Friday Night Cruelty

This has been a weird week that culminated in meanness last night. Maybe it's Halloween. I may be a tad verbose, so if you're in a hurry-skip me.

Tuesday morning the high school principal arrived to find the square TP'd,a picnic table in the tree in the center of the square and every lock on every door...super glued. He had to climb into a window to get into the school. I am a horrible person, but I secretly laughed. Out loud.

They managed to bully and threaten the student body into coughing up some names and eventually 4 boys came forward and confessed. I suspect that there are more boys involved, but these are the only 4 that will own up to it. The boys' parents are going to pay to replace the locks. Two of the boys were starters on the varsity football team and weren't allowed to play at the game Friday. They will also probably be required to attend alternative school for a looong time, in addition to regular school. So far, I have no objections. Here's the mean part...they (and their parents) were told that the boys could attend the football game, but would be required to sit on the opposing team's side. The administration said that our town didn't want or need them on our side. Two of the boys' mothers told me this. This same administration that last year allowed 4 boys who were arrested for shoplifting and drug possession on a Saturday night to PLAY the following Friday. Apparently "our town" has no problem with this type of activity, but pranks well that's another story. The same administration did nothing when 3 of the basketball girls placed 4 picnic tables on top of the canteen building damaging the roof. Inconsistent, don't you think.

Other meanness. The danceline. One of the danceline members' grandfather died Thursday(the funeral was this afternoon). At the pep rally the sponsor got onto the girl for using a flag that I made her for her birthday during the pep rally. (She also got onto our girls about 3 football games ago for cheering the team on, but I digress). The girl and her mom decided that she would dance at last night's game anyway. The mom thought it would be a good destraction and it was the last scheduled game. The mom checked the girl out at lunch to go to the funeral home and be with her family. The danceline captain decided to change the uniform that afternoon. She, nor the sponsor called the girl to let her know. She showed up in the wrong top. They live about 25 minutes from the school and had come straight from the funeral home. The sponsor jumped all over the child. Accused her of having an attitude and gave her a demerit. Nice, huh. The mom tried to talk to the sponsor and got yelled at and a finger shook in her face. This exchange occurred next to my car. I'm sure my jaw was in my lap. This same sponsor refused to allow two members to go to tutoring last week. I was present for that conversation as well.

Now the weirdness, I was reprimanded for NOT signing the permission slip I have previously ranted about. This remprimand came after I made the comment (AS I was signing the damned thing) that it was "the most on crack thing I've seen in awhile". I was a little sarcastic, but still I'm pretty sure that I'm not 6 anymore. Seriously, reprimanded. Told EXACTLY why it was necessary, ad nauseum.

And the football team got the crap kicked out of them. Friday night sucked.

Permission Slips

I thought I'd share in interesting tidbit with y'all. Lullah is on the danceline as you know. The school requires them to ride a bus to away games. A bus that we have to pay for. That's going to a game that all of the parents go to anyway. But I digress. Here is one of my favorite things about the bus ride. The permission slip. Not for her to ride the BUS, for her to ride HOME WITH ME. That's right. I have to sign and "permission slip and release of liability" for my child to ride with ME!

Here it is:
I _________,parent/guardian of____________ do desire for my child to ride home from _________________________(list activity and location, i.e. foot ball game at Caldwell Parish) on_______________(date) with me. I acknowledge that because the (our) Parish School Board will not be providing this transportation, they have no control over the person providing transportation. I hereby release the (our) Parish School Board from any and all
liability associated with the transportation of my child for this trip and do agree to hold the (our )Parish School Board harmless from and and all claims associated with this trip.

Y'all read it right. I have to give my daughter permission to ride home with ME!

Now, if I don't sign this are they going to prevent her from getting in my car? Are they going to physically prevent her from riding with me?

Seriously, I think it's messed up.

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The Hemor~Rite Cryotherapy Device is just the world needed. Do I put this next to the ice-cubes or the ice cream?

Now that I've survived...

Halloween is over. In case you hadn't noticed.

I've been thinking about it though. I loooove Halloween. I always have. My mom can not stand it. Hates it. For no reason, she just does. She isn't overly religious so that's not why. She just doesn't like it, at all.

On the way home Saturday we drove through a small town near our even smaller town. There were about 6 people holding signs on the side of the road. The signs included...Fall Festivals are a compromise to Satan and my personal favorite Jesus Vomits Lukewarm Christians (how's that for a visual). I can understand people not wanting to participate in Halloween. If it's not your thing, then don't. What I don't understand is the interest in the last few years on whole heartedly bashing those of us who enjoy it.

A number of the churches here are vehemently against Halloween. It encourages a curiosity in witchcraft etc. Now, y'all, there ain't exactly a burgeoning coven that I'm aware of here in town. I could be wrong though. I understand that Halloween tends to bring out the idiot in some people (like the kids that superglued the locks at the high school last night). But some of my most vivid memories are Halloween related. I was the best Wonder Women EVER! AND the best Princess Barbie EVER. Thank you very much.

The lady who made popcorn balls and candied apples was always our first stop. (did everyone have that lady in their town?) She put them on her pool table and would let you pick your own. Y'all I've been to the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I've seen sunsets and rainbows. I've seen new born babies and new brides. I have seen the fall leaves in all their glory. Y'all get the point. But I have yet to see anything as beautiful as that lady's pool table on Halloween. She turned out the room lights and left the light over the pool table on. Those treats were illuminated from above. Almost, I dare say, a heavenly light.

Halloween will never be about evil to me. It will always be princesses and Wonder Woman. Witches yes, but extremely cute and sweet ones. Or sexy as I've gotten older. Halloween will always be that excitement I felt when we turned up the drive of the pool table house. Snickers bars, peanut butter cups, Halloween carnivals and cake walks. That's Halloween.

Happy Halloween

Considering that I didn't buy the first piece of Halloween candy, we had an ok holiday.

We got home about an hour and a half ago from a Halloween costume dance. Lullah and former best friend who is now best friend again went as Paris and Nicole. Yes, Hilton and Richie. Yeah, I was thrilled. Luckily the costumes consisted of a denim mini, cowboy hat, western style shirt and cowboy boots. Oh and a beanie baby dog. It could have been worse.

The dance was for high school girl scouts and their dates and jr. high girls and their dates. The membership exec was hoping to recruit some jr. girl scouts. Their are no girls at the jr. high signed up for a troop. Alas, I think our efforts won't be successful. Their were about 6 girls from the jr high there. One was dressed like a "slutty angel". The others weren't in costume, thank god.

Lullah and her friends had a good time. They danced for 2 hours straight.

Not a bad way to spend Halloween if you ask me.

Glitter Glitter EVERYWHERE!

Lullah and three of her friends spent about 2 1/2 hours last night making signs. The high school football team is tied for second place in our district (an amazing feat). They made about 10 signs, 4 pennants, and tombstones with the schools' we've defeated names and the game scores. They also made treat boxes for the players. We called the head coach and he met us at the field house. They put up a couple of the signs in the locker room and they left the treat boxes in the boys' lockers. They then placed the signs and tombstones in the "square" (where the students congregate at lunch). One of the girls' mom and I drove them to the school. It's been a long time since I helped decorate for a big game. I may never get the glitter out of my carpet. IT IS EVERYWHERE! I found some in my bathroom on the other side of the house! Lullah was philosophical about it-"consider it bling."

If I get any lazier...

If I get any lazier they will have to put me on a ventilator. I have officially crossed over into DAMN, You're Lazy country.

I have spent the last two day, in my pjs. Yesterday I didn't get dressed until 2:30, that's about what I'm shooting for today. I may wait until after I pick up Lullah. We have football game tonight so I will have to beautify for that, so I may just postpone the getting dressed.

Have I mentioned that I also LOATHE house work. I would love to be one of those women that find it therapeutic to clean. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the after effects of cleaning. That pine oil smell and non-dusty glass sparkle is pretty! I just don't want to be the one to get it to that point.

Ok, I'm going to clean the bathroom. But I'm doing it in my pjs. So there!

Tylenol Tales

My dad went to the MD last Friday am because his knee was bothering him (apparently had been for about a week). He had an inflamed ligament. No biggie, but it was hurting. The MD sent him home with some prescription Tylenol ( I assume Tylenol 3 -it's got codeine in it).

Dad calls this morning. He said he had been taking over the counter Tylenol since last week, 650 mg every 4 hours. Around the clock. Oh, my tale gets better.

Now, I had SPECIFICALLY told him last week at the football game DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL when you take tylenol. Twice, at least. He told me today that his knee is getting a little better. I asked if he had been drinking while he was taking the tylenol.

"No," says he.
"Well make sure you don't, it's dangerous" says I.
"Ok, I've just had a beer before bed that's all" says he.
"Um, Dad that's drinking"
"Well, it's just a couple of beers before bed" he explained.
*Note that the amount has increased
"Dad, you can't drink and take tylenol. Alcohol is excreted through your liver, so is TYLENOL!"I explained.
"Well, three or four beers won't hurt will it?"he asked.
*Once again, note that our amount has increased.

Now at this point I should let you know these bits of information.
1)My father graduated with honors from college.
(sooo, he isn't stupid!)
2)He once owned a liquor store.
(sooo, he know what alcohol IS)
3)He drinks approximately 3-4 Evan Williams and 7up cocktails per night prior to bed. This after going to the local bar and drinking beer(I'm guessing probably 3-6) every afternoon.
(So I guess 3 beers IS a major slow down in consumption.)

I did manage to not beat my head against the wall. I only hope that he ACTUALLY listened to me and doesn't continue to drink and take the damn tylenol. The man's poor liver has been abused enough. The conversation was actually a little longer than my retelling of it, but I honestly don't think he'll listen to me. I also had to explain that acetaminophen and tylenol are the SAME medication. I only HOPE that he hasn't been double dosing himself. Yikes!

Diabetes

Y'all may have figured out that Lullah is a diabetic. Or maybe you haven't. The Husband is too. She was diagnosed at age 8 and he was diagnosed at 20. They take between them 8-10 shots daily depending on their blood sugar levels. They each check their blood sugars at least 4 times a day. I once added up the number of injections and fingersticks per year. I wish I hadn't done that.

I'm bringing this up because of a conversation Lullah and I had this evening over supper. We were discussing having babies(see my rant about teenage pregnancy). She stated, rather firmly I thought,that she plans to adopt. When I questioned her a little further, she in a round about way alluded that the main reason is she's afraid of what it would do to her blood sugars. And that if she couldn't maintain control what it would do to a baby. She's 15. She's already worrying about shit like that. She worries about dialysis, amputation, blindness. Damn.

About 2 years ago, we were talking and she said that she went to bed every night afraid that she wouldn't wake up. She said she was afraid she would die. At that time, we were having trouble with her blood sugars getting very low during the night. I would check them every one-two hours most nights. She has had 2 hypoglycemic seizures and the husband has had 1. Thankfully, it has been a while since they've had them.

My kid was aware of her mortality at age 13, probably younger. She figured out pretty early that life isn't fair. I worry about what that has done to her psyche. She seems ok, and we are one of those disgusting families that "talk about" everything. But still, I worry.

One of the things that is particularly sucky for Lullah (her word) is that she absolutely must be aware of EVERY bite of food that she puts in her mouth and her friends eat like crazy.
One of her best friends eats Little Debbies(PLURAL) like there is no tomorrow. That kid eats crap, it's kinda amazing. Lullah not only is careful about what she eats, she gets a pretty good amount of exercise too. She dances at least an hour per day. Most days much more. Still she battles her blood sugars AND her weight. Her blood sugars are not within the range that we (she, her MD, me and the husband) would like to see them. And the MD has stated that she doesn't need to gain another pound. It really does seem like a war sometimes.

What do you say that will make her feel better? I don't think there is anything that will.
*Life isn't fair.
*God doesn't put more on us than we can carry.
*What doesn't kill us will make us stronger.
*There are so many things that are much worse.
*There are so many people dealing with things that are much worse.
*You are brave and fabulous and adversity builds character.
Yeah, we've said all of that. And more.

And so, we just trudge on.

EW EW EW EW!

Cat Box Cake. Recipe can be found here on todays posting.

Rock me like a hurricane!

Um, yeah.

Feel free to rock it.

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Thank you nervyb, you made my afternoon!

On the bright side!

Lullah doesn't have mono.

We have, however, truly enjoyed asking her where she acquired an ailment commonly referred to as the "kissing disease".

Oh, damn!

Even Scarlett didn't use ALL the drapes. Bobby Trendy apparently did.

Red Ribbon Week

It is Red Ribbon week here. It was Crazy Hat Day today at the schools, tomorrow will be Camo Day. Each day is themed. The goal is to prevent drug use.

The dance line participated at a drug-free rally this morning at the high school. The drama club put on a skit, the cheer leaders led a drug free cheer. Drugs are bad, m'kay? That was the message.

I can't help but wonder if the organizers of said events truly believe that they are preventing drug use among teens. Maybe I'm just cynical.

The drug use in our small town is astounding. Meth has hit like a bomb. The thing is, it's adults too. The parents of the teens the rally is aimed at are users, makers, suppliers of drugs. Is a silly cheer or skit going to change perception? Is a kick ass dance going to cause someone to drop the crack pipe? I don't think so.

What do you offer a generation of kids who are more aware of the incongruence of the universe at 16 than I was last year? How do we tell them that drugs will kill them when they live life half dead already?

Lullah is for all accounts and purposes the ideal kid. She has a 4.0 GPA, she's number 1 in her class, she's co-captain of the dance line, she's got tons of friends, she's in numerous clubs. She's a girl scout for pete's sake. She's a parents dream. But, she told me the other day that she's depressed and sad a lot of the time. I see it in her friends too. They are mostly honor roll kids, parents married, no major behavioral problems. If the kids who look like they have it together are feeling depressed, how are the kids that are visibly falling apart feeling? How hopeless are they? Somehow I don't think a anti-drug rally is going to alter the course of those kids' lives.

Late movies

Lullah's girl scout troup (they are now actually called Studio 2B) worked at Sonic yesterday in honor of Make a Difference Day. They plan to use the money they earned yesterday and donations given until November 3 to help provied a treasure box filled with toys for the St. Jude's Childrens Clinic in Baton Rouge. The clinic had to relocate due to hurricane Katrina. They earned 15% of sales while they were there and also collected donations. We plan on going to Baton Rouge to deliver the toys. It will be an ongoing project for the troup.

After Sonic, I took Lullah and 3 of her friends to see Elizabethtown. I WILL be purchasing the soundtrack. It was a really good movie. Orlando loses his american accent a couple of times, but other than that I enjoyed it. Of course, I'm in love with Orlando so he could remake The Omega Code (which BTW is one of the WORST movies I have EVER seen) and I'd go see it.

We got home around 1:30am, so I am now in desperated need of a nap. I'm not going to get to take one, I have gumbo simmering and I can't take a chance that it will scorch. Maybe after gumbo.

Brownie Bakin'

Lullah and former best friend have made up and are as we speak baking brownies. They just finished a batch of cupcakes. Either we have a massive eating disorder in the making (Lifetime movie to follow) or things may end up being ok.

Crap Thursday

Today was a crap day.

Lullah has been sick since Saturday. It started Friday night after the football game. She complained that her throat hurt. Since the game was AWESOME (26-27 WE WON) I just thought it was from yelling. She's progressively gotten worse. I took her to the doc today and he thinks she may have mono. GREAT! He doesn't want her dancing at the pep rally or football game tomorrow until all the lab work is in. Do you have any idea how well that fat lady pole vaulted?

Lullah immediately burst into tears. She just mutely sat there crying. Great big fat silent tears. Slowly sliding down her cheeks. It's the last home game. It's a dance she choreographed. To mine and her favorite song (September-Earth Wind & Fire)(actually a medley-Let's Groove Tonight, September and Shining Star). It's the dance she's been saving all season.

Damn damn damn damn.

I don't know what I'm going to do. Do I do an ostrich and just hope that she doesn't have mono and let her dance?

Oh and he dropped this lovely nugget-if the mono test is positive she's homebound for 21 days. To a 15 year old that may as well be 21 months. She'd miss the rest of football season, over a month of dance class. She has social stuff going on pretty much every weekend of October and the first of November. Once again damn damn damn!

Teen Pregnancy

Lullah was pissed when I picked her up after dance line practice this afternoon.

There are 3 girls pregnant at her high school of 250ish students. They are of course a topic of much discussion. That's what she was pissed about.

Prior to practice the dance line members were visiting and topic A was the pregnant girls. Apparently they got ripped on by the girls. The general feel was that they (the preggies) should be ashamed, how embarrassed the dance line girls would be if they were in their position, etc. This is a touchy subject for Lullah (and me). I was almost 5 months pregnant when the husband and I got married.

I've always been honest about it with Lullah. She knows how hard it was. She knows that I've been the topic of conversations that probably went very much like the one she sat in for this afternoon. One of the things she said was that it pissed her off that no one was gossiping about the fathers of said babies. No one said they should be ashamed or embarrassed.

I wish I had easy answers for her.

In a perfect world those girls wouldn't be pregnant. It would be slutty for boys to sleep around-not just boys being boys. In a perfect world girls wouldn't revel in one another's misfortune. In a perfect world people wouldn't revel in one another's misfortune.

All I can tell her is this. Sometimes the road we intended to travel is detoured. What we do on that detour is up to us.

What Dreams May Come?

I've been thinking about Mary's funeral. There wasn't an empty spot in the church. There were around 1000 people that came to the funeral home the night before.

When my turn comes around, what will my service be like? Will anyone want to come? Will they come out of some sense of obligation? God I hope not. What will people say? I hope they don't say I look good. Will people say to one another on the street-"did you hear? Kim died. Isn't it sad?" Or will they say "who? I can't place her."

The truth is I hope they miss me. A lot. I don't want to be replaceable. I want the world to be sad when I'm no longer in it. I know that sounds selfish. But it's the truth.

Jesse Metcalf

I stole these photos from Dana. Now, if I can just figure out how to get myself a yard boy.