Blue Ridge blog

Good times gone horribly wrong...

A few details about the death of Ben Pickett may be found here and here. Many, many Watauga High students did attend the unchaperoned party. Rumor has it that Pickett was stabbed because of a miniscule two year old drug debt. Ben certainly was not of pristine character, but had recently turned his life around. No 18/19 year old deserves to die nor should others his age have to watch it happen. Ben attended Valle Crucis Elementary school, was friendly and well-like by many. In fact, both my daughters said they had seen him this week and had great catch-up conversations with him. This mess is what I call stupid tragic.
And no, my daughter was not at the after-prom party because I would not allow her to attend and she knew better than to ask.

Senior Moments

It was nearly midnight on Saturday and I waited for two more dances my daughter's team had yet to perform. As I rested my head upon my husband's shoulder I recognized the chatter of nearby friends, other mothers of seniors in high school. Not sure what they were giggling about-perhaps it was the latest hoochie coochie costume to appear on stage or maybe the master of ceremony calling out for the 3000th time 'Emily,' the current nom du jour.  The Senior Moms were taking it all in stride. Nothing phases these seasoned pros who have learned to shrug off everything except life's darkest of moments. Gone are the frivolous worries of early Momhood. The Senior Mom's job is mostly done. Sure, there is college and the adult years with which to contend, but really, the full control part of Momdom is over.
I normally reserve my camera's pixels for the dancers at these conventions, but this time I turned it towards the Senior Moms. It seemed fitting after years of sitting in the audience, watching endless ballgames, recitals and school plays that they should have a Senior Moment in the spotlight--even if it is only on my little blog.
Amy Kane's post on being an Audience Mom  inspired this post a little. She's a Senior Mom currently enjoying her bout of Senior Moments .
And for all of you fresher mothers, I happened upon a column in Newsweek written by Paula Spencer who is not afraid of a chocolate chip cookie.  Paula and I could be friends....

And give me a break on the photo quality. Not only had my bedtime passed, but the lighting really stunk in there...