A lot on my mind today; having a hard time focusing or caring about work. (heh, I mean, that's every day, but seems worse today). So, here it is, in all its glory.
1. Want to buy a plant?
Both of our kids' usual activities, though they aren't really "on" this semester, are still doing their spring fundraisers. Both of them are plant sales. The drama club sells hanging baskets only, and the band sells both hanging baskets and flats of annuals. It works out well for me, I guess, because I don't have to go to the nursery or Home Depot and be overwhelmed with choices, which is what happens every time.
Had some success last spring, and I'm looking forward to many of the same successes. BUT: Delivery dates aren't until April 15 and May 1 -- and that's most of spring, including Easter! Bad planning on their part, I say. So do I buy Home Depot plants to tide me over? And then, what, not support the causes?? It's a conundrum.
2. College planning is going to kill me
My darling Alex is a 2nd-semester junior, and has done the barest, barest minimum of thinking about what he wants to do after high school, and it is driving me crazy. This week he got his PSAT scores (I made him take it one last time in his junior year because I think he could qualify for National Merit Scholarships). He did QUITE well, better than I did on the SAT by more than 100 points, and so he really could take his pick of schools. The one he seems most "interested" in right now -- and by that I don't mean much, because he NEVER talks about this stuff unless I bring it up -- is Georgia State University in Atlanta. Which is a good enough school, and he can go for free because of in-state scholarships. But... I just feel like he could broaden his horizons a little bit. Yesterday I (he) got a recruitment email from Dartmouth. Maybe I shouldn't wish him away -- I mean, Atlanta is right here! He could come home on weekends! But... I'm praying pretty fervently right now for guidance on how to guide him.
3. Social media is abuzz with vaccination announcements and it's making me feel both guilty and impatient.
Though I WAS quarantined like everyone else in the beginning, and we have definitely had a different year without school activities or church or seeing friends/going out... I haven't locked myself up in a way that "getting out" feels so huge. I see people say, "I got my hair cut for the first time in a year" and, well.... I have been able to continue having haircuts, masked, all along. We went to some football games last fall. I actually have had a few meals in restaurants since they reopened. Not often, but a few. We saw my parents a lot over the summer. (Not since then, regrettably.) I don't know, I just feel bad that other people have had it so much worse than I have.
That said, I'm READY for my shot and impatient that I can't get it yet. Georgia has just opened up for teachers, medically disabled adults, and parents of medically fragile children. None of those descriptors applies to me. It feels like the longest waiting room ever and that this thing will NEVER, ever be over.
4 comments:
I would like someone to say these things to me, so I'm going to say them to you. 1) Go ahead and plant the flowers you want, if you are really wanting flowers now. If you don't care that much, then you can plant them later and do LOTS of watering. Maybe your kids should have to do some of the watering! 2) If Alex wants to go to Georgia State, maybe that is right for him. This is so hard for me. Madison is so freakin smart and studies so hard, and she absolutely does not want to go to the top public high school in the nation that is right here and wants her to attend. I am not bragging here. I'm just saying I have decided that she gets to make these decisions. I think a lot of people would disagree with me, and I may be wrong, but if you say, hey, here are the advantages of going to this school/Dartmouth, and she/he doesn't want to do it, then I think I/you should go with what she/he wants. Because there are disadvantages, too, to that choice, and what is really driving the decision? How can I be sure what will make her life better/happier/more peaceful/loving? Although I know fear is driving some of her decision-making, but I cannot magically remove that fear, and in some ways, it is a justified fear! 3) I am really really really tired of social media and other guilt over how I'm living and vacations I am not taking and fun things I am not doing. Really tired. I'm going to go enjoy my day, here in my own little home, with money I have because I am not taking a vacation. (Feeling a little bitter, apparently. Maybe because I've been on hold for quite some time with tech company.) Anyway, if you come to any pearls of wisdom on any of these things, feel free to share!
All good thoughts, Sherry. You should be at peace with letting her make this decision about high school. I think a LOT of parenting trip-ups in this day and age are when parents DON'T let their kids make their own decisions. So kudos to you! That's mostly the way I've been leaning on all this college stuff - really trying to back off and let him drive it. But time is going to start getting away from him soon and I just want him to be on top of that. It's so hard!
I related to this blog post (so many parallels).
Vaccines - Sorry you are having frustrating waits in GA. Frustrating waiting in PA too, especially as we see FB friends in Ohio and Texas getting vaccines. Teachers in PA who weren't already group 1A started getting vaccines last week, so I'm happy for that. Pseudo-loophole for us right now is ability for many people with BMI>=30 (obese) to get vaccinated. Dan and I are both borderline -typically BMI 29 but we both hit BMI 30 on the wrong day, with shoes on, etc. Dan has a vaccination appointment on Wed. I had to cancel the appointment he made for me because the 2nd dose was the day before I have a surgery scheduled in April. Hopefully it will be readily available to all who want it soon.
Colleges - Yeah, we are starting this too. Sophie cares but is also feeling overwhelmed and like she doesn't have enough information. I am hopeful we will be able to visit some schools in person this summer and fall. She is pretty sure that she wants to be in a city and near some family, but that is not too limiting since we have family in Philadelphia area, Washington DC area, and Houston, TX. Right now, she knows she wants to apply to Pitt and Penn. Although I'm concerned that it is wimpy to go to college 4 miles from your home, I'm happy with these choices. At Pitt, her tuition would be free as long as Dan is employed there. She picked Penn on her own, but I was hoping she would apply to at least one Ivy League school if only to see if she gets in. I did this years ago (Cornell) and was not accepted. As long as she stays at the public high school, she will have access to some scholarship money if she goes to college in Pennsylvania. Now to expand this list by at least 2 schools (Villanova? Temple? Rice?) Should be an interesting year.
Sophie is currently stressing over AP tests, and I am having to decide how pushy to be. She is currently taking 4 AP classes but we have discussed only taking 3 tests for many months (English, US History, and either Calculus or Physics). But some days, she doesn't want to take any of them or doesn't want to take either of the computational exams. Dan says whatever she wants to do is fine. I worry how colleges will view taking AP courses without taking AP tests.
In other news, Peter is excited to be headed to the Creative and Performing Arts magnet school downtown for high school, and he is planning on going back to in-person school in a week for the last grading period of 8th grade. Fingers crossed. So many concerns - although few are about COVID safety per se. Also, not much fun having to spend money on school clothes with only 2 months to go in the school year, but the kid is growing. On the plus side, he is finally tall enough to have a 30 inch inseam, so we got to take advantage of typical men's sizing with no hemming this time around.
You mentioned in your other post, that you would not be going back to 5-days-a-week in the office when things return to "normal." Company decision or your decision?
Dan will also not be returning to 5-days a week in the office. His group cut their office space in half last month with the intention of having most people continue to work from home. They plan to have shared work spaces that you can sign up to use in the office on a rotating basis. He was kind of bummed the day he went in to get his stuff. We both are reminding ourselves that him continuing to work from home will not always be like things are now (all 4 of us at home everyday, not eating out if we can't eat outside, weary from the last year). Now upgrading his workspace at home is a priority, and I need to decide if I want to relinquish the study. He is currently in the guest room.
Take care. I appreciate your blog posts and the little glimpses they provide.
Thx for your nice words, Shannon. :)
I can't imagine the stress of taking 4 AP classes at once! My word, that's impressive. Alex has only ever taken one at a time (one was a combined Eng/Hist class that counted as 2 APs... but still he only took one exam). This next year will definitely be interesting.
Very cool about Peter and the performing arts school! How I would have loved that as a teen!
My work caveat is solely my own decision/wish, although my office IS planning to move to a new building soon, and I assume it will be smaller, because of budgets from the past couple of years (I know the rent at our current bldg is one of the reasons we're moving). So maybe there WILL be a company decision about WFH, but I haven't heard it yet. I, too, would like a dedicated work-space that is solely my own, if I'm going to be here permanently. So far we haven't started thinking about that yet beyond my own musings.
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