Wow-things you could never imagine saying to your precious child:  "Dad and I thoroughly enjoyed our pub crawl.  Find your own ride home."  LOLOLOLOLOLOL.  I mean seriously-I think you have to have a teen to appreciate.  And I am so happy to be at this point-and it shocks me.  Truly.  I really did not anticipate how much I would feel that way.  I haven't met this kid who is having the viewing party.  I'm sure he's another speech and debate "good kid." Probably super funny and smart.  Perhaps closeted.  I don't think they're playing spin the bottle or smoking weed or drinking.  Whatever.  I don't need to know his parents. And yes- I realize if it went horribly wrong I'd look like the idiot parent stammering on tv or from the stand,  "I trusted her."  Oh for god's sake.  I'm ready to have my "freedom".  And I know I'm really far from that considering Gabriel is turning 6.  And I'm not saying I'm going to pull an AL.  But I have never (with rare exception) been a helicopter parent.   I'm right there-packing lunches, driving them all to various activities after school-but I don't feel mentally like I'm on them.  I'm not.  The 3 day parent orientations?  Um, no.  Not happening.  I'm not orientating.  THEY are.  I already went to college.  I love them.  I find them fascinating and brilliant and adorable.  I trust they will find friends and love interests that will appreciate them.  But I can't be on that journey with them.  They need to do it themselves. And maybe I'll hear about it.  I hope I'm able to be supportive and empathetic and not psycho.

We made it through the first week of OPE.  And??  It went so well.  A is in Mr. D's class-and over half the class is the same as last year.  His two very best friends are now in the class-and he's never had that before.  Ever.  I'm so happy for him.  They stayed over last night.  His first sleepover.  G got the "best" kindergarten teacher.  Liam is with him.  Lots of nice kids.  He really loved his first week.  And I feel like he is SO prepared from Donna and Emily.  The choking kid?  He told an adult, and acknowledged that the kid was just playing "rough and crazy"-nothing personal.  Nothing traumatic. I saw him on the playground-he was getting pushed and turned around and said in a firm, no nonsense kind of way-"Stop pushing me."  Both of these things are because he was coached by his teachers last year.  E got her schedule for this year-it's a dream first semester.

30 Years Later

I was so excited to go to my 30 year high school reunion.  I bought my ticket, made my travel arrangements, got Lisa to commit-never wavered.  Figured I had the summer to pull myself together and get to my "best self" and go.  And what happened?  Lisa kept talking about not remembering anyone.  And then it really dawned on me-who am I going for?  What is the point?  I had so few friends in high school-it's not like I have this wealth of happy memories to relive-what am I going to say to these strangers?  Hi-I'm happy-here's a brief rundown of my life-happily married/4kids/sandiego/sahm/liketotravel&read&entertain/lotsofvolunteeractivities/nowi'majew
It's so much money/time to spend on something that just doesn't matter.  I went to my 10 year and I got that feeling of "hey-look what I've accomplished! High school sucked but look at me now-SMC graduate, great job in HR, live in Sausalito, dating awesome guy!"
It was really nice to see some people and catch up.  But now-with FB-I have a gist of what people are up to.  And otherwise-I have nothing to prove or show.  And there's no one I need to reconnect with.  I'd rather be here with my family, potentially see the Pfeiffers (people I do care about catching up with!) and not spending $1000 for a weekend away and by myself.

Thoughts as summer winds down . . .

I'm having my usual pre-school freak out. Even though I have been saying it should be an easier year-down to 3 schools, no bar mitzvah prep, E has her license, A should have Mr. D. again-I have this underlying sense of "you never know .  .  ."  I'm a worrying freak-this I know.  No matter how I front.  Even though I appear to be a very calm and patient person-inside, not so much.  What if:  they all have awful years, E bombs her classes and her tests, A has weird social issues, B all of a sudden has the typical, awful middle school experience, G gets the "bad" teacher and hates kindergarten, all the OPE Lulu tennis playing Olivenhain bs mom crap, somebody has health issues, we have weird financial issues, I overcommit to Solel and end up doing stuff I hate, dealing with my parents & my bro, this fall we're pretty much going to have a month of houseguests.  Okay-and clearly I've had a lot of crappy thinking and acting going on for the last 6 weeks.  Why?  Punishing myself?  Trying to disappear so I don't have to interact?  What's the deal?  I feel like crap.  When I feel like crap I don't want to see people, I just want to hide out.  I had been doing a lot of social stuff-feeling like I was really starting to make good, solid friendships with people I truly enjoy (opposite of havurah social scene which just felt like I was filling my weekend).  So why would I be shutting down?  Because along with that can come weird drama (Solel) and interactions.  Sometimes I feel like it's easier to keep it superficial because there's less angst.  There's also less real connection-I recognize this.  Also-it was such a busy year, I was/am upset with my parents over the bar mitzvah, I was trying to hibernate in a sense.  Just zone out.  But all the stuff I was doing was the opposite of re-engergizing.  I know this rationally.  Eating crap food and not moving my body, drinking too much, procrastinating on getting the house/myself pulled together, not really dealing with the kids and Stefan-it digs me deeper into a hole.  And even though I recognized it, instead of bouncing back-I accelerated the process.  I pushed myself further down.  Ugh.  It's this seriously shitty cycle that I can't seem to break free from.  I guess the highways in my brain are so ingrained with this crap-it's what I always revert to.  Even though I have had so much coaching.  Even though I know about turnarounds.  (of course knowing them and doing them are two DIFFERENT things).  Even though I see myself very clearly doing it-buying the snack foods I'll binge on, charging the iPad to lay on the coach, obsessively checking those celeb gossip sites.  I started it also when I realized I was losing weight in the late spring.  It freaked me right out.  Because ????????????  In my mind when I look healthy and strong and feel energetic and my best-I radiate good energy, I draw people to me and that's scary?  I feel vulnerable? I'll need to do "more" and have to "get out there" and that's scary?  Because ???  this is the crux of it.  this is what I need to discover and work through.  is it the same old middle school bullshit?  my family crap?  I'm so sick of being defined by a few emotionally disturbed kids, a fragile mother, and my quivering sense of self.  UGH.  Enough.  NO-clearly it's not "enough".  It's still there and they are old, ingrained beliefs and thoughts that I need to attack head on each and every time.  They are not going to go away.  I need to actively practice turnarounds so these things don't snowball.