(no subject)
Life is stunning...as in, I'm stunned. This has been such a surreal year that I can only hope we're ass deep in normalcy in 2009.
With Cody living with us we've gone from quiet retirement to a house where the kids like to hang out. Believe me, this has nothing to do with our cool, hip personalities (uh huh) so much as it does the high speed internet connections, a 36" and 42" flat screen TV--one high def with all the movie channels--and a larder fully stocked with food and soda. We're usually just wallpaper on the walls of whichever room they're not currently occupying.
Cody's football team is in the state finals, but he's no longer eligible to play because of bad grades. We know he's upset about only watching the games instead of playing, but he also knew the consequences of not keeping his grades up. (Good lord, I sound like a parent!)
He's back with his girlfriend so that's taking a lot of the sting out of not playing football, but it's driving Rickie and me buggy. If you think high school romance is difficult while you're in high school, try watching it--and hearing about it--as an adult. As I mentioned to a good friend just last week, experiencing romance through a teenager is annoying, cloying, and just plain creepy. And everything is so HUGE!!! AND her parents don't care for him--they all have history--and so the two days they can spend together each week are at our house. Rickie's sister and my folks--and a few of Cody's friends parents--"tsk tsk" at me for letting them spend time in his room, or the front room, alone and with the doors closed, but then, they aren't around for my infamous and delightfully spontaneous spot checks.
Rickie and I got to experience our first parent/teacher conference a couple weeks ago. They're probably a lot more fun if your kid is passing his classes, but it wasn't too bad. His teacher's all like him, but feel he's "not living up to his potential." We've been pushing him harder academically since then, and he did manage a C+ on his last Natural Resources test (whoo hoo!), but he really has to be willing to do the work and study.
And have you every tried to reason with a teenager??? Oh. My. God. We know we were more than likely exactly the same way, but we don't necessarily want to relive it! We're not yellers or threateners, so we primarily end up glazed, dazed and confused after one of his explanations. He's like a drive-by alternate universe!
I do around 16 to 18 loads of wash a week--who says straight boys don't change their clothes every 10 minutes and shower two and three times a day...with a new towel every single time! We have tons of food in the house, but never any leftovers (I'm currently 4 pounds over my maintenance weight!!!!), and if I have a five or ten dollar bill in my purse he has a way of sniffing it out and needing it for a school function, lunch, IMPORTANT stuff, whatever. Plus, a very helpful hint for those of you who are frequently surrounded by teenagers with their hands out: Always say, "I want the change back."
We average three trips to and from Beal City a day, and between that and running around for Rickie's mom--who's back living at home now and is even more demanding than before---we spend a lot of time in our car. However, Cody does not like my musical tastes (what does he know, he's only 17!) so I either don't listen to anything at all, or I wait until he's out of the car to pop in a CD. I did FORCE he and his girlfriend to listen to David Sedaris when we drove down to Lansing last Friday afternoon (half day of school). I think they slept through most of it. I tried to tell Cody that it was a "book on tape" and if he paid attention it would probably count as reading. Alas, it didn't work.
Cody's definitely NOT a reader. I spend all my "extra" money on books (and DVD's and music). He informed me a few weeks ago that if I didn't buy books I could buy myself something that I'd mentioned I wanted. I had a really hard time explaining to him that I want the books MORE than I want other things, and that's why I budget money for them.
Our life is nothing like I expected it would be when we retired. We miss the peace and quiet sometimes--okay, a lot--and we really miss leaving the bathroom door open whenever we want, but we love the big doofy kid and can't imagine life without him now.
And when we drive over to Frankenmuth to see Casey Stratton perform next month Cody will NOT be left alone in the house while we're gone. We're arranging for him to stay with his best friend. That means we won't have to worry about he and his girlfriend being alone in the house so we can thoroughly enjoy our afternoon and evening out. And when we get home that night we'll be leaving the bathroom door wide open!!!!
With Cody living with us we've gone from quiet retirement to a house where the kids like to hang out. Believe me, this has nothing to do with our cool, hip personalities (uh huh) so much as it does the high speed internet connections, a 36" and 42" flat screen TV--one high def with all the movie channels--and a larder fully stocked with food and soda. We're usually just wallpaper on the walls of whichever room they're not currently occupying.
Cody's football team is in the state finals, but he's no longer eligible to play because of bad grades. We know he's upset about only watching the games instead of playing, but he also knew the consequences of not keeping his grades up. (Good lord, I sound like a parent!)
He's back with his girlfriend so that's taking a lot of the sting out of not playing football, but it's driving Rickie and me buggy. If you think high school romance is difficult while you're in high school, try watching it--and hearing about it--as an adult. As I mentioned to a good friend just last week, experiencing romance through a teenager is annoying, cloying, and just plain creepy. And everything is so HUGE!!! AND her parents don't care for him--they all have history--and so the two days they can spend together each week are at our house. Rickie's sister and my folks--and a few of Cody's friends parents--"tsk tsk" at me for letting them spend time in his room, or the front room, alone and with the doors closed, but then, they aren't around for my infamous and delightfully spontaneous spot checks.
Rickie and I got to experience our first parent/teacher conference a couple weeks ago. They're probably a lot more fun if your kid is passing his classes, but it wasn't too bad. His teacher's all like him, but feel he's "not living up to his potential." We've been pushing him harder academically since then, and he did manage a C+ on his last Natural Resources test (whoo hoo!), but he really has to be willing to do the work and study.
And have you every tried to reason with a teenager??? Oh. My. God. We know we were more than likely exactly the same way, but we don't necessarily want to relive it! We're not yellers or threateners, so we primarily end up glazed, dazed and confused after one of his explanations. He's like a drive-by alternate universe!
I do around 16 to 18 loads of wash a week--who says straight boys don't change their clothes every 10 minutes and shower two and three times a day...with a new towel every single time! We have tons of food in the house, but never any leftovers (I'm currently 4 pounds over my maintenance weight!!!!), and if I have a five or ten dollar bill in my purse he has a way of sniffing it out and needing it for a school function, lunch, IMPORTANT stuff, whatever. Plus, a very helpful hint for those of you who are frequently surrounded by teenagers with their hands out: Always say, "I want the change back."
We average three trips to and from Beal City a day, and between that and running around for Rickie's mom--who's back living at home now and is even more demanding than before---we spend a lot of time in our car. However, Cody does not like my musical tastes (what does he know, he's only 17!) so I either don't listen to anything at all, or I wait until he's out of the car to pop in a CD. I did FORCE he and his girlfriend to listen to David Sedaris when we drove down to Lansing last Friday afternoon (half day of school). I think they slept through most of it. I tried to tell Cody that it was a "book on tape" and if he paid attention it would probably count as reading. Alas, it didn't work.
Cody's definitely NOT a reader. I spend all my "extra" money on books (and DVD's and music). He informed me a few weeks ago that if I didn't buy books I could buy myself something that I'd mentioned I wanted. I had a really hard time explaining to him that I want the books MORE than I want other things, and that's why I budget money for them.
Our life is nothing like I expected it would be when we retired. We miss the peace and quiet sometimes--okay, a lot--and we really miss leaving the bathroom door open whenever we want, but we love the big doofy kid and can't imagine life without him now.
And when we drive over to Frankenmuth to see Casey Stratton perform next month Cody will NOT be left alone in the house while we're gone. We're arranging for him to stay with his best friend. That means we won't have to worry about he and his girlfriend being alone in the house so we can thoroughly enjoy our afternoon and evening out. And when we get home that night we'll be leaving the bathroom door wide open!!!!