Shrimp and cookies

Good Morning! I have not been a faithful blogger these days since work has been all-consuming. To be available for travel in the spring to watch baseball games, I have loaded my fall schedule with additional courses. In other words, I have doubled my usual work load and have been drowning a bit. I am not complaining since I have chosen this path. Initially, I thought that it was a great idea.....Now that I am in the midst of it, I am still happy that I made this decision.

And so, where do we stand with the latest course of events with our favorite D-1 left handed pitcher? Well, life has normalized for the big kid. He continues to train each day and complains about the strenuous work outs. Last night he shared that the trainer to encourage full participation divided the team into two groups who compete against one another. For twenty challenges, his group lost. At the end of the challenge, the losing team would drop and do ten push ups. By the time it was over, he had completed twenty sets of ten push ups. Yes, by doing the math, he did 120 push ups on top of the 90 minute work out. Is he tired? Sure....however, I doubt if he can lift his tooth brush today because his arm is so sore.

Let me also update you on the housing situation. As you know, the Dunkin Donuts apartment fell through and so did my plan to buy some of its stock since those guys can eat.....anyway, for three weeks he has searched diligently with Dog and California to find a decent place to live. What does the term 'decent' mean to him? Basically it means that there is a bedroom, television hook up, cable, and a bathroom. That's all he requires.....yet, for some reason, they have signed papers (they are still underage and need my signature) for a decrepit house four blocks from campus. According to the big leftie, he can walk to class and then take the bus to the stadium. Goodie! I asked him to send a photo to me in order to gain my approval and for some reason, he has not had the time to do it. "Mom, it's not in good shape right now, 'cause the guys are not taking care of it..." Hmmm...he refuses to take a photo today which tells me a number of things...

1. the house has been falling down
2. it has been condemned
3. it has police tape across the front door
4. it is actually a mansion and I am going to have a huge monthly bill to maintain it.

Once again, I have gone on record to appeal for good common sense and not rent a house. Live in an apartment....stay in the dorm...houses become the place to go to party...you can still be busted for having parties...under age drinking is illegal....what if someone brings something into the house that is illegal? Are you crazy? As I used to say when they were kids: "when did you lose your hearing? 'cause you no longer listen to me...." I am not sure of the day that it happened but my only relevance seems to be editing (perhaps revising...rewriting...enhancing...) term papers the he sort-of wrote as he eats his cheeseburger while sitting at the bus stop waiting for a ride home. Don't tell me that my kid cannot multitask as he writes with his iPod blaring into his ears.

And yet, life is not all fun and games as I edit his papers. Last night, I met two friends for happy hour. Ok, it was really supposed to be 'happy' two hours which turned into 'sad two hours' where we intended on taking on the world's problems and solve them over hummus and a plate of nachos. I had not seen the one friend in a year and looked forward to catching up. Tragically, over the years she has had her troubles and woes as her ex-husband and beloved daughter committed suicide close together in the past five years. She shared with me last night that her son's high school best friend, a law school student committed suicide last week. Her son is in a funk and does not understand why this continues to happen to him. It's not about him, it's about the person who can no longer take it and therefore takes his or her own life. They are sick and depressed and feel that they have no other options. It's a moment of madness. On the other hand, LW manipulated his room mates to spring into action to 'save his life'. What they did not know at the time is that he never intended on taking his life. I am not going to judge, BUT when someone even remotely talks about suicide, someone must listen. The wrong people to ask to provide therapy is a group of under aged guys who only care about eating, sleeping, and baseball.

And there you have it....this is what makes life what it is....a blend of happiness and sorrow. There is no perfect life...and yes, life is not fair. If it was there would be no hunger, poverty, mental illness, or homelessness. We would be eating shrimp and cookies all day and always be able to pay the bills. I guess this is why Thanksgiving is so important. As I am grateful for what I have, I am also grateful for what I do not have....