Seventh grade.

I’m a ball of nerves over it.  A fleshy bag of conflicting emotions.  I stood in the shower this morning and cried thinking of how little she once was and how much I miss being able to hold her that way.

*heavy sigh*

I think she’s excited, though focused more on things like having a locker, getting to choose electives, the broader range of food choices in the cafeteria, and older boys.  While I, however, am frightened by things like bullies, protecting her academic record, that she’ll start her period at school suffering great embarrassment, and older boys.  Older girls, too, because sometimes those older girls wield a power greater than any other.  The influence they can impose upon our sweet, innocent angels, and the knowledge they can and do impart may very well be at odds with what we think is right and/or age appropriate.

I’m dumbstruck sometimes by what I hear my kids have learned/read/heard at school; whether it’s something that came out of another kid’s mouth or ended up on the side of a bathroom stall.  I’ve always been a fan of educating my kids and not keeping them in a bubble so that they’re well-prepared.  With things coming at them so quickly, my fear is that I will miss something.  I simply won’t be able to stay in front of it.

Speaking of staying in front of things, I’d like to say a special THANK YOU to T-Pain, Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen for prompting an important conversation with Emily about the word “horny”.

The girls like the song 5 O’Clock by the aforementioned artists so I usually let them listen, but I do my own censoring if the radio station isn’t kind enough to do it for me.  They’re usually pretty good about it, especially in that after school time slot.  The girls all think its funny when I censor stuff, and I’m sure it creates more of a buzz because then they all wonder what the word was that was so bad that mom had to turn the radio down.  But I like the song, too.  I’m not so old that I can’t/don’t still appreciate good music.

Anyway, the other day in the car after school it was on the radio and I must’ve been doing something else because I forgot and at the last minute rushed to turn it down.  I looked over and caught Emily giggling beside me in the passenger’s seat.  So of course I realized right then that she knew what the word was and apparently it was funny to her.  So I made a mental note.  By the way, the other girls – clueless.

A week or so later, it was just Emily and me in the car going through the McDonald’s drive thru and the song came on.  Instead of reaching for the volume to censor it, I just let it play on and seized the opportunity.  She asked,

Emily:  Why didn’t you turn the volume down?

Me:  Because I know you know what the word is.  Do you know what it means?

Emily:  Well, yes, I think so.

Me:  How do you know what it means?  Where did you hear it?

Emily:  A boy at school.

Me (internally):  WTH???!!!

Me (externally):  And under what circumstances did “horny” enter your conversation?

Emily (completely embarrassed):  Well, he told me that when his brother looks at me he gets horny.

Me:  Ew, that’s disgusting!

Emily:  I know!

The conversation went on and started to spiral downward, but I managed to save it by back-tracking a bit on the “Ew, disgusting” comment, and by saying something about it not being disgusting in the right context.  And then we discussed what the right context would be.  So I think she’s got the point now that it is a totally normal, natural thing.

I’m, frankly, relieved to check this off the list of things I need to cover with Emily.  Never in my life did I think I’d be having a conversation with my 12 year-old about such things.  At least not until middle school…

Carmen

P.S.  I googled the word when I came home just to see what she would’ve found had she done the same.  Reading the entry in urban dictionary was so frank it made me blush.

I would’ve had the girls bring their Bitty Babies but it was kind of a last-minute thing and seeing as how we were loaded down like pack-mules already, the babies would’ve thrown us over our limit so they stayed home to hold down the fort.  I managed to survive the near constant barrage of pleas for the new doll by buying instead what I thought was an excellent purchase:  Travel Talkers, an $8 ring of cards, each card offering up a thought-provoking question.

Though it may not seem like much, this my friends, could be the best buy I’ve ever made.  This little ring of cards has provided hours of fun, laughter, discussion, thought, more discussion, more than a few silly stories, more tears (that would be me, the cry baby), and even some dancing.  We’ve been using the cards at dinner to try to stay ahead of the arguing, focus the conversation, and have a nice family dinner.  The girls have really responded to it.  Each person gets a turn to pick a card, read the question, and we go around the table each giving our answer.  Cameron got to read the last one tonight which was, “If you could pick a theme song for yourself, what would it be?”.  Here are the responses:

Quincy – I’m Sexy and I Know It, LMFAO

Madison – Stereo Hearts, Gym Class Heroes

Cameron (couldn’t pick just one) – Moves Like Jagger, Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera and Love You Like a Love Song, Selena Gomez

Greg – Tubthumping, Chumbawamba

Me (also couldn’t pick just one) – More Than a Feeling, Boston and Bust a Move, Young MC

For the benefit of the girls, who weren’t as familiar with the rap stylings of Young MC, we pulled up that last one on the iPad.  A full-on dance party and utter chaos ensued which marked the end of our nice, quiet family dinner.  Needless to say, it’s never a dull moment in the Chopp house.

For those of you who wish to “Bust a Move”, just click here.  And for God’s sake don’t hurt yourself!

Carmen

At any rate, I’ve written a little under 1500 words on my current work-in-progress so far this week.  I submitted that section for critique group, which I attended yesterday.  I am working on a critical scene and got some great feedback, as always.  I just love my critique group, made up of some very talented writers.

I’m sure I’ll write more on this scene during the rest of the week and will, of course, post my update on Sunday so y’all know how I’m doing and can keep me honest.  For now, I leave you with a quote from an article on internal motivation written by Michael Hyatt.  Click here to read the full article.

“When I rediscovered my why, I found my way.”  –Michael Hyatt

Have a happy day!

Carmen

Anyway, a long, long time ago I heard a joke, the punchline of which has given me a more creative way of saying “back to reality” over the years.  And I’m sure I’ve told it a gazillion times if I’ve told it once.  Some of you may have heard me use the phrase before or heard me tell the joke.  I usually pull it out when I have to get back to things after a vacation, but it definitely works for Mondays, too.  And it’s:  “Back on your heads.”  The title of the joke is actually “Welcome to Hell” and I include the joke here for your Monday entertainment.

Welcome to Hell

A man dies and goes to hell. Satan greets him, shows him three doors, and says, “You must spend the rest of eternity in one of the rooms behind these doors. Look in each one and decide which one you want.”

The man opens the first door, and sees a bunch of people standing on their heads on a wooden floor, looking very uncomfortable. He opens the second door, and sees a bunch of people standing on their heads on a concrete floor, looking even more uncomfortable. Finally, he opens the third door, and sees a bunch of people standing around chatting and drinking coffee, up to their knees in shit.

“Hmmm,” he says, “that looks bad, but it’s better than the other two. I’ll take the third door.” Satan smiles and shows him in.

Ten minutes later Satan walks back into the room and says, “Alright, coffee break’s over, everyone back on your heads!”

Happy Monday!

Carmen

Credit:  jokegallery.com

Wow, that feels better than I thought it would.  I’ve dreaded that confession since, oh, about December 1st.

Instead of focusing on what I didn’t do and feeling worse about it, I thought it would be better to just tell you what I did do.  So, what exactly did I do?  Well, I had originally planned to complete the novel I’d been working on.  I was about 12,000 words in.  But 3 days before the start of NaNoWriMo I had a dream.  And that dream took me off course.  Way off course.  Into another  genre even.  So I made good progress on that.  And, you know what?  I couldn’t be happier with the direction I decided to take.  How healthy is that?!

So in the spirit of moving on from that failure, and to prevent another one, I have joined the first session of ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days).  A plan that offers realistic goals (I set my own), accountability (I check in by posting my progress on my blog 2 x a week), and support (an on-line community of both accomplished and aspiring writers).

I’m pleased to announce my goals for the first session of ROW80:

1.)  Write something every day no matter what.

2.)  Complete at least 1500 words per week on my current WIP.

3.)  Make every effort to attend critique group every week.

4.)  Read two books – because reading others’ work makes me a better writer and inspires me.

So there you have it.  And a heartfelt thanks to everyone for continuing to follow me and cheer me on!  I appreciate the support, even more so as I forge ahead.

Happy New Year!

Carmen