Confessions of a Mom of a Teenager

My stomach is in knots as I write this.

I sent Ryan (9th grader) to school today knowing that he probably could have used a day off. He was a little under the weather yesterday, and even worse this morning. I sent him any way.

Ryan is a bright kid, always has been. And until this year, he was rarely challenged in school. It boggled my mind that he could earn all A’s with very little effort. It actually frustrated me. He is now attending his dream school and Neil and I couldn’t be happier with the culture there. It’s actually cool to be smart! As this year has progressed, the workload has become enormous, and the pressure to do well is insane. I am not helping.

For the first time in his academic career, Ryan failed a quiz. He said that most of the kids in the class had flunked and that the quiz was “ridiculous.” (The “other kids” phrase has never worked in our family and Ry knows that.) Neil and I kept our cool, but mentioned that it seemed as if he wasn’t devoting as much time to school work lately. This upset him, but I think he knew in his heart that we were right. He even did some extra credit in that class in an attempt to bring his grade up.

Fast forward to yesterday. He wasn’t feeling well and proclaimed jokingly, “I think I am going to take tomorrow off.” I replied that if he had a fever, he could. (He had an entire week off last week, including Monday for heavens sake!)

It turns out that he has another quiz today in the same class and on top of feeling yucky, he is clearly nervous. I decided to stay strong. He needs to push himself. He needs to learn what it is to really study and buckle down. This is what life is about…right? Right?

It’s hard to be strong. Did I mention that he was up until 1:00am studying? It’s hard to be strong.

Easter

Here is our annual "Easter Picture." We had a wonderful day! The weather was glorious and the kids didn't bicker at mass. Spending the day with Neil's family was fantastic too! Although Zach decided to declare that the chicken (it was turkey) was dry!! I almost died of embarrassment right there on the spot. Hopefully your Easter went well too.

Highlights

Here are some pictures from Emily's trip.





She had an absolutely AMAZING time! I couldn't be happier nor prouder of her!

Hmmmm?

Something is missing around here. Oh yeah, it’s Emily. She and her classmates (as well as two teachers) are in Nevada right now on a hiking trip. I couldn’t be happier for her, but she’s way over there! (I am pointing at Nevada on our map right now.) Tomorrow they are traveling to Utah to do some backpacking. Wow!

This class (ten of them) is brimming with excitement! They have trained for three years in anticipation of this trip! Em called when they arrived at the site and I could just hear her smile over the phone. (I know you really can’t hear a smile, but you know what I mean.) I miss her terribly and of course I can’t bring myself to truly think about her sleeping outside and rock climbing and doing all of these crazy adventurous things because it gives me a stomach ache. What I chose to think about is the joy in her heart. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

Scaredy Cat

Last Thursday Neil installed a new washer and dryer in our basement. Thank goodness because our dyer was taking an extremely long time to dry the clothing. (I know I know the Amish don‘t have clothing dryers.) In fact for one load it could take up to three hours to finish. That isn’t convenient when you have seven people in the house with places to go and people to see and you aren‘t comfortable leaving the house with the dryer on. The thing was also making a piercing screech with each turn that was most likely causing some hearing loss to the aforementioned seven people. Not only that, it was also ripping clothing to shreds! Poor Em was missing a strap on one of her camisoles, some of Allyson’s little socks looked more like tassels than socks, and last week I accidentally threw a bra in there and when I opened the dryer, only half of it was left. Huh? We definitely needed a new one.

The next day I began catching up on laundry in our new machine. I came back upstairs to check my emails as I listened to Allyson and her friend Kate happily coloring at the dining room table. I adore listening to the two girls chat. “Look Ally, a cat!” Kate proclaimed. We have this scary looking cat that roams the neighborhood. He is very large with what looks like a lions mane surrounding it‘s face. It also has the most evil eyes I have ever seen. When I encounter this cat (even through the window) I immediately get the chills…he is that creepy. It is a feral cat and once and a while he hangs out in the driveway next door and plays with the dead animals that he hunts. The kids are completely fascinated by it. When Kate repeated, “Look at the cat Ally!” I assumed that the scary cat was at it again. As I got up from my seat Kate sweetly calls, “Kellyyyy a caaaaat.” I step into the dining room and I completely freeze. My eyes are caught in the defiant stare of the cat that is INSIDE the house!

“Girls, you need to come with me,” I calmly take their hands and usher them to the stairs and close the door behind them. Meanwhile inside my head I am thinking, holy crap! How did this cat get in here and how do I get him out!!!!!!! “You girls stay upstairs,” I assure them, “and I will let you know when it’s okay to come down.”

Promptly, I shut all of the doors as the cat ran into the back hall. Shaking from head to toe I begin to pace around like a lunatic talking to myself as I attempt to figure out what to do next. On impulse, I call Neil. (I am fully aware that this was a wimpy thing to do, but I was petrified.) Neil agrees to come home to help (he is ten minutes away). I take a deep breath and decide to peek into the back hall. I cringe at the thought of approaching the ferocious feline, but I wanted to try and get him out by myself. (I guess I was embarrassed that I called Neil…I am such a girl!) Much to my relief, the basement door was open and he escaped down there. Quickly, I open the door to the outside and block the kitchen door with the trash barrel. I needed to physically witness the beast leave. Since I was fairly certain I could do this, I decided to call Neil back.

“Neil,” I whisper as to not startle the cat as it edged its way back up the stairs, “I think I am okay, you don’t have to come.” Neil replies, “Why are you whispering?” He must have conjured up an image of me trembling in a corner somewhere. As he is speaking to me the cat creeps even closer, his fur was standing straight up. He stopped at the very top and glared at me with those menacing eyes as if to say, Lady I will pounce on you and rip your face off if you take one more step. I stood my ground, trash barrel in one hand, phone in the other.

“Kelly! Kelly!” Neil calls through the phone.

I pause before murmuring, “He’s looking at me Neil I am scared, but I think…..” I whisper even softer, not wanting to startle the cat. Just then the beast makes a break for me, but I block him with the barrel and then he bolts outside!

“He’s out!” I shout. “I did it! Neil thanks for being there for me!”

I was still shaking when I went upstairs to tell the girls the coast was clear. They had forgotten all about the cat and had moved on to playing with the stuffed animals.

That nasty cat stuck with me for the remainder of the day. I later figured out that the cat must have snuck into the cellar when Neil was moving the new appliances in the day before. I felt lucky that he didn‘t jump out when the kids were down there, or when I was on the treadmill. Can you imagine?

Rugby!

Ryan (our ninth grader) was late calling me to come pick him up at the train station after school one day. He was trying out for the rugby team (despite my apprehension) so I figured practice was running a little late. Well, after sitting on my hands for twenty minutes, I called him…no answer. (I hate when that happens! My mind goes to places that I really don’t want it to go, but I immediately stop it.) Ten minutes later he finally calls me back, but unfortunately he doesn't sound right. In fact, he sounds upset. I ask him if he is okay, but instead of answering, he simply replies “Can I get a ride home from school today?” I knew something was terribly wrong because he loves taking the train. Neil picked him up since he was in the area on business. On the way home, Ryan confessed to Neil that he was hurt and having trouble breathing. When they arrived home, Neil proceeds to inform me that another teammate tackled Ry during a drill and struck him in the middle of his chest…hard. “I think my sternum is fractured mum,” Ryan winced. I immediately call the doctor. (Meanwhile I am thinking, why did I let him do this? I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this!) After x-rays the hospital wasn’t completely sure if he fractured his sternum since there was a separation, but it’s precisely where a growth plate is. So, Ryan may have fractured his sternum. Thank goodness he was instructed not to play any contact sports for at least six weeks.

"There is always next year!” Ryan proclaimed the next day. Oh Lord give me strength!