High School Is The New College

#Repost @surfstefan My cutie! #teenagersrule ・・・

A photo posted by 💜💛🐳🏄 (@wendysurf) on Aug 2, 2015 at 1:27pm PDT

Editor's Note:  I started writing this last school year when Vinny was still and 8th grader.  It took some time to finish it, apparently.  Anyways, he's been a freshman in high school for about a month.  More on that later, hopefully.

Last night we went to Vinny's Pre Registration night for High School, also known as Shit's About to Get Real.

The night was almost as informative as it was terrifying.  High school ain't what it used to be. Yes, sports fans, high school is the new college.  And I'm pretty sure that's a terrible idea for children.

"You should have had kids when you were younger. If you hadn't waited so long high school would have been easier for you," says my Mom in her guilt inducing Catholic voice offering the perfect solution. 

Thank you Baby Jesus, Mary, Mom and Joseph.  
 
If only I had taken the Turn Back Time course in college. It just didn't fit into my schedule though, which is probably all the more reason to have taken it.

But there is comfort in knowing Cher understands what I'm feeling right now.

Song playing in my head:

If I could turn back time
If I could turn back time
If I could turn back time
ooh baby

 
Fortunately and  unfortunately, our teenager has been recommended for some of the most challenging   courses the high school has to offer.  And by challenging, I mean they unleash an hour or more of homework per night.  Some of them are college level classes, where you actually get college credit if you score very high on the test. 

Honors Biology
Honors English
Spanish 1
AP Human Geography ( a course The husband and I both took IN COLLEGE)
Integrated III (used to be called Algebra 2 sort of)
P.E.
Study Hall (I insisted he take this because I'm smart and practical and I love my child)

Calculating......................

5  Classes x 1 hour per night = A crap load of homework!


I'm no mathmetician , but, four to six hours of  homework per night seems impossible.   Plus weekend homework.  Plus homework during school breaks.   And get this Internet, homework during Summer Vacation, which I'm pretty sure is illegal, as well as the work of cute but evil, wet gremlins.

Vinny's response to Summer homework is, "well, I'll probably be bored during Summer Vacation anyways."

Good answer teenager!  Really, I'm not being sarcastic, Vinny. Mommy loves you.

Today's kids lack a proper sense of boredom.

The power ballad of today's teenagers is, "Time management is the key to success, time management is the key to success, time management is the key to success."

And the teenagers are way ahead of me on time management.

As if to prove their theory of more is better, the high school administrators brought in real, live students to testify on the Bible of Busy. 

 "Taking  four or five AP courses is toats (short for totally)  doable," proclaim the students.  "And it's actually easier if you do three sports and take band at the same time, because it forces you to manage your time."

Which I'm sure is fine as long as long as no one commits suicide! And that's no joke, Internet.

What I'm actually beginning to grasp is this.  Having kids never, ever gets easy.  When the fire of one problem is nearly out and barely smoldering, five more new challenges pop up that need to be put out with an ocean's worth of water.

And this Internet is when I realized what was really bothering me.    High school is stealing my baby, without even offering an apology. As if this high school is a helpful transition before Vinny moves out of the house  onto brighter and better things.

Wails loudly. 

Just to be sure to instill terror in me, an AP instructor steps up to the podium and delivers one final sermon from the Busy Bible, "You have to ask yourself if AP classes are right for your student and your family?"  "Are you willing to sacrifice your Sunday evenings, your school vacations, summer break, your first born? Because if you aren't, then AP isn't for you."

I'm certain AP isn't for me.  

But I'm just  as certain AP is  for my teenager because he's intelligent, doesn't procrastinate, takes responsibility for his life, and most importantly he doesn't want to lose his computer and all that precious screen time.

Good luck Vinny! Mommy loves you so much!

Cuddle

This is a terrible picture, but the subject matter is priceless.

Countdown

We get to pick up Vinny from Jesus camp tomorrow! Yipppeeeee!

Missing Our Camper

We haven't spoken one word to Vinny since we dropped him off at camp on Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, the camp posts pictures of him on their website so, at least, we know he's still alive.

Happy Father's Day

My kids have the best, funnest, awesomest Dad ever! Sometimes the boys even act like they know this..............Parenting can be a thankless, exhausting job. But before we know the kids will be grown and out of the house and we'll be longing for the days when they drove us crazy...

Happy Father's Day, Honey!

BFFs

This is so cute.

Open House

Ancient Greek Temple

Last night was open house at Vinny's (and Hubby's) school. Not only were many types of AWESOME homemade chilli, but I got a fun tour by Vinny himself.

And we only had to listen Gio complain, "I'm bored," the entire time.

Worry About Yourself!

I. Love. This.

And not just because when I hear:

"Mom, Gio isn't getting ready for school.".

OR

"Vinny didn't have to do his chores."

My reply is always:

"Worry about yourself."

The Tech Challenge

Vinny and his buddies participated in the 26th Annual Tech Challenge hosted by the The Tech Museum of Innovation.

They worked hard on their project for several months, and they had A Lot of parental support. Great job everyone!

Disc Golf CSUMB

Why does disc Golf always end in sword fighting?

Gio Face 2

See this post for explanation.

Hacked

Internet, this is what happens when a child gets a hold of his parent's cell phone. And by child I mean Vinny. .

Surfing Fisherman's Wharf Monterey

Hey Internet, this footage is from today of Vinny paddling into a wave all on his own. I. Am. So. Proud.

Yellow Aura

We made it to the T-Ball field right on time!

It's 7 a.m. and I'm about to sneak out of the house for a quick surf, when I hear a voice behind me.

"Mom, can we go surf the wharf?" asks Vinny.

"Sure, but we don't have a lot of time," I say. "Gio has a T-Ball game at 11," I say.

The wharf isn't really a legitimate surf spot. It's not even a beginner's spot. It's where newbies go to learn to surf.

But it's the perfect kids' surf spot. The waves are small. And by small, I mean tiny. Minuscule even.

What I won't do for my kids. A lot actually, but groveling in meager surf conditions isn't one of them.

The small, pitiful waves aren't so bad on the right board, a 6'10" FunBoard, a wide surfboard with a rounded full nose. I actually had "fUn."

While the waves at the Wharf are slow, the commentary from the people there, tends to be off the charts. Commentary from the regular Wharf surfers, of, "it gets big here once a week."

The Wharf hardly ever gets head high more than once a year, if that. And head high is not big, by most surfers' standards.

To the Meth Head, hanging over the side of the Wharf, who likes to pull (figuratively speaking) surfers' leashes saying, "Woah! Look out for that shark!"

To the Used-To-Be-A-Surfer saying, "there's not much out there, today."

"Well, it's perfect for a 9-year-old," I say, trying not to sound annoyed at the thought I might be missing "good" waves somewhere else.

Vinny popped into the Ocean and was riding waves before I knew it.

"Wow!" says Used-To-Be-A-Surfer. "He's actually surfing!"

"Yeah, that's why I'm here," I say.

But today, my favorite commentary came from a fisherman. In fact, on top of watching Vinny surf, what he said, made my day.

"The waves are never this good here," says FisherMan.

"Oh yeah," I say, hoping I don't sound like a smart alleck because I definitely don't think it's good.

"Well, it sure is fun watching you ride them," says FisherMan.

FisherMan deflated my surf snobbery bubble in a single sentence. It felt good knowing my joy*** was rubbing off on someone else.

Yes, even small waves can be powerful.

***the life purpose of people with yellow auras is to spread joy.

Surfing After Heavy Rain

The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is check the buoys. This morning buoy 42 was ringing it at 19 feet. Holy dolphin!

"The wharf might be big enough for me, but not too big for Vinny," I think to myself.

"Do you want to go surfing?" I ask Vinny around 6:30am.

"Yeah! " says Vinny.

I was beside myself with excitement. Going surfing with my son! It doesn't get better than that.

We ate, packed up our stuff, and headed to the beach.

The waves were smaller than I expected, around knee high. But I didn't mind because I was going surfing with my kid.

"We're out there!" I say.

"Why is the water brown?" asks Vinny.

"Because it rained last night," I say. "Keep your mouth closed, and you'll be fine."

"Eeeeeeeeeeew!" shrieks Vinny. "The water stinks!"

"The water does have a sewer smell to it," I think to myself.

"No way, am I surfing in that brown water," protests Vinny. "You can go out I'll hang out on the beach."

"If you're not surfing here, I'm not either," I say. "It's too small for me. Come on let's just paddle out."

"I can't," says Vinny apologetically.

Ugh.

"Okay, I'll take you home, and then I'll go surf somewhere with bigger waves," I say realizing there would be no changing his mind.

"I want to go surf bigger waves!" says Vinny.

"No way, you're going home," I say.

After dropping Vinny off at home, I went surfing, but it wasn't much of a session. I did get one really good wave, that made it all worth it. I also received a nice welt on my temple because the wind, which was really strong, kickflipped my board into my head.

"Ouch!"

Overall, I would have rather surfed micronic waves with Vinny. But he made a wise and healthy decision not to paddle out after a heavy rainstorm. After all sewer water isn't great for the sinuses. He definitely doesn't get that from me. My surf stoke usually wins over my sensible side......

Mismatched

"Vinny, you're shoes don't match," I notice one day after school.

"Don't worry," he assures me. "The match is at home."

Well, that's not what I was worried about, but okay thanks. I took him to school that day, and I'm not surprised neither of us noticed his mismatched shoes.

But the next day I was on it, and him.

"No, you cannot wear two different shoes to school," I protest as he's leaving for his kid job.

"Mom, I like these two because they're easy to put on," says Vinny. "Besides, it's fun."

"Wear the matching shoe, now," I growl.

And he did.

Today, however, he snuck off to school without me noticing his shoe rebellion. Yes, we are back at square one, with intentionally unmatching shoes. I guess I'm going to let this one go. They're a close enough match, and if he can live with the embarassment, then so can I.

But I wonder how Vinny would feel if I wore two different shoes.

"I'll take that bet," quips Vinny.

TGIF

So many books, and so much time to read them. After all the weekend is just getting started............

"Woooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Chef Tell

Looks like we have a future live in chef. Vinny who loves to eat, suddenly loves to cook!

Hooray!!!!!

Now, I know there is a Goddess of Culinary Cuisine.

My husband got the bright idea of registering Chef Tell for a kitchen safety class at our local culinary school, in a few weeks. I love a smart man!

In the class, "He'll learn how to use a stove without getting burned, how to use a knife without cutting himself," says Stefan. "And he'll even get to make a few meals."

"I hope they teach him to clean up his mess," I say.

He takes after me in the kitchen, and I take after my Mom. When we cook, it looks like a bomb has gone off, but the food tastes good.

In our house there's a rule, "if you cook the food you don't have to clean the mess," but it isn't always followed.

Then, again, according to the rule, if Vinny does all the cooking, someone else will have to clean up the mess. Unless he's cooking for himself, then I'm not sure what the rule is...................This could be another one of those parenting grey areas.

So to be safe I will refer Vinny to another rule, "if you made the mess clean it up."

No grey area there.

Balancing Act

Vinny playing the Birthday Candle Third Eye Balance Game.

I love this picture. Yeah, I'm a Mommy Nerd, which is better than being a Mommy Nazi. Although my house would probably be a lot tidier. Hmmmmmm. No, nevermind.

What To Do?

Surfing: A fine choice.

"Daddy has to work tomorrow," I say to Vinny. "And Gio has school. That means we can ride our bikes, go for a hike, or go surfing together."

"Let's just lounge at home," suggests Vinny.

"Sorry, Mommy doesn't play that game," I say.