tween bullies can suck it

*Pardon me while I get this off my chest.*

I don't care how old you are, where you come from or how important you think you someday will be, bullying sucks.

And all the tween bullies out there? You can suck it. So can the parents of those tweens who condone and participate in the behavior, too.

I've been on the receiving end of bullying a time or two in my life. Watching my daughter go through it at age 11 gives me a whole new perspective on the practice.

Here's where I've landed: Girls at her age are sometimes bitchy, frequently moody and often overly dramatic. But that's no reason to cross the bully line -- especially with someone who is your friend (best or otherwise).

As for the parents who participate WITH their kids in this ridiculous behavior, all I can say is what goes around comes around. It always does.

Maybe you'll think twice about being a bad-ass 30- or 40-something bully when your baby is the one throwing up before school and crying herself to sleep.

Combat obecity with exersize.

There's a soft spot in my heart for anyone who can tackle a persuasive writing exercise on the topic of childhood obesity.

That soft spot is about 100x bigger when the persuasive writer is my daughter, the precocious 11 year old who recently argued in favor of "more recess" to battle the bulge.

I submit Exhibit A: The paper.

My favorite part? The spelling (or misspelling) of obesity. And exercise. Cracked me up to read it, even though her points were right on target.

Typically, her teachers take off points for every single I not dotted or T not crossed. Misspellings are usually flagged with red pen and "minus 1 point" labels. But not this time.

The evidence: Exhibit B.


My guess is the reviewer had the same reaction I did ... and simply said "A for effort!" Now that's persuasive writing, don't you think?

Brace yourself

Zoe's overbite will soon be a thing of the past.

In a mere 18-20 months -- and several thousand dollars of payments later -- she will be the proud owner of a beautiful set of straight choppers, courtesy of the fine folks at Carmel Orthodontics.

We went for "installation" yesterday morning. There was two weeks worth of pent up anxiety and fear and dread brewing in my short co-hort, and as she plopped down in the orthodontist's chair to begin her transformation, the big, fat, wet tears finally fell.

It's scary stuff for an 11-year-old girl nearing puberty to think about a 20-month commitment like braces. But she eventually dried her eyes and settled in for the two hours it took for bracket fitting.

She even let me document the process by taking some photos that, a year or so from now, I'm sure she'll regret having posed for. But nonetheless, here they are.

Before:

During:

After:

I think they look beautiful.

When did they all grow up?

Who is it that sings that song ... Don't Blink? Kenny Chesney?

Whoever sings it knows of what he croons. Because I had that "blink" moment all through the pre-Christmas, post-Christmas, Zoe-birthday season this year.

It started with the Christmas program at school. The one where Zoe sang a short solo and almost made me gasp out loud with her voice.

The dress, the hair style, the voice ... the rest of the kids lined up behind her. It all combined for one of those moments that all parents must have at some point.



You look up. The baby in front of you is now a pre-teen, and wow, where did all that time go? Who is that child on stage in front of hundreds of people, singing like that?



A month later, she delivered another figurative punch to the "mother gut" when she and a few friends posed for a birthday photo before devouring cake and ice cream to celebrate Z's 11th.


I took the pic and then got tears in my eyes when reviewing it. These kids have been coming to my house for 6-7 years now.

I remember when they were little sweaty balls of princess puffs, decked out in pink boas and sparkly hair ribbons.



What happened to the baby fat? The gaps from missing teeth? Ponytails? Playing "makeup" with each other with enough glittery crap to kill a cat?



I blinked. And then they all grew up. Including my own.

Christmas catch up

Yes, it's late. But so are my Christmas cards.

Go figure.

We kicked off the Christmas season with the traditional Xmas program at school. They have done a very good thing dividing K-2 and 3-5 into two programs so the parents and requisite others can attend.

Zoe sang a solo this year. Her first. She was nervous but did a great job on the parts she had. I'm still impressed (mother or not) at her ability to face a crowd and give it her all. The girl can take that to places, I'm convinced.

Anyway...moving on to Christmas.

Woke up early. And who am I kidding? Didn't really go to sleep at all becuase who can sleep on Christmas Eve?

This goes down in history as the earliest and last best "early Christmas" that I will ever probably go for. As in WAY too EARLY in the morning ... as in 3 AM.

It was still good fun. There's nothing like a kid on Christmas morning with presents to unwrap.

We went to my mom's later that day. Spent time with family and friends.

Joe was with Tammy after making the long trip from Georgia. Sally was sick so we didn't get to see her, but did hang out with Court. Timmy Lew stopped by. Cork made me think the ghost of Grandpa was in the house. Mom and Bill announced their engagement. Dad and Elaine fed us well.

It was a very good Christmas.

Thanksgiving in Savannah

Zoe and I flew to Savannah to spend Thanksgiving with my middle sister, Tammy. We left Turkey Morning, arrived before noon and got to enjoy some long-overdue quality time with Turtle, as Tammy is affectionately known in our family.

Tam, the perennial bachelorette, wowed us with her cooking skills and layed out a spread of food that would make the Colonel (as in KFC) proud. Yes, we had chicken for Thanksgiving ... but it was fine, even if it did make Zoe ask if we were breaking some sort of rule or something.

After lunch and a nap, we went to see The Blind Side (loved it!). Next day's itinerary: tour of downtown Savannah, walked around the old part of town, had lunch at a quaint and tasty deli, went to the beach, shopped and then made our way to a rendevous station with a giant tour bus that Tammy "guides" as one of her part-time gigs.

From there, we rode in first-class style up to Nashville, Tenn., stayed at the Opryland Hotel, saw "Ice" and The Rockettes, just for kicks, and ate a whole lot more along the way. A 6-hour driving trip back to Indy rounded out our version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles for this holiday extravaganza.

The last time I was in Savannah, Zoe was about 6 months old and it was July 4 weekend. The weather was so unbearable I told myself I would never, ever return. There's something about having your lungs sear the instant you step out of a car or building that detracts from the whole vacation experience.

This time around makes me want to go back and back again, with a really great camera in tow. The architecture is stunning. The history is a storyteller's dream. The people are warm and gracious. And the pace is low-key and calming.

Our next trip may very well be sooner than later. Fall 2010 is sounding pretty good to me right now. And Paula Deen's restaurant is on my list of places to visit. With reservations this time.

What I learned at Camp Tecumseh

I missed a very special work-related conference and pre-kicked off my 43rd birthday with a trip to Camp Tecumseh near Lafayette with a group of 60 (give or take) rowdy fifth graders.

What a trip! Literally.

The fifth graders learned or refreshed themselves on various leadership and citizenship skills. And I learned a few things, too. Among them:

1. Never let them see you sweat. As in the fifth graders. When you're supremely irritated by the screaming sounds of their youthful voices -- on a bus, in a cabin, at lunch or just in general -- don't let on. Because they sense it, and they get even screamier (yes that's a word) just to see your reaction.

2. Listen. A lot. Because when you do, you learn things. Simple and complex, fifth graders have much wisdom to impart if you take a minute to hear them out. Even when they ramble (as my own is highly capable of doing.) What you'll learn depends on the topic of course. But I found it eye opening to hear what they're thinking about these days ... and willing to share with just about anyone who lends them an ear.

3. Appreciate the moment. There were all kinds of tasks and challenges that the kids had to complete at camp, and when put to the test, I'd venture to guess that 90% of them rose to the occasion. Sure, they were distracted from time to time. And there were a few who just did not want to participate. But when left to their own devices, they began to appreciate the "now" of the moment they were in and worked as teams to accomplish something together. When it was over, they talked about it. And they appreciated each other and the place they were at, both of which made success possible.

Fifth grade teachers should receive triple pay for what they deal with on a daily basis. God bless each and every one of them for tackling pre-tween issues of every shape and variety. It was an awesome experience, even if I came home cold and exhausted. I got to watch my girl do things I would have never tried at her age, for fear of failure or embarrassment.

That was worth it all. The lessons learned were a bonus.