Blue Ridge blog

Let us not forget there was happiness on Saturday....

The after prom tragedy certainly over-shadowed the festivities leading up to the big night. Still, I don't want to forget how perfectly red my youngest's dress was ( 2nd from left ) and how happy she seemed to be getting ready for the evening.
I cut fresh red azaleas and placed them in their vases on the bathroom counter as the three friends were twigging their tresses.
"Awww. You are trying to impress the boys, aren't you?" youngest speculated.
"Of course not silly. It is my feeble attempt to help make the house worthy of your beauty," I replied.
I think she smiled in that 'my-mother-is-a-dork' sort of way.... but I was sincere.

Note: I did not ask her permission to post this image but my eldest encouraged me to do it anyway since I've subjected her to my blog on numerous occasions.

Note: Youngest texted me and said the environment at the high school was crazy: "TV crews around and everyone is acting weird, but I'm ok."

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.

When sometimes all you can muster is a heavy sigh....

Last night as my husband and I walked out of Watauga High School, we high-fived each other as we celebrated the first of our last things we'll ever have to do as parents of children in public school. We never ever have to go to Open House again.
Whew.
OK, the experience is not horrible, but other than putting a face to the name of a teacher our child sometimes mentions, the exercise is almost pointless. Sure, I did glean a bit of helpful information in the 'Just for Seniors' meeting beforehand, but that was separate from the Open House.
Since we've done this thing 12 or 13 times before, we know the drill. We sit in small chairs. We watch teacher write email address on the bulletin board. Teacher says things about the class. Then parents try to impress the teacher with their questions.
Whoever coined the phrase,' There are no stupid questions,' was wrong.
Just last year my all time favorite stupid question was served up to our daughter's math teacher:
"My daughter already did her homework you gave her today. May I turn it in now?"
The question of course, was followed up by great big sucking up noises. To the teacher's credit, she didn't miss a beat and ignored the woman.
Another favorite stupid question of mine was asked two years ago when a woman raised her hand in English class and in front of God and everyone announced her daughter's huge emotional problems. "You're going to be able to deal with that, right?" she asked the teacher. "See me after class," the teacher replied.
Although last night was fairly tame (overall parental attendance was low), we did hear one entertaining question which I fear to reveal because I never know who reads my blog anymore.
But, when I heard it asked in French class I knew immediately I had a winning stupid question submission to our private little contest. And almost immediately I knew my husband agreed because from behind he gave my ponytail a pull.

I'll file this post under 'The stupid things Marie does when she is bored'....

The photo is an old Studebaker for sale and is sitting in front of the Taylor family farm in Valle Crucis.

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...