This is one Monday I must admit that I’ve enjoyed.  Out for lunch with a great group of ladies from work and the new boss didn’t even comment that we were gone for 2 hours.  Guess he knows that we are going to go through hell the next couple months with the school year start up and is smart enough to know that if we take a long lunch to catch up from summer holidays that we will be much more productive at work.

Anyways…3 more sleeps and then the 18 year old is moving out…permanently if I have anything to do with it.  I was out picking up some basic necessities for her this week end at Wal-Mart and I ran into a friend.  She asked why I was buying all this “home set up stuff” ie mop, broom, mop pail etc.  I told her it was for the teenager’s new apartment and that her, her boyfriend and the boyfriend’s brother are moving into an apartment.  She asked me why they hadn’t been purchasing the basic necessities a little at a time for the last 4 months (since they decided that they were going to get a place together) and I honestly didn’t know what to say.  She’s earned $1400 in each of those 4 months, has had $400 in expenses, has not paid any rent, doesn’t have a dime to her name right now and nothing to show for the $4000 she has blown in 4 months.  The only thing keeping me from ripping her a new one is that I keep telling myself that it’s a small price to pay for all the peace and quiet my husband and I will enjoy.  No more slamming doors at all hours, no more tornado through the kitchen that I have to clean up after way too often, no more crap left all over the basement to encourage the ants to invade our house…no more teenager!!!!!

We at least for 4 more years until the little one turns 13….is it too early to start the count down until she graduates and goes off on her own?  Yeah, maybe just a little!

jhnmyr:

Protect - How To Handle An Active Shooter

Very interesting video on changing the psychology of an attack.

 I agree very interesting.  I hate that this is even something we have to think about and hope my daughter never is in a situation where this would be a plan of attack.

Teenagers…just the very words provokes a vast difference of emotions and reactions from all people.  I work in a school that has roughly 1000 of them aged 14-18.  Today we had a parent in to pick up an ipod that was confiscated in class.  Seems that he was using it to text in class.  All students are very clear on the no cell phones in class however this young man decided that texting on an ipod would be an acceptable solution.  He actually told his mother, who also works at this same school, that he didn’t realize that he couldn’t text on an ipod in class.  He thought the rule only applied to cell phones.  Now this brought up an interesting discussion.  Is he really that stupid?  Or does he think that we are that stupid that we would think he is that stupid?

I fear for the future sometimes.  Teens are growing up texting, iming, facebooking, twittering, and communicating in any way that seems easiest.  At lunch time I see students sitting at the same table texting each other, not talking.  We have a new generation growing up without some basic communication skills.  They can’t carry on a conversation.  My own teenaged daughter talks so fast and mumbles so badly that having a converstion with her is painful.  If I ask her to speak clearly and repeat herself she gets pissed, accuses me of not listening and storms off.  I see the same at the school I work at all the time.  Students come to the office asking for something and mumbling to their shoes so that we have to stand up right beside them and have them repeat it numerous times.

Somehow knowing that this considered normal teenager behaviour now doesn’t ease my worries any.  Is the day coming when phones will be obsolete unless it’s a cell for texting?  Will there be a  future where all communications are done by e-mail and texting?  I sincerely hope not.

Shelley

Ok, I admit it…I’ve never blogged before.  Up until a day or two ago I’d never even read a blog.  Honestly never thought I would ever read one let alone write one but here I am.  I blame it all on Craig Ferguson.  I watch him whenever my insomnia kicks in, which seems to be often now my daughter’s ringette season is over so I’m not quite so busy and therefore not as exhausted in the evening.  Anyways, Craig was talking about how he tweets so I started to follow him on Twitter which led me to follow John Mayer who tweeted about Tumblr and here I am.

I got to thinking that this might be a good way for me to lay down my thoughts, feelings, stresses, etc without laying it on the family and friends.  Perhaps if I get some of this out before I go to bed I’ll be able to sleep better too.

Will anyone ever read my blog?  Probably not.  But that’s okay because I realize I’m not doing this for other people, I’m doing it for me.

So, my name is Shelley and I’m 36.  I’ve been married to Les for 14 years.  Will be 15 this August.  I have 2 daughters.  Heather is 18 1/2 and Katrina will be 9 at the end of June.  I work at a High School as an Administrative Assistant and have for 15 years now.  I deal with teenagers everyday.  I’ve seen the good, the bad and the down right ugly of teenagers and that, I think, is the bulk of my stress.

Anyways, I think that’s all for my first ever blog.

Peace.

Shelley