This Is What You Raised Them For...

Saying time flies is a frequently used idiom; but there's a reason for that - it truly does!  In fact, the older my kids get the quicker time seems to pass; which is why those Riders who I don't know personally, may be surprised to hear that my son, Nicky is now almost 19 years old and a Freshman in college.  For those who are my Facebook friends, this should be less surprising, though probably not less believable.  As his Momma, it feels like just yesterday that he was born.  For years I both dreamed about. yet dreaded the day that I would move him to college; but I'm here to tell ya, it's a fulfilling experience and one that gave me great satisfaction and joy.  If I cried at all, they were happy tears, FOR my son; and not tears of sadness for me.

Nicky and I have always been very close, so the expectation (both mine and my clan's) was that I would fall apart upon his departure; but amazingly enough, the opposite was true.  
We moved Nicky down to the University of Arizona on a Saturday, because he was going to participate in Bear Down Camp a week before the other students arrived.  Since UA is only two hours from our home, our plan was to move him in and come home; and then go back with our girls the next day, since we had to attend a brunch with Nicky as part of the camp. 
I thought that I'd be very emotional when I left him that first night; but I think that knowing I'd see him the next day, made it easier to leave without incident.  We went back Sunday morning and although I got teary a few times during the brunch, I can honestly say that it wasn't because I thought it would be difficult to be apart; but because I was so happy to see what Nicky was going to be a part of.  I was so proud of all that he had accomplished to get him to this point and I was very excited for him.  Don't get me wrong, I must have hugged him a million times, (and not little short hugs) because part of me didn't think I could let go; but I managed to say goodbye without crying, and as much as I miss having him home, I haven't shed a tear.

My close friends were good to check on me often during Nicky's first few days at school.  They asked how I was doing, and while I'm not sure that my response surprised them, it pleasantly surprised me. You see, Nicky was able to text me while he was at camp (in Prescott), but I didn't talk to him until 4 days later, when he was back on campus.  The first time that we spoke on the phone, it was if my son had come alive.  He was talkative and animated.  I could hear the smile on his face in the way that he spoke.  He asked me questions and told me about his experiences, and I felt incredibly gratified.  As the week went on, and he participated in welcome activities and went to his first classes, it was obvious that he was exactly where he was meant to be and that he was doing all that we had raised him to do.  So how could I be sad about that? 

It's so hard to believe that Nicky will be done with his first year of college in just two months.  He had a fantastic first semester, earning a 4.0 at the College of Engineering.  He's taking his first computer programming class this semester and will be declaring his major as Electrical / Computer Engineering, with a concentration in Computer Engineering.  He DJ's a weekly radio show, and he attends shabbat services at Hillel.  He's made some good friends and he's actively looking for additional clubs to join; so what more could a Momma want?

I couldn't be more thrilled for Nicky.  I enjoy hearing from him daily. I always look forward to the next time that I'm going to see him; and I guarantee that all of you Momma's who will be sending kids off to college soon, will feel the same.  Just remember my words "THIS is what you raised them for."   You raised them to go out into the world and make it a better place.  You raised them to go out into the world and make their dreams come true. To go out into the world and learn who they are, apart from you; and then one day they'll come back and while they'll still be your baby, they'll be their own person.

Till next time,
Paige 

Oops I Did It Again, And Again...

Today is Oscar Sunday, so I'm tickled by the poetic justice of having some thing to write about; (since after all, it was the Oscar's that first inspired me to start blogging.)

So re the title of this post, I'm a klutz from way back.  I've been tripping over my feet, air and any and every little thing, for as long as I can remember; hence the "Oops I did it again".  Now the "And Again" - here we go...

It's been way too long since I last wrote, but I'm delighted to say that Lyndzi's been receiving great acclaim for her art work and she's been entering several contests.  She had been awaiting the announcement of the Valley Metro, Design a Transit Rap Contest, but only found out on Feb 13th that the entry deadline was Feb. 16th.  Lyndzi quickly got to work and created her entry in one day; so our real challenge was how to get her submission downtown in time.  

Before "The Ride" really begins, here are a few background things that you need to know:
1.  Lyndzi entered this same contest last year.  We physically dropped her entry off on the last day of the deadline, but the person that she was supposed to deliver her submission to wasn't in the office.  We left her piece with the desk assistant, but Lyndzi always doubted that her artwork was actually considered; so this year she wanted to have her entry received by 2/15, to give her a little cushion.
2.  I hate driving in any downtown area AND I hate driving places that I'm not familiar with.  For the purpose of this story, let's take hate to mean, it causes me great anxiety.
3.  I had a pedicure appointment scheduled for 4:15 on 2/14. OK, I heard your sigh, but consider this - I hadn't had a pedicure since early November (and yes, the toes in the photo, really are early November pedicure remnants.) ALSO I have such a great pedicurist, it takes weeks for me to get an appointment with her, so cancelling wasn't really an option.

So, given all of the factors above, Lyndzi and I agreed to overnight her art work after school on 2/14, so that it would arrive with time to spare on 2/15.  My plan was to pick Lyndzi up at 220, stop by Fed Ex, pick up Kelsie, stop at the post office (if Fed Ex was too expensive), pick up $5 sushi and cake slices from Fry's (for our Valentine's Day celebration), drop the girls at home and go for my pedicure.  Well, I picked up Lyndzi's drawing and saw that it was drizzling outside.  It had rained earlier, but I didn't have time to spare, so I couldn't look for something to protect the drawing.  In my infinite wisdom, I placed it flat underneath my shirt.  I chose a pair of flip flops to wear (only because I had the pedi appointment coming up) and I walked outside. The ground was wet, I was holding my hand on my stomach to protect the art work, I took the shortest route possible to get into my car, slipped and fell on the cement between my car and the rocks on my driveway.  The pain set in immediately and I screamed out loud (Don't ask what - lol).  I managed to get up, still trying to keep the drawing flat, and made it into my car.  I was crying (and I'm NOT a crier) and I think I said "ow" repeatedly, on the drive to Lyndzi's school.  There were leaves on my shirt, my jeans had torn a bit, and I had mascara running down my face; so needless to say, Lyndzi was quite taken aback when I picked her up.  I explained what happened, and through my sobs, I asked her to text my pedicurist to let her know that I'd just fallen and had to cancel the appointment. Oh the irony!
We picked up Kels, and stopped at Fed Ex. The girls went in without me, and decided that we might be better off mailing the entry from the post office.  On to the post office I drove and waited in the car while the girls went in.  They mailed the submission, so at least that goal was accomplished; and we then drove to Fry's because  I didn't want to disappoint the girls and they agreed that they could go in without me.

I sat in the car, in a good deal of pain and twenty minutes later, I got a text from Lyndzi.  She told me that they had gotten the cake slices, but the kiosk had just run out of sushi and they were going to make more.  I asked if they wanted to wait or come up with a plan B?  Lyndz said that Kelsie said they could wait; so I agreed.  Another hour went by before I heard from them again.  At this point Lyndzi called and explained that the sushi lady was helping other customers before them, even though they'd been waiting longer and ultimately she had made them the wrong thing and they were going to have to keep waiting in order to get part of the order.  I told them to just buy what they had, stop at customer service to tell them about the problem they'd had with the sushi lady and call it a day; because at this point it had been three hours since I had fallen and I was in a lot of pain.

The girls came out of the store crying.  They were upset that they'd made me wait that long, and that everything had gone so badly.  I thought that it was just my sushi that hadn't gotten made, but it turned out that it was Lyndzi's as well; so with that, I told them that I was going to go into the store.  Did you just say "oh no?"  lol  Well, yes I did.  I got out of the car and started limping through the parking lot.  It was raining again, and the ground was slick, so do I really have to say it?  Yup, I slipped AGAIN, and fell in the Fry's parking lot.  3 kind people came to my rescue, and I have to say I feel really badly for the gentleman who helped me up, because I weigh A LOT, AND  I couldn't put any pressure on my ankle.  Hercules managed to get me up and I hobbled into the store.  I texted Kels and asked her to come in because I knew that there was no way that I could make it back to the car on my own.  I went to customer service, and suffice it to say that after talking to the manager and waiting another 25 minutes, I left the store with 2 free sushi rolls and a $25 gift card. (NO, it wasn't worth it.)

I drove home and I don't think I've ever been so happy to get there.  My ankle was terribly swollen and my knee was scraped up, but other than that I wasn't injured, so I considered myself lucky.  I iced it, and elevated it, but I couldn't put any pressure on it, so I used the crutches that Lyndzi had gotten last year, after a soccer injury.  Within 24 hours I thought I could get around without the crutches.  I continued to limp for 13 more days, and since the pain hadn't subsided I decided it was time to go to the doctor.

The medical practice that I go to, can do an xray in their office, so I  thought this would expedite my diagnosis and I made an appointment on Tuesday.  After speaking with the PA, she sent me for an ultrasound, because she suspected that my ankle was fractured. (They can do ultrasounds there too.) She told me that it would take 1-2 days to get the ultrasound results, but if I wanted to, I could get a boot that day, just in case.  I had the ultrasound, and went to get the boot, but the assistant told me that since I have a high deductible on my insurance, I'd have to pay $80 out of pocket.  I thought, if I have to, I will; but since I don't know if it's actually fractured and I've already been walking around on it for almost 2 weeks, I can wait another day or two.  Welllll,, if you've taken "The Ride" before, then you should know that things rarely go as planned for me, and this time was no different.  I called on Thursday afternoon to see when they might have my results and the very nasty associate had no idea and showed no interest in finding out.  She told me that it typically takes 3- 5 business days to get ultrasound results; so I informed her that's not what I'd been told, and I asked her to please have someone get back to me the next day.  I waited till 2:30 on Friday but since I hadn't heard anything I called again.  Blah, blah, blah no results but the associate was a little more compassionate about it.  By 830 Friday night, the PA had sent an email apologizing profusely.  Apparently the tech who was supposed to enter the results had been out sick for 2 days and no one covered for her.  She told me to continue wearing the boot and she would have the results for me first thing Monday morning.  Well, therein lied the problem.  I didn't have the boot, but she didn't know that.  I emailed back and explained that I hadn't actually gotten the boot yet, and THAT was why I was so anxious to get the ultrasound results.  I asked that she please get back to me ASAP and thankfully I received another very apologetic email on Saturday morning.  She told me that she was able to get the results and as they showed a subtle fracture and inflammation, I could pick up the boot before noon that day and I'd need to wear it for 6-8 weeks.  

Lyndzi and I went to pick up the boot, and the techs were quite amused when they asked the size of my foot and I said "very big."  They kindly got me fitted and taken care of; and although I had to pay the $80, they're going to attempt to get me a refund (supposedly.)  I know I have a bit of a battle left with the doctor's office, because sadly it seems difficult for them to do the right thing; but at least for now, I'm on the road to recovery.  I'm still considering myself lucky AND if nothing else, it finally brought me back to "The Bumpy Ride."

Till next time...
Paige
PS - For those of you who are still wondering about the magnetic false eyelashes, I should now have plenty of time to try and figure them out, and blog about that too.

(43-153) A Note Of Gratitude

Today I received a most unexpected phone call; and it gave me a VERY big smile.  My old friend, Rachel S; called me from New York and without any provocation from me (NO, really;) she totally boosted my confidence.  I've known Rachel since my Pines days; and she has always been a voice of reason, counsel and support.  From time to time I'll get an email from Rachel, regarding something that I've written; and I'm always so flattered to know that she's reading and enjoying "The Bumpy Ride."

Amongst other things; Rachel told me that she always hears my voice in her head, as she's reading my posts; but she felt the need to hear my voice live; so she gave me a call; and I was truly, delighted.  I thanked Rachel for continuing to read my blog, and for encouraging me.  We discussed how difficult it is for me to write the blog on a daily basis; and how I often struggle, to find something entertaining or motivational to share.  I expressed my gratitude for her interest AND I want to publicly do the same for a few others as well.

To my friend Joni; I try my best to email you regularly to thank you for commenting on my blog; but I want everyone (well, the five people besides you, who read this;) to know how much it means to me, that you always leave me a comment; after you've read a post.  Now with that being said, I'm not inferring that I want every one (all five people,) to leave a comment, every time; I'm just thanking YOU for doing so.  It means so much to me.  And for those of you who've read Joni's comments; rest assured that her questions don't go unanswered; I just typically email her privately.

To my kindred spirit, Dawn; I cannot express how grateful I am for all of the thumbs up that you've given me on Facebook; and for all of your wonderful, heartfelt, thought provoking comments.  I admire and respect you so much; so the fact that you enjoy my blog, is a big (say it with me) "Huge," compliment.

To my amazing, Mari; Although you don't write your comments publicly; your emails, texts and phone calls are ALWAYS so appreciated.  I know that I've thanked you for your marvelous, "Memories and thoughts" jar on numerous occasions; but on behalf of my other five readers; I want to thank you again for the jar's contribution to "The Bumpy Ride."

Now surely I jest, when I say that I have five readers, plus whomever I was writing about.  I KNOW that I have a few more than that; and although I can't thank everyone who drops by "The Bumpy Ride," tonight I'd like to thank Julie, Judy, Cheryl, Shannon, Jenifer, Russell, Bobbi and Michele Q, (my sister of my heart;) for letting me know that they're keeping up with me regularly.

I know that you all are really busy; and the fact that you make the time to read my blog, just validates my effort and makes my day.  I'm gonna keep plugging away; and hope that I hit more often than I miss; and if you get in the mood to drop me a line some time and let me know how I'm doing, then I would be ever so obliged.  In the meantime, I found this quote by Karen Ravn, and I posted it as my Facebook status tonight because I think that it represents my current philosophy perfectly...

"Only as high as I reach can I grow,

Only as far as I seek can I go,

Only as deep as I look can I see,

Only as much as I dream can I be."

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING

                                                         

(43-24) ExposureQuest

Exposure, Exposure, Exposure; that's what's on my mind today.  I don't just want to write; I want to be READ and so in accordance with my mission this year; I need to get myself a lot more EXPOSURE.  Interestingly enough, I'm a pretty good sales person; but the one thing that I don't seem to be able to sell, is myself.  It's not for lack of confidence, for although I am not exuding it; I really do believe in myself; or I couldn't do this at all.  Instead my downfall is my lack of knowledge.  Marketing is not my thing, not because I can't; just because I truly don't know where to start.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'm still not that internet savvy and I get really frustrated when trying to do research; so all in all I'm not a lot of help to myself in the gettin this done department.
I've signed up for the Creative Connection email, I've tried Networked Blogs, and I've just joined Mommy Blogs; but I definitely need some tutorials on how to navigate these sites so that I can make the most out of them.  Hopefully these ventures will help me to increase my readership and further my career; but I KNOW it's going to take A LOT more than that.  So, I'm going to do something that I RARELY do and ask for your help.  Asking for help is NOT easy for me; but I'm THAT determined to change my path and fulfill my destiny.  So here goes... Anyone can help me in my ExposureQuest; so PLEASE, if you enjoy reading "The Bumpy Ride," recommend me to a friend, (or six...)  Let me know if you know a person or website that you think may be helpful, or hook a sistah up; if by chance you know someone in the know who might be able to help me with visibility.  If YOU believe in me and have some time and you want to help me market myself I'd be thrilled to hear from you; just leave me a comment or send me an email at AsktheQOE@gmail.com.  And if none of these things apply; then please just know how thankful I am that YOU read "The Bumpy Ride;" and that you like it.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

Blog Envy

To say that I've had myself a case of blog envy for the past few weeks, would be putting it mildly. After watching "Julie and Julia" (which I loved, by the way;) on New Year's day I was ridiculously, jealous of Julie's blogging success. I mean all she did (not to minimize it,) was to follow each recipe in Julia Child's cookbook and write about it and she got a gazillion readers, writing gigs, and a movie; and yet here I sit, coming up with original material of (I'm told) an admirable caliber, and I'm virtually unknown. Heck, even "Ugly Betty" started her own blog last week and next week she's up for a blog AWARD. (YES, I know that's pretend; but you get the picture!) I was in a nasty, unbecoming place.

So,in the midst of my covetousness and self doubt, I couldn't come up with a complete blog for last week and so I opted out. Oh, I had ideas alright, but nothing that I seemed to be able to formulate into an entire blog; though God knows I tried. First I started with "Ya Gotta have Friends," the blog I felt driven to write because when I was giving out fundraiser flyers to the parents in our soccer league and I asked one dad to take two, (so that he could give one to a friend,) he replied "I don't have any friends." Now, in his case, that's a statement that I easily could believe; because he is kind of a jerky guy and by a jerky guy I mean A JERK. But this other mom, (on one of my kids teams;) who is SO NICE and friendly with many other moms, gave me the same response; "I don't really have any friends" and that's when I started hearing Bette Midler's "Ya gotta HAVE FRIENDS" song, over and over in my head (to the point where I was frequently singing it out loud.) I was overwhelmed with a compulsion to write about how very sad it would be,not to have friends. I felt the need to write about how grateful I am for MY friends and how much I LOVE and rely on my friends; because they really are the family that you choose for yourself; but alas, no blog was written about it. (wink wink.)

I thought about giving you an update on Nicky and B (from the Winter Wonderland dance,) because although she was very attentive towards him when they returned to school; after the Christmas break, the same could not be said. In fact, Nicky came home after a couple of days of being back to school and he looked unusually sad. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that B was not talking to him anymore. He explained that he would say "Hi," but she didn't respond; and I just felt terrible for him. He hadn't even liked this girl before the dance and once she started talking to him, Luis and I encouraged him to be more friendly towards her and now he was heartbroken. For the next few days, I would ask if he had seen B and he would say "yes," and I would ask if they had spoken, and he'd say "no;" and so finally I said "well, you know what they say," and he replied "love em and leave em." Oh my god, oh my god; I laughed my butt off and so did Nicky. I was actually going to say "there are more fish in the sea." How on earth did my quiet, shy, boy know the expression, love em and leave em? I guess it just goes to show, you have to watch out for the quiet ones; but for some reason I couldn't convey that message in a blog either.

I thought about writing about how I hadn't been feeling the love for or from the world for the past few weeks, and how I couldn't put my finger on why; but now I know - it was due to the blog envy.

So on Tuesday I was at the Orthodontist for Lyndzi and I picked up an issue of "Parents Magazine," because although it's typically geared towards parents with younger children, there were a few captions that caught my attention; and while I was flipping through the pages, to get to the article about taking the icky out of the picky eater; I came across an article about moms who blog and need I say the blog envy crept in and almost choked me. It was truly a good article and highlighted some of the success that moms who blog had been having and there it was; right there in print it said GO TO Parents.com/mommy-blog to tell us about your favorite mom run blog and so I got the idea to enlist help from my Facebook fan club and friends.

I sent a message through the fan club and an email to approximately 20 people, requesting that they go to this website and let "Parents Magazine" know about me. I thought about checking the link before posting it, but yah, that would have just made TOO MUCH SENSE; and as I am NOT the Queen of THE INTERNET; I didn't. So was I surprised when shortly after sending these pleas out into the universe, my friend David emailed me to let me know that the link didn't work? Of course not; that's just par for the course for me. And in my own defense I'll just attribute my overzealousness to the fact that I had just been told Lyndzi's orthodonture was going to cost about $5000 AFTER my dental insurance and multi- family member discount and so I wanted to get the ball rolling immediately.

So, back to the drawing board I went. I emailed everyone that the link didn't work and I sucked up yet another one of my faux pas. But I will add, shame on you "Parents magazine." I really thought that there was a possibility that we were going to be getting to know each other; but alas; no. Or perhaps I should say; not right now. Of course you know that I am NOT giving up on this. I WILL find a way to get myself known and set myself apart from the thousands of mommy bloggers out there, because I am not JUST a mommy blogger; heck; I'm the Queen of EVERYTHING! But, if you have any ideas or know anyone who might be able to provide me with some assistance, guidance or encouragement; please send them my way.

In the meantime, I went back to that stinkin link and took another stab at it. This time I was more successful, though it wasn't as direct of a hit as one might have assumed by "Parents" link post. SO, at the risk of seeming like I'm begging, pleading, or sounding pathetic, you can email editors@goodyblog.com and let them know why YOU enjoy "The Bumpy Ride," which just happens to be a MOM run blog. You can also email any other literary magazine where you think they might enjoy my work. After all there is strength in numbers AND you know that I for one am ALWAYS looking out for YOUR GREATER GOOD.

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING