip cost more than >$150 . We had to bring them to school to get the bus at 5:15 am and pick them up at 10pm. It was on a wednesday. All the kids were told that they were expected to be in school inspite of the trip. The next day k2 said it was "ok". She was tired. She went to school. She said half the kids weren't there.
What is wrong with this picture?
DUh people!

I have always been here

I have always looked out from behind these eyes

It feels like more than a lifetime

Feels like more than a lifetime

Sometimes I get tired of the waiting

Sometimes I get tired of being in here

Is this the way it has always been?

Could it ever have been different?

Do you ever get tired of the waiting?

Do you ever get tired of being in there?

Don't worry, nobody lives forever,

Nobody lives forever

"A New Machine - Part I"

Pink Floyd

Momentary Lapse of Reason

On my feet

Well now I finally know what they call the flu, and I will definitely get my flu shot every year after this experience. Although I did get it this year and of course the strain that hit was not included in the vaccine. I have to admit I've never had more than a bad cold until now. I am upright at last, and swaying through my daily routine, but I still feel really weird. Dizzy, off balance and sometimes my skin just hurts like I have a fever, but I don't. At its worst-- muscle aches and headache that were unrelieved by anything over the counter. Pure misery. A day or two of that sure has you feeling grateful for good health!

Back to work tomorrow and then I have two days worth of competitions to go to this weekend, although I plan to abbreviate my exposure as much as possible. Then it's 3 weekends off! Even K1 is feeling the lack of time ( :0 we don't have any time to go shopping OMG!)

All I have to do is make it through April...

Plague or something like it...

So I have finally caught a cold that airborne couldn't keep at bay. I spent the whole day on the couch after going to bed at 6pm last night. I was wondering when I would break my healthy streak. People around me have been falling like flies to all sorts of flu like symptoms and I felt strangely immune. Not anymore! (or as inspector clouseau says "neyt anymuir").
I told my girls they had to take care of me today. K1 cleaned the kitchen, K2 made me soup--ok she forgot it in the microwave and I had to crawl out to get it myself, but it is the thought that counts, right? Speaking of thoughts, K1 asks me if I am better yet. She always has an agenda and I think she is gravely inconvenienced at the moment.
The fun of the game of take care of mom evaporated quickly.

I always love the question "are you feeling better yet ?" or "are you feeling any better ?" It is a question that wants only one answer. It is an implied hurry up already. No, I am not any better yet, thank you very much. When you see me upright for any longer than it takes to go to the bathroom or the kitchen and back you might inquire again. K1 and K2 are giving each other the look that says "mommy's cranky."
It's my turn, I say, please pass the tissues.

Parent volunteers

These are two small words that have a profound effect on me these days. My eyes fell on them today as I stood at the kitchen counter finishing the last bite of supper. Of the hundreds of flyers from school that get batched next to the toaster, I can't now remember which one it was, nor does it really matter since they all say the same thing. Another activity/group/comittee wanting a piece of me. I tear them in quarters and use them for scrap paper since it is a shame to waste the unprinted side. All those nice bright clean pages in eye catching colors. All those fancy fonts and clipart. All those trees.
Parent volunteers. I laughed out loud and my daughter asked why. I wasn't exactly sure, but I did feel a little unhinged at the moment. I think it is a side effect of the cheerleading frenzy.
(Volunteers, yeah... right...) I don't feel very voluntary right now. I feel something more like roped in.
Parent Volunteer for Sunday's competition wanted: Drive 2hrs to Boston, pay $12 admission fee, stand for 1hr, sit on bleachers for four hours, drive 2 hours home. Mission: to qualify by minimum score to drive 9 hours to Virginia Bach in May.
Yay! we won 2nd place out of 2, and we qualify. That means we get to go (read 18hours round trip+ $300 min food and lodge) to VA!!!
Ok.. where's the koolaide? Maybe then this would make sense.
But seriously, folks, I think I may pull the plug at least on that trip. I can't seem to swallow all day for the knot in my throat and past experience tells me that I need to speak up.
Parent Volunteers. LOL No thanks, not for me.

Blah, blah, blah.

Hard Rock man rides again!

Here is a great collage of my life. I call it my desk.