There are at least 10 pairs of shoes on the living room floor. Clothes all over the floor of her room. Various things in various parts of the house -- waiting to be packed. Finally, this morning, she seems to be understanding that packing is inevitable.
And I'm getting an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Top 10 Reasons NOT to Vote the McCain-Palin Ticket
(With advanced apologies to any Republican-leaning voters who might stumble onto this entry - don't read it if it irks you). All 10 of these reasons have to do with Sarah Palin, the most dangerous threat to women's rights, government leadership, environmental sanity and sound sex education in decades:
10. She has only been a governor of the most remote state in the nation for two years.
9. She worked for her kids' school PTA, became a City Councilor, then a mayor, then a governor and now a vice presidential nominee in 14 years. Translate: she hasn't served in any of these positions for many years.
8. She believes in abstinence-only sex education in an American culture that glamorizes sexual activity among kids as young as 15 who, under the current cultural and media climate, aren't hearing the "abstinence-only" argument.
7. She questions whether global warming is actually occurring.
6. She is open to creationism being taught in public schools, even while the U.S. Constitution separates church and state.
5. She calls herself a champion against earmarked funds - but has profited substantially from Congressional earmarks as mayor and as governor in her home state. She actually hired a lobbyist as mayor who was used specifically to go after earmarked funds for her city.
4. She opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
3. She approves the shooting of wolves in Alaska by people firing guns from airplanes.
2. She likens herself to a pit bull.
And the No. 1 reason not to vote the McCain-Palen ticket:
1. If McCain dies in office, she will become president of the United States.
(Of course, it is true that there is another half to this ticket. I simply don't agree with McCain's plans or policies and I don't want another president who likes the word "fight" and "war" so much. There are other reasons for my personal disdain for McCain, but the strikes against Sarah Palin are so strong and so fear-inducing that they take precedence here).
10. She has only been a governor of the most remote state in the nation for two years.
9. She worked for her kids' school PTA, became a City Councilor, then a mayor, then a governor and now a vice presidential nominee in 14 years. Translate: she hasn't served in any of these positions for many years.
8. She believes in abstinence-only sex education in an American culture that glamorizes sexual activity among kids as young as 15 who, under the current cultural and media climate, aren't hearing the "abstinence-only" argument.
7. She questions whether global warming is actually occurring.
6. She is open to creationism being taught in public schools, even while the U.S. Constitution separates church and state.
5. She calls herself a champion against earmarked funds - but has profited substantially from Congressional earmarks as mayor and as governor in her home state. She actually hired a lobbyist as mayor who was used specifically to go after earmarked funds for her city.
4. She opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
3. She approves the shooting of wolves in Alaska by people firing guns from airplanes.
2. She likens herself to a pit bull.
And the No. 1 reason not to vote the McCain-Palen ticket:
1. If McCain dies in office, she will become president of the United States.
(Of course, it is true that there is another half to this ticket. I simply don't agree with McCain's plans or policies and I don't want another president who likes the word "fight" and "war" so much. There are other reasons for my personal disdain for McCain, but the strikes against Sarah Palin are so strong and so fear-inducing that they take precedence here).
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Whoof!
"Animal welfare organizations are panting with excitement following reports that Leona Helmsley, the New York property and hotel magnate who died last year, stipulated that almost her entire estate, worth at least $5bn (£2.5bn), must go to the dogs." -- New York Times, July 2, 2008.
$5 billion is much more than Leona's little dog Trouble was bequeathed. And it is MUCH MORE than the two grandchildren -- cut out of her will and then awarded a tiny sum by a judge -- got. This is WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!
Buddy has been itching for a new crushed velvet doggie bed, a special doggie cart and, of course, a gold-gilded doggie dish. Thanks to the Queen of Mean, he will finally get his wish. (As you can see, he has shared his measly little bed with the cat for far too long!) I am putting in his special request to the lawyers as soon as possible!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Little Girl Grows Up
Well, after much planning, hemming and hawing, stressing and finally a whole lot of smiling, Meghan attended her high school senior prom last night. She went stag -- and found that a whole lot of girlfriends did the same. And she had a wonderful time. It's a tradition for all the seniors to head down to Lynch Park in Beverly for pictures before the prom (which was held at the Cambridge Hyatt this year), and Meghan posed with tons of friends (and a few guys who insisted on being in photos with her -- which delighted Howard and I). I'm just putting a few of her and us up on the blog. She told me bleary-eyed this morning, when she came back home that she had a fantastic time both at the prom and at an after-party, which lasted until 7 a.m. God. What a week.
On Tuesday night, she and a friend did a reading from Martha Graham on being a dancer at the Baccalaureate ceremony. On Wednesday, she received a $500 scholarship at awards night. Then Thursday - the prom. On Saturday, sibling #3 (to whom I am forever grateful) will be driving down with the boy and the matriarch (again, did I saw I am forever grateful) so they can be here for graduation on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, she will survive hearing the story of how Aunt Evelyn wants to come up this summer for the 234th time in the car on the way down. Just nod and say "uh huh...". A lot.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I am ... Wait, WHAT am I???
I'm weird. I'm old. I laugh too loud. I'm completely wrong about this, that or the other thing. Just in case you didn't know.
High school graduation time is a very stressful time. And I'm not the one graduating. There are all these damn dates to keep track of, all these end of the year things, all these checks to write for God knows what. Including the perennial Senior Class Up All Night party, which I swear we paid for way back in the fall. And there isn't one comprehensive bit of information about any of this.
Here's where we're at ... at present. Meghan finished up classes last Friday and took her sole final (in Honors Physics, for God's sake) yesterday. So she is officially done with high school. This after a week of dressing up like a nerd, Audrey Hepburn and in a toga. That last one was something - did you know there are directions for making a toga on YouTube?
Anyway, she's done. All but the Baccalaureate, Scholarship Night, Senior breakfast, Senior lunch, graduation rehearsal, mock car crash attendance, distribution of yearbooks and caps and gowns, and ... oh yes ... graduation. She graduates on Sunday, June 8, at 2 p.m. And no, Beverly High School does not issue graduation announcements. So I am reduced to letting grandparents know by phone and you people by blog. How lame is that?
I've tried to entice the matriarch to come down for this momentous ceremony, which at the moment doesn't seem likely. Howard's parents are coming with Pam and Frank, probably, and we'll have a casual dinner after the ceremony before Megs has to leave for this "up all night" party.
Which brings me to the topic of my blog. The graduation party. I suggest having a big one after graduation. Meghan nixes every single Saturday and Sunday through the month of June until the last weekend. Why? Because she has to go to seven graduation parties already scheduled at other people's houses. (And this would be because she hemmed and hawed earlier when I tried to schedule something). When I express just a bit of frustration over not being able to throw her a graduation party -- at least for her friends -- she tells me Howard and I are weird and she wouldn't want us at a party with her friends. OKKKKKKKK... So we'll just provide the food, say hello and watch a baseball game while they take over the house.
(Mind you, I've been told by several of Meghan and Anna's friends that we are cool, hip parents -- just not to Meghan and Anna). ... It's OK. I'm over it.
We are having a graduation party for adults and any high schoolers Meghan wants to invite on Saturday, June 28, in the mid afternoon. And you two and your families are both invited (actually, so is mom and so, probably, are other siblings). There is no pressure for you to be there, but if you can make it, I would love it. If not, no worries.
Watch my blog over the next week and I'll try to post some choice photos of things like "the prom". ;) And please God just let me get through the next 9 days.
High school graduation time is a very stressful time. And I'm not the one graduating. There are all these damn dates to keep track of, all these end of the year things, all these checks to write for God knows what. Including the perennial Senior Class Up All Night party, which I swear we paid for way back in the fall. And there isn't one comprehensive bit of information about any of this.
Here's where we're at ... at present. Meghan finished up classes last Friday and took her sole final (in Honors Physics, for God's sake) yesterday. So she is officially done with high school. This after a week of dressing up like a nerd, Audrey Hepburn and in a toga. That last one was something - did you know there are directions for making a toga on YouTube?
Anyway, she's done. All but the Baccalaureate, Scholarship Night, Senior breakfast, Senior lunch, graduation rehearsal, mock car crash attendance, distribution of yearbooks and caps and gowns, and ... oh yes ... graduation. She graduates on Sunday, June 8, at 2 p.m. And no, Beverly High School does not issue graduation announcements. So I am reduced to letting grandparents know by phone and you people by blog. How lame is that?
I've tried to entice the matriarch to come down for this momentous ceremony, which at the moment doesn't seem likely. Howard's parents are coming with Pam and Frank, probably, and we'll have a casual dinner after the ceremony before Megs has to leave for this "up all night" party.
Which brings me to the topic of my blog. The graduation party. I suggest having a big one after graduation. Meghan nixes every single Saturday and Sunday through the month of June until the last weekend. Why? Because she has to go to seven graduation parties already scheduled at other people's houses. (And this would be because she hemmed and hawed earlier when I tried to schedule something). When I express just a bit of frustration over not being able to throw her a graduation party -- at least for her friends -- she tells me Howard and I are weird and she wouldn't want us at a party with her friends. OKKKKKKKK... So we'll just provide the food, say hello and watch a baseball game while they take over the house.
(Mind you, I've been told by several of Meghan and Anna's friends that we are cool, hip parents -- just not to Meghan and Anna). ... It's OK. I'm over it.
We are having a graduation party for adults and any high schoolers Meghan wants to invite on Saturday, June 28, in the mid afternoon. And you two and your families are both invited (actually, so is mom and so, probably, are other siblings). There is no pressure for you to be there, but if you can make it, I would love it. If not, no worries.
Watch my blog over the next week and I'll try to post some choice photos of things like "the prom". ;) And please God just let me get through the next 9 days.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Dude...
We now have an official Drexel University sticker on our car. Spent Friday night and Saturday in Philly for Accepted Students Weekend. Meghan and I had been to several of the "sessions" when we first visited last year so this time we did a little exploring on our own. One stop was an old (seriously, oooolllldddd) dorm building with suites in it (apparently suites are not difficult for freshmen to get at Drexel).
Meghan dragged me in there, even though I protested that we wouldn't get past the front desk. But we did. Some very cute freshman boy spotted us and offered to give us a tour of the building. Very entertaining. Especially when he opened the door to his suite. Dishes piled mile high in the sink, DISGUSTING bathroom, six guys in the living room playing a video game, and one very shocked young man who came around the corner, took one look at me and slowly dropped his jaw to the floor.
I look like a mother. It's really annoying. At that point, I started apologizing all over the place and backing out of the room, but the cute freshman boy who offered us the tour insisted that he wanted us to see the suite.
Then this surfer dude type guy opens the bedroom door, wearing sunglasses. He looks at me, looks at Meghan. Looks some more. And says, "Are you guys here for Accepted Students Day?" Meghan, always the cheerful little girl, chirps, "Yes!" And he responds - and I'm directly quoting here (but you can imagine the surfer dude drawl that accompanied this) – "Dude, you should totally come here next year. It's AWESOME. I was down on this place when I first got here but I stuck it out. It's a great school, man."
I had to BITE my tongue not to laugh. Totally made the weekend, dudettes.
At the end of the day, Meghan took part in a master dance class - an audition to try to score a little more scholarship money and to meet the director of the dance program. She did really well; the director called her back out at one point to do a routine again, which is usually a very good sign. So we'll see. We met a lot of girls minoring in dance and their parents. It was really pretty fun. We also met the director of her major - Arts & Entertainment Management - and learned a lot about what that will entail.
Anna, meantime, had a delightful time at the freshman semi, with the "no I'm NOT dating him; we're just friends" sophomore who presented her with a corsage of tiny white roses. Even Howard texted me in Philadelphia that he was "a cutie." Can you even imagine Howard saying anyone is a "cutie"? Weird!
In one week, we'll all be on our way to Grand Cayman for a spring break vacation - probably the last one all together for awhile. I'm excited about this one - it's a British island, so everything is just that much more upscale and ... British. :)
Cheerio!
Meghan dragged me in there, even though I protested that we wouldn't get past the front desk. But we did. Some very cute freshman boy spotted us and offered to give us a tour of the building. Very entertaining. Especially when he opened the door to his suite. Dishes piled mile high in the sink, DISGUSTING bathroom, six guys in the living room playing a video game, and one very shocked young man who came around the corner, took one look at me and slowly dropped his jaw to the floor.
I look like a mother. It's really annoying. At that point, I started apologizing all over the place and backing out of the room, but the cute freshman boy who offered us the tour insisted that he wanted us to see the suite.
Then this surfer dude type guy opens the bedroom door, wearing sunglasses. He looks at me, looks at Meghan. Looks some more. And says, "Are you guys here for Accepted Students Day?" Meghan, always the cheerful little girl, chirps, "Yes!" And he responds - and I'm directly quoting here (but you can imagine the surfer dude drawl that accompanied this) – "Dude, you should totally come here next year. It's AWESOME. I was down on this place when I first got here but I stuck it out. It's a great school, man."
I had to BITE my tongue not to laugh. Totally made the weekend, dudettes.
At the end of the day, Meghan took part in a master dance class - an audition to try to score a little more scholarship money and to meet the director of the dance program. She did really well; the director called her back out at one point to do a routine again, which is usually a very good sign. So we'll see. We met a lot of girls minoring in dance and their parents. It was really pretty fun. We also met the director of her major - Arts & Entertainment Management - and learned a lot about what that will entail.
Anna, meantime, had a delightful time at the freshman semi, with the "no I'm NOT dating him; we're just friends" sophomore who presented her with a corsage of tiny white roses. Even Howard texted me in Philadelphia that he was "a cutie." Can you even imagine Howard saying anyone is a "cutie"? Weird!
In one week, we'll all be on our way to Grand Cayman for a spring break vacation - probably the last one all together for awhile. I'm excited about this one - it's a British island, so everything is just that much more upscale and ... British. :)
Cheerio!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
It's Opening Day, Baby!
Hail the Mighty 2008 Boston Red Sox season. 2,000 people were waiting in line for tickets this morning. Unfortunately, this photo, captured on my way to work, doesn't do that any justice at all. But what the heck -- happy opening day!
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