The Week That Was

 
May is always a super busy month. I mean, every month is busy but May is especially hectic. There are the band, gymnastics and dance obligations for the children but also the end of the year celebrations, award ceremonies, doctors appointments and parties. My calendar is upsetting. This upcoming week should be the last REALLY bad week and then I should get a little bit of a reprieve.
Me at the start of the month vs. me at the end of the month:

Our youngest scored a 23 on the science portion of her ACT so she was eligible for Duke Tip which is a academic talent search program. She got an invitation to go to the state ceremony at Furman University which is a little over 3 hours away. It was during the school day and we went back and forth about it. We decided to go. In your life, there are few times that you get celebrated. They are few and far between. We could do it so why not?

We were going to take our oldest too but she had a spring concert. SHIT! We looked at the timeline. The ceremony was a 2. If we left by 3:30, we could make it back in time for her 7 pm Spring Concert if traffic cooperated. That's what we were going to do.

It was nice to have a special day with our youngest. We drove up and we all took turns picking songs. One of her songs was "Sex Bomb" by Tom Jones. She knew all the words to it. Weird choice for a 7th grader living in this decade but whatever.

                                      
We went to my favorite Thai restaurant in Greenville, which she was so excited about. She ordered a dish with squid in it. Again, weird choice for a 7th grader but okay. The child has expensive tastes. I think she liked having her mom and her dad all to herself.

We got to the venue and when we walked in, staff was setting out cookies and lemonade for the reception after the ceremony. "I'm getting a cookie," I told my husband. "We're not going to have time," he replied. "Yes, we will," I insisted. Our daughter was ushered down to the floor and we took our seats. We looked around. We were definitely the youngest parents by like, 10 years. That happens to us a lot, which is fine - we did it to ourselves. But sometimes it gets kind of old.

I hate when my kid's friends parents ask how old I am because when I tell them, I feel like they look at me like I'm an actual infant:
                                           
                                          Hey! I'm a mom too. Our kids are in the same class.

They started the ceremony a few minutes late. A speaker came up and spoke to the children about academics and their future. They were saying things like, "These are the future doctors and lawyers. These are the bright minds of the future that will solve the world's problems. These children will one day be our leaders." Wow. No pressure. Meanwhile, my child is like, "I want to join the Air Force and learn how to shoot a gun."

My child is the quintessential GT kid. Super bright, straight As without even trying but it's a blessing
and a curse at the same time. I think kids that are very smart sometimes feel different and they have very high expectations of themselves. They are told that they are "special" from a young age and there is a lot of pressure associated with that. It's been an adventure.

                        
After the speech, they called the kids up to give them their medals. We watched them all line up and they called names. It was kind of like graduation. We watched our kid go up and we were so happy for her. The time started creeping to 3:00 pm, then 3:05  and now I'm starting to get anxious because we need to leave and also, I wanted my cookie.

They are calling these kids names and they are slowly sauntering up to get their medals. I'm like, C'MON Oliver and Laura, let's have a sense of urgency!!!! It ends at 3:18. My husband turns to me and says, "We don't have time for refreshments." What the hell did you just say to me? "I paid $80, so I'm getting my damn cookie," I replied. There was an Indian guy sitting next to my husband who gave me a look like I was white trash. Jokes on him, I am white trash and do not care AT ALL.

We met up with our youngest to congratulate her and she was happy. We go out to the lobby and it was packed. I looked at my husband, "You grab the cookies, I'll grab the lemonade and I'll meet you outside." I got the lemonades and waited outside for my husband.

He shows up and hands me an oatmeal raisin cookie.
                 
I was enraged. I'm sorry but only old people and serial killers like oatmeal raisin cookies. We've been together for more than 18 years, COME ON. You know I hate oatmeal raisin. I said, "I'm going back in." He looked at me like I was crazy. "We don't have time," he said.

"Go to the car, I'll meet you there," I replied. I went back in and there was a hoard of people. I'm small, tiny, child-size. I was going to use it to my advantage. It's gotta be good for something. I bobbed and weaved through the other, much larger adults and grabbed a sugar cookie and then ran out of there. It only took me 3.5 seconds. I was proud.

We got to the car and we drove straight home. We weren't going to stop, we were going to make the concert just in time. When we got into town, we were hitting every red light. My husband was stressing out. "It'll be fine. The director will talk for 5 minutes before anyhow, so we have a buffer." The concert started at 7:00 pm and we parked at 6:58 and RAN in.

I walked into the auditorium, which was already dark. I could see my daughter on stage. She looked anxious and she was scanning the room looking for us. I held out my arm and waved it, hoping she could see me. She did. She gave me a small smile and immediately exhaled and relaxed in her chair. We had made it. On time.

Some parents don't come to any of their kids events. She has friends whose parents show up to NOTHING but if we are late or God forbid, missed an event, we would not hear the end of it. The band played beautifully and I was so proud.

We got home late. I was tired. I worked, I cleaned. I got ready for the next few days. The next morning my youngest had a doctors appointment and then we had the band banquet and dance recital rehearsal. Saturday my oldest had an audition in the morning and her dance recital in the afternoon.

I loved seeing her on stage. She did a beautiful job. My youngest started gymnastics when she was 7 and loved it. That has been her sport and she has dedicated her years to it. My oldest was not that way. We tried every activity. Karate, recreational gymnastics, cheerleading, a very short softball stint. I will let the kids explore anything they want. If they came to me and said, "I think I want to try basket weaving," I'll be on the Google looking for a basket weaving class. LOL. My oldest tried a lot of things but she never found her place.

She came to me in the spring at the end of 5th grade with a dance flyer. "I want to try dance," she said. So, like everything else, I signed her up and she tried dance. It's hard to go into something like dance as an older kid. Many of the other children had been dancing their whole lives. I was worried about it. But she loved it. She stayed with it and she's good.

Band and music is her #1 but there is a special place in her heart for dance. She enjoys it and it is fun for her. She only dances half the year now because she has really dedicated herself to marching band. That's okay. Every year at recital time, it reminds me of how far she has come as a person and I am proud of her.

I'm exhausted, my kids drive me CRAZY but honestly, I know I will look back on these busy years as a great time in my life. That keeps me going. I love them.