Two more weeks

I’m enjoying(?) an empty and unfocused holiday weekend. I hate letting a three day weekend go by with no plans, but there were extenuating circumstances - a) my summer residency at Knott’s starts tonight, and I have a jazz club gig before it, which means a full 12 hour day of singing, and b) our anniversary is next weekend so we’ll go to the desert then. Also, the cabin is not completed, although I wouldn’t have known about that before.

Where the cabin stands now, is they were unable to finish in the time allotted, they said, in part because of all the crap we left in there that they had to keep moving around. I felt appropriately guilty - we left the stuff in there, which was all construction stuff left by the guy who ripped us off - under the impression they could use it (scaffolding, saw horses, wood, etc). But of course in retrospect I see this probably wasn’t the best idea. However, we were able to bundle a return trip along with full siding and painting. Which is supposed to happen at the end of this week and beginning of next, depending on wood delivery. It’s going to cost a lot, but I feel like it’s a necessity at this point - I can’t just leave the place vulnerable to the elements through another hot summer. Best to get it all done now, and then the only other large project remaining will be the overhang and porch, which can wait. I won’t celebrate until the work is actually done - nothing may happen this week - but agreements are signed and deposits are paid, so things are in motion. Either way we can stay out there next weekend and see what it’s like to be in a place with windows and closed walls. It’s going to be very different. Part of me will sort of miss the wildness of the old spidery place. 

The boys only have nine days of school left, and we’re all just hanging in there. Bobby did his big final project - an invention called the SnakVest, which he made little felt food items for. 

I don’t think a lot of kids are staying for 6th grade - it appears 6th grade will be a 5/6 split, which I’m not crazy about. Most kids are going to Washington Irving middle school, which is the hot ticket these days apparently. I had a chat with a mom whose older boy is going to eagle rock jr/sr high, who likes it, and says although they got wait listed for the gifted program, he still gets access to a lot of the program anyway. So if Bobby doesn’t make it into the gifted program, we may end up just doing that. But it’s hard to say - now that Bobby’s been switched to “highly gifted”, that does change the trajectory a bit. Is it better to have him go to a regular jr high but then try for the only highly gifted high school, in north Hollywood? And forget about eagle rock entirely? Who knows. You make these decisions and never know if they’re the right ones until you’re already committed. At least with Bobby staying at his elementary school another year I’ve kicked the can down the road for now. 

I’m still dealing with the morass that is the treasurer mess - we have two more years of tax returns to fix and file - and I need to clean things up for the next potential treasurer, who is supposed to call me for a chat to see what the job entails, and believe me I’m going to give an Oscar-worthy performance on how easy it is and how she should do it. If she declines I don’t really know where to go from there. I plan on writing out a roadmap of how to do the work, however, with important dates and filings and things to look out for, something that wasn’t done for me and would have made it so none of this mess would have happened. The new person is supposed to be voted in a week from Tuesday. I hope to god it happens. Handing this over - even though I’ll still have to work to fix things afterwards - will no doubt be one of the happiest days of my life. 

The reality of my event being three months away is hitting now. Although I’ve done some of the more complicated work early - class schedule, staff room bookings, t shirt design - I now have to focus on buying about 15 flights, putting together the judge schedule, finalizing the sound people and DJs, etc etc. I also found out that my extra room block is now full, so I have to decide how to proceed. This is going to be a delicate dance and one I have to do very carefully. 

Saudades

I spent the weekend at the second annual Cruel World festival, a music festival focused on darker alternative 80s stuff and things adjacent, which is of course right up my alley. It was a wild ride - in the middle of Iggy Pop’s set Saturday night, the festival was abruptly shut down due to lightning in the nearby hills. So we only got a handful of songs from him and none from Siouxsie who was the headliner after. We were all asked to evacuate immediately, which many of the drunker patrons did not take kindly to. It never felt out of control or dangerous - honestly, the conspiracy theories and rage flying on the FB group felt far more unsafe (people really are awful, aren’t they?). But then we woke up the next morning to the news that Gary Numan, Iggy, and Siouxsie would return Sunday night to complete the show and all Saturday tickets would be honored. So we secured a babysitter, canceled all plans and headed back over. 

Like many of my “legends” concerts over the last couple of years, it was magical. Why is that, exactly? Is it because of being in a giant crowd of like-minded people all experiencing good vibes? Is it the return to youth these musicians bring us? Is it seeing them old and (sometimes) not quite up to par but still up there doing it, as are we in our every day lives, that fills us with so much bittersweet joy? 

I think it’s all of these things, but for me especially it’s about nurturing that unloved teenaged girl still inside of me, giving her a hug and saying, “I love you, it’s going to be ok, and I see your pain and it matters”. It’s really true that the person we are as young teenagers is who we are, at our core, for the rest of our lives. That young person never entirely goes away. This dark stuff I loved so much at that age has never really left me - even in my swing dancing life I still love anything in a minor key. Some of us are just like that. 

I’m sorry I never got into Siouxsie when I was young. I always admired her and liked her music, but never did a deep dive for some reason. I chalk it up to internalized misogyny - the belief that anything feminine must be “uncool” - which is an impulse I still fight every day. She’s a goddamn queen. And this may be my only chance to ever see her. 

I’m feeling all sad and fucked up and emotional now that the festival is over. Thankfully I have The Cure on Thursday which is just what I need right now, and Love and Rockets at a more intimate show in a few months. Since covid I feel a mad rush to see all these old guys and gals while I still can. I know I’m not alone in this.

In the meantime, preparations are underway for a small 5th grade culmination for the kids that are leaving school this year, including kids like mine who are not. I’ve been asked to send some photos and videos of Bobby’s history at school, and looking through them has me in all the saudades. Time goes so fast; it’s so relentless. I’m three weeks away from having a 4th grader and a 6th grader. Yesterday I was a 6th grader obsessing on the Beatles, listening to my 45 of “Yes it Is” over and over on my little turntable. Seriously, where did the time go?

Recommence

Work on the cabin halted this week as the interior wood was continually not available for pickup, so the contractor got some at a different source and is supposed to start back up tomorrow and finish over the weekend. We also have plans to do the exterior in a couple of weeks. It’s more $$ but seeing what terrible shape the thin plywood exterior is now in after a year and a half of neglect, I can’t just leave it like that with a coat of paint slapped on. We need real siding. Conditions out there are too intense not to. But at least the inside will be (should be) move in ready by next week. Huzzah. 

In other news, it’s been a terrible, stressful couple of days. Stripe, my credit card processing company, has decided to withhold half of my funds until a week after my event is over. Why? Because apparently I’m now “high risk”. And, because they can. In doing a little math, I will *probably* be ok financially - I may have to defer payments to a few people/contractors until the money is released, but it’s not catastrophic. Still really awful and frustrating and panic-inducing at the time, though. 

Just as that was happening I had a huge falling out with a fellow mom who does the taxes for the school booster club I’m treasurer for; it was a comedy of errors with her having emailed me through some random email attached to a Google doc that I don’t even know how to access and thinking I was ignoring her, and her not being able to read a spreadsheet I sent and me not understanding why when it was the same thing I sent her last year, and her suddenly blowing up at me and going off via email, and me firing her on the spot. It was awful. But it got worse - after conferring with the booster club’s President, and finding an accountant/advocacy group that could help us file the now late taxes, it turns out that, inexplicably, this accountant never filed last year’s taxes despite telling me that she did. So we’re facing about $12,000 in penalties that go up every day we haven’t filed. It’s a total disaster, and if we had not filed one more time the Department of Justice would have revoked our charter. I’m mortified all of this happened on my watch - I had one job - but at the same time, I did nothing wrong. In fact this woman, who I have now unfriended on Facebook in a petty rage, is also the current PTA president and is roundly loathed by everyone, to the point that the principle of the school was trying to remove her. So yeah. It’s not just me. But in my last few weeks as treasurer - I hope! My term is up but I don’t know who will replace me - it is my job to clean up all this mess and get two years of returns filed, and it’s a lot of work and confusion and misery. Thankfully the president has been helping unravel everything, but it’s a mess and the last thing either of us have the mental space for. I’m really regretting  ever taking on this work. I’m out of my depth, not being an accountant which is who should really be doing this, and I haven’t met any other parents or had any fun. If anything it’s only shown me how impossible it is to strike up friendships with other parents and how not connected I am at this school while everyone else seems to be. I don’t get it. But I also don’t care that much. Adult friendships take a lot of work and these people will only be in my life for a couple of years, max. I’d rather nurture my dance friendships that will last a lifetime. More useful place to put my energy. But yeah - I learned my lesson. No more getting on non-profit boards. Every time I’ve done this it’s been absolutely horrible. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess. 

Mother’s Day

Yes, it’s that day I used to dread. I’m happy to say, the sadness - indeed, agony - I used to feel on this day, is long gone. Once I made that decision - really made it, that this day was for me and not my mother - the day has been turned back into what it should be at it’s best: a celebration of my own motherhood, and remembrance of all the positive and happy things I got from my mother. I’ve grown so much and so much of my bitterness about her has melted away in the last few years. It’s ok for me to feel good about this day again.

With that said, I’m not a huge fan of how saccharine this day is - I guess it’s something about orchestrated appreciation that I don’t like…? So I had to bury myself in wacky videos by performance artist/activist Peaches to add a little levity to the day. The H and I spent the day yesterday at a music festival and she performed there and blew my mind. I feel like I need strong older female role models, still, in my life, and people like Peaches and Joan Jett are definitely it. Unapologetic, raw, tough. Love it.

Today I’m in recovery mode - my whole body aches after walking around in the hot sun all day, my neck hurts from head banging, and I have a strange rash on the back of both my ankles - so after waking up to two very cute hastily made Mother’s Day presents (see below), the H took the kids to the latest Marvel atrocity while I watched a super fucked up movie on Hulu (Resurrection) and ate snacks. Later the H will bring me some of my favorite vegan sushi and we’ll all hang out in the hot tub. 

The H’s insane work schedule has at last ended and life can go back to normal. It’s time to reconnect. The little abandoned child in me wants to push him away and continue being alone, but I’m fighting that impulse. 

This week comes part two of cabin building - I’m getting an estimate on siding, so we can close the door on this thing (other than an overhang and patio which I’m reluctant to start and pay for at the moment). I’m excited to see what progress can be made this week. 

Progress!

After just a day and a half of work, the contractor got the windows in, upstairs carpet in, insulation in upstairs, and downstairs ceiling dry walled. I spied on them via the security cameras and it was fun to see the windows go in. Next week they’ll come back and finish insulation, do all the walls and ceilings, and hopefully install the wood burning stove. So far so good!

And it’s a…

No. The hotel said they think it’s best if I just stick with my contracted dates. Boooo.

I’m pretty disappointed. I’m having a similar feeling as to when I made a pass at my long-time friend and was shot down - only less mortifying, I guess. I had talked about the date change so much with friends that I was getting pretty amped at the possibility. It doesn’t mean I can’t move the dates in 2026 - I may have to, if the room rates are better that weekend - but for now, everything stays the same. And no money for me. Oh well. It was a reach. As an MC of a dance contest once opined, “sometimes, when you reach for the stars, it’s a long way to fall.”

Next up I have a tax consultation scheduled for two weeks from now which will hopefully give me a ballpark of what I can expect this year and allow me to prepare properly so I’m not surprised. I’m afraid taxes might suck up any above-living-cost profits, which would suck big time. But that may just be what I’m facing. Once again, dreams of paying off my house early dashed. 

I’m also facing a bit of a tidal wave on two very unpleasant fronts - my credit card processing company has flagged me for an audit due to my unusually high sales, and demanded years and years of financial records that I just don’t have (cash flow sheets and quarterly statements and all this shit). I wasn’t able to submit what information I do have online because their system was broken (or at least, broken for me, on every platform I tried); after hours on their online help chat, they had me email the information instead, but the website still thinks I haven’t submitted anything and is threatening to cut off my service in three days. FUN. 

Also, I got an email from that big federal grant that they’re starting the close out process EXCEPT for people like me who have outstanding audits. I submitted my information six months ago and have still heard nothing. It’s been so long that I’m having a hard time even remembering what I agreed to or what the parameters were back in 2020; I’m terrified I’m going to be asked to give back a ton of money. And yet I just sit here and wait. It’s been a sword of Damocles over my head since November and I’m just so over it. 

The contractor is meant to start today, unless the wood isn’t ready to be picked up, in which case they’ll start tomorrow. I’m anxiously watching my security cameras but so far no one has rolled up. At least the company texted me first, for once, to give me an update yesterday, and says all of the work should be done by end of next week. I’m skeptical, but hopeful. With all these stressful things going on I’m glad there’s one thing happening that will resolve an ongoing issue. Yesterday I killed time by perusing the ikea showroom for bed frames and mattresses. I figure we need a daybed downstairs for guests and then three beds for us. I still don’t know how we’re going to pull off getting a uhaul, shopping and picking up all that stuff at ikea, getting all the big, heavy furniture out of the shed, driving out there, and setting everything up. Sounds like a multi-day process to me. But I get ahead of myself. 

High anxiety

I had a bit of an anxiety attack yesterday. I believe it was triggered by the stress of lining up for the summer camp signups and how stressful and disorganized it was - people who got there way after me were helped first, and I had to decide if I should make a scene about it or just trust that there were enough spots for everyone. But I absolutely abhor situations like that where there’s a time crunch and everyone’s competing for limited space, and with all that going on you’re required to focus on reams of paperwork (including archaic information like when was your kid’s last tetanus shot and what’s his pediatrician’s phone number). Whenever a friend tells me I just have to sign my kid up for some camp or activity but the spots are super limited and you have to rush to try to get in, I instantly say, “I’m out”. That’s how much I hate that crap.

Suffice it to say we did get in for all the weeks we wanted. If we continue there next year I’ll know to stay way on top of it. It was sheer luck I stumbled upon the opening online when I did - I had gotten no information about it, and every call I made to the rec center went unanswered. But I figure the kids’ summer camp days are limited anyway - they typically age out at twelve, which will be Bobby next year. I know they have CIT programs and things for older kids, but I don’t think he’s interested in that. I’ll have to figure out what people do with their young teenagers all summer. The idea of them sitting on devices for two months is not ok.

So I was already stressed about hotel stuff, school stuff, and general event anxiety, and then I had that heart-pounding camp sign up experience, and even though I had a long walk right after (strategically planned) I couldn’t shake the adrenaline. I was super anxious the rest of the day. There’s a lot of high stakes things happening at the moment, and for all of them I just have to wait, and they are life changing, so it’s hard to just “relax”. 

The contract lady did answer my email about what I wanted as compensation for moving my dates and she said “excellent!” and that they could have an answer for me as early as tomorrow. The fact that she said “excellent” says to me what I asked for was not ridiculous, and in fact made me think I probably should have asked for more, ha ha. My prediction? I doubt they’ll just accept my offer; I think they’ll try to come back with some hybrid deal of less money and some concessions, like, we won’t charge you for some bullshit charge next year that was always free before and is basically not even a thing. Or they’ll just turn me down. But I doubt that. I think something could happen, even if it’s not entirely what I want. 

Of course my accountant never answered me about my tax questions so I think I might have to set up a consultation through the office. I’m getting those answers, whether by hook or by crook.

Bobby keeps asking whether he’s actually going to that other school or not, and yesterday I just told him he’s not. He seems fairly blasé about it - I said, “you’d rather graduate with your friends, right?” and he said yes. So, there you have it. I’m worried I’ve jeopardized the points he would have gotten this year by applying to that school and now turning it down…but there’s a chance being “highly gifted” pushes him to the top of the list for jr high anyway (my question about this to the magnet counselor has remained unanswered). 

Having not heard from the desert contractor, I checked in yesterday, and he said they’re set to start Thursday. I sent pictures and information about where the keys are hidden. Now we just wait. I wish it were all getting done at once, but it’s not. I think it’s windows and insulation now and walls later. Also there’s a chance they’ll take one look at our stove and say, “yeah, we can’t install this…” in which case I may just spring for another Home Depot generic one which at least I’ll know is new and up to safety standards. But after all we’ve been through with contractors in this place, I won’t believe anything until I see someone actually pull up in a truck on my security cameras on Thursday. I still feel like this could all go horribly wrong. Fingers crossed for a good result, finally, after two long years.

…or not

I think I’ve changed my mind about Bobby going to the highly gifted magnet for one year. Over all, I think the negatives outweigh the positives.

Mainly it was after grabbing coffee with my friend who’s son has been in the HG program since last year. Apparently for jr high there is only one HG magnet in LA - and it’s way out in the Valley, probably an hour and a half drive in the morning. And for high school there is also only one HG magnet, in North Hollywood. I’m not terribly interested in him going to either of those - and my friend wasn’t a fan of them, either, and is probably going to send her kid to just an ordinary jr high & high school anyway - so, why disrupt Bobby’s life just to send him somewhere else for one year and have him go to the originally planned jr high and high school anyway…? It just stopped making sense. I had to remind myself that the magnet counselor who called me, like all magnet counselors, is basically a salesperson. Her job is to fill those seats for sixth grade as many of the kids abdicate for junior high. She doesn’t really care about us; she’s just doing her job. I need to remember this about a lot of the business relationships in my life - these people have their own agendas and they may not align with mine, and that’s ok.

On that note, I unexpectedly got an email from the contracts person at my event’s hotel, telling me she had gotten a promotion and would be moving on in a week. She told me to contact her if there was anything I wanted her to look into before she left, and on Friday I did. I asked if the hotel typically had events around July 4, and she said no (phew). Then I asked if I was correct in assuming Labor Day weekend was becoming a hot commodity because of the new SoFi stadium and that when it came time to renew my contract I might be priced out. She said yes and no - that this year was exceptional because of the Beyoncé concert filling their rooms at high prices, and it may not be the case every year but it may. But mainly what I should be concerned about is that they’re going to want to start charging me a rental fee in the future if I can’t come up with banquet orders, something I’ve never done. There may be a way I can push food instead - lord knows food options there are severely lacking - to at least help offset whatever rental costs they want to throw my way. But she was interested in my move to July 4th, and I asked a pretty hefty buyout in order to do that starting next year. She’s going to “run it up the flagpole” . I had emailed the amounts I wanted and so didn’t get an immediate reaction. I have no idea if what I asked was reasonable or if I’ll get laughed out of the room…it took a lot of balls to send that. But you have to ask for things. They could make hundreds of thousands if I were to move right now. Surely that’s worth something to them.

Hopefully I’ll hear something soon. I’ll be on pins and needles. I’ll also be on pins and needles about the desert construction which is supposed to start on Wednesday. Also, about summer camp registration which was such a breeze last year but now requires me to line up first thing tomorrow morning and just pray that I get there early enough to get them spots. If not, I’ll have to figure something else out, or even, the horror, not send them to camp at all. 

I also need to call my tax guy tomorrow and see what he estimates my tax burden will be this year so I can make sure I prepare accordingly. I would like to pay a portion of my house down while I can, but I want to make sure I don’t screw myself, too.

Change of plans

When I was about to go on my walk this morning, head still spinning from endless customer service issues, I got a phone call from the highly gifted magnet school my friend’s kid transferred to last year. It was their magnet coordinator, who said that as Bobby had tested as highly gifted, he should come to their school next year for 6th grade. I was like…ummm….no he didn’t. The coordinator said she’d double check and call me back. Bobby didn’t get gifted scores on the OLSAT back in 2nd grade (or 3rd, since covid got in the way), but was later evaluated at school by a psychologist and labeled as “special ability” but not “highly gifted”, to my knowledge. She called back to tell me he did indeed meet “HG” standards and I really should consider sending him to the highly gifted magnet for next year.

Mind blown. This was not in the plans. And there are few things that upset me more than plans changing unexpectedly.

I told her the plan was to go to Eagle Rock for their gifted magnet, and I didn’t want to ruin our chances of getting in there (I thought by accepting a spot before 7th grade I might lose points) - but she said a) as a highly gifted student he’d definitely get in there no matter what and b) she said without saying it that he could do much better for jr and sr high and I should look into some of the acclaimed HG schools in the valley instead. 

Again, mind blown. I never thought I’d be stuck commuting for hours to get my kid to a specialty school, but here we are. 

The only wrinkle is that Theo just tested regular ol’ gifted so he can’t go to any of these schools. I asked if he could get a permit to move over to the school Bobby would be in for 6th grade, but she said it was unlikely since Theo’s so far down on the wait list (understandably there are a lot more gifted kids than highly gifted). 

I discussed it with the H and my sister and everyone thought this was an opportunity I shouldn’t miss, just so B can stay at his current school one more year, and I agree. I wanted B to graduate with his friends and have the full experience at his current school, but…I think being in an HG program could make his school experience so much better. He has a couple of friends at the new school anyway, and it would only be for one year, then we’d have to reevaluate for junior high. He and Theo would be separated for two years anyway, now this just moves everything up a year. I’m bummed that they may go on different tracks from now on…I don’t like the idea of them going to completely different schools from now on. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

After discussing it with him - he was down - I filled out the application online. The coordinator had said she’d circle back to me in two weeks to see what I’m thinking, but I wanted to claim our spot right away. I can always change my mind later, and right now I don’t know if this guarantees a spot. But I feel like this could send him on a totally different trajectory. It’s exciting and scary at the same time.

My sister and I talked about how different things were when we were in jr and sr high in the 70s and 80s, respectively - everyone was just thrown in together with no thought for who was smarter. I definitely felt held back in school, like everything was dumbed down. It would be interesting to see what happens when a kid is supported and given opportunities to really thrive, rather than getting caught up with street life out of boredom (me) or drugs and alcohol (my sister). One thing I won’t do is let my desire to have easier drop offs/drives etc get in the way of his progress. And I have to find creative ways to make sure Theo gets everything he needs, too, and doesn’t get left behind. 

It’s kind of sad because this wasn’t the final year of school I had envisioned - the boys together one last year, Bobby getting to be the senior class man with other kids he’s known since kindergarten, rounding out his time. But, plans change. I could be doing two very tight drop offs in just three months. God help me. AND having to do all new research for a new jr high the year after and a new high school a couple of years after that. This wasn’t in the plans! But. I’ve got a kid with a special brain and that has to be honored no matter what. Life is hard enough for young people these days with shitty wages and impossible rents and mortgages; I want to make sure they have the best start in life possible, and this could be it. 

Opening night

My opening night for my event was a success, I’m pleased to announce. The system worked flawlessly (except for one person being able to register hours before the tickets went live, which is still puzzling me), no complaints from anyone. Thank god. I was a nervous wreck. I’m stumbling around a bit finding my way with small refunds and contest switching and things like that, but hopefully soon I’ll know it like the back of my hand. Was my old system easier to use and did it have better features? Yes. Sigh. Nothing gold can stay. 

Right now, after being open for about three and a half hours, I have over 400 people. That’s really good - although my inability to keep records means I don’t have a reference point from previous years, other than bank statements. So I know I’m making more money, but that’s because I raised prices. I know that the contests are taking a little longer to fill up - it’s not the frenzy it was in 2018 and 2019, or even 2020 for that matter. But I’m not unhappy with how it’s going. It’s definitely going as I’d hoped. I can’t wait to get that first deposit on Thursday so I can pay myself back and pay my credit card and the sound guy his deposit. It’ll be great to exhale.

I put up the link to the overflow hotel. Despite what everyone had promised me, they were unable to make the rooms pre-paid, which means people are more likely to cancel at the last second and leave me with a $20,000 bill. I’m pretty unhappy about that - but with my guaranteeing only 25 rooms, us being four months out, and every room in the area going for $300-$400, I can’t imagine I’ll end up owing that. It’s still scary, though. 

Our trip to Vegas for the rockabilly event was fun, but was marred by physical ailments - I got my period the first day, and was outrageously bloated, so nothing fit and I was pinched and squeezed by all my clothes; my hemorrhoids were raging and making me miserable; and I made the tragic mistake of wearing heels the whole time, having forgotten that everything there is miles apart (the first day I walked a total of 3.5 miles in extremely uncomfortable 3 inch heels, which just about killed me). So I was in pain, bloated and bleeding from all orifices the whole time I was there. Despite this, I scored on the vintage clothing front, enjoyed time with friends, had a blast getting dressed up, danced a bit despite my miserable feet, and got to do the stroll a few times which I always find hypnotic and zen-like. It was fun to be in that environment which is a lot more edgy and dangerous than our squeaky clean Lindy hop world. It reminds me of what our scene was more like in the 90s, made up of ex-punks and street kids. 

Of course upon return the boys looked years older. Theo has been a real champ with his Invisalign trays - shockingly responsible and diligent. They always surprise me with just how on top of things they can be, when necessary. He starts a new set of trays on Wednesday. I had Invisalign about 20 years ago and I remember how painful the first day with new trays can be. I hope it’s not too bad.

There’s only six weeks of school left, since they moved the last day of school up a week, which I sadly will not be here for since I’ll be at my cousin’s wedding in Boston. I’m really bummed, but at least I’m not missing Bobby’s 6th grade graduation which is next year. Nothing exciting is happening this year. I need to see when the local rec center camp opens - if I remember correctly it was about mid-May, and I don’t want to miss it. 

We’re going to head out to the cabin Friday night to drop the wood burning stove that’s been in the H’s trunk for weeks. I have not heard from the new contractor, but I figure there’s not much to say right now anyway - I imagine towards the end of the week they’ll want to coordinate keys and all that. So either he’s waiting on materials and will contact me when there’s a solid plan, or I just got ripped off again.