school daze

How can you keep on moving

/ Tracy Abell

I spent the morning packing and repacking duffel bags for Wildebeest who has moved to a faraway part of Colorado. He couldn’t take everything with him when he left so Zippy and I are heading his way to deliver the rest of his stuff. Wildebeest had it all packed up and ready for us, and our plan was to fit everything inside the truck we borrowed from my brother. HAHAHAHAHA. *wipes away tears of mirth*

We needed a Plan B. So we pondered and debated the position of the roof rack and the dimensionsn of our 20+ year-old XCargo carrier:

Like this, except with more dead insects and blood from where the effing top repeatedly dropped on our heads over the years.

Like this, except with more dead insects and blood from where the effing top has repeatedly dropped on and bloodied our heads over the years.

We weren’t confident we could securely attach the carrier so then I did some research on the intertubes. And just as you’d suspect, people are very clever when it comes to hauling stuff on top of vehicles. Alas, none of those DIY ideas suited our specifications.

Then I remembered our enormous duffel bags.

Last June, Zebu flew back from Bellingham, WA, where he’d attended school. We’d moved him out there via a rented Impala (biggest trunk EVER, yo!), but didn’t want to make that trip again. Which meant he had to fly back with lots of carry-on items. Enter much online research for the largest duffel bags available that did not exceed airline limitations.

So. All that backstory is my long-winded way of explaining how very very glad I am to be getting some use out of those ginormous bags again.
Duffel bags

We’re going to put them alongside Wildebeest’s snowboard on the truck’s roof and secure everything with ratcheting straps. Hopefully, there will be enough room in the interior for the rest of his worldly possessions.

I enjoy organizing stuff and figuring out how to pack things efficiently, so it’s been kind of fun. But all morning, in the back of my mind, was the knowledge that in just a few short weeks Zippy and I will truly be empty nesters. We’ve always had at least one son living in the vicinity, but now Wildebeest is a long ways away. And in a few more weeks, Zebu will be living a really, really long ways away as an exchange student in Sweden.

It’s easy being happy for them because they’re both very excited by the changes they’ve put in motion. I’m thrilled by their happiness and passionate outlooks, because it hasn’t always been this way. So right now I’m embracing the Ry Cooder song playing in my head:

How can you keep on moving unless you migrate too
They tell ya to keep on moving but migrate, you must not do
The only reason for moving and the reason why I roam
To move to a new location and find myself a home
~  (lyrics by Agnes “Sis” Cunningham)

 

 

Cliche of the Day

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

“They grow up so fast.”

DCP_1696

That’s Zebu on the left, playing with a neighbor-friend, a bunch of years ago.

On Sunday, Zebu flew out of state to attend his freshman orientation and registration at the college he’ll begin attending next month. On this trip, he took his first solo taxi ride, stayed at a motel by himself, jumped through the many hoops necessary for registration, and secured one of two remaining spots in a chemistry class. Whew. We’re picking him up at the airport tonight.

He’s about three feet taller than he was in that photo, but Zebu has the same spunk and determination exhibited there. (Warning! Cliche #2 alert): Some things never change.

Prodding the Wildebeest

/ Tracy Abell / 15 Comments

       

Wildebeest is a junior this year.
Attention to detail has never been his strong suit.

Last year at registration I paid for him to take some test,
I don’t remember which one.
It wasn’t until the end of the year I thought to ask him about it.
Whatever it was, he hadn’t taken it.

Money and opportunity down the drain.

This year’s registration included an optional fee for the PSAT.
I paid for it, sternly telling Wildebeest he had to pay attention to announcements,
and take the test this year.

I just got an email reminder that the exam is Saturday morning.
I called the counselor to make sure he was registered.

She said, "Yes."
And then she told me about meetings they’d held with the juniors
back in September, and about the study guides they’d been working on.

I sighed heavily and hung up.

I just finished texting with Wildebeest (I know, I shouldn’t do that during school).  Turns out:
A) he knew about the test
B) he hoped to skip it
C) he does have a study guide
D) he’s been using it

What started out as just another one of those forehead-to-palm moments,
turned into a not-so-bad parental episode.

Whenever we avoid total and complete disaster, I consider that progress.
                    

Friday Five: The School Daze Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

         

1)  Dropped Zebu at the high school this morning for freshmen orientation.

2)  Zebu was disdainful yesterday when I asked if he knew what he was going to wear today,
     yet this morning proudly pointed out that his shoes matched his shirt. 

3)  Wildebeest got himself up and out the door for a 6 a.m. cross country practice this morning.  Wow.

4)  Zebu and Wildebeest have a gym class together this semester, and are giddy with excitement.

5)  I cannot believe summer vacation is over.

         
                                                                     © Tracy Abell 2010

Wishing everyone a glorious August weekend!
                    

Zebu’s Moving On

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

            

Today is the end of Zebu’s school year.
His last day of eighth grade and middle school.
The last day to ride the school bus
and witness kids throwing plastic soldiers out the windows at cars,
and other acts of idiocy.

He’s happy.
Happy, happy.

So in honor of his accomplishment
and also to brighten this overcast day,
I bring you a festive American Goldfinch:


                                                                                   © 2010 Zippy

We have a new thistle feeder, and this bird swooped in on the second day.
Haven’t seen him since, though, so if he shows up in your yard,
please tell him Tracy says hello.
                  

Passable Solution

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

Yesterday Wildebeest spent the afternoon in my brother’s high school math classroom.
My brother teaches at a last chance kind of school for troubled kids making a final effort to graduate.
It’s a pretty tough crowd.
Not all that motivated.

On the way home, Wildebeest explained how kids used to ask my brother for a bathroom pass.
They’d take the pass and walk out of the school.
For the rest of the day.
Never to return.

According to Wildebeest, my brother still gives out a bathroom pass.
Except now it’s one of these:

A full-size acoustic guitar case.
Covered with math stickers.

Wildebeest said plenty of kids used the pass yesterday.
And every one of them returned to class.

(And yes, I’ll find a way to use this in a story.)