Happy Half a Year---Summer Day--June 30, 2015

Today is the half way mark of this year.   Technically, I think July 2nd is half way, but June 30th is the end of a month, and 6 months, so it is just easier to say today is half way done this year.

Just makes me wonder/evaluate how things are going--just going.   Things are good around here. Jack is home.    I drove up to JFK to get Jack on Saturday--It was a torrential rain storm, and we pulled over on the way home to get him a Five Guys Burger--being in Italy for 7 weeks apparently makes you really miss a good hamburger!    Anyway, things are always more normal when Jack is here.  Not always happier, but more normal.   And normal is good.  I've learned.   Normal is good.

Today, I drove my Jack, Timmy, Matthew, and Lily up to the $1 movies at the Regal Cinema in Warrington.   We have been doing this since Jack was 3.    Regal Cinemas have two different $1 movies on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 am.   I am always very impressed by the quality of the movies--today we had a choice between "Earth to Echo," and "Boxtrolls."   I can remember going to these movies with two little babies/kids while I was pregnant with Timmy.   Today we met Joseph, my sister, Lisa's son, who is 18, and is starting at Drexel University in a few weeks.     I looked over at the 4 boys/young men one point, and the 4 of them were all between 5'10" and 6'5"--what happened to those little boys I used to bring to the movies (back then, they were free, which is why we still call them the "free movies.")

Anyway, Happy Half a Year--I am going to try really hard to make the rest of this year really good--kind of like fulfilling all kinds of resolutions.  

Happy First Full Day of Summer/Lily's First Day of Swim Team/a New Garden!

Yesterday was only half a day of summer, so today we are celebrating the first full day of Summer....but it is so hot, it is hard to get motivated to go outside.   Especially since Lily and I were up and out by 7:30 to go to her first swim team practice.

I kind of always wanted to do swim team over the summer with my other kids, but Jack got weird about the water, Anna has bad ears that can't get wet, and I didn't want to take the other two out earlier than I get them up for school during the school year to go to swim team practice.  So we never did it with the first four children.

But Lily is a really good swimmer, and she seems to have a nice stroke.  Plus, I can take her, without having to wake up/drag other kids to go with me, keep them amused, etc.    Basically, everything is so much easier with just one child, and the other 4 are able to take care of themselves.  I think all the things my first 4 missed because of this....It was just too hard to take four kids every time someone wanted to go to a piano lesson.  Lily is definitely getting a shot at more activities.

I didn't worry about being there on time, because it is the summer, and also because Lily is my 5th child, and I am not worrying about being on time for things anymore.    The youngest group is Lily's group, 8 and under.  By the time we got there, there had already been one water rescue.   Seriously?   I kind of thought these were supposed to be the good swimmers?!

Anyway, Lily got into a lane, and it quickly became apparent that Lily is good.  She isn't good at everything, but she is a good swimmer.  She overtook all the swimmers, and has a beautiful stroke.  And then she got hit in the eye by one of the kids who she was overtaking, and then she was miserable, crying, and doesn't want to go back.    Great.   The one great thing is that we got home at 8:50, and she had accomplished something.  A good way to start the day.

When I got home, the guys who are doing our landscaping were there, pulling out 15 years' of overgrowth, weeds, trees, and mismanagement in our backyard.    Honestly, I cringe every time I go into our backyard.  I don't have a green thumb, because I don't really have the time or inclination to do all the work that needed to be done, and Chris has so many things going on with him, that he can't do stuff.

So, I hired this kid who just graduated from La Salle, and who wants to do this for a living.  It isn't a cheap thing, and my kids keep on telling me that if I had paid them $300 dollars an hour (what they think these guys are getting paid--they aren't getting paid that much), they would have done the weeding/pulling out/taking out trees that these guys are doing.   But they don't, and they haven't, and we are starting working on our house, and I am starting on the lawn, because it is summer, and I want to be happy when I go outside.

I took Lily to the pool today.   Anna was there with Grace and Gabby, and Grace met them there.  Matthew went with Joey to his new pool, and Timmy went to Alverthorpe to play basketball with Amin.  When Lily and I got home at 5, this is what I saw in my new, cleaned out backyard.

This is getting mulched tomorrow, but I am so happy that all the ivy that was covering this area is                                                                            now gone:

This was covered in old pachysandra, most of which was dead, and lots of short trees, and weeds:

 

This is all along my back.  Look at how pretty that rock is, that I didn't even know was there!!  It fits in perfectly with my new, cleaned out garden.  These hydrangeas are plants I received from each child being born, or for Mother's Day.  The last few years, when I have gotten a plant for Mother's Day or Easter, I haven't even bothered to plant it, because the garden is so overgrown.  Next year, I will find a place to put it in my garden!    

I might even sit outside in the summer and read.  I am really happy with the way this is going, and it isn't even finished yet.  

End of School...always makes me sad.

The end of any school year always makes me sad.  Actually, the beginning of every school year makes me sad, too. Anything that involves the passage of time makes me sad.

I felt it a little when I was younger.  I remember reading the Thorn Birds, and being devastated by the passage of Meggie's life, and how once you live your life, you can't go back.   So, loving a priest may not be a great idea,  and having a baby with a man because it means you won't have that lifelong partner you might want to have when you are 60, and when you are 60, it is apparently hard to find a lifelong partner.

Once I had children,  the passage of time makes me even more sad.   Sad is a strong word, but that is how it feels, sometimes.    Every event is a small step away from their childhood.   Every last day of school is a step towards the ultimate last day of school for Lily...and me.   While I have another 10 years before Lily's last day of school,   I have already had one of those for Jack, and I will be having another for Anna next year..then Timmy, then Matthew.  That makes me sad.

These were taken on Monday, actually--they had to wear their Texas shirts to school to celebrate!!

                           Here are some photos of our last day of school:

                         On the way to the bus stop...Anna just stubbed her toe...can you tell?

     

                                                              The whole Bus stop crowd:

Rachel Dolezal----I am not sure how I feel about her.

This Rachel Dolezal thing has me conflicted.  Part of me thinks she is a fraud, and a liar, and she got caught.   Then I started thinking about the Bruce Jenner thing.  

I love Bruce Jenner.   I started liking him when I was 14 and watched every minute of the 1976 Summer Olympics.   In our house, we didn't go to camp, or do fun things over the summer.  We stayed home and amused ourselves, which often meant watching TV.  In those days, there wasn't a lot of good day time TV, but the Olympics changed all that, and I watched every minute of those Summer 1976 Olympics.   And without a doubt, Bruce Jenner was the headliner of those Olympics.  Then, about 10 years ago, I caught up with him again when he was on this summer show called "I am a Celebrity, Get me out of Here!"      I liked him on that.  He seemed nice.

So, I was eager to watch his "Interview with Diane Sawyer", and I was amazed by how open and honest he was about feeling like a woman all these years (I am really simplifying this story, but I think it is well known).    I saw Caitlyn's photos, and my first thought was how much she looks like Cindy Crawford.   I think she looks lovely.   So, this is a person who has felt something about him/herself  other than what the world is seeing him/herself as (did I say that right?).    So, how is this different than Rachel Dolezal?  Bruce Jenner never lied.   He may have kept it to himself (although he claims he did share it with his wives), but he never pretended to be something other than what he was.   That is where this differs from Ms. Dolezal's situation.  Bruce Jenner has always been honest.   Painfully honest.

Ms. Dolezal was interviewed today on the Today show by Matt Lauer.  While I think she came across somewhat sympathetically,  and I do think, that for some reason she genuinely identifies herself as being part of the black community, there seemed to be an awful lot of those blank stares,  unexplained answers, and generally, she seemed to be avoiding the real issue.  She was on the show with boys she identified as her "sons," but I believe that one of them is her son, Franklin, with her first husband, and the other one is actually her real parents' adoptive black son, Izaiah, who is around 21 years old, and who she obtained legal guardianship of in approximately 2010....more confusion, obfuscation it seems to me.

I think the bottom line for me is that she has perpetrated this perception that she is black when it was convenient/to her benefit.   Despite what some people, including the NAACP spokesperson said, it just seems highly unlikely that a white person would be named the head of the Spokane NAACP.    Whoopi Goldberg...who is starting to annoy me every time she opens her mouth, gave some ridiculous argument that I heard on the View today that Dolezal being white was really not a problem, because the NAACP was founded by all types of "folks...Blacks, Jews, and women...."   The simple fact is that in today's world, only black people are likely to get named to the head of a large city's NAACP chapter.  Dolezal may have done a good job in that position (another argument I have heard in support of her), but I don't think she would have ever have had the position if she hadn't pretended to be black.

Moreover, I was particularly disturbed by her brushing over Matt Lauer's questioning of her racial discrimination lawsuit against Howard University (a historically black college) which was filed in 2002.   She apparently filed a lawsuit, which was dismissed in 2004 as baseless,  because of, in essence, racial discrimination--she sued Howard saying they discriminated against her because she is white.   I don't think you get to play both sides of the stick.   Matt asked her specifically about this, but she was kind of evasive in her answer.   She said she doesn't tolerate any discrimination--which I think means she doesn't like to be discriminated against as either a black or white person, or a woman, or any other minority.   Well, neither do I, but I don't think you get to pass yourself off as a black person in order to get scholarships to black schools, and you don't pass yourself as black in order to get great jobs in black organizations, and then file suit claiming you were discriminated against because you are white.  There is something very disingenuous about that.

I must say that I found her to be pleasant., but deceptive people are often pleasant because they know how to play on your emotions.  That is part of the deception.    I almost felt sorry for her,  but I do admire her courage to go on TV to talk about it.  I also think she is a smart woman (you must be if you can pull being black off for all these years), who knows how to "work the system."   So, yes, I think this is very different from Caitlyn Jenner, who may have kept her identity issues to herself for years, but never used those issues to her benefit to get jobs and try to win lawsuits.

Can you figure this problem out?

I figured this out in about 20 seconds.  No one else in my family could figure it out. I must watch too much "Jeopardy!", because I picked up on the major clue.   I saw this on AOL, and it said:



   "What is the number of the parking spot containing the car?   The answer is right in front of you."

I will put the answer at the bottom if you are dying to know....but if not, try to figure out why it is the right answer!!





















Parking Spot # is 87.

June 14, 2015--Happy Flag Day!!

When I was growing up, you knew if it were a national holiday or Flag day, because everyone flew their flags.   This is what our property looked like today:

 Lily is being patriotic and saluting....until she thinks she sees a bee, and then she starts squirming!

I think we should all try to make a point of flying our flag on...well, Flag Day!!! 

June 14th, 2015. Flag Day--45 years later.

When I went to the store today, I saw all kinds of red white and blue items, which reminded me it was Flag Day.  It was a Sunday, Flag Day, 45 years ago, on June 14, 1970, and something was up.   Angel was wailing and screaming at my father.   Lisa and Charlie were clearly upset about something.  And then I remember me and my two younger sisters were sat down by my father, and he told us that "your mother has gone to heaven."

I was 8, about the age Lily is now, and was in second grade at St. David's Parochial school, so I instantly knew what that meant.  I immediately started to cry.  My sister, Lorraine, was 7, only 11 months younger than me,  and Lynda was just 6, and neither of them understood.  I remember my sisters looked at me, and I whispered to them "Mommy is in heaven.. That means she is gone....to be with Jesus."   I couldn't bring myself to say "dead."  Slowly, I think largely because I was crying, they started to cry.  

I don't remember much else about that day, but I do remember my Aunt Lucille coming over with my cousins, David and Ottilie, and bringing a dozen Dunkin' Donuts.  I was always happy when she came over, even on this day.  She knew how to make a child feel better for a second.  

A few days later, there was her funeral.  The viewing was the night before.  Her 6 children were ages 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 on the day she died.  I remember walking up to see her in the casket, and not liking it.  She was wearing a pink chiffon dress.  That is when I decided I was going to have a closed casket (and no "viewing" at all.  Just a service with some pictures of me and my family.)  

 I don't remember how long we stayed.   I remember people saying 38 years was too young to die.   To me, I didn't really understand.   38 was really old...wasn't that time to die, after all?  I know we left early, and when the children left,  we lined up, and the crowd formed around us.    I said goodbye, and on my way out, I turned to peek, and my Uncle Kenny, my mother's younger brother was at the back of the ring of people, uncontrollably sobbing.   I remember wondering why he was so sad.

A few days later, after the funeral, we were polishing the silverware on the floor, and the Evening Bulleting was on the floor, and the pages spread out were the Obituaries.  I remember reading my mother's obituary while polishing silverware, but trying not to let my sisters see it.  I think someone should have tried to be a little more careful.

I don't remember much more about the day that my mother day, but I remember lying in a bed by myself that night, and thinking, "this is the first day for the rest of your life, that you will not have a Mommy."  I remember thinking I wouldn't have a mother on my wedding day.   It was just unimaginable.    It still is.

Teens against Drugs and Alcohol--TADA Finale, June 12th, 2015

At Abington, one of the more popular activities is TADA, which stands for Teens against Drugs and Alcohol.  TADA events are held on Friday nights, and it is a bunch of 7-9 graders going to 76er games, or bowling, or going miniature golfing, etc....without doing drugs or alcohol.  Both Timmy and Matthew belong.

Each year, all the members of TADA get to try to be part of TADA games, where 200 kids are put 25 kids each into 8 teams, which then compete in TADA games.  This is a two week mini-Olympics type competition, which culminates on the last night into the TADA games finale.   Each team is led by a male and female 9 grade "TADA team captain", who choose via a draft, the members of their team.    This year, Timmy and another girl, Bridget, were the team captains of the Texas Rangers team.   Matthew was one of the 25 members of the team.    And last night, was the Finale.

At the Finale, the teams first put on a Song and then a Cheer.  They are both basically the same thing....the teams put on dances with new lyrics to songs about how they don't want to do drugs and alcohol, because they are doing TADA instead.   Honestly, it is the kind of thing that warms any parent's heart.   This shows a bunch of 7th through 9th graders doing the kinds of things parents want them to do.  Have fun without getting drunk or high.    At Abington, it is a big deal, and it is a big deal to be in TADA games, and it is a big deal to be a captain, and it is a big deal to "win" TADA games.


Timmy's team's first Song was to "Uptown Funk," and it was a show stopper.   But, I had had these 25 kids at my house numerous times over the last two weeks, and I had watched them perform this dance and song 20 times (and bought them lots of pizza!!),   so I had seen it a lot, but I still think they were fantastic.   Then, all the teams perform the Cheer.   This time, they did it to "That's what I Like about You", with lyrics like "That's why we like TADA."


At the end, they go around and slam whip cream pies in the faces of the non-winners, and you know your team is out when both captains get "pied."    Timmy got pied really quickly, but Bridget never got pied.   Then the last two non-pied captains go up, and one person gets pied, and the winning team is the one in which one of the captains never got pied.

Long explanation, but.....Timmy's team won!!!  It was amazing!!   I was so excited.  These are the photos....just so happy to see my sons so happy.   It was fantastic!!

This is the group hug sing a long at the end of all the Songs and Cheers, where they all sing about how great it is to have a drug-free life....kind of the thing parents like to see kids do!

This is about 30 seconds after they got the cup....and Timmy is still dripping from the whipped cream pie he had just gotten.  I love that Lily got her face in all these photos....just like something her mother would do!!

These were mostly Timmy's 9th grade friends on his team--Jordan, Timmy, Shane, Sean, Jack (who goes to another school, but came to support Timmy and Shane), and in the front, Matthew, Joey (who wasn't on the Texas team, but we wish he was!), and Kieran on the floor: 

                Timmy, Meghan (who apparently did a lot of the choreography), and Bridget--Yay!!

Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse Sale June 4, 5, 6, 2015 in Oaks, PA--it is 3 days away!!

So, this is June 1st, which means the Lilly Pulitzer warehouse sale is only days away.  I am so excited.  The deals are really amazing, and the selection is fantastic.

I described this sale at great length here, so there isn't much more to say, other than get lots of sleep to get there early on Thursday!