Graduation

Bobby graduated from elementary school on Monday. Much to my surprise and delight, he won the Presidential Gold award for academic excellence, which I’m still beaming about. Since the information about graduation was hard to come by, I wasn’t really prepared for what a big deal it would be - we didn’t have any nice clothes (Bobby’s outgrown all his button up shirts) so he was one of only a few kids not in a suit or nice shirt, and we didn’t have flowers or leis or balloons. BUT I got my sister here from Florida, got tickets, got us all there on time, bought presents (a Devo shirt and a Kraftwerk shirt), made a cake with a customized Kermit, and made dinner plans. Next time I’ll make sure everyone has a decent shirt. 

It’s been a non-stop whirlwind since Friday - my sister came in late that night, then the H and I went to an all day punk festival that was awesome but destroyed my body and melted my brain, then Sunday Bobby had a class get together at a park and then I had to go sing at Knott’s, then get up early Monday for the graduation, then yesterday I opted to keep both kids home from the last day of school because who cares anymore, then went to a class get together for Theo where none of the parents talked to me, and today and tomorrow there are more friend get togethers. Needless to say, my exercise and diet have been suffering, which is causing me some anxiety, sigh.

Yesterday my sister and I hiked up by the old school and saw they were doing the traditional last day of school whiffle ball game, and I saw a bunch of Bobby’s old friends participating, and I teared up a bit. I realized I haven’t been doing that hike because it breaks my heart a little bit to see the boys’ old school. Things would have been so different if they had stayed there. Bobby graduating from the school he’d been in since kindergarten, where I knew all the parents and had watched all the kids grow up, would have been very emotional. I don’t think either of us felt much about graduating from a school Bobby had only been in for one year. 

However, it was still a great day, and I’m very proud of all he accomplished. With Theo still having two years at the new school, I’m going to try to lean in a little more and get involved over there - it’s my tendency to detach from places when I know they’re about to end (childhood trauma); for his sake, I feel like I need to focus on his remaining time there. 

Slight exaggeration - actually two mothers talked to me at Theo’s class get together, people I’d met before, and they both have older kids that just completed their first year at the jr high. Sadly, it did not go well for them. They struggled, couldn’t keep up with the work, were overwhelmed. To say that was hard to hear is an understatement. Bobby already had a hard time remembering to get things done on time this year - he stubbornly refused to write assignments down in his planner no matter how many times I cajoled him - so I’m concerned he’s going to go the same route as these kids. I guess it’s just a heads up to me that I need to have his info on my computer and need to check in weekly that he’s turning things in and getting decent grades. I had a hands off policy with his current class, but maybe I have to be more vigilant next year. Luckily both parents said their kids did fine socially. So there’s that.

One parent gave me the suggestion of having Theo walk with friends to the nearby library to wait to be picked up after school, which would solve the problem of how to pick up the kids an hour apart. Apparently their kids did this all last year and it worked out. So I’ll give that a try. I’m a bit concerned about 5th grade boys raising hell and driving the librarians crazy, but Theo’s a good kid - if I lay down expectations I’m fairly confident he’ll not be a nightmare over there. One good thing, it’ll make my days a little longer - I gain an hour each day (Bobby won’t get out until 3:30, which means a pick up more like 3:45), different from the 2:45 I’ve been doing all year. So there’s that. Now, on to summer!

June gloom

We had a couple of weeks of what Angelenos call “May gray” and now we’re headed straight into “June gloom”. This means every day we wake up and it’s cold and gray - the heat is kicking on again in the morning, and I use my seat heaters in the car. This continues until early in the evening or sometimes all day. The sun may poke out for an hour or two late in the day, or it may not. I have to say, this is my least favorite part of living in this part of the country. You have this weird, London-like winter in May and June before you’re finally allowed any summer, which then lasts well into October. School is ending, summer is here in a couple of weeks, and yet it’ll be colder than it was in January. I hate it. 

While it’s very un-motivating to wake up to cold and gray every day, I have been sticking with my workout routines - I’ve settled into yoga Monday nights, Pilates Tuesday, weight training Wednesday and Friday. I don’t go to the Hollywood Y anymore since my favorite teacher left, and I found a Y in Sierra Madre that’s easier to get to. My routines are about to be interrupted, though. Kids off school means everything changes - we’ll be getting up later, I’ll be potentially dropping them at camp right as many of these classes start. I’m low-key panicking about losing all the momentum I’ve built with both diet and exercise - between our big road trip and then Korea, and changes to my schedule, I’m worried I’m going to lose all the progress I’ve made. I’m down 9 lbs (halfway to my goal) and clothes are starting to fit again - I’d hate to start ticking back up again because I stop working out or start overeating. Ugh. I’m going to have to be really vigilant the next three months.

Another mortgage payment today, and my constant question is - is this one of the last? Ever?? If things go the way I want, my last regular mortgage payment will be Sept 1. Once the event is over and all the dust has settled, I’ll know for sure if I can pay off the house entirely by Oct 1. This is the closest I’ve ever been to this dream. I’ve been making housing payments of one kind or another since 1990. The day I pay this place off could be the happiest day of my life, really. Between that and paying off my Hollywood Forever niche (burial spot) next month, that will free up an extra $5000 a month. That’s unimaginable. And yet in just four months I could be there.

The final week of school starts tomorrow. I’m still completely in the dark as to all the 6th grade activities coming up - there’s supposed to be some thing pretty much every day (dances, picnics, etc) but I don’t have times or locations. I don’t even technically know if I’ll be able to get enough tickets for graduation next Monday. It sounds like that one is first thing in the morning (blergh) and then the kids can go home - although all kids are expected to return for a final day of school the next day (Tuesday), we may just skip it. There will be no more homework; the standardized testing is all done. It’s party time, or almost. Five more days. I’m going to miss this comfortable routine; and I’m especially going to miss two kids at the same school. We won’t have this again until fall of 2026. I’m going to miss this elementary school life. Things are simple and the kids are easy right now. I worry what comes next. I remember years ago a relative was melting down over her kid entering jr high and I didn’t understand - now I do. I finally donated all of our unused but opened wedding alcohol to a friend - it occurred to me that having teenaged kids alone in a house with tons of opened alcohol just sitting around wasn’t a great idea. I was a good kid but even I took swigs of the mini vodka bottles my mother was gifted but never drank, just out of curiosity. 

Bobby hasn’t asked to move his room up to the attic for a long time; I hope he’s decided he wants to stay with his brother for a while longer. Their room is really juvenile - I’ve done nothing to update it since they moved in there together at 2 and 4. I keep thinking I need them to get out of the bunk beds and need to get rid of their toy boxes and move in desks and more adult things, and that day will come, but, just not today.