Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wellll we survived the holidaze again. But not without incident. Christmas night I was zipping along on the freeway when the battery light came on. And the radio turned off. And my Mazda gave up the ghost. I managed to coast over to the shoulder but couldn’t turn on my flashers. The car was dead dead dead. And it was dark out and about seven degrees. I was certain someone was going to hit my black car from behind at 60+ mph. Thank jeebus for cell phones. I didn’t have too long to wait before the boyfriend showed up, white knight style, to rescue me from the road side. And the AAA tow truck driver arrived soon after. Also, I can work from home as needed and the boy’s school break is a much better time to have the car in the shop. And Worku the mechanic was as wonderful as everyone says. He replaced the alternator and gave me the heads up about the timing belt and water pump (better start saving now). And my Dad drove me there to retrieve the car. Phew.
Five good things:
Speaking of my Dad…on Christmas Eve he handed over a few more new dreams for the “Deep Thoughts With Werewolf Cop” portion of this site. Always such a treat. But he informed me that he’s only been giving me the *good* dreams. That he doesn’t even bother writing down the truly terrifying ones. Dang, and I’d thought these were dark enough!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Still stunned. When my son learned about Friday’s school massacre I knew he would instantly connect the dots, and start thinking about the recent workplace shooting that resulted in his uncle’s death. We’ve done some talking about it and I’m sure our conversations will continue. And when it came out that the shooter had autism, my stomach twisted into even more knots. And then I read this: ‘I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother’: A Mom’s Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America. My son has been in special ed programs since pre-school, with other kids on the spectrum. The little man has always been sweet and engaging and fairly cooperative. But we’ve seen some of his classmates struggle with anger management and impulse control. I know school staff members who quit their jobs after being attacked and sustaining physical injuries. And that was at the grade school level. I can only imagine how tougher it gets as these kids grown into young adults.
Five horribly disheartening things:
- Obama attended a memorial in Newtown - “We’re not doing enough,” the president said. “And we will have to change.” Agreed.
- We are failing as a nation. Charts: 247,131 Fatal Shootings in 8 Years
- Gun-rights advocates feeling heat after school shooting - you better believe it! Especially with quotes like this: “Guns are fun, and some of them are much more cool than others. It’s just like we have television sets that look cool, and others are much more boxy,†Van Cleave said.
- I realize that Japan is fairly different, culturally, but still. Can’t we strive for this? “A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths“
- Hackers target Westboro Baptist Church after Newtown threat: After church leaders announce plans to protest at site of school massacre, Anonymous posts the personal information for dozens of members of the extremist group, including names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers.
Remembering the victims. And some good advice from another parent:
As we talk to our kids about the tragedy last week, let’s give them some power to go along with it, so they don’t just have to be afraid. Let’s give them the power to recognize when their classmates are struggling, and the language to talk about it. Let’s give them the power to tell someone who can help.
Let’s give them the power to be kind and compassionate to their fellow students. It only takes the friendship of a single person to bring a little bit of hope to a person who is suffering.
This all makes me want to resolve to be a better friend, and a better parent. But tomorrow I plan to return to my irregularly scheduled programming of happy distractions.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The first snowstorm of the season on Sunday was beautiful. But was followed by a cold snap Monday. Which left us with icy rutted roads and brutally slow stop and go crawling commutes. Making me question the wisdom of driving a car with manual transmission. And the wisdom of remaining in Minnesota. But before the blizzarding the lad and I enjoyed the Union Depot grand re-opening on Saturday (one of my tweets about it wound up in L’etoile’s LOL/OMG Weekend Twitterings). And Saturday night I enjoyed a very different sort of event. My ears are still bleeding (not really). And Sunday was a lovely lazy day around the house with both the little man and my boyfriend.
Five strange and/or wonderful things:
Let the countdown begin! Less than two weeks to go until the boy’s winter break from school. And the holidaze. We’ve just now figured out our plan of attack when it comes to seeing my family, the boyfriend’s family and having my son spend time with my ex-husband’s family (key words: lots of driving around the metro). But I haven’t yet sorted out New Year’s Eve! I’d like to keep our annual hotel-room-with-pool tradition alive. Hrrrmmmm.
It’s been a rough week but the boyfriend sent this my way. I like it. It made me smile. And yeah, for the most part I am enjoying my life right now. Especially now that my son is feeling better. Just one more dose of antibiotics to go and hopefully his bronchitis will have been wrestled into submission. And we’ll be able to enjoy the weekend together. Including the grand reopening of Union Depot in St. Paul’s Lowertown.
So it’s Friday and here are five more WONDERFUL things:
It’s not yet the holidaze but I pre-registered my son and I for next summer’s CONvergence (there’s a discount if you do so before the end of the year). We’ll likely dress up as Adventure Time characters.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
What the junk? I was ill twice in November. Once mildly and once egregiously. And now my poor son is sick, with freaking bronchitis. He’s never had that before. He rarely gets sick at all so this has been bummer-town. But at least we have decent health insurance these days and he’s started a course of antibiotics. Hopefully that will clear things up lickety-split. Today his doc described his lungs as sounding crunchy. No one wants crunchy sounding lungs. Oh, and while at the doc I learned that the boy is now a good four inches taller than I am.
Five good things:
Last night I fell through a wikipedia wormhole that led me to watching the pilot episode of Alias, circa 2001. It felt so dated, more like super late 90s. Jennifer Garner sports so many belly shirts of all sorts. My favorite/most ridiculous was a sequined belly shirt with gold lame pants, worn while she was essentially doing gymnastics in a sewer. The whole premise is so convoluted and corny, with a sad cast of character actors who I have enjoyed in other shows and movies. Still, I just couldn’t look away and felt compelled to watch a couple of episodes before finally washing my hands of it.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Who knew that November was norovirus month? Well, I’m intimately aware now! A couple of days before Thanksgiving I became violently ill in the middle of the night and spent ten straight hours vomiting. With such force that I threw out my back. That first day I couldn’t even keep water down. This did not bode well for my planned holiday feasting or general productivity. It was a pitiful week-into-long-weekend. I do not care to ever experience a repeat.
Moving right along. I am so behind the times. I’d been saving up five (or more) good things to post:
My timing has always been lousy. It’s been nearly a year since I sold my godforsaken house and, like so many others in similar situations, re-entered the market as a renter. The flood of us doing so drove up rental rates and drove down vacancy rates and, according to Forbes, we now have the second worst market in the country for renters. Yippee. But I’m trying not to dwell on that. Our duplex is lovely and in a safe neighborhood and my son and I love living there. Last weekend, when I was just starting to feel a little bit better, he decided to pack up all the Halloween decorations and spur me into Xmas decorating action. Sunday morning the boyfriend joined us for the annual real tree purchase (just $24.97 for a fresh Fir from the ACE Hardware on Grand near Dale in St. Paul) and the boyfriend did all the heavy lifting and light hanging. With his assistance we had things situated in no time. Speaking of the holidaze, my office was featured on Kare 11 news yesterday.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
My son has a disability. I’ve never wanted him to be defined by his diagnosis. But I have always understood the label of autism can ensure he gets the help he needs to be successful. This is becoming more of a concern as he gets older and talk turns to his transition into adulthood. It’s been a recurring theme lately with school staff and his psychologist. It’ll always be a struggle for me, as his mother, to find the right balance. To allow him his independence while also attempting to protect him. I am not alone in this. The other night I listened to the Special Ed episode of This American Life that featured the How’s Your News? team. Nearly every TAL episode makes me weepy.
Five good things for this hump day:
Dang, The Hobbit *and* the holidays. Hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week already and then it’s the headlong rush into conspicuous consumerism. I’ve long been a fan of Buy Nothing Day (I don’t do Black Friday - instead I always knew it as Fur Free Friday). I really do like this notion of Buy Nothing Xmas but I already jumped the gun and bought my son a few Giftmas gifts. Maybe next year we’ll go cold turkey.
Monday, November 12, 2012
David Byrne brought his “Playing the Building” installation to town, in the space formerly occupied by the Theater de la Jeune Lune (now called Aria). Friday night some friends put on their Irregular Readings there, in a cozy balcony area. It was lovely. Though at times they had to compete with people “playing the building” to be heard by our little audience. Next time they’ll be back at the Triple Rock where they will hold our undivided attention.
Five good things and one crappy one to kick off the week:
Speaking of restaurants…over the weekend we tried Foxy Falafel’s brand new brunch. Tasty business! And I read some more NY Times travel restaurant reviews. The wanderlust is gripping me again. Recently I renewed my passport but have had no opportunity to use it. I spent some of the weekend idly scrolling through various Lonely Planet guides and checking out cheap flights options via Spirt Airlines (I wish they flew to Europe too). But I think Montreal will be the next destination. Despite leaving the country a few times *and* living this far North I have never been to Canada. That needs to change.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Yesterday morning I voted. Number 318! Well, on my side of the gymnasium anyhow. Apparently my new polling place is used for two adjacent precincts. Four years ago I wouldn’t have believed I’d be voting at a different polling place. Four years ago I felt trapped. Miserable with my mortgage, isolated in a neighborhood so far removed from everything I love in my life. But yesterday morning my son reminded me of something. Not only was it election day it was also an important one year anniversary. One year ago yesterday we moved into the duplex we now call home. The burden of homeownership was always too much for me. I enjoy the ease of renting. And as much as we like where we’re living now we could more easily move again. If we felt like it. For whatever reason. Well, when the lease is up. Freedom! USA USA!
Five good things for this post-election day:
I may have voted at a different polling place yesterday but I voted similarly to how I voted four years ago. And I spent the election night the same way. Alone. Four years ago my son was much younger. Last night I could have gone out to watch election coverage with friends but I’m getting over a cold. And I enjoyed the symmetry. Instead of staying glued to the results I opted to read. Before I fell asleep last night I had an idea of where things were headed. And woke up to good news. I’m relieved by how most everything turned out nationally, and in Minnesota - Michele Bachmann AGAIN? Really Anoka? Sigh. But I do find it distressing how narrow the margins were. Particularly on both of the amendments we voted down. It shows me we have a long way to go when it comes to the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there, who we have to share the heartland with.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Growing up Catholic I was taught that today is All Saints’ Day. As an agnostic adult I vastly prefer the Day of the Dead angle. But as I get older I have more and more dead to remember.
My brother Tom.
My stillborn son Felix.
All of my grandparents and great uncles.
High school friends Jennifer, Chris, Josh and Kevin.
And, more recently, my brother-in-law Eric.
We will be remembering them tonight, with a backyard fire.
How about five good things?
- It’s crockpot weather. Tonight’s dinner has been simmering all day, while I’ve worked from home. Also yay for telecommuting in cold weather. Our apartment is just so cozy.
- My son, the boyfriend and I were pleased to find our favorite Studio Ghibli films will be showing at the Lagoon Theater this month.
- Love is what makes a family. I am proud to have contributed, in a small way (some of the still photos), to the making of this video.
- I enjoyed Tiny Fantasy’s set the other night and look forward to seeing them again. So much good local music happening these days. Too bad I have to fight my overwhelming urge to hunker down at home in order to get out and see/hear any of it.
- Happened to go to Target today, for boring things, like cat litter, and wandered near the half-off Halloween items. I maybe picked up a few more home furnishing (that I will use year round).
My son took a field trip today, to a college campus. When I asked him how it was or for any information about it all he could remember was that he had a Sprite. Sigh. Sounds about right. The good news, I attended an IEP meeting / three year evaluation review at his school this week and he has continued to make great gains. Some of which leave him in that scary gray area. He’ll probably be spending even more time in the main stream classes, away from the safety net of the autism rooms. But his academic skills are right around grade level. If only we could get the social skills there as well.
