Timing is Everything

Both of my teens recently brought home paperwork about classes for next school year. This brought up issues related to our hopefully upcoming move to Florida. For now, I told them to go ahead and fill out the paperwork, just in case they were still here. BUT--we are all certainly HOPING to be in Florida by then! My son will be a Junior next year--no matter where he goes to school, he will have to take his basic courses and will have about two electives. If he doesn't choose those electives now, he may not be able to get into them in the fall. If we stay, he will get the electives he wanted. If we go, he may have a hard time choosing the electives he wants at a new school. I think he will be okay--but still, he REALLY wants to hurry up and get to Florida! Why do they make them choose their electives so early?! I hope he will be able to get the electives he wants if we move late in the summer! And my daughter--let's just say that she is NOT thrilled about starting high school here!! She is DYING to move before school starts in the fall!! They told her to go ahead and choose some electives here just in case. She cannot even begin to face that possibility! And when we move, she says that she doesn't care WHAT electives she gets because she will just be so glad to FINALLY be there! Oh, well--I just hope that everything will work out good for both of them. I WISH we could have moved earlier so this would not even be an issue. Timing really IS everything!

More Break-Ups and Broken Hearts

I don't know all of the details, but it seems that both my son and daughter are dealing with broken hearts right now. My son and his girlfriend broke up recently--and I think the ex has moved on to another guy now, and my son is heartbroken. My daughter broke up with her "school boyfriend" the other day--it seems that there were some jealousy issues, but I'm not sure. It was all so casual an innocent anyway--she wasn't really "in love"--she was a bit sad, but not too heartbroken. Now, they need some time to reflect, learn from the experience, and move on. I don't think there are any real serious issues--neither one of them were in serious relationships--thank GOD at this age!! NO--14 and 16 seems to be the stage where they are just beginning to dabble in like/love/dating/breaking-up issues. I know the tougher times are ahead, though. I hope they give themselves plenty of time to figure this out as they continue to mature. I hope they realize that they just aren't emotionally ready for REAL love and REAL relationships yet. I think they are going to be just fine!

Inauguration Day

What a beautiful day it was! I couldn't be there, but I watched every moment of it on television: AWESOME! Unfortunately, my teens were not allowed the opportunity to watch it while at school. They may have missed it as it was actually happening, but they did see a lot of news coverage about it when they returned home. My daughter and I enjoyed watching the Inauguration Balls--especially when Beyonce sang "At Last." What a special moment! What a special day!

Embarrassing Moments

My daughter has had a few embarrassing moments lately. I don't want to embarrass her further by discussing the details, so let's just say that nothing happened that would scar her for life or anything--just general, mild embarrassment. And I certainly remember how amplified and exaggerated embarrassment can be for teenagers! The best advice I can give her is to just walk back into the situation with her head held high--and sometimes laughing about it can help, too. Other than that, I guess being embarrassed every now and then is just a fact of life that everyone has to learn to live with eventually. A few days have passed since the embarrassing moments occurred--she seems to be "over it" at this point. Hallelujah! I can see that she is becoming quite resilient about these kind of things. That means that she is beginning to mature into a strong and confident young woman. I am proud of her! :)

Doctor's Appointment

My daughter needed to go to the doctor the other day, and the only doctor's office that she has been to for years is the pediatrician's office. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear to me that both of my teenagers have really outgrown going there--but finding new doctors is not a fun or easy task. Unless there was a problem that meant they needed to see a specialist, most visits were quick and they remained dressed--just needed to have ears/nose/throat examined or something like that. As they measured and weighed her, I realized that she is fully grown physically--and my son is, too. They may not quite be emotionally mature as adults should be, but their bodies have almost completed growing. My daughter is a half inch taller than I am--she may grow another inch or so(she is 14). My son is about as tall as his father--may grow more, too(he is 16). But they look like full grown adults! It does seem funny to see them sitting there in the waiting room with all of the little kids--and the exam rooms are decorated with cute characters--they DO look way out of place there! I will probably wait until we move and have to choose new doctors anyway--but I think our time at the pediatrician's office is just about up! Time to move on! :)

Get a Haircut!!

Have you noticed what the popular look for teenage boys is these days? SHAGGY!! Not long all over, not mullet style, not afro style--just messy/shaggy mop-top style! You remember that from the 70s, right? Like "Shaggy" on Scooby Doo? THAT is the "in" style now!! It's funny how I am suddenly feeling conservative about these things: every time I see that style(EVERYWHERE!), I cannot help it--my immediate thought is: GET A HAIRCUT!!! The fact that I am a chld of the 60s and 70s makes this ironic! I watched in horror as crew-cut fathers told their long-haired sons to: GET A HAIRCUT! Hey--I was a teenager in the 80s--I know all about the "hair bands" of that day! I don't know--I just haven't seen many teenage boys lately that I think have "good hair"--and I am HIGHLY aware that it doesn't matter what I think!--that is WHY they like it the way they do: if parents like short hair, they are going to like longer hair! Still: I may bite my tongue and not say a word, but I cannot get the words "Get a haircut" out of my mind when I see the shaggy styles worn today! And my son--he actually BELIEVES that his hair looks better with the longer shaggy style!! I showed him some of his photos from just a few months ago when he had a nice short hair cut--I HONESTLY think he looks SO much better with shorter hair! He cringed and he actually thought he looked worse with the shorter hair--he says he likes it much better like it is now(shaggy!). He also said that everyone agrees with him EXCEPT his parents!--surprise, surprise!! Oh, well! I will just bite my tongue and keep my opinion to myself I guess--this is a "pick your battles" issue--I am not worried about it (even though I think he looks SO much better with the shorter hair!!) :)

Yes Man

My son went to see "Yes Man " with his friends the other day. He said that it was funny--not the best Jim Carrey movie, but pretty funny. He had watched "Liar, Liar" on tv not long ago, and he said that it was VERY similar. I guess the idea behind both movies really are similar--kind of like "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "Honey, I Blew Up the Kids"--slight differences but many similarities. Even if they were "clone movies," if it is funny, then go for it, right? Jim Carrey is brilliant in his ability to morph into these bizarre characters! Just watching his face can get most of us laughing! :)