Parent Conference Gems

We had spring conferences tonight. I love to chat and see parents that we don't see all the time...but I HATE conferences. We had relatively few this evening, which was good....but they didn't seem to be too productive. I do have to share one episode that I thought was pretty ironic.

The mother was listening to how her son wasn't always prepared for his Language Arts class while they were reading "Tom Sawyer", the LA teacher was expressing how the boy needed to stay up on his reading this quarter while reading Diary of Anne Frank. The mother went on this long diatribe about how she didn't blame him because those aren't interesting books (are you kidding me??)and how if your not connected with what your reading, then you shouldn't be reading it. Basically the typical bailer...anyway 5 minutes later I was suggesting that we test this boy orally because there seems to be a disconnect between his test scores and his ability. The mom then went on a spree about how she doesn't want us to change anything for him and how he needs to realize the world doesn't revolve around him and he just needs to do what we ask him to do....it was like the exact opposite as what she was saying about the books! I had to laugh!

Also...side note....love report card day, listening to the kids talk about their grades always makes me chuckle. I especially love to catch snippets of how they think they can fool their parents about why they got a certain grade or how much so and so teacher must hate them to give them a low grade...so funny!

Tucson tidbits

We have been in Tucson for two days now. This is an annual trek for us (Mom, Dad, Bubba, and me). My folks have been coming to Tucson since the Rockies came here in 1993. Bubba has come every year, except for one, since he was one and a half years old. My father and my boy have such similar sentimental hearts. Every year we do the same things, eat at the same places, stay in the same (kind of run-down) motel. We all love it! As Dad said yesterday (with tears glistening in the corners of his eyes), these weeks are are his favorite weeks, when it is just the four of us. We all agree. Anyone else on the planet would probably be bored stiff and wondering why we all think it is so much fun. It's baseball, sun, mini-golf, antiquing, and Eegees for us.

For those of you who have never been to Tucson, Eegees are frozen drink concoctions made with fresh fruit and finely ground ice. It is hard to describe, but they are wonderful. We get one every night that we are in Tucson. This is the only city that has Eegee franchises, though it is our dream to open one up in Denver.

Our trip has a tinge of sadness to it this year. The Rockies have decided to move to Phoenix next year, so no more Tucson. Mom and I see this as an exciting opportunity to do new things and explore new places. The boys are finding it much more difficult to accept. Both them would like things to stay the same forever. They are very resistant to change of any kind.

All of us are getting older, and as the years pass we all seem to hold onto these moments together a little tighter and with more desperation. Kenny is growing up, Mom and Dad are both in their seventies. We know these times won't last forever, which is why we all find these mundane, ordinary experiences (sharing a frozen drink, driving for 13 hours across the country) extraordinary.

The beginning....

It's Sunday and I am avoiding doing laundry. We are leaving tomorrow on our annual trek to Tucson to watch our "boys of summer" play spring training. Instead of laundry I am typing this post, the first post, of this new adventure. Why? Why start a blog? I have always felt like I wanted to write "something"....a short story, a novel,something. I was explaining to my kids (students) about having a purpose and audience for their writing. One of them suggested blogging and a light bulb went on. There is nothing extraordinary about me, or my experiences, but maybe someone, somewhere, will be able to relate and even giggle at my stories. I hope so!

I have gotten sucked into HGTV while doing the wash. I don't know why these home buying/remodeling shows have a hypnotizing effect on me. My rearend has melded into the couch, and I can't find the strength to pull myself away or even change the channel. It makes me want to renovate the house....but that will have to wait for several other projects to get finished.

List for today: laundry, packing, begin work on ADK scrapbook (more on that some other time).....first of all....must turn off the TV!