Modern Mom
My girls came to visit over the weekend (My son had baseball and had to stay at his Dad's) and I was pleased and eagerly agreed when they asked if they could stay the rest of the week (school is out). Since it was short notice I didn't bother getting the time off. C is 16 and pleanty old/resposable enough to watch her sister for a few hours. What's funny though, is that they both have hotmail accounts and I set up two machines for them each with messenger loaded up so that they could message me if they had any issues. They've both enjoyed it. Keeping in touch throughout the day etc, but when I looked back after THIS conversation I had to laugh at just how much things change, and yet... stay the same.

S says:
can i have a popcicle? Ppppppppppppllllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeee.please

parttimemom says:
yes - if C says it's ok
S says:
thank u
S says:
yum

Same conversation hundreds of thousands of mothers are having with thier 10 year old daughters today.. and the same conversation that has been happening between mother's and daughters for 100's of years. Only I can have this conversation with my daughter in real time over the internet...

Story from the Past
I thought this little story might help to explain the mental anguish I lived with for errmm about 15 years, and continue to have to deal with sporadically even today. You see, my ex husband has the ability to take anything, and I do mean ANYTHING you say and turn it against you. And he's good at it. So good at it that after a while you start to wonder if it's YOU that's wrong and not him.

One of his best ploys was to take something you said and repeat it back to you, but with a totally different meaning. In fact, I do believe that if it's at all possible to take something you've said more then one way he will unerringly pick the worse possible meaning.

Case in point:

A few years back when he was still trying to `woo' me back we got into (yet another) argument.

Richard: What does he (N) have that I don't!?* You said yourself that he isn't romantic. I was always romantic! You always said that was important to you.

Me: *Cough**Sputter* I NEVER said he wasn't romantic!

*Understand that I didn't LEAVE Richard for N. As a matter of fact I didn't meet N until a year after we had separated, but Richard insisted that this was some sort of competition between the two of them.

So I sat there busting my brain trying to figure out where he EVER got the idea that I said that N wasn't romantic (I mean how could you call a guy who lights candles in every room in the house including up the staircase and then leaves a single red rose on the bed NOT romantic?) when I remembered a PRIOR conversation when we got into (yet ANOTHER) an argument.

Richard: I can't wait until the romance is gone and you're left with the everyday boring humdrum. Then you'll see, I was the best thing you could ever have. You'll be back!

Me: Our relationship's not like that. It's not about hearts and flowers and rosy sunsets!

Clearly - right there - can you see it? I said that N wasn't romantic. Right?

God it makes me insane just thinking about it!

Huh?
Can anyone tell me why my kotex has little 'helpful health tips' printed on the adhesive strip? I feel like I'm opening some bizzare pink fortune cookie everytime I go to the restroom! Maybe I should add 'in bed' after each tip and see if it makes it any more amuzing?

I'm 35 Fingers
Is it REALLY wierd that I keep forgetting how old I am? I'm continually telling folks that I'm 36 - BUT I'm really 35. What's up with that?

*Sigh*
I just got done reading This entry and now I want to cry. For a lot of reasons.

1) I'm very happy for the two of them, and I've enjoyed being able to take part in (observe?) their budding romance.

2) I want to go to the UK! For reasons beyond the fact that N and I will be getting married there. Because I think I'll love it.

I want to wander through a place that has buildings older then our country - has been a country! I want to be surrounded by voices speeking in accents forgien to my Americanfied ears. I want to be immerced in a culter that is similar and yet so incredably different from our own. And most of all I want to do all these things while being guided by the man I love. I want to see these sites, feel these things, breath this air all the while his arms are wrapped around me and he does the same.

--------

I got home at about 8:00pm last night. I was working late again - YUCK! I was met at the door by the most wonderful man in the world. Actually he was standing on the porch as I drove up. We he spent the last 30 minutes on the phone with each other with him asking every 10 or so "Are you home yet?"

As soon as I dropped my bags off inside I found myseldf wrapped in his arms and his lips on mine. We kissed, and hugged, and then kissed some more. Then we petted and panted and then the clothes started flying!

He fell asleep afterwords and I slipped out of bed to grab something to eat and sit on the couch cruzing the web. He was dissapointed later to wake up and not find me beside him. I should have gone back to bed and snuggled I suppose because it kind of left a sour note to the evening. He made a comment about me sneeking out of bed to 'chat with a boyfriend' and it frustrated me. I thought we had moved beyond these kinds of comments. When I tried to dig deeper into this he brushed it off. I wish I knew if he was seriously worried about those sorts of things or if he really is just him teasing as he's wont to do. If he IS seriously worried, what do I do? I know he was hurt in the past. I'm pretty sure TWICE. So I can understand his fears but I don't like them.

Pinning this man into serious conversation is always a challenge.

Squirrel Names?
Topic: Quizes
My squirrel name (Ok - so I hopped on the bandwagon) is: Scampy Bushman
N is: Countess Puffy-ears HUH? heheheh

Money - or the lack there of
I think I need to prioritize. It now takes me nearly all damn day to read the blogs I have tagged! It's not doing much for my work ethic. But then my current job doesn't really demand much work ethic.

As you may have summized the weekend was GREAT! We spent every single day hiking and WOW did we see some amazing countryside! N's alergies acted up the entire time, but he went with us anyway and seemed to manage to enjoy himself. It was just really really nice to spend a relaxing weekend with everyone who's important to me, and to have them all get along.

In other news N seems to be really really bothered by the fact that we are probably not going to have the money to go to Scottland this year. I can't figure out if he's more bothered by the fact that we can't seem to save enough money to take a decent vacation, 0r the fact that we keep putting off getting married. He actually askesd me last night "If we don't get to Scottland this year, are you going to leave me?"

I'm truthfully not worried about it. I know he loves me and wants to marry me. In fact, in my heat and mind we are already married, already joined for the remainder of our lives. I gave my heart and soul to him long before he ever proposed. I really don't need some cerimony to make it 'real' for me. It already is. As for the vacation part of the deal, yeah, I would LOVE to do it, but I guess I never really believed that it would happen. I won't until I have plane tickets in my hand. I'm just that way. So, if that falls through I'll live.

I think, for N, living this way is hard for him. He grew up having money. He's never really wanted for anything. His family took European vacations every other year and they always lived well above the 'comfort' level. Until recently apartently so did he. He had a serease of good paying jobs and not only got to do what he wanted but also built up a savings account. Then he desided to change carreers. To start back at the bottom of the ladder... the the bottom fell out of the job industry and he STUCK at the bottom of a ladder that suddenly has a LOT less rungs. It's been frustrating to him to say the least. At least that's how _I_ see it. Last night he was talking about taking a second job. I, as always, am against it. and NO I won't leave him if we don't get to scottland this year, nor if we don't the year after, nor the year after...

Can't say for him though *grin*

10 Reasons I'm now sure my son has forgiven me for divorcing his dad and finding someone nicer...
1) When his dad pulled up on Friday night to drop him off, he jumped out of the truck, ran toward me and deposted a wooden basket in my hands that he had made in woodshop while calling out "Happy Mother's Day!".

2) Telling N "Isn't this a cool basket? I'll bet YOU wish you had a basket like this."

3) Everytime we had to go anywhere (both of our cars only hold four people) he would shout "I get to ride with N in the JEEP!"

4) Spontainous hugging at various times during the weekend.

5) Sitting next to me while we worked on the computer and leaning against me without pulling away in horror when he realized our knees were touching.

6) Asking me two nights in a row to play a computer game with him and when I asked him "Which one" saying "You pick, I don't care, I just want to play" (did you hear the uspoken 'with you?' I did)

7) Not arguing with me when I told him he couldn't be on the internet after I went to bed.

8) Begging me while we were in the store for Digorno pizzas and then when I said yes, going to pick some out and THEN coming back empty handed because he felt they cost too much (I used to be the cash cow, who's only purpose in life was to buy him whatever he wanted)

9) Conversation on Sunday Afternoon
He: Who was that on the phone? Dad?
Me: Yeah
He: What did he want?
Me: He wanted to pick you up early.
He: When?
Me: Now.
He: But! But! I'm having FUN!
Me: I told him no, that we had plans.
He: Good!

10) Hugging me TWICE in front of his dad and the girlfriend when I dropped him off.

How to start a three day weekend right
We were all sitting around at the end of the day at work on Friday BSing as usual. F-Wad was going on and on as usual. This time it was about how the bank now requires a fingerprint to cash a check and how more and more places are going to this kind of security. "Some companies use your finger print to inditify you and log you into your computer"

ChurchLady asked "That's not good! What if you burn yourself or something like that? Then you would be locked out."

F-wad, ever confident says "Well, that why companies do a rectal scan of their employees."

During all of this I had been sitting in my little corner, 'working'. But at that, I couldn't take it any more! I stood up and peered over the cube walls and HAD to say "I'm sorry, but not not dropping my drawers for ANY job!"

of course everyone had realized that he meant Retnal scan but I couldn't leave it be. It was a GREAT way to start the weekend.

Imagine
I alluded to this on Michele's blog a few days back and thought I would include additional information here.

Imagine, if you will, that you are back in High school, and that you attend a high school that is large enough to need the services of a group of people called `campus supervisors'. (or as they were called in `my day' NARCS.) These are usually middle aged, overweight men who get their kicks out of bossing high school kids around, or body building meatheads barely out of high school, who get their kicks out of bossing high school kids around. Their `job' is to watch the halls for kids skipping class, or talking on their cell phones, or to break up fights...

Now, imagine that you live with your dad and that he's over protective and has really high expectations for you. And, that when your parents separated, your Dad lost his job, and after almost a year of not working he gets a new job. But not just ANY job. He gets a job as campus supervisor. And not just at ANY school. He gets a job as a campus supervisor at YOUR school!

You are now living my daughter's nightmare. She's sixteen, soon to be a Jr in High school, and her DAD is a NARC at her school. I DREAD her going to college!

No really, were you her, what would you do with YOUR first year of REAL freedom?