The Blow Off?

I ran into a friend from high school two years ago this month. I was pregnant with my third and he was with a woman that he married last summer. It was nice to see him. We exchanged e-mail addresses but I was about to have a baby and more or less forgot about him again.

Fast forward to last summer when I heard that he was getting married. I found that slip of paper with his e-mail address and sent him a congratulatory note. He responded with much enthusiasm and we started communicating on and off. In February he e-mailed again and we decided to get together for dinner with our spouses and another couple that are our mutual friends (I sort of thought we might need a "buffer" couple). We had a nice dinner out and ALL said that we should do it again. I actually left that evening thinking that we had made some "new" friends. We had a great time and laughed the whole night.

After the February dinner, high school guy and I didn't communicate for a couple months. In April I sent out an e-mail inviting the two couples to come to our house for dinner (something we had discussed doing before the evening ended at the first dinner together). The buffer couple eagerly and quickly replied that they would love to come. I have yet to receive any response from the high school guy and his wife. I sent another e-mail about 3 weeks later to jog his memory in case he just got distracted or forgot about the original e-mail. Still no response here more than a week later.

Because I am over-analyzing this I will throw out for your consideration that I think this guy might have had a crush on me in high school -- but we never dated and we definitely never had that weird "I like you" discussion. One more thing, I ran into HS guy and his wife at the movie theater after our initial e-mails but before our first dinner out. I was standing by myself because my husband was in the restroom. HS guy and wife were with another couple that I did not know. Upon my introduction to the "other" couple, the female blurted out "you know they are married right?" referring to HS guy and wife. I was somewhat taken aback by it but told Nosy Newsy lady that yes I did know they were married. Then I mentioned that MY husband was in the bathroom. I suddenly felt like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

So is there some issue here where the wife and her friends think I am after HS guy, are my husband and I just being blown off as a couple, or is it possible that his lack of response has nothing to do with me (and in that case is he just rude?). I really like them and am baffled by how this guy could go from very enthusiastic about our renewed friendship to nothing at all. Weird.

Laundry

I remember when Sundays were for getting over Saturday night's adventures. Now it's for laundry. I have several annex dressers (laundry baskets) in the hallway upstairs with the laundry not yet folded from last week -- or maybe the week before too. I can hardly believe how much laundry three little boys generate (plus one big man). I bought some bleach the other day. My mother never used bleach. I guess I am exploring a new world. Woo hoo. This is the week when everything will get folded and put away. Well, we'll see.

Soccer Stress

Today my son had a soccer game. I used to think that those "sideline" parents that flip out and argue with refs and coaches were just morons. I can't really see myself ever getting overly upset with a coach or an official, but I can definitely see how I could get a little carried away in the cheering/instructing stuff. My son was in la-la land today during the game. Every now and again he would perk up and get into the game but he did a lot of watching and walking. Unlike most kids, he actually seems to prefer the practices to the games. All the drills and the games that they do for the younger soccer kids at practice seem more interesting to him than the actual matches (maybe I was like that too because I just wanted to chat with my friends). During the game I found myself yelling "HUSTLE" and "RUN" and all sorts of stuff to try to get him moving. We signed him up for soccer to help him get the whole teamwork concept and for the social interaction. But it is hard to see your child not giving their best. I guess that is one of the hard parts of parenting -- how do you get your child to want to do his or her best? But truthfully, I guess I should count my blessings that he loves to go to the games and practices. Rainy days and cancelled games cause major disappointment here. Maybe I'll take him out and run around with the ball (like I can really improve things).

Sometimes.....

I just need a place to write down the things that make me laugh or cry, frighten me or delight me, or are just the plain-Jane ordinary things that make me glad to be a mother, a wife, a woman.

I have three boys who are six, three (almost four), and 19 months. Life is hectic at best. They are distinct little creatures and have their own gifts and challenges. I adore them and when anything goes wrong -- like the dreaded request for a parent-teacher conference -- I can get ridiculously consumed and anxious. I also feel heart swelling pride at their littlest accomplishments. I am sure I will be the annoyingly weepy mother at school plays and graduations.

I also work from home for a congressional campaign. That means every other year, during election years, I work many late nights while my boys and husband sleep. On the off years, I can actually get most of my work done while kids are napping or at school. Sometimes my job is a chore and a stress, but mostly it reminds me of who I was before children and that makes me feel like a real person.

So far, I am pretty much a failure with housekeeping. I get very motivated when guests are coming, and I think that I am a good hostess and cook. But my husband knows that our house is normally a jumble of toys, socks, somewhat dirty bathrooms, and all the things that my little weapons of mass destruction (as my husband calls them) leave on the floor, spill, break, or otherwise lose. I am trying to get better at the tidiness thing but it is a long time coming. Frankly, I am sort of tidy myself. I just live in a house full of un-tidy people, and I don't have the neat-freak instinct to whip them into line.

I am a little too interested in reality TV (not something I admit to at the bus stop in the morning with the other mothers in the neighborhood), video and computer games, and cookbooks. I have a million hobbies (but have mastered none) and really enjoy learning new things. Right now, I am considering getting a master's degree so that I can teach government or civics to high schoolers. It is just an idea rolling around in my head.

Thanks for your interest in my writings, rantings to come, and nonsense. Enjoy the ride.