The "Cool Mom" (do the kids still say "cool"?)

This time last year I was the proud and sobbing mother of a High School Graduate.  Happy to report she has successfully completed her first year of college and is doing well. Tonight I will be chaperoning the band for this year's graduation ceremony. I have been to all of the graduation ceremonies at our high school since my oldest was a freshman.

I have cried at every one of them.

Yes, I'm that mom. I'm the mom that most of the kids know. I don't want to say I'm the "cool mom" because I think all the kids would roll their eyes at that phrase, but I am the mom that most of the kids know. I'm the mom who volunteers to work the concession stand for Friday night football games rather than sit in the stands and watch my band kid perform. I'm the mom who chaperones band trips because I love these kids. I've watched them grow from awkward middle schoolers to awkward high school underclassmen to amazing, bright, talented young men and women.

And tonight I will watch another group of them as they receive their diplomas and move on. And I will cry. I can't help it! It's my own fault for getting involved in the first place. If I was the mom who just showed up when I absolutely HAD to, or just phoned it in, these things would be so much easier. But that's not who I am. I choose to be involved. I LIKE helping out, I want to know who my kids' friends are, and I love getting to know the other parents who are as devoted to the cause as I am. It's a brotherhood/sisterhood sort of thing. You get to know the parents who really want to help and you get to mock the rest who never show up.

So here's to another graduation, the passing of time, the growing up of our children. Best of luck to them and to the parents who made them who they are. And here's to the teachers who helped guide them. I'll have Kleenex ready.

Squirrels under my car, entitled teens and more!

I'm not having a good week. Yes, I know there are those who are far worse off than I am. But damn, this has been a week. And not a good one.

Today I ran over a squirrel while driving my darling youngest child to school. Stupid squirrel. When I got home I went to log onto my computer and Windows 10 had decided to install itself without my permission. Screw you, Windows 10, I'm declining your ass. Don't mess with me today or you'll end up like the squirrel.

Normally I am a very involved parent when it comes to my kids' schools. I'm in the Band Booster org, I provide assistance when asked and I always attend their functions, be it a concert or an induction ceremony or an end of year banquet. Once again I'm on the team putting together our band banquet. Remember how much fun this was in previous years?? 

Glutton for punishment, party of one?

Anyway, this week we had two such end of year banquets. Tuesday's was fine. But last night's was quite an eye opening experience. I sat and listened to the student president of this school organization speak for a full 5 minutes about how difficult this year was for the club. She took over as president last spring and at the beginning of this year, the faculty advisor for the club wanted to step down, and another advisor stepped up to take over. But to hear this high school senior talk about the transition, you would have thought they had asked her to tear down the school building and rebuild it alone, brick by brick. It was ridiculous. She sounded so put-upon I almost wanted to take up a collection for her.

She then went on to say how pleased she was with their toy drive over the holidays. They collected so many toys for kids who were 'not as prominent or as well-off as we are'. I literally choked on my beverage when she said that. I looked at my kids and they both said "Mom, you KNOW how entitled she is. When you look up 'entitled' in the dictionary, there she is". The best was when we left the school. For some reason the flags were flying at half mast.  We tried to remember who had passed away recently but came up empty. My only conclusion was they were flying the flags at half mast for the trials and tribulations that the president had gone through this year.

What kind of kids are we raising? If she went on and on complaining at an end of year banquet about how difficult this year was for her because she was MILDLY INCONVENIENCED, what in the world will she do when she gets to college and she is responsible for getting assignments in, homework finished, exams done all while doing her own laundry and getting to the damn dining hall before it closes? HOW WILL SHE LIVE???? The mind reels.

The week wasn't total shit. I did run a really good half marathon on Sunday, hitting my goal of finishing in under 3 hours. And I had a really good time with the friends with whom I ran. I'm thankful to have both my girls at home, happy and healthy. I have a job that I love and my muscles are almost feeling better after the run. Today is my 21st wedding anniversary so that's cause for celebration. So yeah, life is good. But sometimes, the bumps are annoying and I just have to vent.

What bugs you lately?

100 Mile Races, MyCharge and a GIVEAWAY!!

Those of you who read this blog on the regular know that I have an insane and amazing friend named Susan. You'll remember that Susan was the mastermind behind the drive-by painting of my house. She was also involved in my almost-arrest in DC a few weekends ago. What you don't know is that she has a giant heart and is known for doing incredible things. This past weekend was no exception.

Susan signed up to run the C&O Canal 100 Mile Race and this past weekend was the big event. Over the past few months, many of us had been helping her train for this massive undertaking. Now, make no mistake: I think she's nuts. Coocoo for Cocoa Puffs. Off the rails on a Crazy Train. But I love her and would do just about anything for her (EXCEPT run 100 miles with her).  I was totally on board, though, with supporting her and running a leg of the race with her. There were several of us on board. Part of the support was making sure she had enough supplies, and among those supplies was a phone charger she could rely on.

As luck would have it, myCharge sent me the brand new myCharge HUB Max. I got it in the mail on Thursday and charged it up so that Susan could take it with her on her run.

It's equipped with an Apple Lighting™ cable as well as an integrated micro-USB cable so you can charge an iPhone OR an Android. It's compatible with smartphones AND tablets and trust me, we found out that this thing lasts for HOURS.

Susan's phone died fairly quickly in the early part of the run and she had a small, cheap portable charger that gave her phone enough juice for about 2 hours. Then? Her phone died again. When we gave her the myCharge HUB Max, she plugged in her Android and it not only took her through the afternoon and evening but her phone was still fully charged at 10:00 at night AND the charger was STILL on 2 bars worth of power. THAT is INCREDIBLE.

And guess what! I've got a SECOND myCharge HUB Max to give away to one of YOU lucky readers!! The retail value of this item is $129.99 and it's worth every penny! If you aren't lucky enough to win this one, you can use promo code "MOM" to save 40% off the purchase of a myCharge HUB Max.

I was so happy that this product arrived in time for us to test it out during Susan's run so that I could tell you all how amazing it is! We found out first hand, we didn't have to rely on other people's opinions. We KNOW this thing works, and it works for hours and hours. And this could be yours just in time for Mother's Day! The contest is only open to US Citizens (sorry Canada) and all you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck, Snarklings!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


I was compensated for this post but all opinions are DEFINITELY my own.