reunited

...and it feels so good.

This weekend was my reunion.
Awesome.

No, it really was awesome.

The funny thing about high school is that it is a short time in one's life--maybe the shortest stage--but it is the time in life when we develop our identity, which makes it a very significant period of time. Most people would never in a million years want to go through high school again, and I am in the majority, for sure; however, it's still fun to go back once every decade to see what everyone's been up to and to see the people who helped you establish your identity (that you have probably--hopefully-- shed for new identity by the 20 year reunion).

The ten year reunion, which I've whined about possibly too much, was a cliquey event. Ten years isn't a lot of time to pass between graduation and reunion. There may be some insecurities that remain, some old relationships that still hurt or cause one to feel embarrassed (not speaking from personal experience. Ha!), and you're also still trying to establish your place in the adult world.

By the twenty year reunion, we're married, maybe divorced and remarried; most of us have kids; careers are mostly established; identities are more secure and are likely vastly different than the identity one had in high school (thank god!)...everything feels more settled. At least that's how I felt, and I'm one of those people that thinks everyone feels the same way I feel.

Okay, so it's TWENTY years later, and this reunion did not feel cliquey to me at all. Of course I was hanging with my girls, but I also chatted up people that weren't part of my high school group. Most of the women looked great. Amazing, even. The guys were all men. It's weird how that happens. Some were heavier, bulkier...a few had less hair. They all wore their new looks well, though.

I only had one person who was a complete ass to me, which is exactly how he was in high school. Oh well, no worries. Obviously not everyone matures and grows in 20 years, so KH, maybe at the 25 or 30 year reunion, you can act like a reasonable mature adult.

My favorite part of the reunion was just seeing the girls I hung out with in high school (RB, JM, RR, HM, SJ, JD), and I even mingled with a few women I wasn't tight with in high school but whom I get on with awesomely now (BSR, that's you).

I missed some people: Andy, Dave, Andrew M, in particular. They were the guys I think of when I think back to high school...maybe briefly they were boyfriends, but more importantly they were boy friends. I hear they are all doing well, and that makes me so happy. Back in high school, I never would have thought that I would care what my classmates would be doing in 20 years, nor would I even imagine that I would be happy, thrilled even, at their successes and happiness. But I am. I can honestly say that being in a room with a bunch of people who really seem to be where they want to be in life--or are headed that direction-- is very uplifting and satisfying.

The gin and tonics help keep that high feeling going, I imagine.

I can't wait for the next reunion...5 years from now, maybe?

unfocused

I have about 6 unfinished blog posts that are just going to whither and die because the relevance of the posts are simply...irrelevant.

Succinctly: Paige graduated. We both survived. Summer is awesome but far too short.

We just returned from a 10 day trip to SC. It was fun. Humid, hot but wonderful. Then we came home to record temps, which I am loving. It helps to have air conditioning and a pool. This past winter was so long and horrible that I am fully appreciating the heat and sun that we are experiencing now.

Tomorrow night...
Night One of The Reunion.
Mount Si Class of 1989
'89 Rulz

It's an all-weekend-long event. Friday: meet at a bar. Saturday: The main event at the casino. I'm excited to see several people. It should be fun. There's some people who aren't going that I'd like to see, but oh well. Oh, and major excitement: there's a nightclub with a dj. I have so been craving to go to a club, but I don't want to be That Old Lady at the club. I'm hopeful that at a casino (in Snoqualmie no less), my age will be less of an issue. I'm probably delusional.

Sunday is the family picnic, which Paige doesn't want to go to because she doesn't want to be That Kid: the one that was born soon after graduation. But she's so not That Kid. There were a lot of babies born around the time she was born--more than I knew of anyway.

This should be a good weekend, but it'll probably make me feel ooollllllldddddd. Ugh.

5 days...

...until Paige is supposed to graduate.

We'll see.

This week is going to suck so bad; I'm going to be stressed. She's going to be stressed. We won't know until Friday whether she can graduate, and even if she does earn the credits she needs, we won't know if they will let her walk until Friday. I have to admit that I am really angry at Paige for letting this happen.

All that said:

Mom and dad, I'm sorry.

I have a few friends who want to come to Paige's graduation; I thought that was very thoughtful of them. Paige's first Girl Scout leader, who is now a very dear friend, wants to come, and Wayne's co-worker, who went down a very similar path during her son's senior year. Actually, both Shawn and Tamme have kids that had senior years very much like Paige's. The situation Paige is in is not all that unusual.

Paige's prom was this weekend, and I guess she had a great time.

Brian and Paige


Emerald Ridge, 98374
(Clockwise from left)): Harrison, Lauren, Brian, Paige, Amanda, Jade, Matt, Tony, Dallas & Brian.

I am so ready for Paige's senior year to be over. It's been hell. I was so looking forward to having a year that would go smoothly; a year to just enjoy and reminisce about her childhood. So not happening.

I do plan to spend Saturday night pretty well intoxicated whether she graduates or not. I think I'll bring out the Patron Silver and do some shots. Actually, I think we'll have to have a party for ourselves!

Snews

20 Year High School Reunion (Go, Wildcats!):
Paid for, which means I have to go. Damn. No, I'm excited to see the old Mount Si Alumni Classof '89 (ROCKS!). Should be fun...and there's bound to be booze. Can I just say now that I think Jen Mathwig, Sabrina Johnson, Andrew Hassard, Andy Archibald and Dave Cottrell should attend this time. Throw in a Jason Gregory for good measure... It'll be good to see others, too, but thems was my peeps--good and bad. Ups and downs. Renae will be there, though, so I'm good.

Weight Watchers:
I am now an official Suburban Mom. I joined WW a couple of weeks ago, and I'm progressing slowly and steadily. It's been easier to follow than the South Beach Diet we were on a few years ago. Thank gods.

Power 90:
My dear friend, Shawn, has been talking to me about Power 90 for a few months. She has lost inches upon inches. I'm giving it a go. We're also joining the Y. Time to try Zumba, maybe?

Sasquatch!:
Ahhh... we thought we weren't going to be able to go, but we pulled it off last minute. Maya is going to stay at my mom and dad's with my sister and her kids. Britt is going to her mom's, and Paige is here or there or wherever she may be.
Last year was amazing. This year,the weather should be perfect. No rain or clouds in the forecast, and it should be nice and toasty. I can't wait!

The kids:
20 days until school is out (20 school days, anyway), and I can't wait for this year to be over. It was the year of the blahs for Maya. The year of me pulling my hair out because of Paige. One down (Paige) and one to go (Brittani). Brittani, btw, is so on top of everything it gives me goosebumps. Portfolio: check. SAT: scheduled for June 6th. Community Service: in the works. As stressful as Paige's senior year has been, I think Brittani's will be a breeze.

We're planning another trip to see Mickey and his crew in late April or early May of next year to celebrate Brittani's graduation. We are very excited!!

more is realistic

Yes, less is more, but sadly, more is realistic.

We've been dealing with some issues in our family. Nothing new. I think they're resolved for now. When you have teenagers, there are bound to be issues.

Last night we were hashing out the current issues at the dinner table. As we were in the midst of this ordeal, we get a phone call from the YMCA. Awhile back Maya tried out for their swim team, and she made it onto their novice level team waitlist. The phone call was letting us know that Maya is at the top of the list.

Please ignore the post below that states we are going to remain unscheduled for the summer. I guess we'll be doing swim team at least June through August. Three times a week.

less is more

Last week was another week from hell.
Busy at home, school and (for Wayne) work. I was a woman on the verge; I have weeks where I totally understand the alcoholic housewife stereotype from the 1950s. I so would have tossed back a few gin and tonics before noon, if I thought I could get away with it. I do have to drive carpool pick-up most of the week, you know.

Class.
Paige shopping & hair.
Prepare for the final 5 Girl Scout meetings.
Accompany Paige for senior portraits.
Maya field trip (I organized this one: 148 people attending the movie "Earth").
I finally cooked dinner on Thursday night.
Wayne attended a Big board meeting (huge stress).
Girl Scout meeting.
Girl Scout event (Brainiacs).

So we trudged through the week and suddenly it was Saturday afternoon, and I collapsed.

I came home from the Girl Scout event (fun!), and the house was clean. Wayne is a super-speedy cleaner of the house, and I am the easily distracted ADD cleaner of the house. He gets done in two hours what takes me all day.

We chilled all the day long, but for some reason, we couldn't ditch the kids. In fact, when one left, two more came and took her place. We went from 3 kids in the house to 4 kids! It's hard to fully unwind when the house runneth over with teenagers.

I think I'm going to take my mom's advice and be largely unscheduled this summer. No swim team (we quit and are officially done at the end of April). No YMCA. Just two weeks of Girl Scout day camp for Maya. That should leave us lots of time and some extra money for camping (and Brittani's senior year).

Paige graduates in a few weeks (June 13th). We're having her Graduation Party May 31st with our family and friends and her dad's family and friends. I think it will be a blast. I am still waffling between strangling the girl and embracing the girl. She's seriously making me feel nutso.

senior portraits

Pictures of the kid who is causing my hair to turn gray and my head to pound:
Here and here.

Class of 1989...2009...2019

whooosh!

This past weekend I attended a Troop Camp Training for Girl Scout leaders who are taking their troops camping; I went with my friend and co-leader, Sus. I had a blast, and I also rediscovered that there is a certain type of GS mom that I do not want to be.

We camped at Camp St. Albans in Belfair; I love Camp St. Albans. It's the camp both Paige and Brittani attended for resident camp, and we troop camped there in previous years as well. It was so odd to be standing in the same areas that I stood with my older girls--places I haven't been to in years. I don't know that I have had that feeling since Maya has been born, even when we may have done the same things as i did with the older two.

It was the most bizarre sense: I was standing in Okashi, which is a lodge where crafts were done when the kids were at troop camping. I could totally envision the tables set up; the kids sitting around the tables making lanyard animals; the mom I had a conversation with about modesty in the US versus Europe... it just all came flooding back. Paige and Brittani--ponytailed and toothless, or their teeth big and oddly growing in (happens to us all!). The flag ceremony in front of the Lodge of Nations. All of it. Staying in the Pixie cabins with Brittani's troop, and trekking down the hill to the Pixie program shelter. Girls counting off during headchecks.

I nearly cried.
My girls are growing up, but their past was right in front of me. I felt like I could touch the little girls that that they were, but the images just fizzled away. I can honestly say that was the first time I ever had anything like that happen. It was overwhelming.

We go troop camping that first weekend in June. New memories waiting to be made!

the deciding factor

This morning I toured a new school in our district that I am considering enrolling Maya into next year. The principal (Mr P) took an hour out of his morning to personally show me and my friend around the school.

It was very impressive.

• Brand new: just opened for the first year in the '08-'09 school year. K-6, as are all the elementary schools in our district (if I were the King of the District, I would change them to K-3 schools and 4-6 schools, but I'm crazy like that).
  
• Friendly staff: You must walk through the office to enter the building (safe), and the office staff were super nice and welcoming. Teachers and paras who came through were also friendly and made a point to say "hello" or "good morning" to us as we waited.
• Responsive classroom: This is a concept that was used in Maya's K and 1st grade classes, and it fits very well within the co-op structure; however, Responsive Classroom is a piece that is being lost in our current program because the teachers who truly advocated for it have left or are leaving. Mr. P really believes in Responsive Classroom; he was actually the principal at our current school when our co-op teachers were really getting into Responsive Classroom. His entire school now operates under that philosophy. Amazing. Every morning he writes a morning message for the students, staff and parents, and that is the first thing they see when they walk into the school. Ever classroom has a morning meeting and they also have an afternoon meeting where kids can add items to the agenda and issues are discussed and a resolution process is begun.
  
• They have the highest number of PTA members and parent volunteers in the whole district (our district is the 9th largest in the state, btw). Very impressive. Being able to volunteer in my kid's class is important to me, and you think that would be a given, but some teachers would prefer parents just make copies and correct papers. In the co-op model that we are in now, parents actually work with kids in small groups or one on one. It's nice to take time from one's day and spend it doing more than just busy work for the teacher.
  
• Low enrollment numbers: the school is built to hold 750 kids, and they have around 600 kids currently enrolled. Our current school is built for 550 and has about 850 enrolled.
  
• Looks good on paper: great WASL scores, not a Title I school.
• Technology: Insane. Each classroom is paired with another and between them, they each have a project room that consists of at least 4 (FOUR!!) computers, plus there's a computer lab *and* a rolling computer lab with laptops for the kids to use. ......... Astounding. Maya's current school has no computer lab. Her classroom has one computer that the teacher doesn't let the kids use. They go down the hall to another classroom to take AR tests, and that is their exposure to technology at school. Dismal, at best. Each classroom at the school we toured uses Smartboards. Maya's teacher last year had to buy a huge white board that she then hung over the existing blackboard. That is the whiteboard that Maya's teacher currently uses. Again...dismal. Kids check in using the Smartboard. The teacher uses a wireless mic to project her voice to the class--no yelling or voice straining. Sweeeet.
  
• The desks that are used are awesome. They aren't those heavy desks that you often see in a classroom; they are lightweight and have a steel grid area underneath for students to store their notebooks and whatever else goes in a desk. They appear to be easy to move around. Most of the classrooms did not put the kids in rows. I think I saw rows used in maybe one 2nd grade class. In K-3 they appeared to be in small groups or horseshoe shape. In 4th-6th grades, the kids make their own choices on where and how they want to sit to learn: alone, at a regular desk, small group, in a lawn chair at a low table, at angled or semi-circle tables. Very innovative.
• Kids eat in the lunchroom and not in class. That has its advantages and disadvantages. I do like the idea of my kid getting out of the classroom more often, though.
• Late start school: begins at 8:55 instead or 8:25. In the morning, half an hour makes a big difference. That does mean that dismissal is at 3:15 instead of 2;45.
  

So that's just a brief list of the great things about the school.
Some things that don't please me:

• Large class size. We're talking about 26 or 27 kids in 1st and 2nd grade. 30 kids in 3rd. 30+ kids in 4th-6th. Maya is currently in a class of 23 kids with 23 sets of parent volunteers coming in weekly. Next year, the class size increases to 24.
• No field trips. The district has a lame policy that does not allow parent-driven field trips, and buses are expensive; therefore, most kids in the district go on maybe 1-2 field trips a year. Co-op is an exception from the no parent-driven field trip rule. The usual field trip(s) in our district are: Karshner Museum (snooze), which is a Puyallup history museum (and is great the first year you go and in 3rd grade, when the kids are finally allowed to enter the tee-pee) is an annual field trip, and sometimes the PTA will help pay for bus transportation to a play or NW trek. Maya has gone on numerous field trips this year with her class--5 in March and April: Pioneer Farm Museum, Little Red Riding Hood play at the pantages in Tacoma (PTA paid for the bus...the entire 2nd grade attended), Karshner, Pippi Longstocking play in Olympia (parent driven) and a private screening of the film Earth at the local movie theater (walking field trip--parent chaperones).

If we leave the co-op, it will be with great sadness. At this point, I think we may stay for one more year and then go to the other school in 4th grade. I don't know. I feel like my kid will do really well at the new school; she already knows people there and has friends who go there. I think she may be more challenged at the new school, which is good. This school year has been such a Brain Jell-o kind of year for her; poor kiddo.

We have some thinking to do.

Oh, here's a picture of Maya doing something FUN and COOL in class recently; they were studying geometry, and they built robots using three dimensional objects. The end results were awesome.