Thursday, July 24, 2008
Dear readers, all four of you I apologize. To the four of you (trust me I know because I get e-mailed reports from a statistics service about the number of hits my page gets) I bow my head in shame. My lack of diligence in posting is very apparent. My guilt for not staying current weighs heavily on what little remains of my mind. I will try and be more diligent.
It may be the very nature of the whole blog thing. Deadlines and me have just never seen eye to eye. Mostly it is because my life is always awhirl with kids and spouse and work and the other 10 plates that are spinning in the air (remember those novelty acts on the Ed Sullivan show). While I try to keep the blog fresh my efforts are at best inept.
Catchy title in the subject line, eh? The NSA has already called. The rubric however really has nothing to do with the content of this post. I just thought it would be a good attention grabber.
The last twenty days have been frenetic and frantic. There was a flood in our home’s basement over the 4th of July. Still can't pinpoint the cause. Repairs, well actually sucking the water out and drying the drywall cost $2,500. Youch.
Then,
Came the transport of Child #1 to camp about 1.5 hours away. A music camp. No real contact with him for 10 days. He has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. It appears to be quite mild but still it means challenges. Time at camp thus left my wife constantly worried. The whole social interaction thing can go so wrong so quickly with a kid with this disorder. Great intellectual focus but interactions with others are a challenge. Hmmmh. Wonder if he got that from me.
Came the insurance claim for the flood. How do you quantify all that stuff we have collected over the years in dollar terms. Some things are easy, like the Wii. Some are not like the video of various family events.
Came taking Child #2 to camp 4 hours from home. Of course we showed up two weeks early due to a scheduling faux pas on my part. Child #2 was notably upset. However after begging (how many times can I beg and say I am sorry) they worked him in.
Came the work projects of my wife, drafting a proposal to some NGOs I think for the government of and island chain in the Pacific to get special status as a preserve. This meant she was up to 1 a.m. for the week our kid was away typing. When Mom is not happy, nobody is happy.
Came the doctor’s report that my gallbladder will have to go. I am going to try and hold off on that a bit. Still, every day it hurts a little.
Came the summer cold and total inertia for five days (Francie has it now, go figure).
Came the letters home from child #2. I quote them in their entirety, "Camp sucks, at least send cookies" and the second letter "Camp still sucks, the Dunes suck, I barfed, send more cookies". The pictures at the website of the camp belie this recitation for in each he is foisting a peace sign or a thumbs up and is smiling.
Came the trip to IKEA and getting two living room chairs(flood replacements), a loft, a table and several picture frames into a Prius. Riding strapped to the side of the vehicle on the ride home I got a new appreciation for what it means to be an auto grille. I am still getting that glowing lightning bug goo out of my teeth.
Came the one day and two evenings of assembly of the aforementioned stuff-insert tab A into Slot B and use Allen wrench to snug. Ugh, I am still tired from that task.
Came the trip to Camp 1 (Blue Lake Music and Fine Arts Camp) to pick up child #1. Despite all the rest of the above this was really good. The boy made acquaintances. He simply hasn't done that before. He said hi to people. He liked the camp and his camp report card with the exception of the note that "he eats like a barbarian" was good. Oh and there was his orchestral take with the other campers on Stairway to Heaven. It rocked.
On Saturday we pick up child two. We will see what that report card is like.
Okay, I am not totally depressed or completely overwhelmed but I am close. I promise I will try and post something cheery tomorrow, or maybe the next day, or perhaps the day after that.
3 comments:
Re: the flood. Check the grade around the house. It should slope AWAY from the foundation, not toward it. If that isn't it, check evestroughs and downspouts.....they should also channel water AWAY from the house. Water tends to run downhill.....in case you'd forgotten that. Hope the camp experiences were both rewarding. My daughter went to Blue Lake, and my most recent exwife still has the postcard starting "I'm crying as I'm writing this....." She never got over the homesickness, and never went to camp again. Left a permanent scar!!!
Hope all else is well. And you are all feeling better.
JDB
My sister went to Blue Lake. We were at a parents meeting for Marching Band as L is now in and on the biggest plaque on the wall, "The John Phillips Sousa Award" had my sisters name etched on it as the 1972 winner. I had to go way over there every summer to pick her up and listen to the music and I hated it. Served my sister well, though. I think she liked it. She's the one who wound up with a Music degree from Mich. L will be at Band Camp (for a whole week, the longest she's ever been away from at least one of us) and I am told the Band Camp is on the other side of the lake from Blue Lake.
Well, it's about time you got a new post up here! Enjoyed it ,as usual: but it made me think of the time when Andy's mom turned 70 - her immediate family wore t-shirts that said: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" I understand.
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