parenting

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Shelter in Place

Recently, my teenage son suffered a mental health crisis. He’s had a few mental health challenges over the past 3 years, but this one was the scariest. You don’t need to know the details, but I’ll say that I rushed home when his friends texted me to say something was wrong. Once home, I hugged my child, talked with him, held his hand, just threw my love at him because I wasn’t sure what else to do. Once the situation felt like it was under control and in a better place, I immediately deactivated my Facebook account.

It was a weird reaction, but I wanted to create a bubble around my little family right then, and getting away from social media was the only way I knew how. I didn’t want to talk with anyone or listen to anyone else. That evening I didn’t care about your favorite book you wanted everyone to know about, see the sweet photos of your grandchild or even learn how the President had fired more federal workers with no cause. That night, it was all noise to me and I needed to shut it all down. I just wanted to protect my kid.

Two days later, my son was tremendously better, yet my husband and I were left broken. Worrying about your kid’s welfare is par for the course as a parent, but when their mental health appears fragile, you’re continuously walking on eggshells and faking good cheer, all while expecting the worst to happen.

He was late coming home from work that week, and I found myself pacing and just texting him once because I didn’t want to seem too freaked out. (He ended up working late and his text to me wasn’t sent.) Each evening I asked him how his day went and searched his face for any little thing that might show more distress than usual.

And then…the college rejections started to roll in.

My son is a dreamer. He has huge plans and wants to be part of the governing body of this country in the near future. He wanted to attend a “fancy” college to go along with those dreams. Unfortunately, every single one of them has said “no thanks.” On one night, he received two flat out rejections and one waitlist. My boy’s grief and sorrow was so palpable that night. He said he felt “defeated.” And each day after that he’s receivd another rejection. There’s only one dream school left, and we expect that rejection later this week. I’ve been feeling that loss right alongside my boy, but also fear that he’ll slip back into that mental health crisis we just survived.

Yesterday, the boy and I went for a walk and we started to talk about his safety school. Here’s the thing: a safety school is great. You know you’re going to college no matter what. But once my kid was denied from attending those other schools, he realized how much he wanted to go somewhere that was NOT his safety school. We talked about his options and the fact that he has an acceptance at a different school out of state, but again, it’s not a school he really wanted to go to. He started to get angry and frustrated and I knew I needed to just back off. When we got back home, he started researching the shit out of his safety school and what classes he could take. He started asking me questions, “What are semester hours and credit hours? How many credits per class? What’s the gen ed requirement?” He made a document to understand what he needed to take for classes to graduate and what he needed for the general education classes, as well as what the college classes he’s already taken could go towards the requirements. He was on a roll, so my husband and I ran errands while the kid figured things out.

While we were running errands, at one point I said I just wanted to hurry and get back home. “Oh thank God,” my husband replied. We were both feeling anxious being away from our son. Our level of distress has ratcheted up to a whole new level this month.

But when we got home? The kid was pumped! He couldn’t stop talking about the classes he couldn’t wait to take and how he thinks he knows what he wants as a minor and actually planned out all of his classes for the next 4 years. Seriously. The next 4 years.

I was so relieved. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face! Although having my son go to the local university is not what I had hoped for him, I know he’ll still have many opportunities to grow and excel—because that’s who he is.

The private, “fancy” colleges who did not accept my son as a student, will be missing out on one incredible guy. A boy that listens to history and philosophy essays to relax, a young man who wrote a bill about immigration this week for fun, a person that watches Youtube videos about historical events because he wants to learn.

Yesterday, I told my son that although I know he’ll get a good education wherever he goes, I had hoped he wouldn’t be too close to home so he could escape the drama of his father’s ill health. “Mom,” he says. “I could be in California and wouldn’t be able to escape that. It’s just how it is.”

See? He’s such a smart boy. With a big heart.

And maybe I’m a little happy to have him less than an hour away, so when I really, really need to see and hug my son, I can do that.

Well…if he’s not too busy changing the world. ❤

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It’s Not Really About the Food

Last night I argued with my child over food. He didn’t talk to me the rest of the night, and I went to bed early without talking to anyone. I hated myself.

I was a chubby kid. I remember my first food binge. It was ice cream and no one was home. I was seven years old.

I became a morbidly obese teenager. I ate my feelings every fucking night.

In college, I lost some weight. I discovered walking and weight lifting. I was back to chubby. By my junior year, I was a Creative Writing major and I poured all of my childhood trauma and anger into stories and poetry. Did I still eat my feelings? Oh yeah, but not to the same extent.

Just after graduating from college, though, I became bulimic. Interestingly enough, my first puking session was ice cream. I ending up losing another 30 pounds or so. My dad was worried about me. I remember how he came to the video store I was working at and he was so worried I’d die from losing so much weight. This was not going to happen. I still ate a lot and just puked enough to maintain the initial weight loss. But I know it wasn’t as simple as that. I was fucked up and Dad was worried.

I went off to graduate school, still throwing up, just not as often. Then my teeth started to hurt and I had to go to the dentist at the age of 23. I hadn’t gone since I was four years old. We didn’t have the money to go when we were kids and the one time we did go, I apparently had a horrible experience. I have no memory of it, but I broke down in tears when I had to see this dentist while I was in grad school. He’s the one who told me I had a bad experience. He had seen this before. He was kindest, gentlest man and dentist. He pulled a tooth and was good to me. I stopped throwing up on purpose that day. I was too freaked to lose my teeth.

And now? I continue to struggle with my relationship with food and my weight. It sometimes comes up in therapy. Some days I just don’t care about any of it because life is too exhausting on other levels.

But now my son has gained a lot of weight. I don’t know what to do.

My beautiful boy has been on antidepressants for several years now. I think it has saved his life and I’m so, so grateful for our beloved Dr. Lauer for getting him on the right path. Unfortunately, those meds often cause weight gain. For my boy, his hunger was insatiable. Being a growing boy, his hunger could be pretty intense as it was, but this? This was bananas. Along with that, though, was his love of gaming and hatred of exercise. When you combine it all, it leads to weight gain.

I’ve worried about his physical health, although with a battery of tests he needed to do this past week, he seems to be good–except his weight is in the morbidly obese category. Just like his mom’s was at the same exact age.

Last night, we ended up fighting about a pizza, which was really a misunderstanding. But none of that was super clear last night, and I was too in my head to fix it. So this morning, I got up before 7 because my body wouldn’t let me sleep. I had coffee and just felt too unsettled to relax and read. So I started cooking. Not eating. Just cooking. I made healthy breakfast cookies, yeast rolls and sweet potato black bean chili. I listened to an audiobook while mixing and chopping and doing dishes. I felt calm but determined. I needed to fix this.

Being a 17-year-old kid, my son didn’t awake until nearly 11. I had been up for over 4 hours by then. I had a little plate with breakfast cookies on it, waiting for him, and I poured him a glass of milk. He was so happy by the cookies–it’s something I used to make a lot when he was little. I apologized to him and said we needed to talk about it. I started to cry and told him I never want him to have the fucked up relationship with food or his body that I do. I just want him to be ok and healthy and live a long, beautiful life. He hugged me and we talked about what happened. He doesn’t have a bad self-image in the least. That makes me incredibly happy. He does eat his feelings sometimes, but doesn’t seem to have that toxic relationship with food that I do.

Do I want him to lose weight? Yes. That’s an emphatic yes. I know you can be healthy and be large. But when you’re already 6’8″, you don’t fit in a lot of clothes or cars or anywhere. Being heavier increases those challenges. He’s already a broke, queer giant on antidepressants. He doesn’t need anymore challenges.

If he doesn’t lose any weight? Oh well. I’ll get over it. If my kid is healthy and happy and can find clothes that fit, then I’m happy, too.

My son is aware of my various eating disorders and he’s seen photos of me as a teen. Before, he only knew the mom who runs and eats well (most of the time). He didn’t know the person I was before and really still am. Once I showed him the photos, he understood a bit more. Today he is more aware of why his weight gain has triggered this manic urge to fill the house with salads and fruit and severely limit any kind of “junk” or processed foods. And it’s because I told him. I was honest with him.

I don’t know how long I can keep up the good meals and stores of fruit and vegetables in the house. No matter what anyone says, eating well can be expensive. But I’ve decided that it doesn’t matter right now. If I have to charge a load of groceries on my credit card, I’ll do it. (Ok, I already did.) The good meals will be harder since that shit takes time and energy that I don’t seem to have lately. But I’ll try. And I’ll get the kid to help and the husband to help when he’s able.

We’re gonna do this, damn it. This kid will be a part of changing this country for the better. I completely believe that. So I’m going to shove my own eating issues down deep and just try to feed my kid in the healthiest way I can. In this case, food really is fuel. I’m gonna fuel my boy up so he can help govern this country in the near future. He’ll be part of the generation that shows the world that we really are a country of people with differing beliefs and genders and colors and wants and needs, but we will help one another RISE UP, not be pushed down.

I’m off to meal plan for the week. It kinda feels like the beginning of a revolution. ❤

Stay well, friends.

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Take a Seat

For the past few weeks, my work has taken over my life–something I’m always telling other librarians NOT to do. But in this case, I was fighting for the library I work in and for the community it serves. It was a battle worth fighting and it looks like things might be ok. In another month the town’s budget will be voted on, and we’ll see how things turn out. The community has spoken and have shown their support for the library, its services and its staff. It was an amazing thing to see the community come together and show their love for this institution and for the work we do.

After this long, exhilarating yet exhausting week, I was looking forward to a weekend at home, reading a few books and getting some cleaning done. Yesterday morning I decided it was time to change things up. We have a sectional couch in our living room, and half of it has had some issues for some time. It was time to get rid of it.

As I pulled the cushions from the couch, I listened to Anderson Cooper’s podcast, All There Is. (Thanks, Anne.) Cooper begins the first episode of the podcast with cleaning out his mother’s apartment after she has died. This included finding some of his father’s and brother’s things. His father died of a heart condition when Anderson was 10, and his brother died from suicide when Anderson was 21. Most of the episodes talk to other famous people who have faced tremendous loss in their lives.

I had my earbuds in, listening to Anderson’s voice break when he discussed his dad, sometimes cry when he talked about either of his parents or brother. While I listened, I found myself really getting into tearing apart this couch. I took a sledgehammer to part of the wooden frame, I cut the fabric in places and other times I tore at it with my bare hands. At one point I found myself crying on the floor, thinking about my brother sitting on this very couch with me. How we would sit side by side and watch a movie and drink coffee together or talk about our latest read. I thought about my mom’s last Thanksgiving and how my son sat between us on that couch as we watched a Christmas movie together.

I was angry that my brother wasn’t there with me, helping me tear that fucking couch apart. I was angry that my mom wasn’t truly my mom for so many years before she died and devastated again that she had to die in a god damned nursing home.

And then….I wasn’t angry. Just achingly lonely. Although I have my family and my friends, sometimes the people I want are no longer here and I just feel so lonely without their presence, without their conversation and laughter and love.

Yet, what could I do at the moment? I could pound the shit out of that couch. So, I did.

This morning, though, as I drove my son to school, he turned to me and said, “You know what I realized this weekend? Right after I left work, my first job, I realized that I couldn’t share that first with Uncle or Grammy.” I nodded my head and sighed, “Yeah,” then rubbed his arm. We sat in silence the rest of the ride and told each other that we loved one another as he left the car.

As a parent, I celebrate so many of these firsts my son experiences–his first steps, first word (“no” by the way), his first ice cream cone, his first plane ride–and now I celebrate and grieve each of his firsts, and I have since my brother died 5 years ago. I just never realized that my bright, beautiful boy did, too.

When my brother, Phil, died, I was not available to my son. I thought I was to a point, but when I think about it now, and the fact that I didn’t realize that my kid would be missing his family just as much as me, I realize that I fucked up.

Yet I know I couldn’t have done anything different. During those dark days, there was a time when I was ready to die myself. I didn’t know how to live in this existence without Phil being here, too. To help my son was pretty much impossible at that time. I know I did try to listen to him and spend time with him, but once my mom moved in a few months later, my kid couldn’t count on me.

I truly hope that I’ve done better by my son since then. The amount of grief he’s had to experience would be insurmountable for some adults. He’s had to see me go through this loss while going through it himself, and literally having to pick me up off the floor. (I fainted after my mother’s funeral while he and I were home alone.)

I’ll do my best to keep the memory of my family in the present. We’ll keep acknowledging all of those firsts and talk about how proud the family would be, or what hilarious jokes my brother would tell. And I’ll keep taking my child and myself to therapy so we can continue to heal or at least function.

After all, we only have so much furniture we can tear apart.

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My Baby Boy

“Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.”~Robert Frost

I never wanted children. When my husband and I started dating seriously, I told him I had no desire to have children. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to be married, but I could see that easier than having a kid. I thought the world was pretty fucked up and I certainly had no idea what to do with a baby or a child. He, on the other hand, did want kids, but was willing to sacrifice that to be with me. Five years after we got married, my stepfather died suddenly. His death made me re-examine my life and my family and what made me happy. To this day, I still remember where my husband and I were when I told him I wanted to have a baby. We were eating at a Wendy’s 20 minutes from where we live. I was about to be 30 and I remember saying to him, “My family is so weird and wacky. Why wouldn’t I want that to continue?” Of course it still took another year for me to finally say, “Ok, let’s do this!” But after three years of trying we knew something wasn’t right. Was I too fat? Were my husband’s “boys” not good swimmers? We both had a bunch of tests and I thought for sure it was my husband. He’s 6 years older and has never been particularly healthy so I put all the blame on him. But nope! It was all me.

After a little exploratory surgery, my doctor told me my endometriosis was pretty bad and it had trapped one of my fallopian tubes. They freed it, and told us to start trying the next month. Three months later I was pregnant with our beautiful son.

There were complications along the way, and if we were living in an earlier time, my son and I would have died in childbirth or before. Placenta previa prevented me from having a natural childbirth, but once the idea of a cesarean settled into my brain, I was happy as hell about it. I was really ok not screaming and pushing and shitting and pissing. Some women feel bereft by having that experience taken away from them but I’m just not one of them. Instead, I knew the date my son would be born, I had an epidural (which is super fucking weird and unpleasant) and the doc pulled my son from my body at 2pm on April 20, 2007. He was an 8 pound beauty and just 1/2 inch shy of 2 feet long.

Jump ahead to today, fourteen years later. I am extremely fortunate to have a child who just yesterday, the day before he turned 14, asked to snuggle with me. We sat on our couch, he slouched down to put his head on my shoulder, and I smoothed out his hair while we just chatted about our weekend. To say my son brings me joy is the biggest understatement of the century. When I look at him, I see my baby, my child who is incredibly tall and clumsy and gentle and inquisitive and smart and who has to have the last word and must question why, why, why about everything! But…I can’t deny that I also see my brother. Phil was 6’6″, was also incredibly intelligent and inquisitive and morbid and made me laugh like no other.

And yet now, my son does that. My boy will tell me a story or a joke and I will laugh in a way I never have before. Literally. It’s like this wheezing laugh that I never used to have. I’m not sure what to make of it, except they say that you can laugh like you never have after living through or with pain. At this moment, that’s where I’m at. When I do laugh, especially with my son, it’s like my body and spirit are lit up with joy.

Don’t get me wrong, my boy and I argue like there’s no tomorrow. We are both stubborn and get hangry and frustrated easily. His lack of motivation drives me up the wall and I wish he’d comb his hair and brush his teeth without me asking. But all of that is absolutely nothing and I know it. I’m so grateful and damn lucky to be this boy’s mother.

When Robert Frost talked about happiness in height, I realize he wasn’t talking about people, but in this case, it fits. ❤

I love you, my son. I’m so happy you’re here.

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How Can I Help You?

If you run or walk outside a lot in rural areas, you know there’s danger–people not seeing you or purposely trying to hit you with their cars, biting dogs, bears, you get the idea. I’ve had the misfortune to face all of those things. But tonight, as I took a pre-dinner walk to clear my head, I saw a truck pull over on the side of the road up ahead of me. First thought? This guy is going to try and hurt me. But I’ve got my phone, I’m not far from home and I can run. Then I hear a car coming up behind me on the other side and realize this guy is being incredibly courteous and kind. Once the car passes, the truck pulls back on the road and the driver gives me a big smile and wave. I yell, “Thank you!” because seriously, that shit never happens.

I continue my walk and can feel my eyes prickle with tears because I just want to sit down and cry all because of this kind gesture by a neighbor. But why is that? I don’t think people have been horrible to me lately, although there’s certainly judgments thrown around constantly and many by me. When I’m out with a mask, some people look at me oddly or with that frown. If I see you without a mask I know I look at you with that same frown. And it’s all just exhausting, isn’t it? I never thought of myself as being so judgmental before (although maybe I was?), but now I’m just….I’m really awful.

I’ve always had anger issues, but no one knew about them because I ate that anger. Just in the past decade have I been able to scream my anger out or sometimes run it out and occasionally breathe it out. I can (mostly) deal with it. But now? I feel so much anger and disgust and sometimes hatred towards people I never felt anything at all for before. Why do I care? Is it because their actions can hurt me or my family or my friends? Or maybe because they already have?

I read many of my friends’ social media posts and I feel so fucking helpless. I don’t know how to help them. Many of my friends are teachers and when I read how scared and frustrated they are, I just want to hug them and tell them this will work itself out and be ok, but I can’t. I physically am not allowed or able to hug any of them and this will definitely not work itself out. This will not “just go away” any time soon. Especially since no one can talk to one another if they have differing opinions on how to solve this mess. (Although it would be nice if we could all agree that facts are FACTS and not opinions.)

My friends who are parents, especially with little ones, are struggling just as much with all of this. Their posts and shared articles are just as fucking heartbreaking. I hear my friends that have adult children say how grateful they are to not have to deal with the education piece or having to stay at home and care for their child because they just don’t know how they could do it and still work.

Exactly.

How do you do it? Friends have cut their work hours, some have upped their anti-anxiety and anti-depressant meds or have finally begun taking them. Some are drinking more, eating more, crying more. (And I’ve done a little bit of all of these things as well as let my kid spend way too many hours in front of a computer.)

So what the hell are we going to do?

I don’t know. I wish I had some amazing piece of wisdom right here, but I don’t. I have sent wine to a few friends, cards to others, and messages or emails to some. If you own a business and want me to buy something, I’ll do my best to do that to help you keep afloat. If you need any of my librarian skills like pointing you in the right direction for forms you need to fill out or reading material to help you relax or what movie will help you cry then I can do that, too. But mostly I just listen. I don’t know what else I can do, but listen to you and truly hear you. I will respond if you want me to, or just nod my head in agreement and virtually hug you.

I do hope that some day, when the world is different but maybe feels a bit safer, I still like the person I’ve become. Right now I’m not so sure. I think at this moment I’m too selfish, self-centered and judgmental to really like who I am. Or maybe that’s the person I’ve become due to all the losses in my life. Either way, this pandemic has become a pivotal moment in our lives and it would be impossible to not be affected by it. I just hope that when all is said and done, I and you, too, will not have regrets about our words and actions towards others, and that we’ll be ok.

Let’s just be ok.

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Adulting

My 11-year-old son has recently asked for cooking lessons from my husband and I. We’ve tried to get him to cook or bake for his entire childhood, but he’s had little interest until now. We’ve done pasta and scrambled eggs and even a basic frozen pizza so he can conquer his fear of the oven. We had a little lesson on laundry, too, or at least how to work the washer and dryer, but that will take some more time.

All of this got me thinking about the term “adulting.” I will tell you right now that I despise the word.  It’s just some cute, irritating word someone thought up that just means basic life skills that someone should have taught you years ago. (And yes, I realize it can mean more than that, like buying your first appliance, but since I have been a responsible adult since the age of 7, the word just bites my ass.)

adultingSo…if creating a budget or balancing your checkbook (am I the only one who still does that?) is “adulting,” then what have I been doing these past few years? If that crap is adulting, what is taking care of your son and working full-time and attempting to navigate the healthcare system for your dementia and diabetes-ridden mother and now taking turns with your family to be with your father who can no longer be left alone?  And what about trying to maintain healthy and fulfilling relationships, including one with yourself?

Is this “Middle-ageing”? Being a member of the Sandwich Generation Club? Or maybe just Life?

I had a little meltdown a few weeks ago, just feeling tremendously overwhelmed with these responsibilities that I did not and still do not feel prepared for. I might have even stomped my foot. But with tears in my eyes, both my husband and I just started to laugh. I mean, what else can you friggin’ do? I can cry you and every other human being on the planet a river, but laughing is something I don’t do enough of these days. My brother was the one who made me laugh the most.  I need and want him here more than ever. But I guess that’s one reason why I can cry you a river, right? Maybe I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed if he were here. Or maybe I’d just feel like ME again.

And that’s what I’m really trying to do. I’m trying to figure out who I am without my brother. I can’t be whole again, that I know for a fact. But I should be able to piece me together somewhat. There are facets of me that still exist–a runner (even though I’m currently sidelined with an injury), a librarian, a reader, a writer, a mom, a wife, a friend, a daughter and a sister. I am a FBG (Former Big Girl) on the outside but a Forever Big Girl on the inside. I’m mostly kind and generous but fiercely protective of my family. I am often brutally honest but sometimes not honest enough, especially to myself.

Maybe adulting is just another term for growing up. Maturing. Finding your way in the world. And many of us, even at age 45, are still trying to figure that out.

 

 

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The Big Scary World

briaroceanI’ve always loved this photo of my son. He wasn’t quite 4 years old when it was taken. It always scares me a bit to look at it, thinking of my boy going out in the big wide world, having to face some challenges alone but also having to handle problems I never even imagined.

This past year my boy has had to deal with more than his fair share of sadness, despair and hard times. It’s one thing to think that I will never be the same after my brother’s death, but I’m 44 years old. To realize that my 10-year-old will never be the same is an entirely different story. He certainly has sad days but he also has more anger than ever before. Just this week, the topic came up about saying goodbye to someone before they died and my son started to cry and spit out, “Just like I never got to SEE someone and say goodbye!” I started to sob right along with him but held him tight against me. I told him how sorry I was, but I also told him that his uncle would never, ever forgive me if I had let my son see his uncle in the hospital hooked up to all of those machines. Phil didn’t want any of us to see him that way.

As a parent, I often wonder what my child can handle and what he can’t. I want to believe him when he says certain things don’t bother him or that he really can do this or that. He told me that sometimes when my mother lived with us, it was ok.  And sometimes it was, but the relief that kid showed when his grandmother moved out was unmistakable. And I don’t have any doubt that seeing my brother the way he was on that last day would have been horribly traumatic for my son, because it certainly was for me.

For whatever reason, I thought a lot about that day today.  I couldn’t tell you what triggered the memory, but there it was. I was actually in the dentist’s chair when it trickled through my mind and I had to hold back a sob while keeping my mouth open so the hygienist could clean my teeth. Really not the best place to have a mini breakdown.

Will my son always wonder and possibly regret not having those last few moments with his uncle? I tried to remind him this week of his last conversation with Phil. It was the same day I had my last back and forth conversation with him. He was in the hospital and my son was in Florida visiting his grandparents. I brought my laptop into the hospital and my brother and son talked via Skype. They chatted about the weather and my son showed his uncle some YouTube video about a video game and they joked around for a bit and they told each other that they loved each other. They said what mattered.

I know I don’t have this parenting thing pinned down yet because I’m still making mistakes every damn day and I’m not sure I’ll ever know what good or harm I’ve done to this poor kid. I’m just trying to listen to him and love him and do what I think is best for him. I think I’m doing and saying what matters.

That’s all I can really do, isn’t it?

 

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That First Step

I’ve always said that blogging has been my own source of therapy. I write about my issues, get everything out of my heart and head and typically I feel better. I often get feedback from my readers, many of them being my friends, and usually I feel like my head is clearer, my body a little lighter and I’m not as alone as I thought I was.

But now….now I think blogging might not be enough.

As I’m writing this post, my brother has been gone for 11 weeks, 5 hours and 11 minutes. I think I hurt more now than I did that day. Everything was fresh and raw and horribly painful that day, but now I feel empty. Hollowed out. Lost.

For the past few weeks, I’ve known that I should seek out counseling. The combined stress of trying to care for my mother and dealing with my grief has been overwhelming.  One morning when my boss encouraged me to give the counseling program a call, I broke down in tears and told her I just couldn’t. My mom’s health has deteriorated very quickly in the past few months and I’m taking her to one doctor or another each week, sometimes twice a week. The thought of adding something new to my schedule broke me.

Then my best friend started nudging me, trying to get me to make that call. I put it off for another week then finally made the first call. This was just to set me up and give me a list of counselors I can call and try to meet with. My stomach hurt the entire time and I willed my voice not to shake. After the call ended, I put my head down on the table and cried. If it’s this difficult just to get a list of names, how the hell will I be at an actual session?

Now that I have my list, I still haven’t been able to call anyone. In fact, two days after getting the list I thought, “Ok. This is good to have, but I’m really fine. I can handle this.” I spent the afternoon cleaning my mother’s home, having lunch with her and taking her to the store. Sometimes when I spend time with Mom, I miss her. I miss the person she used to be. I felt like that this week, but I also tried to make the best of the situation. We chatted about food, my son, our cats and how beautiful the leaves were looking. “I can do this, ” I thought.

And then I spent the evening with my son. We’ve been watching The Flas71289d196e3604c520bb1fdd7bf20310h on Netflix. So, if you haven’t been watching season 3 of The Flash and intend to, skip this part now. *SPOILER ALERT*  In this episode, Cisco, one of my favorite characters because he makes being a geek look so damn cool, has been seeing visions of his dead brother, Dante. Cisco gets his hands on an artifact that messes with his mind and he eventually must seal the artifact away. But in doing so, he will never see his brother again. His rational mind knows that this image isn’t really his brother, but it doesn’t make the task any easier. So he has to choose–see his brother again or lose his brother forever but save his friends’ lives.

As Cisco makes his choice, I cover my face and sob into my hands. My son asks me what’s wrong, but I can’t answer. I’m sobbing so hard that it’s difficult to breathe, much less talk. My sweet boy then slides closer to me on the couch and hugs me. I end up crying on his shoulder, literally. I finally pull myself together after a minute and let my boy go. All he says is, “Uncle?” I nod. I apologize to him, but he said that it was ok. Then he takes off his shirt and says, “Here, Mom. You can just use this as a tissue.”

I love that kid so much.

So…after that little breakdown, all from a damn tv show no less, I think I might be able to make that phone call. Or I know I should.

I know I have to at least try. That’s all I can promise myself right now. But it’s a start.

 

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Double Digits

It’s been one decade since my son was born. Ten years. On many days, it seems like just yesterday I was changing his diapers and  yearning for an entire night of sleep. Most of the time, though, it feels like the baby days were a lifetime ago. And I’m totally ok with that.

I didn’t do so well with the newborn/infant stage. Like many parents, I had no idea what I was doing. Although to be honest? I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing but I’ve learned to fake it. I love my boy with everything I have and I try to listen to him and encourage him to make good choices and I try to be a decent role model. I think that’s the best I can do.

As my son gets older, each new year brings my new favorite age. At one, he started walking. At age four, we could start having conversations. At five he was reading to me and telling me stories. At seven I realized what a funny kid he was  (and is) and what a class clown he had become. At nine, his YouTube channel debut made me just as proud as it made him. And now at ten? Who knows what the year will bring. But I know how happy I am at the human being he’s becoming.

These past few days as we’ve driven home, the boy has read Garfield and Peanuts comics to me until we both laughed so hard we couldn’t breathe. And in the past month, we’ve had the best discussions about gender roles and stereotypes and about how fantastic it was to finally see a gay boy in a graphic novel for middle schoolers. (Thank you, Raina Telgemeier!!) I feel like I’m pretty liberal in my political and social views on the world, but my son’s ideas have challenged them. He’s of the belief that anyone really can do anything. If you’re a boy and want to join the Girl Scouts, you should. If you’re a girl and want to join the Boy Scouts, you should do that. He doesn’t see anything “wrong” or even “weird” for either of those scenarios.  If you’re transgender? Great! If you’re not? Great! It doesn’t matter to him. Just do what you want to. Accept everyone, no matter what. Don’t tolerate, accept. And I find that absolutely awesome.

I think my boy will find the world a challenging place and it often won’t bend the way he wants it to. But hopefully in the future he can change what he’s able to and go with the flow when he needs to.

For right now though? For right now I hope he can continue to just be himself–the gamer, the tall kid, the sports player, the reader, the clown, the actor, the Youtuber, the creator of zombie peep massacre dioramas, the cat lover, the writer–and be happy with who he is and who he is becoming. Because I certainly am.

Happy 10th birthday, my beautiful boy!

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End of Summer

Typically, this time of year fills me with happiness. The nights are just starting to cool down, a few leaves have already turned a lovely shade of red, and school is about to begin. The smell of new sneakers lingers in our home, pencils are sharpened, the backpack is filled with notebooks and folder and my kid is excited to see his friends again.

Yet this year? This year I am completely filled with dread.

Fall means school and school means homework and schedules and getting up early to make supper for that night and begging other parents to take my kid to soccer practice and squeezing in running so I don’t have a complete mental breakdown. Arguments will begin over me feeling stressed and not everyone pulling their weight at home and more arguments about homework and bedtime and Oh my god I already want to tear my hair out and school hasn’t even started!!!

Goodbye-Summer

*deep breath*

*breathe in and out*

Ok. Let’s start over.

Hi. I had a pretty damn good summer. Did you?

Are you sad summer is nearly over?

Me, too!

Now let’s go get a drink and dream about NEXT summer!

Cheers!