Hi everyone,
WOW. I just read my last post, which was (sadly) from October. One of my 2012 resolutions is to get back on the bandwagon and post more. Besides, I'm sitting in Chuck's parents' kitchen, guzzling my second mamosa of the morning, working on my Estes Vest (second attempt at this after having knit all the pieces and realizing that I really need to get serious about what size I should be knitting), and trying to keep my breakfast down after watching Chuck's sister's dog vomit profusely in front of me (what do these people think this dog is going to do after feeding it garbage people food?!?) -- I need the distraction!
Anyways, 2011 sucked on so many levels, but let's not dwell on that. Let's reflect on the new and the exciting that's been going on with me this year....
This past spring, I played softball for real for the first time in my life. I joined two teams: one a team sponsored by a coworker's husband's employer (they needed more female players) and a team led by friends from college (who also needed more female players). It got me out and more active than I had been in years and I certainly look forward towards playing again this year. (Though I will be joining only one team.)
In May, I bought a spinning wheel and learned how to spin. My yarn isn't spectacular, but it's given me a new appreciation for friends who are spinners and for hand-spun yarns I see in shops. I'm slowly learning about different fibers and if, at the end of this little experiment, I don't end up being a regular spinner, I will emerge more educated on fiber.
This past summer, I started volunteering as a non-skating official (NSO) with the Mitten Mavens, one of Lansing's roller derby teams. I wanted to learn more about the sport and had heard that the team was looking for volunteers to help out, so it was a win-win. For every bout, at least 14 NSOs are needed so there's plenty of opportunity to anyone who is interested (hint, hint, hint). Recently, the team's Head NSO had moved out of state, so with the team's next bout in a couple of weeks, I volunteered to help fill that role in the interim....
Sylvain has started his junior year of high school and I'm learning to let go & he's learning to be let go. Of everything, this terrifies me the most. I think that when he graduates and heads off to college it will be a healthy change for us both. His teenage years have been very tough for me to take in stride and I will be so relieved when his success and failure are based on his own choices. Up to now, I feel that I've done my best to raise him. I really hate that so much of what he's hearing (at school and from friends and relatives) is leading him towards the belief that he should expect to continue to live at home. Expect that it's okay to not be able to find a job. And expect that I will support him throughout.
During a recent argument, he reminded me that he's allowed to be on my health insurance until he's 26. In that statement alone, he had missed the point. Just because he's allowed doesn't mean that I want him to be. Over the past year, I've done some real soul searching about what I was like at his age and how far I've come. There was a point where once I started making adult decisions, I needed to make all of them, not just those that suited me and left the rest to my aunt & uncle. If the hand-holding continues for another decade, what sort of man will he be? I keep reminding him that this is the year of exams and grades that colleges will really look hard at. I don't think he's taking them seriously enough. But, I'm ready for him to sink or swim.
I'm ready for 2012.
WOW. I just read my last post, which was (sadly) from October. One of my 2012 resolutions is to get back on the bandwagon and post more. Besides, I'm sitting in Chuck's parents' kitchen, guzzling my second mamosa of the morning, working on my Estes Vest (second attempt at this after having knit all the pieces and realizing that I really need to get serious about what size I should be knitting), and trying to keep my breakfast down after watching Chuck's sister's dog vomit profusely in front of me (what do these people think this dog is going to do after feeding it garbage people food?!?) -- I need the distraction!
Anyways, 2011 sucked on so many levels, but let's not dwell on that. Let's reflect on the new and the exciting that's been going on with me this year....
This past spring, I played softball for real for the first time in my life. I joined two teams: one a team sponsored by a coworker's husband's employer (they needed more female players) and a team led by friends from college (who also needed more female players). It got me out and more active than I had been in years and I certainly look forward towards playing again this year. (Though I will be joining only one team.)
In May, I bought a spinning wheel and learned how to spin. My yarn isn't spectacular, but it's given me a new appreciation for friends who are spinners and for hand-spun yarns I see in shops. I'm slowly learning about different fibers and if, at the end of this little experiment, I don't end up being a regular spinner, I will emerge more educated on fiber.
This past summer, I started volunteering as a non-skating official (NSO) with the Mitten Mavens, one of Lansing's roller derby teams. I wanted to learn more about the sport and had heard that the team was looking for volunteers to help out, so it was a win-win. For every bout, at least 14 NSOs are needed so there's plenty of opportunity to anyone who is interested (hint, hint, hint). Recently, the team's Head NSO had moved out of state, so with the team's next bout in a couple of weeks, I volunteered to help fill that role in the interim....
Sylvain has started his junior year of high school and I'm learning to let go & he's learning to be let go. Of everything, this terrifies me the most. I think that when he graduates and heads off to college it will be a healthy change for us both. His teenage years have been very tough for me to take in stride and I will be so relieved when his success and failure are based on his own choices. Up to now, I feel that I've done my best to raise him. I really hate that so much of what he's hearing (at school and from friends and relatives) is leading him towards the belief that he should expect to continue to live at home. Expect that it's okay to not be able to find a job. And expect that I will support him throughout.
During a recent argument, he reminded me that he's allowed to be on my health insurance until he's 26. In that statement alone, he had missed the point. Just because he's allowed doesn't mean that I want him to be. Over the past year, I've done some real soul searching about what I was like at his age and how far I've come. There was a point where once I started making adult decisions, I needed to make all of them, not just those that suited me and left the rest to my aunt & uncle. If the hand-holding continues for another decade, what sort of man will he be? I keep reminding him that this is the year of exams and grades that colleges will really look hard at. I don't think he's taking them seriously enough. But, I'm ready for him to sink or swim.
I'm ready for 2012.
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