My #Social46 January 23, 2012

First, let me say how thrilled I am to be part of #Social46.  It’s like getting to eat at the “grown up” table for the first time.  Yes; I still feel that way sometimes.

I love a good story.

But, first let me tell you about my friend… Steven Shattuck.

I remember the first time I met Steven and his wife Leah.  It was the first Social Media Happy Hour at Scotty’s Brewhouse .   I remember tweeting that I was attending the event.  He tweeted he was going to be there for dinner but not for that event.  I gave him a hard time and suggested that he come in and say hello – he said no.  I remember telling him “I’ll find you…”  I did.

What I especially like about Steven is that he lives in Indianapolis and loves the New England Patriots.  He guy gets as much flack, IF NOT MORE – than I ever have about being a Brett Favre fan, and I’ve gotten a lot of flack over the years.  Even more so about (me) openly not being a Colts fan.  Some Sundays I felt like the guy with the blindfold on, a cigarette in my mouth, just waiting for the firing squad to completely demolish me.  I could always count on a snide DM from Steven about a whatever game I was tweeting about, or a certain player, that would make me laugh out loud.  The guy is clever.

So now I jump to Christmas this year.  Everybody was SURE the Packers were going to the Super Bowl this year.  Analysts, ESPN, local tv people – all the “talking heads” knew it.  Hell, my mom (who isn’t really a big football fan) knew it.  Which made unwrapping my two “Media Day” passes from her even more exciting.  I was going to be able to see the Packers at a really cool event up close and personal in my hometown!  That Rocks.

Well, we all know how that scenario worked out…

So here I am with these two Media Day passes.  I’m not going to give them up – duh.  Regardless of the two teams that would be in the Super Bowl, Mr. D and I would be going to Media Day.  It’s the first time ever fans were going to be allowed in during Media Day, I wasn’t missing out.

Then I started seeing #Social46 invites being handed out to people on Twitter.  I didn’t know what it was, so I did a little research.  It sounded cool, and I wanted to be involved, but the chances of me getting an invite seemed rare – almost bleak.  (Remember the table reference.)

I got my #Social46 invite while I was dining out at Iozzo’s for Devour Downtown.  I cried.  I’m not kidding, I was so excited, I cried.

Going to the meeting was so cool.  I tried to keep it undercover, but I was as giddy as a school girl.  Then when the hashtag idea started getting thrown around I said – “why not use #Super46?”  The wind in my sails was quickly checked back into reality when I was reminded  “they’re using that for the sandwich contest.”   Duh Stephanie….sheesh, they’ll let anyone into these things, lol..

We got some really cool stuff.  A Super Bowl “Social 46″ hat, a Super Bowl scarf, a NFL Experience ticket, and…a Media Day Ticket.

On the way home, knowing I already had my own Media Day tickets, a plan formed.  I remember telling Mr. D what I was thinking, but didn’t mention it to anyone else.  Things that were beyond my control had to work exactly right in order for my plan to actually be executed.

Watching the New England game was stressful.  I had this plan, and had played out the scenario in my head, but I had to watch and wait.  When the kicker for Baltimore missed what should have been a chip shot to tie the game; Mr. D turned to me and said “make the call.”

So thanks to #Social46 for the opportunity to represent my home town, in the coolest way ever!  I’m truly honored and humbled to be able to participate in this experience.

And….Shattuck gets to see the Pats at Media Day.

I love it when a plan comes together.

“You Can’t Win Unless You Bet A Quarter!” January 21, 2012

Not a real quarter, like 0.25.  Quarter is “casino talk” for $25.o0.  At least to Clint, who was our Blackjack Dealer last night.  I asked him if his parents hated him (with a name like that) it was just going to be that kind of night.

“Our” being my Cousin and myself.  I don’t blog about my our little adventures. Not that we’re selfish people, we would like to spread our joy and happiness of what we refer to “Cousin Love”  amongst that masses.

This post is different because, well I have something I want to know.

Many of you know that I grow very tired of the people that my Cousin chooses to date, I basically hate them.  I would say that 75-80% of the people she chooses to spend time with aren’t really worthy of her time.  Not because they’re bad people, I just have a super sensitive sixth sense when it comes to my Cousin.  Like within five minutes I can tell if the guy is gonna make it longer than a couple of months. If he opens his mouth to speak, and something dumb comes out, that time can be cut in half.

So back to our hurah.  Cousin and I haven’t been out for awhile.  We decided gambling was the way to go.  Bright shiny lights, people watching, adult beverages, just good quality “cousin time.”

There is this guy that my Cousin has been seeing for like three months.  I didn’t like him.  He was weird, there is an oddness about this guy that gave me  the heebie geebies.  A couple of people that I know met him and agreed, although we couldn’t put our finger on it.    Anyway, we were going out, he knew that but she didn’t tell him where.  I think the description was, I’m going to her house and we’re going to “hang out.”  The small indiscretions is always a red flag.  Why not just say it?  Are you not an adult that can decide where you’re coming or going with or without the other person?  Especially if they’re as significant as you say they are, can’t you just say – “I’m going to _______ – we have someone to drive us and pick us up – I don’t know when I’ll be home, so I’ll text you or talk to you sometime tomorrow.”  That to me is reasonable, unless you’re dealing with a insecure, paranoid, know her cousin doesn’t like you – man.

We got to the place (Mr. D – who rocks – dropped us off.)  My Cousin cracks me up, “Bye Daddy” she says to Mr. D as he pulls away.   Cousin screws around on the slots, which irritates me.  I’ve never won any money on slots – so I follow her around – and make a few snide comments about her wasting time on them.  She ignores me.  I scope out Blackjack tables, telling her we need to get seated at one sometime soon.  (I mean damn, it’s Saturday night – tables fill up.)

We finally get to a table.  Blackjack tables are interesting places to be.  I like watching the interaction among players as much as I like playing the game.  You get all KINDS of people at a table.  The smelly guy that just got his Friday check sitting next to the guy in a Hillfiger sweather asking the dealer if he should split the pair of 7′s he’s got sitting in front of him.  Cousin and I are having fun.  I notice that she’s texting on her phone, as the night goes on – that’s not a good sign.  Nothing good can come from texting after a few drinks sitting at a casino – I mean – can I get an “Amen?”  Let it be for the night.

I start hearing about the weather, sleet, the roads are turning into a nightmare.  I look at my clock – it’s 10:00 – if the roads are really that bad, it’s going to take Mr. D awhile to get out to our destination, and I want him to be safe getting there, plus I want to get home safe.  Cousin in railing, disappearing, I could have easily sat there for another hour and lost the money that I was up.  I was over it, ready to go.

Mr. D shows up like the soldier he is.  Cousin and I pile ourselves in the car and we make our way back to Acton Road.   We get back to my house where the “COUSIN COME WATCH A MOVIE WITH ME” request starts.  We’re both tired and I know we’re both going to fall asleep within a matter of minutes.  Just for giggles I throw in “Delirious” (Eddie Murphy) and Mr. D are left there to watch while Cousin falls asleep in my recliner.

Now, this is where it gets interesting…

Dude, all I want to do is go to my comfy bed and go to sleep.  I heard the buzzing of Cousin’s iPhone.  I picked it up, and saw it was loverboy.

Total Disclaimer:  I picked up that phone with the sole intention of putting it on the charger and leaving well enough alone.  After a seeing it was the dummy and considering I had a couple of drinks I decided to look.  After all, Cousin said that she wasn’t texting him, and I wanted to see if she was full of it.  Of course she was…and he was, um, feeling insecure – AGAIN.  Ugh, it is such a turn off (to me) to get a text from an insecure guy late in the evening… Validate me..tell me I’m better than those other guys that I’ve mentioned in the text.

I tilt my head sideways and look at it again.  Seriously?  Did he just say that?  This guy is a flipping idiot, plus he insinuated that I would let her just randomly talk, or hook up, or whatever with some guy because “I want to drive him away.”   Is he 12?

I sat there for a moment and thought, since he started it….My fingers responded…… This is exactly what I said at 11:49 PM.

“You know what you idiot, she’s asleep at my house.  have a great night.  Xo, Steph “

I had to add the smiley face.

At 1:20 AM he responded “well, that’s good.  thanks steph.”

Dude, I was in la la land…

The at 1:36 AM he decided to go on his “goodbye Dawn” rant.  Which referenced “tell Steph thanks for ending us!”

Ok, so I was a little whatever.  This guy is saying that he has someone over to change his locks in the wee hours of the morning – it’s sleeting dude – you’re a drama queen, stupid, insecure, pathetic liar.

So, he’s blocked her phone number and her daughters – after he texted her (in the early AM)  and said “you’re mom is going to need a lot of support after she’s realized what she’s done.”   Yeah, cause getting a 17 year old is CLEARLY going to help your case – crazy.

Ok, so I was quazi wrong.  In the grand scheme things – I wasn’t wrong, he’s an idiot.

So what say you?

High Honors January 21, 2012

The kid just rocks, period.

Proud Momma here!

You Did Not!!!…….. January 16, 2012

For those of you that clicked on this link thinking that I was going to do another debate about whether or not someone my age should wear glitter nail polish, I’m going to apologize right now. That is not what this post is about at all. My most popular post to date was my glitter nail polish blog, after that it was about my faith in God. This post has absolutely nothing to do with either one of those subjects, so if you’re mad at me, I will say “I’m sorry.” If you’re interested in sports at all, I would encourage you to read on. If not, click the next link.

The title of this blog post should be “I Will Never See The Green Bay Packers Win In Indianapolis.”

Why? I never have. The only games I’ve seen in Indianapolis have been with my Dad, and now that he’s gone, I doubt I will ever see a Packers win in Indianapolis.

I was pretty psyched when I got “Media Day” tickets for the upcoming Super Bowl in Indy. I thought for sure that the Packers would be in the final game. Until the other day. I don’t know what it was, but I got a really bad feeling about the game. Everyone thought, surely a win for the Packers. Getting the “Bye” week, enduring the fatal misfortune of their Offensive Coordinators son, the team was together. It was their time, at home, a team they beat earlier this year, no doubt about it.

Damn it all, I know better.

November 16, 1997. In Indianapolis, the year after they won the Super Bowl. My Dad and I were STOKED. We had tickets to the game, an opportunity to see our favorite team, and Quarterback, in our home town. No doubt in our mind we would witness a Packers win…

“Cary Blanchard’s fourth field goal of the game, a 20-yarder as time expired, lifted the Indianapolis Colts to their first win of the season, a 41-38 upset of the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

Colts quarterback Paul Justin, who threw for a career-high 340 yards, completed two passes to tight end Ken Dilger for 55 yards on the drive, including a 28-yarder to the Green Bay 1. Justin downed the ball three times to run the clock before Blanchard came on.

“We decided to kneel on the ball,” said Justin about the decision not to go for the touchdown in the final seconds. “The way our luck has been going this year, we could have fumbled the ball. Go ahead and put it in Cary’s hands; if he missed it was meant to be, but he made it.”

Who the hell is Paul Justin?

“I’ll answer the question now — we were not looking ahead to the Dallas game,” said Favre. “We felt we should have won. We put up a lot of points. We had a lot of fans here — maybe more than them.”

I can confirm, the Packers had more fans there at a Colts home game, no question about it.

Fast forward to the last game my Dad and I saw together.

September 26. 2004. A shoot-out. An incredible shoot-out between Favre and Manning. Even behind a pillar at the RCA Done, Dad and I cheered on our Packers in spite of the derogatory comments from Colts fans. For all of you Colts Fans, you can kiss my ass. I was embarrassed to be from Indianapolis and treated in such a way that I felt ashamed to be from Indianapolis.) I’ve heard from people “you should be happy you didn’t go to Kansas City, or to Dallas, or to New York.” To all of those people I will say; you’re stupid. I’m ok with friendly – even a little hostile banter. If I can’t handle that I have no business being at a football game in the first place. I would NEVER EVER call a person cheering for the visiting team the things I was called in my home town – Period.

“INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Peyton Manning and Brett Favre threw nine touchdown passes between them and weren’t even the heroes.

Manning threw for 393 yards and five first-half touchdowns. Favre threw for 358 yards and four TDs and the Packers rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to within a touchdown.

The game started with five touchdown passes in the first 11 minutes, three by Manning and two by Favre, a pace that would have added up to 175 points between them if they had kept going. Indianapolis threw 22 passes and did not have a running play in the first quarter as Manning and Favre aired it out.”

It was an incredible game. I’m not kidding. I was telling Mr. D the scope of the game tonight, and it still gives no justice to what an amazing football game it was. Besides that, how happy I was to have shared it with my Dad.

Now I’m convinced that I will never see at Packers win in Indianapolis.

I was hopeful…. that I would be able to see the Packers at Media Day in Indy. It would have meant a lot to me, damnit.

I’ll arrive at Media Day with my Favre jersey on, and a few Bloody Mary’s ingested – just to celebrate… What? I’m not really sure. I’ll figure it out.

Are You There God? It’s Me Stephanie… January 6, 2012

So I got this e-mail from Kameron’s school this morning.

Subject:  CONFIRMATION.

Christ, what did I forget?  Confirmation for what?  We’ve been over the hefty play schedule.  The phone misplacement disfunk.  The “I can’t wear those new school pants today – they still have tags on them!”  His Spanish Teacher’s husband getting whisked away in an ambulance in the middle of church.

I mean, it’s been quite a week, and it’s Thursday.

I heaved a heavy sigh; what task lies within this email I wondered.  I read.

If your son or daughter is 13 years old before September __, 2012 (I quickly did the math – and he is..) I read on.  He/She is eligible for the Confirmation Program through OLG.  I stopped; Confirmation?  How is it possible that Kameron is old enough for Confirmation?  Then my mind drifted back to the 5100 block of Norwaldo Avenue.

Confirmation as I recall was not a happy thing for me.  Confirmation to me makes me remember fights.  Threats from my mother to be sent to public school if I didn’t get confirmed.   The questioning of my faith, even then as a teenager, but knowing I wouldn’t trade the familiarity of my Catholic School or my friends for this one hour debacle.  Besides, there was no way I’d make it a week at Broad Ripple HS – even back then.  So I’d do the damn thing and that would be that.

Then there was the dress.  Oh, I remember that dress.  It was one of those dresses that I look back now and wished that I would have been able to keep.  It was in one of “those” stores.  I can’t remember the name of the store, but it was one of those stores that people “south of the swamp” didn’t typically go into, because frankly we had no money.  I remember seeing that dress and begging my mom – on my hands and knees – to please let me have it for my upcoming, very important, Catholic,  Confirmation…

Long story short, I got the dress, I got confirmed, there was a party, I got some cash, some crosses, and that was it.  I didn’t feel like I was closer to God, I didn’t feel anything really… I take that back, I felt relief that I was not heading to BRHS or IPS.

Fast forward 25 years, and my own opinionated child later.

I picked Kameron up from school after his initial play practice.  (He’s going to be in Cinderella in March.)  (Even though “it stinks because he’s in sixth grade and can’t try out for a REAL part.”)  He got in the car, we went over how his day was, what kind of homework we were facing for the evening, and the most important question “what are we having for dinner?”  Chicken Enchiladas was the call, he seemed pretty happy about that.

Driving on the back roads to our house gives me and Kameron time to talk, unless he’s not in the mood – which happens.  We’ve talked about a lot of stuff on those back roads.  Confirmation was the topic for today.

I told him I got an email from school (which always gets his attention – hahaha.)  I told him it was about Confirmation and asked if his teachers had brought it up in class.  He said that they did, and that he had to be 13 to participate.  “Will I be mom?”  “Yes” I said.  Then it went quiet.

Until we came to our first of a few stop signs.  As I turned left he asked “are you Confirmed Mom?”  I didn’t look and said “yes.”  The next stop sign came, and he asked “what does it mean, Confirmation, I mean, Mom?”  I looked both ways, and thought, I’m going to have to be very careful the way I answer this.  I said “Confirmation is like a promise to God bud.  A promise that you’ll always pray, and that you’ll always do things the way you think God would want you to do them, to go to church, and to always treat people with kindness and respect.”

Hey – that’s a pretty damn good answer.

At the next stop sign he asked “why don’t we go to church anymore Mom?”

Instant lump in my throat;  I looked at him, but for some reason, the way he looked at me, I knew he wasn’t going to give me a pass on this one.

Trying not to cry, I gave him the most honest answer I could.  I said (very calmly)  “I don’t go to church anymore bud because when Pop died, mommy didn’t want to go to church anymore.”   He looked down, and then looked back out the window.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes.

“Kameron?”  He looked at me.  “Would you like to go to church sometime with me bud?”  “Yes” he said.

I promised him I would, and that I would try just for him, because it was important to him.  He said “thanks Mom” as we pulled into the driveway and he got out of the car.

Looking at him going into the house, I put my head on the steering wheel and thought “kid, you have no idea.”

So, are you there God?  It’s me.  I haven’t been around for awhile.  Frankly God, I’m pretty pissed at you, and you know why.  The thing is that I have this little boy that thinks I know everything.  (Eyes Roll)  So I’m doing this for him right now, and maybe a little bit for me.  Don’t get too excited.  We’ll see how it goes,  I’m not making any promises.  Deal?

Who Wins “Wife Of The Year” – I Do….. December 22, 2011

I’m sneaky, and I know it….

I was trying to finish up Mr. D’s Christmas shopping yesterday.  What do you get the man who doesn’t need anything?  Frustrated, wracking my brain I turned to The Twitter.

Then I saw a tweet – Colts Tickets from Scott Wise.  I remember Mr. D saying he would like to go to a game this year (even though the Colts suck.)  Then the planning began….

I DM’ed Scott about the tickets, told him I wanted them and made arrangements to pick them up today.  Yesterday while all of this was going on I told Mr. D that Kameron’s school had a Washington D.C. meeting tomorrow night (just to make sure he didn’t have anything else going on – Mr. D is in charge of the Washington D.C. meetings.)  He put the meeting on the calendar, no questions asked, and my plan was in motion.  Surprise him with tickets, pre-game reservations made at Iaria’s – then him and Kameron are off to the game.  PERFECT!

Kameron and I went up to Scotty’s headquarters to pick up the tickets.  Mr. D mentioned that he was having lunch at Palomino this afternoon, so I knew exactly where he would be to surprise him with the tickets.  My intention was to pack his Colt’s shirt, jeans, a hat, and his comfy shoes and deliver those items and the tickets when he was finishing up lunch.  Sucker already wore his Colts shirt to work – one less thing to pack.

Kameron and I scoped out Palomino, found where he was sitting, and the sneak attack was on.

Slightly surprised to see us, Mr. D was very happy to see the tickets and hear of our reservation at Iaria’s.

Boom – I just got that – Wife Of The Year….

46 December 21, 2011

46 Days is all you got left before the Superbowl hits Indianapolis.

So what are you going to do “Business People?”

I’m mainly taking to restaurants.  I see all of you whining and bitching about how business is down on the news.

So what are you going to do?

I’ll tell you who isn’t whining and bitching, Scott Wise of “Scotty’s Brewhouse.”

“We’re in the business of forethought. You’re always trying to foresee, ‘What do I need?’ Multiply that by 1,000, and that is the Super Bowl.”

So if you’re thinking, wow, this might be a good time to create a Facebook Fan page, or gosh, maybe we should add that  Twitter account we’ve been talking about.  Do you want the truth?   You’re probably too late.

It’s so frustrating for me to see establishments that claim they need more business yet won’t embrace Social Media.  Are you “half -in” on Social Media and do a really bad job?  Did you have someone working for you and didn’t see the financial payoff after 3  months?  Right when the uphill battle was going to begin to be fun, and I mean a lot of fun, you quit. You’re going to do Social Media on your own, how’s that working out for you?  Ends up you don’t do it, or do it poorly, and the account created and nurtured lays stagnate.

So where does that leave you with the Super Bowl coming to town in 46 days?  PANIC is a word that comes to mind.

I just Googled “restaurants near Indianapolis, Indiana”

1.   St. Elmo Steak House (Your SEO Company needs a bonus.)

2.  Oceanaire (Really?)

3.  Rock Bottom ( Your SEO Company DEFINITELY deserves a bonus.)

4.  The Rathskeller

5.  Barcelona Tapas (Not even on my radar)

That’s the top 5, in Indy.  There are Gems, GEMS, I tell you that will not get visited because you haven’t put yourself “out there” as far as Social Media goes.

There are hotel rooms that cost $45.00 in Brownsburg that now cost $450.00 A NIGHT for the Super Bowl.  People are not going to spend a week here and just go to downtown establishments.  Get your voice heard, get customers in your door, get your place on the Super Bowl map!

Start yesterday.  Establish a presence on Facebook and Twitter.  Add your location to Yelp, 4Square, Urban Spoon, etc.  Now is not the time to be shy folks, it’s game time.

If you want some help, give me a call.

“Where The Red Fern Grows” December 14, 2011

Teenage boys are funny things.

Kameron will still surprise me with a hug, or a kiss on the cheek, I even get “I love you Mom” every night.

Kameron will also surprise me with cheating on tests, mood swings that would rival any fifty year old woman with menopause, or just laying is his bed with big tears in his eyes for absolutely no reason.

So what’s the picture of the busted up book all about?

About four months ago Kameron was assigned “Where The Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls.   His assignment was to read a few chapters and complete the questionnaire to make sure they read and comprehended it.  Of course, it was a battle every night, just to get him to read; then to fill out the questionnaire (in complete sentences.)  What I found was when he was doing other homework I could read the chapter(s) that were assigned, and it made it much easier for me to help him.  I felt like if I read it, I would know generally what part of the book the answer was, find it, and make him re-read the paragraph, pages, whatever.

Then I realized, I actually enjoyed the book.

It’s a short read of a young boy named Billy, his Grandpa, and his dogs; Old Dan and Little Ann.   I won’t spoil the book for you, but it’s tale of love and adventure with a little 6th grade appropriate suspense thrown in.

I remember when we were getting close to the end of the book and that Kameron would have a test coming up.  One day, he didn’t come home with the book or any questions.  He told me they had finished the book in school and that they were watching the movie.  I remember saying “really.. I wanted to see how the book ended.”  He told me about the ending of the book and the movie (again, I won’t spoil) but I was really surprised at how it ended.  I remember telling him “I would have like to have read it together, but I’m glad you liked the book.”  He just grinned and nodded his head.

Today, I went to his Christmas Concert at school.  We were driving home, I was on the phone, he was listening to the radio.  Once I finished my call, I asked if he had much homework.  I knew he would be late getting back from his 7:00 performance, and the last thing I want to do at 9:00 at night is homework.  I usually let him goof around for about an hour after school, just to let him unwind, then it’s straight to homework.

When we got in the door he started heading upstairs, I went into the kitchen and started going through the mail.  I didn’t realize that he had come back downstairs until he exclaimed “Mom!”

I turned around and he had this mischievous grin on his face, with something behind his back.  I thought; what is this?

He said very proudly “Mom, I have a present for you!”

Then he pulled the very damaged, taped up, tattered, copy of “Where The Red Fern Grows” from behind his back.

He said “I remembered that you didn’t get to finish the book Mom; so when my teacher said she has some left over, I knew you’d want one Mom.”

Damn kid, gets right at my heart.

I hugged him, and told him we would finish it together.  Very proud of himself; he basically strutted up the stairs.

No matter what gifts I get this year, that will be the one of the most memorable presents I’ve gotten in a long time.

Girl, you can’t wear that! November 28, 2011

We’ve all said it, we’ve all seen it.

Nail polish to me is a different animal entirely. So here’s how this whole thing went down.

I saw a girlfriend of mine last week. She had this glittery, very holiday looking, nail polish on for a holiday event she was working. I loved the polish, it looked so festive and fun. I asked her what brand it was and the color name (cause you know OPI has all kind of funky names for their polish.) Made a mental note and thought maybe I would run by the nail polish hub to see if I could pick up this diamond in the rough.

I found it, huzza for me, now my nails can be festive and fun. Out of the corner of my eye was another sparkling beauty. From OPI’s Muppet Collection, the name of the polish was “The Rainbow Connection.” One of my favorite songs of all time, it must be mine. Out I go with my two new polishes, bring on the glitter!

Getting my plans together with my Cousin for Thanksgiving day, I mentioned that I had some awesome new polish. Describing it to her she said “Cousin you are too old to wear that polish.” What, what, what? She continued to say, you’re 40, which I reminded her SHE is forty, I’m 38. Thirties justify glitter nail polish, hell, glitter for everyone if it makes you feel happy.

So when we got together on Thanksgiving she said “let me see your hooker nail polish.”  I gladly showed the glitter in all it’s awesomeness.  Rolling her eyes she said “it’s cute but you’re still to old to wear it.”

So I’m just wondering, throwing it out there, does glitter have an age barrier?  When is enough – enough?

 

Kameron’s Melt Down November 27, 2011

Normally, at least I would think, people like to sleep in. I would say if a person was asked “given the opportunity would you sleep in if you could?” I think most would say “yes.”

Then there’s my son.

I woke up late for me.  Mr. D let me sleep in, which I always appreciate.  It’s just a deal with us not to bother the other person if they are asleep.  If Mr. D sleeps in it’s because he really needs it. Sometimes  it gets him breakfast in bed, which doesn’t hurt, right?  Anyway, I woke up late.  I looked into the hallway and saw Kameron and Samanthas doors were both shut.  Which meant they were still sleeping.  Too much Thanksgiving celebration perhaps.  Kameron’s had a little bit of a cold, so I figured the extra sleep couldn’t hurt.

I walked out into the living room finding Mr. D in the “Sunday Position.”  The Sunday Position is him sitting on the couch with coffee, the news paper up on the computer, and some ridiculous political show on the TV.   He must have heard me because he got up, gave me a kiss and a hug.  I squeezed back and asked “where is everybody?”  “Still asleep I guess” he said as he sat back down to watch the political ridiculousness.  Samantha surfaced not too long after.  Kameron was still not spoken for, like I said, he had a touch of a cold, so I wasn’t too worried about him.

About a half hour later I heard a rather large sigh.  I looked back and there was my son looking barely awake and rather annoyed.  I said “hey Boo” and got up to hug him – which he was clearly not in the mood for.  I stood back and asked “what’s wrong with you?”  I mean, the kid has at least ten hours of sleep, how could he possibly be in a rotten mood?  He looked at me with big tears in his eyes and said “how could you?”  A little surprised, I said “how could I what?”  He started stomping towards the stairs and I said “Kameron, get back here, what is your problem?”  (Now I’m irritated.)  He sat down on the steps with his head in his hands.

Thinking the possibility of his explanation being completely without merit and ridiculous, I do what any good parent would do – push record on my iPhone.

He said “how could you let me sleep in like that?”  I said “well, you’ve had a cold, and I thought you might need the rest.”  “Mom, I didn’t get to start playing my game!”  (It’s a wrestling game that he got last week – I didn’t buy it – he paid for it himself.)  I thought to myself is this kid serious?  Surely there has to be some explanation for this upheaval of emotions regarding this game.  I sent Mr. D to make sure as Kameron stomped upstairs.

Kameron sitting on the couch crying, Mr. D confirmed that nothing could have happened to the game while he was asleep.  No levels were lost.  No players gone.  No match not finished.  He just wanted to get up earlier damnit and play the game.  Since we didn’t get him up in protest he was just going to sit on the couch, stare at the blank tv, and cry.  This is what I call 12 year old boy PMS.  I sat on the couch and just shook my head.  What was I suppose to do – it’s freakin ridiculous.

About ten minutes later his friend Ben who lives down the street rang the doorbell.  Mr. D let him in and told him Kameron was upstairs.

It was a transformation.  Right before my eyes my emotional, pathetic, crying at the blank tv son became Kameron again.

Geez he’s only 12.