Parents of the HS Class of 2009 (Part 1)

Parents Forum Class of 20xx Community
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<p>D went ahead and scheduled the appointment for the physical after much nagging from me! But she yelled at me for finding the paperwork, putting a postage stamp on it and placing it on her night stand! If I had not done that, she would have been looking for it 5 minutes before she drove off to the Dr.'s appointment. I can’t win! </p>

<p>It never fails to amaze me that the number of people who cannot respond to an invitation which says “the favor of a reply is requested” with a date, our phone number and an emal address. H says forget about all of them-just bad manners, assume they aren’t coming. Anybody else have this problem with a social event?</p>

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<p>downtoearth, hope graduation today is wonderful! Glad last night was sweet (or bittersweet).</p>

<p>PRJ, hope she finds the camera and that the party goes well! And that you can work something out as far as the dress.</p>

<p>oregon101, good for you for listening to your headaches and giving your friend an honest answer. Hats off to you.</p>

<p>bblfraser, pretty funny about the leprechaun crafts. Although maybe they’d enjoy that! :smiley: Good luck.</p>

<p>And yes, again, in the immortal (or soon-to-be-immortal) words of CountingDown, time to buy hair coloring and margarita mix. One week 'til graduation in our house.</p>

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<p>I swear, this board is better than therapy! Of course, the margarita’s help and can I just call in for an appointment for the hair color? My luck would be that if I did it myself, I’d either end up with purple hair or no hair at all!</p>

<p>Kids rooms are both disasters and all i really get in reply to the request to clean it up is, “It’s my room.” Amazing how when I say, “then it’s YOUR laundry to do and YOUR bathroom to clean” the floors magically become walkable and my laundry room overflows. Go figure.</p>

<p>All grandparents arrive on Monday, along with my sister. Without the latter, the former would be torture. My brother and his wife (no kids) live here in town but have been in Turkey on vacation the last few weeks. I did have the thought of setting up Mom and her husband at their house as a “surprise” when they return. After all, I have the key to his house. But then I figure I’d have to start sleeping with one eye open for a very long time.</p>

<p>D1, my 24 year old, has finally heard back from the school she hopes to attend in the fall (going back after taking time off from the college track). We would really prefer if she moved back to this part of the country but we have agreed to “help” her with part of these expenses so she can go to school full time. They seem to recognize that she needs a lot of aid but despite having started this process way back in January, they are just now getting out estimated need letters, to say nothing of what they will meet or gap. Hard to plan a strategy when you don’t have the information. In any event, she comes home for little brother’s graduation on Weds. I am excited to have everyone under same roof, even if it’s only for a weekend.</p>

<p>I do feel a little bad however that when older D graduated from HS the school was a huge public and the tickets to graduation were limited to just a few per family. So only my sister, who lived in town at the time, came. Wonder how she feels to see both sides of grandparents flying in for the little brother?</p>

<p>Both S and younger D’s lacrosse teams won sections (son is playing amazingly well, D2 is only a freshman so she mostly keeps the varsity bench warm but still loves being on the team) and so now we have in addition to the pesky graduation thing, two semi-final state games and for sure one state final. The boys teams are much more competitive but we’ll now hope for the best especially since they made it this far. And oh yeah, younger D was invited to a sweet 16 and managed to mention LAST NIGHT that she needed to get something all-white to wear. Who the heck comes up these themes that cost me money? It’s being held at an art museum - a venue that is usually reserved for wedding receptions. So now I ask, since we had to buy a new dress and new shoes for a girl who never wears dresses, do we still have to buy a gift? I know the answer, but it feels better to ask if there is any chance I can get out of it. </p>

<p>So get this… my MIL sends a list of their plans/activities while in town. I said to H that this week is not about fitting their schedule. We have state final games, events and oh yeah, graduation this week. I really don’t get it. It’s seriously as if since she got her itinerary to us first, it becomes the gold standard? Don’t know how this is going to go, but I swear if you looked up passive aggressive or martyr, her face would appear. Behind her would be my FIL getting ready to blow a gasket, which only makes matters more tense. </p>

<p>Ok… enough for one morning. It’s 8:30 am. Where did I put down that drink?</p>

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<p>Modadunn, I hear you about your MIL’s plans. We have a retired SIL out of state who once a year plans a visit to a sorta-nearby city. She announces the dates and her availability based on her preplanned activities (bridge tournaments) and is highly offended if we cannot schedule ourselves to drive 4 hours each way to fit into one of her openings. </p>

<p>Meanwhile, we have NO relatives coming this week, but that is OK because I’m already a nervous wreck. Tomorrow kicks off ceremonial week: Baccalaureate, Fine Arts Academy Graduation, real Graduation (plus grad night all-nighter), S’s best friend’s Eagle Court of Honor (both S and DH have speaking parts the day after the all-nighter) and the final, formal concert of the Carnegie Hall music that orchestra and choir will perform in NY later in June.</p>

<p>If I skip the hair color, can I have 2 margaritas?</p>

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<p>We don’t get to the graduation goal line for another 2 weeks–but good luck to all of you on the final drive. I am spared the out of town visitor threat, in-law hazards, and grad party decisions as none are in our mix. But we have added–to the general stream of last projects, finals, visiting older sib (plus his friends all arriving home from college), and an annual work-related event I must host–a pet emergency/recuperation that involves keeping a dog from “doing anything” for 2 weeks while recovering from a hip injury. Right now dog is zonked on pain meds and doing okay, but I dread trying to watch every move and keep him “calm” while the guests and grad finale rolls over us all. </p>

<p>Life as a parent is always “just one more thing” I guess. I am both so happy to see the end of high school in sight–and at them same time sad at what this progression means is"done"…</p>

<p>Love the image of leprechaun crafts…I still have drawers full of stickers and paste and “useful” containers for such projects…</p>

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<p>Here’s how we dealt with graduation hoopla, etc. last year: we cashed in frequent flyer miles for four free plane tickets and left town four hours after graduation! No relatives, no party, no hassle.</p>

<p>Colored my hair (I do it myself because I’m cheap) and had a free glass of wine on the plane.</p>

<p>I hear Sam’s Club has margarita mix in a bucket.</p>

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<p>
[QUOTE=Modadunn]

Wonder how she feels to see both sides of grandparents flying in for the little brother?

[/quote]
Probably she feels happy to see her grandparents. :slight_smile:

[QUOTE=mmaah]

Life as a parent is always “just one more thing” I guess.

[/quote]
According to my mom… always. :o

[QUOTE=CountingDown]

I hear Sam’s Club has margarita mix in a bucket.

[/quote]
They’re going to make a fortune!</p>

<p>geek<em>son knocked his presentation out of the park and was really happy with the Q&A. Kids asked smart, tough questions. He was ready for them all. Go geek</em>son. The final for that class was oral, which he thought would be a total blast but turned out pretty nerve-wracking. Still better for him than a written final.</p>

<p>This weekend is going to be long, but he’s so close to finished, I can taste it. Tastes kinda salty and lime-y. ;)</p>

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<p>Wow you guys work like magic! S came home after I posted trading him for the summer and he was sweet and talked! even if it was about his dissapointment in how poorly the coffee house was organized and problems about how his band played. Still he used his words :slight_smile: just like I use to say when he was 3.
HMW–thanks for the kind words about telling the friends we do not want to renew our friendship. It was soooo difficult. Still the alternative was worse for me. H would have just let them come but he is better at being an observer and I would just have been delightful and warm then they would have camped out in our drive for the rest of the summer.
Modadum–loved your post and just made me feel (sorry don’t mean at your expense but love this :rolleyes: saga we are all in) better.
Sorry about the white dress–I found one once for D at a Ross or TJ like place. A Ralph Lauren strapless originally $260 for $34. It had to be drycleaned and then is was only worn once but it was a deal. OH–yeah, a gift. I would go by how close and will they remain friends theory on how much to spend. Maybe a Beds Bath B gift certificate?? in a box and wrapped nicely.
cpeltz–wouldn’t if be funny if we did this and then found out they are twins seperated at birth?
PJR–thanks for the faces!!:smiley: I was really missing them. And support. He never actually said I was dumb but he sure can make me feel as if I am somehow missing the gene necessary to raise a teen S.
The relatives we are having are local. My mom is not invited as she ruined D’d graduation for me. H’s parents are not coming but don’t get me started–they managed to go to every single other grandchild’s but oh well. Guess it is our fault for living so far away.
My SIL loves to let me know that she had a PHD and I have only a MS
and manages to get it in everytime we see her (now down to 1-2 times a year). Never mind that I have worked for 35 years and she managed 10 and left her field. But I have told D she has to take care of her as they have French in common. Yep sure will be glad when that dinner is over. In fact, I am needing to remind myself that this is important to S even if he is not acting like it is. He told me twice that I need to iron his gown inside out or it will melt. Not the usual kind of fact that sticks in his mind.
Well, all, again for the great sharing.</p>

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<p>congrats geek_momS!</p>

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<p>What, we’re on page two? I think we’re all in limbo…decisions made, kids graduated/graduating, but other than JerseyShoreMom, we still have a few months before they move away so we’re not packing yet.</p>

<p>What an amazing transition. And seriously, what amazing parents.</p>

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<p>I guess the two threads are interchangeable (HS Class of 2009, College Class of 2013)? </p>

<p>Guess I’ll post here this time. Still almost three weeks away from graduation. But now a memory are the academy “mini-graduation” and the high school’s senior awards night. The academy’s awards day was wonderful. After watching them the other three years (when s was recognized), we watched the seniors march across the stage to get their certificates and medallions that they will wear at the high school graduation. Ds was on the program as the only student speaker with his “student oration” about Abraham Lincoln’s legacy. Also on the program after his name was noted that he is the state’s three-time state champion in debate. And when the academy director introduced him, she mentioned the things he’s been involved in over the years, how he is heads and shoulders above everyone else in public speaking, his huge scholarship for college, his plans to become an attorney, and how very much they will miss him. ::sniff sniff::</p>

<p>These final weeks are so bittersweet. It’s going to be hard to keep dry eyes when the orchestra plays “Pomp and Circumstance” as the graduates march in…</p>

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<p>OK… I tear up when I listen to Graduation by Vitamin C… I cant imagine how I’ll get through graduation!!! Bittersweet doesnt cover it. Although I am a little disappointed that S doesn’t seem to be in the mix for recognition when it comes to academics and since we have an olympic skier in the mix, he sure aint getting noted for athletics beyond within his sport - which is substantial, don’t get me wrong. I have decided though it helps me in that I don’t have to go to the awards assembly Weds morn!! I’ve got enough on my plate.</p>

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<p>Well, DD is off the hook for finals, so it’s mostly fun for her from here on out.</p>

<p>She received a letter in the mail yesterday. It was sent from the middle school. In 8th grade the kids were asked to write themselves a letter. D included photos and a poem. She was shocked at the difference in her and her friends looks. I was shocked that the envelope had a 37 cent stamp, and they had to add seven additional cents postage!</p>

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<p>mmaah, I probably have (since I never throw anything away) the leftover supplied from the leprechaun crafts, stickers, construction paper, pipecleaners and all kinds of other kidcraft projects. Maybe if they can be put to use if (a) I have had enough of the restless grads-to-be at the party, want them to leave and can threaten them with “craft time” or (b) my adult friends have stuck around, had a few drinks, and feel nostalgic for the kids when they were cute and little – we can haul out the glue gun and have our own craft session!</p>

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<p>What a cool idea the middle school letter is!</p>

<p>Skipping church today due to early dance recital call…but then Baccalaureate is this afternoon, so I guess I’ll get church in anyway. The school chorale has always sung at Baccalaureate, so Son has been twice already…but this year, they got some student rock group - that I assume also does contemporary Christian music - to sing instead. I’m not very into that kind of music (we attend a very traditional church with a grand pipe organ instead of a drum set up front). But that is okay…with Son’s choir not singing, one less opportuinty to cry.</p>

<p>Friday night was Son’s final voice recital…lots of good choir friends in the group. And of course, some girl had to sing “Far From the Home I Love” from Fiddler on the Roof…sob, sob, sob…She was only a freshman so I’m sure it wasn’t done to make me cry, but it still did.</p>

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<p>D’s in the cast of Fiddler this weekend, today is her final h.s. musical appearance. The Seniors will be introduced and honored after today’s show. Looking forward to it.</p>

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<p>bblfraser: I do think craft supplies have intergenerational appeal and sometimes it really does the trick to just have stuff “out” and the interesting combos that gravitate to whatever. We do a “deck the halls” session at our congregation and folks wander around and choose a craft to join in on and the conversations that come up between kids and adults would never have happened otherwise. I’m actually hoping that this summer I can get some of the craft clutter organized to donate to the church school or a local preschool because I am fairly certain that even if I get grandchildren they will not make use of 300 popsicle sticks (and the glue will have petrified by the time I have grandkids–I hope, eg: not that soon)</p>

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<p>Sorry have had to skip the last few pages as have no time to catch up fully</p>

<p>missypie I never assign group pojects unless it is in class. I do give kids the option to partner on some projects but let them know that since they are not obligated to work w/ a partner none of the “she’s absent and has our work at her house” nonsense flies.</p>

<p>Spent Thurs 8:00 to Sat 3:30 a.m with half of the Sr. Class who chose to go on the Sr. trip. Overall great trip but exhausting.</p>

<p>Three Cheers for Geek Son YEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW.</p>

<p>CD lol at margaritas by the bucket</p>

<p>Senior board presentations on Thurs for my two. Then really not much else going on TwinK has a math final. Now they HAVE TO GET JOBS!!!</p>

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<p>My goodness I seem to be really behind. Yesterday was graduation. D’s speech was fabulous. She recognized the person who should have been a co-valedictorian with her but didn’t get it because of one non-A in a crappy required 9th grade class. People especially thought that was a lovely gesture. The speech was funny and witty and everyone afterwards was telling her and us how wonderful it was. I was just thrilled that it had finally gotten written. As she walked in she looked so pale and scared but she said once she started speaking she realized she knew all the kids and she just had a good time with it.</p>

<p>D went to work today and will go to another graduation party this evening.</p>

<p>Son left today to go back to Cleveland and tomorrow he moves into his apartment. By the end of the summer we will be officially empty nesters and I’m not sure I’ve even had a chance to figure out what that’s like.</p>

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<p>Weighing in on the important stuff - margaritas in a bucket - we used to get the buckets at Sam’s a lot when we lived in Houston and had a pool. They’re great - just pour the tequila in, pop 'em in the freezer, and you’re good to go.</p>

<p>Oh, graduation? That was weeks ago here! Congrats to all the grads and their wonderful accomplishments!</p>

<p>We’re on to laundry lessons and shopping for the summer trip…</p>