50 Degrees And Raining

How glad am I that our big Town Day event at the park was yesterday and not today??

One of the boys' two soccer games scheduled for this afternoon was cancelled: fortunately for me, the one I was supposed to be attending.  While Himself and Thing One slog through the muck at the field, I sit cheerfully in my warm kitchen, all snuggled up in fleece and drinking hot tea.  A loaf of bread is rising and homemade soup is on the stove, so at least my gallant warriors will return to a cozy house smelling deliciously of homemade goodness.

When the days get raw like this, all I want to do is hibernate at home.  Perhaps I can even persuade Himself to build a fire later.

Happy Sunday...

I Am Wiped Out

But oh, what a good day we had.

Our annual Town Day was today.  It's no exaggeration to say that we (the local Recreation committee of which I am currently the chair) have been working on this for nine months.  It is the biggest event on our calendar, and to make things even more complicated, we added half a dozen new components to the event this year just to shake it up a little.  Getting this event right involves coordinating food vendors, exhibitors, lighting, sound, bleachers, stages, rides, permits, antique cars, the baked goods competition, bands, hot air balloons, parking, pony rides, emergency providers (fire, police, rescue, etc) and probably other things I'm forgetting right now.  And of course, all of this is at the mercy of the weather, so sometimes we have to cancel it at the last minute after all this work.

When I went to bed last night, the forecast for this afternoon was a 40% chance of showers.  When I woke up, it had dropped to 20%.  The day was overcast, cool and breezy, but the rain never came.  Absolutely everything went off without a hitch except that it was too windy for the hot air balloons to safely lift off, so that part of the day had to be scrubbed.  A full day of setting up, running around and making sure things were going smoothly ended at sunset with a glass of wine and a fantastic band down at the park.  A perfect way to close down.

Wiped out but riding high on adrenaline and success.  A good trade overall.

Bad (Pink) Mom Moment Du Jour

Had one of those days where I was running flat out from 7AM onward, between last minute logistics for the big community event that we are putting on tomorrow and all the usual juggling relating to having three kids with activities and only one of me with one car.  I wasn't actually late to anything, but it was very close on several different occasions and I hate that.  It's a pet peeve of mine.  By the end of The Girl's taekwondo class this evening (in which she kicked butt, I do have to say) all I wanted to do was make the necessary quick run to the grocery store and go home.

We were in our final aisle when The Girl looked up and noticed a preteen boy wearing what looked like pink soccer socks with the breast cancer ribbon logo on them.  It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, after all...no big deal.  Except to The Girl, of course, who had to ask me (in a voice loud enough to carry to the boy and his mother and the rest of the aisle, because Murphy's Law is my everloving shadow) why that boy was wearing pink socks because pink is usually for girls.  And the mother, who apparently had had the same kind of day as I, looked at me and said snippily, "Well, why aren't you explaining it to her?"

OK.  Let's start with the fact that she is young enough that she doesn't really understand what cancer is, breast or otherwise, and has no idea that a pink ribbon or the color pink in general are associated with this particular disease.  This being the case, I was having a hard time finding the correct words for an age-appropriate and quick explanation for the socks in a crowded supermarket aisle, hence the momentary hesitation.  Oh well.

Ironically, my doctoral thesis research was breast cancer-related.  I know so much about this miserable disease that words fail me when I need to explain it to a child.        

An Eye-Opening Experience

I went to a new eye doctor for a checkup today.  It was an interesting experience, but fortunately not nearly as bad as Ms. Moon's last trip to her mother's eye doctor.

For one thing, the prescription-determining machine showed that, although both have decent absolute vision, my right eye focuses better on things that are far away and my left eye on things that are close to me.  I gather that this is very unusual: essentially, I have built-in bifocals!  As the tech said, at least I'll never need Lasik.  I don't need glasses at this point--hopefully my eyes will continue to work together in peace and harmony.

For another thing, this doctor is apparently a recent convert to the joys of omega-fatty acids and touts them--at great length--as a cure or preventative for everything from eye dryness and infection to heart disease and arthritis.  Yes, I understand that there is a lot of supporting scientific evidence for this, but the enthusiasm level left me wondering if he is paid to pitch this stuff.  I get the feeling that every patient of his probably walks out the door with a sample pack of fish oil capsules, no matter why they came in.

Then, he asked about my eye history.  I mentioned that I had originally come in (to a different doctor in the practice two years ago) because I was having what turned out to be optical migraines and wanted to know what the hell was up with the occasional shimmering lights in my field of vision.  Note to anyone who is also clueless about this: it is entirely possible to have the classical migraine aura without the subsequent pain that would be the big clue for the migraine diagnosis.  Also, one grandmother had a genetic condition that affected her retinas, leaving her mostly blind.  Apparently there is a new DNA test for this, that will tell you what your risk level is of developing the disease.  He was really pushing me to have this test done.

I don't want to, for a couple of reasons.  Unless there is something I can do about it (other than wear sunglasses, which I do anyway), why have that knowledge hanging over my head??  Also, I don't want it to be an insurance issue somewhere down the line, when somebody's server gets hacked and secure medical info inevitably becomes insecure.  No, thanks very much for the offer.

But the icing on the cake was when he (having gleaned from our conversation that I am a biologist) asked if I was teaching it somewhere.  I told him that I've been working for patent lawyers since I earned my Ph.D., at which point he told me about three of the ideas for new inventions he's had recently and asked me to meet him for coffee sometime so we could discuss having me do patentability analyses for him.  Not making that up.  I'm going to assume that this was not a pickup line, although it will count as the first and only time that I have been asked out for coffee by a doctor at the end of an exam!  (As it happened, I was not wearing my wedding rings, only because last week was sparring week at the dojo and I jammed the knuckle on my wedding ring finger in a big way blocking a kick--a week later I still can't physically get my rings on.)  I politely declined the offer.      

At least I don't need another exam for a year.    

Love This

Saw this bumper sticker today and it made me laugh.  It's one of my favorites.  And yes, I know that this is a paraphrase of Tolkien's "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger," but I like the dragon version better. 

It was particularly appropriate, too, since I spent a good chunk of my day on fire-related matters.  Not that anything has burned, thankfully--just trying to organize an inspection by the state fire marshal for an event this weekend that I had no idea required fire inspection till this morning.  Nothing like short notice to get the ol' adrenaline flowing.  Because I am insane and have nothing else going on (ha), I am the chair of the committee that puts on all the fun events for my town, and the biggest one of the year is this Saturday.  If I survive until Sunday, it will be a major achievement, and will involve much wine.

One of these years, I will actually learn to use the word 'no!'

The Latest Sign That The Apocalypse Is Nigh

When I opened The Girl's backpack folder this afternoon, there was a class trip form in it.  The ones that parents have to fill in before their little darlings can leave the school grounds for educational expeditions...formal permission, insurance and allergy info, emergency contact numbers, liability release, etc.  I've filled in dozens of these things by now.

But this is the first one from The Girl's new school, which clearly does things a little differently.  Believe it or not, I am required to get this signed permission form NOTARIZED before I can return it.  I actually called another mother to see if they were serious.  Apparently this requirement is because some hospitals require a notarized signature in the event that medical treatment must be provided for the child while they are on the trip, if the parents are not immediately available, but I'm not aware of any other schools in the area that take this approach to the forms and it seems like legal overkill to the nth degree.

So...before my child can go on a two-hour school trip to a local farm for apple picking or pumpkin picking or some such wholesome fun, I have to go find a notary public.  Does anyone else think that this is completely ridiculous, or is it just me??

If I Had Not Been Up So Late Last Night Watching Football, This Post Would Be Much Less Rambling

Random thought for the day: if orthopedic surgeons are going to recommend that their knee patients ride a stationary bike for extended periods to improve their quadriceps muscle strength, they should really invent one that does not have quite such an uncomfortable and butt-numbing seat.  Ouch.

I was thinking more about my Maria post over the past weekend because of a couple of conversations I had at soccer fields.  (One good thing about all the soccer my kids play is that I do get the chance to catch up with many of my friends while watching games or practices from the sidelines.)    

One mother was telling me that her son is severely dyslexic and also on medication for ADHD.  I've known her and her son for a long time, and never had any idea.  That came as a real surprise to me.  Then, in a separate conversation at another field, I was speaking with two other mothers, one of whom has a son with social issues and ADHD (also on meds) and the other whose son is really struggling with language arts and receiving special help.  Again, I had no idea.  And I don't say that because it is any of my business to know these things--clearly it isn't, and if the moms hadn't volunteered the info in the course of casual conversations, I still wouldn't know.  What struck me is that in all three cases, if I had taken any time at all to think about it, I would have assumed from the outward appearances that all three were completely "normal" kids (however that might be defined.)

Sometimes I feel very isolated in being the parent of a special needs child.  It is both good and bad that there happen to be an unusual number of special needs kids in Thing Two's grade at our school, but in general, I've often felt like we have an extra level of challenge in our daily life that a lot of other families we know just don't have to deal with.  In thinking about these conversations and a few others, I'm coming to the realization that more parents than not probably do have something that they worry about for one or more of their kids.  It's just that some of the kids' issues are milder or easier to miss from an outsider's perspective than others, and also that some parents talk about their concerns less frequently than others.  I've always been very open about Thing Two, partially because it helps others to understand where he's coming from and partly because it's therapeutic for me to talk about it, but that doesn't mean that the parents who are quieter necessarily have any less to worry about or deal with.

Going back to the Maria post, it's that whole judging books by their covers thing again.  Seems to be a big problem of mine.  It does make me feel better to know that we are not quite as isolated as I had thought, though, although God knows I would not wish any behavioral or learning-related issues on any other child.

On a much lighter note, fall has officially arrived.  The air was positively chilly this morning, and against today's crisp blue sky, the oranges and pinks of the clusters of fall leaves are standing out in almost gaudy relief.  I took The Hound to the dog park this morning after my penitential session on the stationary bike, and she galloped and ran and wrestled joyfully in the falling leaves with another dog who was there.  The icing on the cake was that this dog turned out to be another rescue from the same rescue organization The Hound came from, which is run by a good friend of mine.  I asked the other owner for her permission to take a picture of her dog and send it to my friend, who always loves to hear how her rescues are doing at their new homes.  This one was the picture of canine health and happiness and sweetness, and I know that it will make her day to see him all grown up and loved.

Looking back on this post, I don't have the foggiest idea how to tie all these unconnected thoughts together with a coherent title.  If I can't think of one soon, I will blame my wandering mind on Sunday Night Football!