Rants and Raves

Or is it Raves and Rants?

First the raves: mother is doing great. Every day small positive achievements. Sometimes the thing I love most is the fact that she totally speaks her mind. Her injury seems to have wiped out the "pc" filter. So she just tells me how she really feels about stuff. And sometimes it is refreshing. And vindicating. And I could say more, but I'll save that for my Rant. She looks good, she is making progress in the food areas, the mobility areas, the mind areas. Still long long roads ahead but I am encouraged. Have lots of long chats with my sis-in-law K (or is she still SIL? or just my friend now??) anyway, we are encouraged. And SIL K helps me to focus on ways I can help. She's a very take charge person. Just like her mom. Don't tell her I said so....

Rave #2. Or maybe this is just bragging. Au rocks hard. Seems he really enjoyed his week away at the National Youth Leadership Forum. He bellyached for weeks leading up to it. Didn't want to go. Bunch of geeks tramping around the nation's capitol learning stuff.... egad. But he loved it. Met cool kids. Saw cool stuff. Wants to go to the international forum this summer...hmmm.

Rave #2.5: still on an Au high (ok Sh is away for the long weekend, so Au gets the attention), he had his first rugby match today and totally rocked the house. I missed it - or rather chose to let his dad enjoy it with him. (his dad has issues when we are in the same hemisphere, so i am trying to give space a chance...). But perhaps getting Au's perspective and download were even better than being there myself. His speed, kicks, tackles, (apparently one spectacularly breathtaking killer tackle in particular) and toughness moved him up from "futures" squad to "B" squad - quite a few leaps apparently. And he's so proud of himself, something that doesn't happen often. For all his bravado, he can be rather lacking in the self-esteem department if you really listen. Yeah, he's pumped and primed and ready to rocknroll. I'm proud of him for trying something new, for giving it his all, for coming out on top.

RANT: OK I.... I can't. I want to. I'm mad. But I can't. Sometimes life is just hard. Maybe that's my rant. Life is hard. And it hurts. And it's not fair when things don't work out the way you planned all your life to work out. And people are mean to you just because you are you. Mean people suck.

Rave #3. OK I do have a SH rave. Sometimes teenagers suprise you with their goodness. Although Sh's goodness doesn't surprise me. Her friend did something stupid and tried to engage Sh in the deception. But b/c sh is away out of cell phone range, she couldn't participate. The deception went very bad. The parent showed up at my house and we worried together and tried to solve the mystery. Fortunately, the silly friend was found OK. But only after I had left urgent messages for SH. When she got in cell range today, she called in. We chatted. And she was astounded at the friends' actions. And I knew from her tone that she would never have engaged in the deception. In fact, she is going to call her friend out on the whole thing and say, "what were you thinking?!" Yeah, you worry and put in time and talk to them and hope and pray that when things get crazy in those teen years that they'll talk to you. Sh talks to me. OK I am not naive enough to think she tells me everything. But she does open up to me. And I enjoy our relationship. And I am proud of her.

Rave 3.5 Sh's friends showed up to help me in Sunday School today even though they knew Sh was away this weekend. They usually help b/c they go to a different school now and like to see Sh on the weekends and what parent will say no to, "will you take me to church so I can teach little kids bible lessons?" But they knew I'd need help and they showed up this morning to help me, even without the lure of Sh. Wow. Great kids. Next weekend we all go on a church outreach program to paint. If you knew anything about my Bob Vila skills, you'd see the hilarity in this event....