Category: This & That

Last night was Youngest Son’s last band concert. Every year his high school jazz and concert bands (he plays in both) stage a show at the local performing arts centre (yes, I spelled it the Canadian way for this occasion). It’s always quite an evening, full of song (as in singing), excellent music, and a lot of fun. Every year the graduating students band together (little pun) and buy their teacher a goodbye gift. He’s truly an exemplary teacher. I don’t know how he does it. Year after year, teaching those little cretins. Then picking up his saxophone to play with them in the jazz band. Very cool. In my opinion, it takes a certain sort of soul to become an exemplary teacher, and my hat is off to all of you out there who do it. This teacher has been with my son and most of the other kids graduating this year since grade seven, when he also taught part time at the elementary school to get the kids interested in music. That’s six years of teaching the same kids band. I know Y.S. has grown and developed a lot thanks to this teacher.

So, last night it was finally Y.S.’s turn to be among the band grads. They gave their teacher a podium that one of the students had built in woodwork class, and they’d had all their names engraved on a placque for the base of the podium. And it struck me…the last band concert…a few weeks ago the last band trip (a “Magical Mystery Tour,” where the kids literally did not know where they were traveling until they neared their destination, and we parents did not know where they were going either until after all the students had boarded the bus)…Y.S. is studying for his last few tests…next week my last child graduates high school…the following week he writes his last provincial exam (province-wide standardized tests for university entrance).

It’s hard not to get choked up when you’re faced with a lot of sentimental lasts. Twelve years of school rush by so quickly. It doesn’t seem that long ago when he was attending his first Kindergarten class…walking to school for the first time without me…then the first time without his big brother…then the first this and the first that…well, you know how it goes.

After he graduates, he’ll begin a whole new slew of firsts as the generous, ambitious, hopeful young man he has grown into. But, for now, he’s still my little boy in my eyes, and I’m soaking all the joy I can from the lasts.

I’m going crazy helping my two sons organize their college and university educations for September. So no blogging today, not when writing is taking a back seat to Mom Putting on Her Guidance Counselor Hat. Gah, I can’t remember juggling university schedules being this complicated back in the day. Of course, when you’re in Arts, you have some leeway in your course selection. Can’t get into American History? Try European History instead. Believe me, after helping two boys through this jungle and negotiating it myself, I’ve come to realize how much leeway Arts students have compared to Science students. Youngest Son wants to major in Geology and needs to take specific courses in his first year across the board. However, we live in a town where both the local college and the nearest university (next town over) are both small enough that, between lecture and lab courses, we are facing big scheduling conflicts. Cross your fingers that things work out. If you don’t find me around here for a few days or I’m just posting links to other places on-line, you’ll know why. The Mom duties must come first. Then the writing. Then the blog.

However, I do have a treat today. Yesterday, Avery Beck answered my call for the Cutest Baby MeMe. Hop on over to her blog and have a gander at the very, very, extremely cute baby picture of her son. I can’t get over that smile. He’s definitely in the running for Cutest Baby.

If anyone else wants to play, check yesterday’s post. Give me a baby picture to link to tomorrow!

Today is Dadbert’s birthday. Happy birthday, Dadbert!

Dadbert is my new blog nickname for my father. I call him Dadbert quite frequently, and it’s more respectful than “Old Man,” which is another of my nicknames for him, so I decided it made a better blog nickname for He Who Gave Me Life than Mon Pere. Also, Dadbert doesn’t require an accent. So Dadbert it will be. Live with it. 🙂

What’s the news in the blogosphere? Writing or non-writing? From writers or non-writers? Myself, I had a bit of a tough writing week last week. Oh, I made progress, but every single sentence was like pulling teeth. Can I blame it on Mercury Retrograde? Or hormones? Or both? I think I will. However, now the hormone cloud has lifted, and the writing is moving along much better. In fact, I’m nearly to the NaNoWriMo mess of already drafted scenes for this project. I’m so close, I can breathe on them. I’m so close that I’ve started re-reading the NaNo scenes to ensure they and those I’m writing now will still bridge to each other. And you know what? I think they will. This gives me no end of joy. You mean there was a purpose to my NaNoWriMo experiment? I should know more next week.

Now, I open the floor to those brave enough to comment (yes, ye Commenters are a brave lot). What’s going on in your neck of the woods? Any news to share? If you have no news and you just want to give me a pat on the back, I won’t stop you.

Oh, and come back tomorrow, because I’m starting my very own MeMe! One big difference, I’m not tagging anyone. Participation in Cindy’s MeMe is strictly voluntary. So if you don’t come back, you don’t get to see what it is. And wouldn’t that be a shame?

 

As promised last week, evidence of my patheticism as a gardener. Keep in mind, there are dozens of tulip bulbs planted in this garden:

Yet, aside from these, um, beauties, only a few purple tulips and one yellow tulip bloomed this year. No scarlets at all that I can recall.

Try not to focus on the mucky gravely bits around the garden wall (I’ve cleaned up it up since taking this picture, I promise). Try to focus on the fact that I built the wall myself!

I have a theory regarding my lack of tulips this year. It’s either the fault of the freak snowstorm in April freezing my flowers as they were trying to grow, or it’s the fault of this Evil Entity:

Keisha. Born a scant year ago, the formerly precious Keisha faithfully used her litter box until this spring, whereupon she discovered my tulip garden and proceeded to commandeer it for her own nefarious purposes.

Evidence:

See the dig holes behind the tulips? The dirt scooped out of the garden? Well, it wasn’t me, I can tell you that much. No, Keisha is the guilty party, and I hereby sentence her to twenty lickings by Allie McBeagle.

Here’s my worry… When the tulips have had their day (the bulbs are now gone, but Little Pisser tells me the still-green stalks “feed” the bulbs for next year’s crop), I like to fill this garden with bedding plants. I may not be much of a gardener, but even I can’t bear to leave the dirt patch beside our kitchen door devoid of color. How do I stop the Evil Entity that is Keisha from digging up my bedding plants? Aside from throttling her, that is, because I wuv her!

Help! Any tips from gardening experts out there?

To all my American friends.

See, I can write a short blog post. Huh.