It’s Been a Minute

February blew right into March and now look where we are! My last post was Feb. 1. Wow, how the time flies and how busy we’ve been! So much has happened in that short couple of minutes since I last wrote…

Some of us have started our COVID vaccines, we’ve got a driver’s permit test on the horizon (omg), SAT’s happened, Jack did great, Jack’s rowing practices started up again, a few babies-to-be have been announced in my family, work trips are planned for the fall (what???), it almost deceivingly feels … normal-ish.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We see what’s happening in the rest of the world so we’re not out of the pandemic woods yet. But, it’s nice to see the season’s start to change from cold to slightly less cold (LOL spring in CT is not a thing). We had some amazing warm days and today I wore the full winter coat, hat, gloves and even had snow pelt down on my car! It’s just a cruel cruel season switch as always. And then it becomes 90 degrees and humid.

Ok, enough about the weather. How are YOU doing? We haven’t connected in awhile! Leave a comment about what’s new with you and how you’re handling 2021 so far!

School is still remote for the rest of the year, our choice. In the fall Jack will be in 12th grade. Full time in-person! That will be strange. Right now we’re two remote workers who pass each other in the hall in our sweats, carrying mugs of tea or hot chocolate as we shuffle to the next class/meeting. Very strange indeed, but I gotta say, the animals LOVE having us home. They are so spoiled with attention, and Moca gets walks all day long. PoBo and Luna are taking turns going to the ER because they are so EXCITED, they want to eat ribbons off of packages and have surgery, or run and do a flip off the balcony to break a foot bone. It’s been so FUN!

My COVID stimulus checks are directly proportional to the vet bills I’ve paid in the last year. 100%. Sigh.

So, this was a conversation that I had with my friend Kris, who showed me a post where some mom took her kids’ text messages and made them into wall art. Some were crude, most were funny, and any mom of a teen could totally relate. That led to me spending literally an hour on my phone combing back through my texts to find these “gems” of Sh*t that Jack Said!

Hope to leave you on a cheery note. 😉

(There are just so many, I could make like 10 posts out of this! Maybe I will post a wee bit more frequently now!)

For clarification…I’m blue.

I think we were both getting cranky being on multiple meetings/classes and also trying to look at Jack’s rowing college recruiter website haha.

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I guess I only buy fake cereal

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No clue.

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Well, he IS always hungry. Not sure what was an hour long that would prevent him from eating haha.

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The classic answer when one asks the boy to help.

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I guess I’m a criminal. Or “they” are?

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I stand corrected.

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There are a few more, well quite a bit more actually.

Deserves a part deux and trois I’m thinking.

Merci for reading this far! 🙂

10 questions I still can’t answer!

I had to dig out this blog post from 2011 after finishing a “Supernatural” podcast episode on past lives. (Go find it in Spotify, hosted by Ashley Flowers, part of the Crime Junkie podcast with Brit!) omg love them!

This episode ended with a retelling of a story I am familiar with, the little boy that claimed to be a WWII fighter pilot. He claims to have been reincarnated and could even remember being in heaven and “picking” his parents.

When Jack was small, maybe 3 or 4, he would constantly tell me that he picked his dad and me to be his parents while he was up in heaven. Jack was always very shy about telling me and it felt like he was secretly pleased about knowing this but wasn’t sure if I would believe him.

First of all, we are not religious and didn’t talk a lot about heaven when Jack was 2 or 3. I find the whole concept very interesting and would love to know of any parents out there have had similar conversations with their kids.

If this were true it would be so fun to learn more, however those memories are usually lost when children enter school. Jack used to say a lot of eccentric things!

This old blog post from 2011 showcases a top 10 list of questions I still can’t answer. 🙂

Enjoy!

My 15-yr-old-boy, what a talker

Said no mom ever.

Grunts are the main mode of conversation. Actually, I would take a grunt, because half the time Jack can’t even hear me talking because of whatever is plugged into his ear. After 3 repeats I have to do the shoulder tap. Blank stare. “What??”

Sigh.

So, mainly we communicate via text even when he’s up in his room. Why bother with all the walking and yelling up the stairs, right?

Well, now Jack doesn’t pay attention to his phone (only when his mom calls or texts, ahem…) actually his dad complains of the same thing so it’s not just me. Anyway, I still crack up when I go back and look at our texts. Is this what you all are going through with your teens? Lol. I mean really.

(That’s Jack’s opinion on the food selection at home)

…

This is me reminding Jack that he MUST answer his parents when they text or call. I mean come on!

And what’s with the horse dude????

…

This one is just weird (well maybe I’m weird too now that I read it through…) and yes this actually happened in an executive meeting. Picture me with my phone flashlight crawling under the table to find (save) a tick! I met it out the side door hahahahaha. Ok so I’m a little strange. But that tuck was more afraid of me. I could see it in his 42 eyes.

But this is about Jack not responding to his mom! Let’s all remember that!!

😂

Sunday, Boring Sunday

Ok, let’s be clear. I’m not the one that’s bored. And technically Jack is still, sort of, sleeping so he’s not actually bored…yet. I released Moca into his bedroom and shut the door and could hear the muffled yelps from Jack as he was stunned awake by the exuberant pitbull with a love for burrowing under the covers. Time to wake up whether you want to or not!

I’m wondering if this is what it feels like to be retired. It must. I’ve been working remotely for about a week and a half. By the middle of last week I was losing track of which day it was. I thought Wednesday was Thursday and then didn’t realize it was Fri-Yay!  ??? What’s happening??

Well, for one, our typical schedules are WHACK and Jack and I are trying to co-exist in the kitchen on two different surfaces, each covered with our own working piles. We do want to be in the central area of the house, rather than sheltered away in our rooms. It would just feel even more weird to do that, though we would get the privacy we need. I think we like arguing about things so it makes us happy to share the smaller space and then nitpick each other to death LOL!

When I have to get on a “conference call”, which is now a glorified Facetime chat where we all complain about our hair and the bad lighting, while shushing pets and muffling the phone to answer our rude kids’ demands, Jack tries to banish me to the other end of the house. He can’t concentrate. Hmmm. He’s wearing the mega-expensive ear pods, which during normal times allow him to effectively ignore me when I call him for anything, like walking Moca, or folding his laundry. He can’t hear me for chores, but when I get on a call, suddenly it’s too loud for him 🙂 So I take the call in my bedroom, trying to angle myself so they all see the nice wall and not the pile of laundry on my bed, or the dog that’s sleeping on my pillow. Some people think that’s gross, but it’s a part of life with a pitbull. Who’s with me on that!!?? Moca really does think she’s a human, and that’s just slightly above her thinking she’s a cat.

So, the days are all blending together, work has been getting done but in such a different fashion, and instead of being peppered with interruptions at your office door, or a quick buzz on your phone extension, I now need to get up, walk down the hall, make sure my hair is somewhat brushed, or stuck under a baseball cap, etc. It takes way more time to be interrupted at home. I can’t turn back to my computer and continue typing to show how busy I am! 🙂  And, because the times are so strange, and we’re all dealing with the abnormal situation here, I want to talk to people more. If I call a vendor, I might stay on the phone for a half hour! How’s the family, how’s business, what can I do to help, etc etc. Things are just different and they are going to continue to be different for quite awhile.

Jack has gotten into the routine of schoolwork, chores, Xbox. With breaks for food and the bathroom and occasional shower. We’re saving a TON on water this month. Ahem.

When I ask him to PLEASE please please turn off Xbox and come down to do something, anything with me (cards? ride bikes? draw? movie???) he usually slumps on the couch while simultaneously exhaling… I’m bored! Like, he didn’t even sit down yet and he’s bored. It must be strange for him too… no crowded school halls and classrooms, no after school rowing gang, no friends over, no nothing! Xbox is his social outlet and it does make me happy to hear him cracking up while talking to his friends and playing. He is very loud also. OH, funny story… the other night I heard him talking to someone whose voice I didn’t recognize, and I’m like who’s the creepy sounding guy, uh-uh no way is this happening. So I headed up to his room and barged in. Then I realized it was his dad on speakerphone LOL! Jack was making wild hand gestures to shoo me out as they talked about which weapon did what and does this blah-blah-blah make this happen and how did he know that, etc. Sigh.

So, yeah, maybe he’s not bored at all and maybe I am. 🙂 Longest post in a few months, eh?

me: Jack! It’s almost 10, time to get down here and eat breakfast!

Jack: (muffled mumbling)

me: It’s getting late, come down and get some breakfast. (I go upstairs and check to see if he’s up, Moca is still in his room from when I let her in to jump on him at 9:30 hahaha).

Jack: Stop letting Moca in here, she just waits by the door and it’s annoying. It’s only 9, why are you waking me up?

me: It’s almost 10…  Want to watch a movie? Harry Potter? I’m in the mood for a marathon today.

Jack: (silence)

I think he went back to bed. Sigh.

Well, I have a big list of chores ready for us, and plans to cook a few meals… our seedlings have started sprouting (mostly the beans). So maybe it won’t be such a boring Sunday.

Let me know how all of you are doing out there! Be safe and try not to be too bored today! Make it a great day somehow!!

Simp. Boomer. Bread.

I’m once again not entirely sure where all the new names come from. The names that certain 14-15 year olds use when talking to each other and more annoyingly, to their moms. (Ahem, one mom in particular at least). And you know how once you get a phrase stuck in your head you can almost never get it out and then it becomes a habit and no matter how hard you try NOT to say it you just have to say it?

Well, I know Jack’s in that type of cycle with a new word each month or two. I want to know who is ground zero for these words. Who coined the phrase. Who was the first to utter Simp and have it catch on in our local high school? Is it a YouTuber? More than likely. Is it someone in the high school? Probably not. Suddenly, there we are, being called Boomer, Simp, and a lovely host of other words.

‘Bread” pretty much means “money” and used sometimes to say you like something.

“W” is another one, mostly used on social media, meaning “Win”. Remember when I had to find out what “F” meant? I think that was an old post that I have to look up and link to here. “F” means “Pay Respects” in Call of Duty. Like: press F to pay respects. So kids were posting F on photos of deceased celebrities, etc. Yes I had to Google it! Whatevs!

“Simp” is just short for simple, or the type of guy that lets a woman walk all over him. Jack likes to throw this one out frequently, and it is the current phrase du jour, (or de semaine if you really want to test my French).

Anyway, I can go on, but mostly the words are rude and generally Jack gets in trouble for using them. Repeatedly. Remember my fun with being called Boomer?? Sighhhh….

Like at Jack’s birthday party sleepover. Always, always this boy gets in trouble on his birthday. Hopped up on sugar, lots of friends over, rudeness ensues.

me: Jack, if you guys are going to run around in the house, be careful and don’t break anything.

Jack: Sure simp.

me: What?

Jack: (a little softer) Simp.

me: Um no. Do not call me that.

Jack: (softer) simp.

Jack’s friend: Jack, don’t be rude to your Mom.

me: Thank you. Jack, go ahead and say it again and see what happens.

Jack: Si— (runs into the kitchen)

me: Grrrrr!

I have literally been having the same conversation with Jack for years. Years I tell you! Even when he was extremely small and called me Mrs. Mommy! I knew he meant it rudely. Then he switched to Lady. Then for a while he called me doughnut. I mean really.

Quel horreur!

 

Greetings friend

Jack and I pulled up to the gym where his rowing group is practicing every day off-season. (Gotta keep those kids in shape all winter!!)

We saw one of the rowers heading into the gym. I forget his name…lucky for him 🤣

Jack: Hey, there’s so-and-so, keep driving… don’t stop here.

me: What do you mean don’t stop here? You have to get out here.

Jack: No, pull up more so I don’t have to walk in with him.

me: Why? Don’t you like him?

Jack: I like him but I don’t want to do that awkward talking as we go in the door. Just wait here until he’s in.

me: Jack, you can’t just say hello to the poor guy? Geez. Even dogs sniff each other’s butts as a greeting.

Jack: Yeah, I’m not doing that either.

🤨😬

Lolllllll!!!’ Too funny. So we waited that extra half of a minute so Jack could walk in alone. Sheesh.

OK Boomer

Jack and I were in the car this morning, heading towards New Haven and the Yale University Art Gallery. (You can see about a thousand photos I posted on Instagram and Facebook… geez.). Naturally I was listening to Post Malone, because I still realllllyyyyyy like him. I believe it was “Internet” that was playing (Post and Kanye).

For reference, the lyric is “Instalove, if ignorance is bliss then don’t wake me up, and I’ll probably be the last to know, because I don’t get on the internet no more.”

Jack: That’s a song for Boomers.

me: Huh? Why?

Jack: Because Boomers don’t get on the internet no more.

me: Sighhhhhh.

He didn’t even look up from whatever HE was doing on his phone when he said that.

And then we went on to have a great day at the gallery and Atticus, for brunch. Yum!

AAANNNDD… in case you want to catch up on the latest OK Boomer Meme definition… meaning, you just might be a boomer… check this out.

🙂

 

Early to Bed, Early to Rise. And other random comments :)

Today we volunteered at Al’s Angels. They help families in need throughout CT. We helped box up food for holiday meals. It really felt good to lend a hand. So, needless to say, our day was busy!! (started at 5am…gasp!)

These are some things that you might have heard from us today…if you hung around long enough, or cared to listen…in no particular order.

Jack: I’m taking a Union break.

me: Pause this while I get much needed crackers.

Jack: (after I asked what game he was playing) Just Cause 3. I wasn’t playing, just hovering around in my wing-suit.

me: (talking to friend’s mom) Did you skate today? Ohhh…can you do a triple camel toe, or whatever that’s called?

Jack: I want melted ham goodness.

me: Heat the egg but don’t let it explode.

Jack: No my bed’s not made. I tore it apart looking for my phone.

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This was when I was trying to help Jack study his science…

me: What pages should I test you on?

Jack: Just quiz me on these notes.

me: Um… I can’t read this writing Jack, it’s so tiny and messy. Does this say “plague”?

Jack No it doesn’t say plague! Arghh!! If you won’t help me study then how am I supposed to study!??

me: Sigh.

 

 

Back to the grind

With the first big holiday over, we are back to the sort of normal routine until Christmas break.

Jack is back at rowing, but indoors in a gym, school is going full force (despite a snow day and delay due to ice), and I’m back at work juggling multiple scenarios involving dental marketing, furry creatures and hormonal teens! Good times!

I’m worsting this post as I hurtle down the tracks on a train headed to NYC. We have a dental trade show going on and I’m working the aisles to drive traffic to our booth.

Jack had his first gym session last night. Needless to say he was sore today. He kinda was in a negative mood and I tried to pull him out of it.

me: Anything exciting going on at school today?

Jack: I have a math test.

me: Hmmm I don’t remember you studying last night.

Jack: I did a review packet, it’s fine.

me: But did you do the whole thing?

Jack: No, just the parts I didn’t know. I didn’t have to do the parts I know.

me: You should still review those parts, it can’t hurt.

Jack: Math sucks.

me: I know but you have to pass it so you just have to do your best.

Jack: I got a 71 on my science test.

me: The one you didn’t study for.

Jack: I thought I knew it.

me: You have to study, it can only help you, it won’t hurt.

Jack: You’re putting me in a bad mood.

me: I don’t mean to.

Jack: Then don’t talk about school on the way to school.

me: There’s this football player, Mike Vick, and he abuses dogs like in dog fights?

Jack: I don’t need to hear this!

me: Yeah I guess you’re right. Either way he’s a jerk.

Jack: I hate school.

me: Well let’s turn your attitude around.

Jack: Not possible. I’m gonna have a bad day.

me: You can make yourself have a great day!

Jack: I can’t.

me: If you tell yourself “I can” you will start to believe it. If you only say I can’t, then that’s what you’ll believe.

Jack: Not true.

me: Remember positIve thinking? The last time you really tried, you got 100’s on your tests. You’re an amazing boy and student.

Jack: All moms have to say that.

me: Only when it’s true. I’m not going to lie to you. You are amazing and when you put your mind to it, you can do anything.

(We pulled up to the school drop off, and I really hoped that I helped turn his mood around)

me: Have a great day!

Jack: You too.

☺️☺️☺️

Not sure if Jack will keep himself positively motivated but all I can do is keep trying!

Here’s a text exchange we had (in photos) when I saw an Instagram post that kinda looked like Jack… Lol, virtual restraining order.

😂😂😂😂

Our convos these days

I don’t even think they’re conversations… 😱😱😱

I naturally text with Jack a lot more these days than I used to. 1. Because he will answer texts, usually. And 2. I’m tired of going up and down the stairs to talk to him. 😂

But seriously, do you text with your teen to get them to do things like chores or get ready for bed? Sometimes I have to, and sometimes I wonder who is answering me and what it means!!

What the heck does this even mean?