many different topics all rolled up in one tasty post

I hate when bad things happen to kids. It just the suckiest thing ever.
Two bad things happened to teens in our community this week. One incident was the shooting at Foss High School in Tacoma. I can't imagine how that would feel to be a parent of a child who attends that school, to hear about the shooting on the news, to not know if your child is okay. Ugh.

The second awful incident actually hit much closer to home but didn't make national news.
A girl who went to a high school in our district died on new year's day. The rumor, or suspicion, is that it was a drug related death. Paige wasn't friends with Danielle McCarthy, but they do have mutual friends.

From what I have read and heard on the news, and Paige confirms, the girl wasn't a party girl. She didn't drink or use drugs, but she died while partying. She died far from home, when she was supposed to be staying the night at a friend's house here in town. I am sure that her parents felt about her the same way I feel about Paige: a good kid who has given no real reason to distrust her or her choices.

I completely trust that when Paige says she is at a friend's house that she really is at that friend's house. I expect her to check in with me by a certain time in the morning. She is uaually really good at checking in (we had a bit of an issue thuis morning, however).

Disclaimer: much of what I've heard has been through the media/my kid/my kid's friends, so the info may not be accurate. I take everything i hear with a grain of salt, for sure.

I feel so bad for Danielle's parents. And then to have her friends pretty much bail on her to save their own asses. I swear. If Paige was there when a friend died, I would insist that she speak to the authorities and tell them whatever they needed to know to give the parents any bit of peace of mind, if that is even possible. As far as I am concerned, that is the only moral and responsible thing to do. One friend was there and wouldn't come forward. The friend is over 18 and was concerned about his own liability (so I heard). His mom knew he was there when she died and wasn't making him divulge what he knows. Heh. That would not happen in this house.

The rumor is that she died after taking ecstasy. How does a kid who is not a chronic partier die after using ecstasy? How does she go from not being a user to being a user of an extreme drug like that?

A lot of it comes down to the fact that teens don't think about their own mortality. They are young, vital and invincible. I remember feeling like that. I have taken my share of illicit drugs in my past, and I don't ever remember thinking, "if I take this magic pill, I might never wake to see tomorrow."

Her family will always feel her absence, but one thing that I hope comes out of her unexpected death is that her friends and peers in the community will be truly affected in a positive way by her death. They will, I hope, see that young people can, and do, die from using drugs. Even the very first time. I feel so cliche typing that out, but damn. No kid should die how she died. It was reckless and completely avoidable. I didn't know this girl or her family, but I am so sad for them. Her death has been on my mind all week; it makes me sad and angry, to be honest.

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Now for a totally unrelated topic.

Last night Wayne and I were the recipients of a very wonderful treat: free childcare at our home. Childcare that was not provided by one of our older children.

Paige was out with friends last night; Brittani was out with her BFF, and my aunt came over to watch Maya while Wayne and I went out to dinner and a movie. It was wonderful because we knew that Maya was well taken care of, wasn't being picked on or treated as a nuisance. The kids were able to do what they wanted to do and didn't bitch and moan about babysitting. It was so nice.

We went to The Rock for dinner. They have such good pizza and strong drinks.
Afterwards, we went to The Grand Cinema to see Shut Up and Sing. Yeah, go ahead and make fun of me for seeing a movie about The Dixie Chicks, but those women, they've got moxy. I am so impressed at how they did not allow themselves to be bullied by country radio and asshole country artists (Toby Keith) and fans. It was jaw-dropping to hear some of the things that Americans were saying about The Dixie Chicks in 2003. Jaw-dropping simply because of how ignorant the statements were.

The movie was great and so damn funny and frustrating. I just can't wait until 1.20.09. And I am so glad we bought the new DC CD legally and all that (before we even saw the movie). It really is a good CD-- better than I expected.

Ummm..what else.
Maya is a sickie. 102.5 at my last check (15 or so mins ago). She just fell asleep. Lightly. Poor baby.

The Seahawks apparently just won the wild card game. Oh, Yay.

Ummm, I have a full class now. I think I mentioned that before. It came down to the wire, but now I actually have a waiting list (in case any of the deposits don't make it this week). Such wonderfulness.

Soccer season is officially OVER. Happy dance.
I love soccer. I lovethat Paige loves playing soccer. I hate that soccer is played outside in the freezing cold regardless of weather conditions. Sleet? Hail? Snow? Torrential downpour? None a good reason to call a game.
I was in charge of the money stuff thsi season, and I hated it. But we had a really nice end of season pizza party with trophies for the girls (nice ones, too)-- they finished 2nd in their division in the ditrict. A plaque and $200 gift cert to Home Depot for the coach, who is moving to Arizona. For anyone who may be googling the guy, Todd Speidel is only the best coach I have ever seen coach soccer. I've seen many a coach by now, and he is the most laid-back, encouraging (yet with a touch of hard-assedness about him) coach that I have seen. ALL the girls adore him and really respect the guy. I hope he continues to coach in Arizona because he is really gifted, and it would be a shame for kids to miss out on having such a great coach. His daughter, who was on our team, is also quite an amazing player. She is very dogged out on the field, and she is so damn physical. Rough and tumble.

We will miss them, but Paige thinks she's going to go visit them over spring break. Road trip, she thinks. Ha! Since Todd won't be coaching next year, Paige won't be doing club soccer. She might do high school soccer, though.

I am relieved to see the end of the season but sad that Paige won't be playing with her same team again.

Off to tend to my sickie baby.