Joys of Single Motherhood

I was just reading my last post from 2016. What has changed? My son is now stable and for now his depression is gone and he is doing well at his school. He has discovered a love of history--finally an interest we share. And he has also discovered that he enjoys writing. Big reveal there. Part of his teenage rebellion or his MI has always been disdain/contempt for his parents' journalism careers. Kid 1 is an excellent writer. Kid 2 has struggled. He still refuses to use any punctuation. His teachers informed us at last month's conference that he doesn't need to use punctuation on the state finals in June. In other words, it won't count against him. As a journalist I'm appalled. As a mother, I guess I'm relieved and guilt-ridden. How the heck does a kid graduate from high school without knowing any punctuation? Re: rebellion, or in this case discerning mental illness from obnoxious teenage behavior. Showering regularly is still an issue. We go along with

Long time lapse... A lot has happened since the last time I wrote here, Kid 1 happily starting sophomore year of college, no more house--yay, new school for Kid 2 that just might work. I don't feel like a single mother as much anymore. It's just Kid 2 and me in a spacious two-bedroom apartment. Actually, I have no idea if it's spacious. It fits us and it's larger than an RV, so its fine. Like many single people at this stage of life I've decided that dating/men isn't worth the trouble or the distraction. I seem to always choose badly and experience isn't making that any better. We have a dog now. Impossibly cute Havanese who is now 7 months old. I had heard people say that a dog is like another kid and I guess it's true. But this one doesn't need a college fund.

My star child turns 18 at the end of the month. She is finished with high school and she starts an internship on Monday. Seniors are required to do an internship 20 hours a week until graduation on June 20. A design company called "Project Gravitas", they make custom dresses for women who want to be taken seriously in the workplace. That's the "Gravitas" part. The lead designer is an FIT alum so she had a head start. Well, actually she didn't need a head start because this is the first time they've had an intern. She is very excited. They let her "help" the last time she was there and apparently she'll be doing the stuff she is interested in. Figuring out a creative-office wardrobe for a 17-year-old is turning out to be rather difficult. Banana Republic is "dumpy" as is J.Crew for the most part. Vince and Theory are great but their prices are not so great even on Poshmark . Shorts, not skirts, probably not dresses. No Bermuda sh

Kid 1 and I have discovered a web site called Vinted where women--mostly 17 to 35 can sell the clothes in their closets that they either don't like anymore or don't wear. Some of the items are hilariously hideous and the manner in which photos are taken can be even funnier. There are manikins that have huge breasts, droopy breasts or strange postures and poses. One "Vintie" puts her clothes on a voluptuous half manikin that is either naked on the top or bottom depending on the item. Another puts dresses and tops on a hanger topped with a realistic cat head that looks like it was cut out like a paper doll. It appears to be a brindle. Anyway, it's voyeurism at its best but I find that aside from striped sweaters and jeans nothing catches my eye. I don't know what I want to wear anymore or how I want to look. I hated the high boots with skinny jeans look that hung around forever. I thought that trend would never die. Most everything I like now is sort of prepp

I played three on three basketball yesterday morning. I think I last played about 20 years ago. The good news is that I can see the floor better, meaning I can anticipate and react faster. Mentally that is. Physically I am a bit of a wreck. I can't really run because of my back so instead I try to skittle as fast as I can from one basket to the other. I can't jump higher than about six inches but that may be my utter lack of conditioning. As for shooting--I had no muscle memory of even how to shoot. I had four points but only because I flung the ball upward while I stood under the basket. Today I woke up and the only thing that isn't sore are my hips. I had a blast and my surgeon reassured me this morning that unless I run two marathons a month or do something similarly bizarre, my hips will be fine. Basketball, volleyball, biking--it's all okay. After we played b-ball there was a holiday party hosted by the amazing woman who makes all the weekly arrangements for soccer

I hate holidays. I try not to for the kids' sake but other than their birthdays, I would sit them all out. I think they're a waste of resources--and not just money. There is wrapping paper, those annoying and eternal styrofoam inserts and those stupid plastic price tag things. My ex grew up without any holiday celebrations including his birthdays. His "off-the-boat" Irish parents worshiped frugality. They viewed those who wasted money buying gifts as fools. The worst part is that the entire rest of the world takes holiday weeks off. That means that all the people you have calls into will not call back until you are REALLY on deadline. Grrrrrr.