Jeez, where DOES the time go?

Just realized, it's been a *few* days since I last posted....but who's counting?  And if you are?  Stop it.  I have enough pressure going on as it is, I don't need you adding to it!

I've been around; reading your blogs, tweets, etc. but seem to have lost any mojo regarding my blog.  That may have something to do with the time/season change (and seriously??!!!  How the heck is it November already?  Why just yesterday, it was April 1st....and Christmas was sooooo far away).

Now that it's too cold to secrete myself on the back porch, I find myself sharing the dining room table with one or the other of the testosterone filled beings that live in this house...and I must say, "they" stifle any "creativity" I might be feeling with their loudness and total "there-ness" all the time.

And then there is the fact that it is completely dark by 6:00 pm.....which pretty much means I'm ready for bed by 8:00 pm.  I FORCE myself to stay awake (at least until 9:00 pm; I do have some standards, ya know) but between the stifling (and very loud!) influence of "those people" and the exhaustion, I just can't be bothered to do more than read and comment occasionally.

But today, I felt compelled to post (no matter how lame it might be) because when I arrived home, I was greeted with the news that Man-Child has been accepted into one of the colleges he's applied to (granted, it's not one of his "favorites" but still...).

Although, he acted oh-so cool about it, I knew he was excited.

Despite his blase attitude about the whole thing, I know this boy.  I know him to his very core.  And this boy?  He has some anxiety.  And I know he is worried about not getting accepted anywhere.

Silly boy.  His grades are good.  He will graduate from a GREAT high school.  A school that could technically be considered a college prep school.  He wrote some killer essays.  He's got lots of community service and extra-curricular activities on his resume.  I don't know why he is so worried.  (Yes, I do....he comes by it honestly.  One, or more, of his parents might suffer from the same anxiety....I blame his father.  Completely and totally.  Yup, without a doubt it's all his father's fault - we all know how HE is!)

But he is worried.  In fact, right after I tweeted about my jubilation at finishing applications last week, he then immediately threw out three more schools that he thought he should apply to.  And then threw out a few more.  Clearly, he is in the mindset that he should throw as many applications as possible out there, in hopes that one would stick.

Now one has stuck.  And, as of yet, he has yet to receive a rejection.  So right now?  Now, he is riding tall.

And he should.  He has worked hard these past few years (we won't talk about middle school or even 9th grade, shall we?), and he has EARNED this; he deserves it.  Hopefully, he'll begin to see it and quit feeling so anxious.

Which then rounds out the conversation.....how did he grow up SO fast?  How is it that we are facing COLLEGE APPLICATIONS already?  Seriously?  It was just last year that I walked him into his first day of kindergarten; wasn't it?

Hubby and I were just discussing this very fact this morning.....after he woke both of us at 5:00 am.

Back in the day, when he was just a little guy, he used to wake up at un-godly hours every morning.  And despite us telling him he needed to stay in bed until the sun came up, he would wander into our room (while the sun was still sleeping) and put his face right up next to his dad's and would "whisper"

"Daddy?  Daddy? I ongwy! I ongwy!  I want waffles!"  "Daddy!  GET up!"

This morning?

This morning, he BANGED his way into our room, LOOMED over our bed and said,

"Dad? DAD! Get up!  I need to be at the polling center by 6:30!"*

Again, using his "inside voice."

Apparently, he still hasn't learned to whisper. *sigh*

Some things never change.


*He was volunteering for one of the local candidates running for office for extra credit; which is the only explanation for him not being dragged by his feet out of bed before the sun came up.  What I want to know?  Just who do I see about *my* extra credit for getting up so darn early?