End of an Era!

I’m assuming this is the end. Anything is possible but when Jack leaves FOR COLLEGE next month, I mean, what other shit can I write about? Will he even call me regularly, never mind provide actual instances that I can quote from for this blog? Hmmmm…

A LOT has happened since May the 4th, my last post. It was a literal whirlwind of activity for Jack’s end-of-senior-year activities, graduation (OMG!), prepping for college and waiting for acceptances to come in, selecting a college (UConn-Go Huskies!) and a major in Engineering, oh and just a few other things like selling our home of 18 years!! Yea it’s been crazy and if you add in a few vacations and Jack’s summer internship, there’s hardly enough time to squeeze in a little blog post.

Jack also finished his rowing career for now. His club had an end of season banquet and they wished all the seniors well and sent them off with some nice parting gifts. It was a fun chapter in his life. Jack wont row for UConn (“they practice at 5am Mom!!!”) even through I really wanted him to try. Ah well. 🙂

Jack is currently in DC for a VHS Collection concert and mini vacay with his dad. nice right!!??

But the weeks that we have left to pack and purge and move Jack to UConn and us out of the house are so few.

me: Jack, when you get back from DC we really have to get your things packed for college and your room packed for moving.

Jack: There’s plenty of time for that.

me: Ummm there are only two weekends left until we go on vacation and then come back and move you to UConn.

Jack: Oh that’s plenty of time! I have all the nights after I intern plus I have Fridays off and then those two weekends. My room won’t take that long.

me: But there’s the entire house to do, not just your room.

Jack: Isn’t that what we pay movers for?

me: Gahhhhhhh!

Ready for prom

The GRR crew

Graduation 🙂

Our trip to UConn for orientation

Last time on the dock at GRR, Housatonic River

The final oar carry

Family Resemblance

Ok this one was weird, me and Jack a few years ago using a Snapchat filter to swap faces. (Shudder)

I picked Jack up from school today, and, well ok, actually I forgot to pick him up because I was on a work call and so he had to text and call me to remind me to come get him. i felt terrible!

Jack: Geez mom I’m your only son, how do you forget me? I’ll be gone soon enough!

(Referring to college, where he will be in August. Helloooooo 4 months!!! And Hellooo UConn!)

This was said as we were driving home from me finally picking him up at school. Ok actually he had walked partway home so I actually picked him up on the side of the road. heh heh.

Anywayyyy…

I had on my usual work-from-home ensemble of hoodie, baseball hat and sneakers. And pants. Definitely had pants on.

Jack: Mom. Turn and look this way for a second.

me: What? Why, do I have something on me?

Jack: (poignant pause) You know, you really have Grandpa’s facial features.

Now, mind you, at this moment Jack’s college career was about to become a distant dream and I was visualizing how much yard work I could make him do as penance.

me: But, Grandpa with definite feminine flair, right? (As I flipped my second-day pony tail in his direction.)

Jack: Oh yeah, there’s a flair.

Now at that point, a school bus came roaring by and it distracted me, so I didn’t notice until just now that I didn’t get a very clear answer on that last point. a flair, hmmm?

Yep, of my siblings, two of us look like our dad and two of us look like our mom.

me: Well you look a little like your dad, but only because you’re male and have his hair color and wear glasses like him. And have a giant head like him. The rest is ALL from me! And … Grandpa apparently.

😬😬😬

He didn’t have much to say about that!!!

Wiping the slate clean, so to speak.

Photo from a concert we went to Sunday night in NYC. That’s a can of water btw. 😆🥳

I picked Jack up from rowing practice today after work. In the winter they workout at a gym and lift weights and use the rowing machines, etc. Not as fun as being in the water!

(Side note, Jack is in my shower singing “That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra at the top of his lungs. He’s got a great voice, and can definitely sing the low parts haha.)

Anyway, we got home and I remembered the cleaning girl had been there. (I’m allergic to dust!! Don’t judge!!) 😆 She’s amazing and even makes little bows and roses on the tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls. Ahhhh. Such pampering.

me: Hey take your shoes off, the house was cleaned today and I want to keep it that way for at least a little while. Ok? I look down and notice sand on the floor already. Gah!

Jack: I know, I was home after school, remember?

(Totally forgot his dad picked him up from school earlier…I was at the office all day. And that explains the dirt eh?)

me: Oh yeah, I didn’t remember that.

Jack: I wiped my butt with a flower.

me: Sigh.

😵🤣😆

Which came first, the chicken or the bagel?

Jack and I are currently on a train heading into NYC for a concert (D Smoke, winner of the 2019 show Rhythm & Flow) If you haven’t seen it go watch it! I didn’t spoil it for you. Everyone knows D Smoke will win. He’s that good!

Because I knew we’d probably be skipping lunch I wanted to make a pretty good breakfast. We had scrambled eggs, potatoes, lox and cream cheese (mine in half of a red pepper, Jack’s on an everything bagel.) So good and so filling!

Jack was inhaling his bagel and a piece fell on his plate. I saw him pick it up and look at it strangely.

Jack: Hey what’s this, chicken?

me: What are you talking about? It’s a piece of the bagel.

Jack: No, look at it. I think it’s chicken.

So I took the piece of food from him, as I have been doing for 16 years lol, and saw it was a piece of bagel.

me: Jack, it’s a piece of your bagel with cream cheese on it.

Jack: Oh it looked like the dry chicken that you…

He saw my expression…

Jack: … you know… when chicken gets real dry, it looks like that.

me: Yeah good save. What I’m wondering is why your first thought is not that it’s a piece of chewed bagel but that it somehow became chicken…

Jack: How would I know, you made it.

Logic 100.

Jack turned 17!

Happy 17th Jack!

And mom has not updated the blog. How did I get here? 🧐😫😵

We had a small family birthday dinner on Tuesday for Jack with a tiny little cake. His friend celebration is this weekend which includes a much better and prettier cake (peanut butter/Reese’s, his choice) and a day of skiing with friends. Therefore this was more of a symbolic cake hahah.

Jack art directed my photos, naturally. i got him a skateboard by one of his favorite artists, Vexx (go check him out on Instagram). His dad got him the Apple Pencil to go with his new iPad.

Jack: Mom, put the skateboard behind the cake like this. And then, no no no don’t aim at it like that you have to go like this.

He gets in front to demonstrate pretty much what I was going to do anyway.

Jack: then just get the candles and I’ll go behind it.

me: You done? Get over there because the candles are melting.

Dennis (Jack’s dad): Is glitter getting on the cake? I don’t want to eat melted glitter.

me: The glitter is edible.

Jack and Dennis: No it isn’t!

me: Sigh.

So I took the photo and we sang happy birthday. Well, I sang. Dennis scraped glitter off the cake.

And then we ate the cake and Jack hung the skateboard on his wall. He turned another year older as easy as that. Coincidentally he was born on a Tuesday so this brought us right back to a bunch of memories.

Before bed we watched Rhythm and Flow on Netflix. It’s a good show/contest about trying to find the best new rap star. I loved the series and had watched it in 2020 when I was home. Home a lot. I got Jack into it and he’s hooked. I won’t spoil the ending but we are going to see the winner perform in NYC next weekend and we are both so excited!!! Eeeeeeee!!! Though it’s in a Sunday night. Oh well. YOLO as Jack used to say a few years ago. You only live once!

When the show ended jack said he had to go study for a Spanish midterm. I started telling him about the day he was born and how he came 5 weeks early and how I didn’t get an epidural and his dad passed out, etc.

Jack: Well that took 45 minutes! I have to go study.

me: Well I guess I had to get that story out. Do you see what i went through? 2 days of labor. Birthdays should really be celebrations for the moms. Look at all the work I did omg!!

Jack: yeah that’s not happening. Don’t eat the rest of the cake.

me: Sheesh Jack.

And there you have turning 17. Driving. Prepping for midterms, finalizing college financial forms and waiting for acceptance letters to roll in. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Omg I almost forgot I have to update the blog header again! Someone remind me in the comments LOL!! oh, and Jack got an97 on that midterm. Yay!!

One smile!

Art director

From our hike last Sunday