Per Miss M's Request

Hi! I have been absent here for a long time again. Miss M and I were talking and it turns out she likes it when I write about her and she wanted me to start to write again. She almost always gets what she wants so I guess this is no different.

I'll give you the Cliff Notes version of what you've missed to start.

Miss M is now 16, almost 17. She's driving. A car. By herself. Today she scheduled college classes for her senior year of high school. (Post-secondary education option) She has a boyfriend who lives in another state. We visited him and his family last summer and he flew here to take her to prom last month. He's a nice kid and he makes her laugh so that's half the requirements for a good relationship right there. M was playing softball up until this year when a certain coach killed her love of the game. Pisses me off to no end, but that's another post for another day. I think I have a pretty good relationship with Miss M, but I have been known to make some major embarrassing mom blunders, so that might depend on the day or the week. Oh and she's GORGEOUS. I'll post a photo in a future post. Maybe. Or I'll just keep her gorgeousness to myself. We shall see.

In other news, my son emerged from his room, sat on my lap, and farted on me just now, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Speaking of the K Man, he just finished his Freshie year in high school. He's finding high school much more tolerable than middle school was and is doing well. He's always been a bit worried about his (lack of) height but is now almost as tall as I am. (I'm 5'9") The boy eats constantly but is still skinny as a rail. I miss those days when I was like that! K Man makes me laugh all the time, and I make him laugh too. I think we have very similar senses of humor. It's almost like I birthed and raised him! Weird! K Man will be 15 this summer so driver's education and permit for driving are in his near future. He is a computer whiz and teaching himself to code in several languages. I don't even know what he's doing because I'm not that smart. Oh and he's such a HANDSOME dude. Of course he is, because I grew him.

Ms. D. My baby. She is finishing with elementary school and heading for middle school. I NO LONGER HAVE KIDS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! (After 2 more days.) She had her 5th grade slide show today that we give a "baby" photo for and then they take a current photo. Everyone knew D right away because she's just always been Ms. D. This girl is full of confidence and sass. I have no worries about her fading into the background anywhere. But she is also kind, I hope. Though we have our moments where the sass comes out and I have to tell her she is just being rude. She's playing softball, following in her sister's footsteps, but getting more of a chance at it since M didn't start playing until 9th grade. Should have started her sooner, but I didn't think or know about it I guess. D is learning to pitch, but she lacks discipline so far. Hope she can focus in the future!

My husband is still around. I've rarely, if ever, written about him, because I try to respect that my need to write doesn't mean it's okay to write about others. We've been married for a little more than 18 1/2 years now and together for about 23 years. We have a real relationship. I don't pretend it's always roses. If anyone married for a number of years says it's all fantastic I'm pretty sure they're lying. But we're committed to each other and we make it work. We've been through a lot of shit together. Health problems for our parents is challenging these last several years. His brother's death. Aunts and Uncles of both of ours passing on. Marriage is hard. Parenting is hard. But we keep at it. We'll get through this too.

As for me? I'm working with kids who struggle with life in general. I'm about one year away from becoming a mental health practitioner. Every day I work with kids is an adventure. I am the safe person for several students. Most of the kids I work with have had or are experiencing some type of childhood trauma. I've forged relationships. I've been kicked. I still know those kids need someone like me.

Until next time.