Feel Like Complaining

The Winter quarter at Eastern had only finished the first full week. We took the kid back Sunday afternoon and her roommate was there watching Netflix movies but we didn't go up. K then left the room about 5:30 pm. The next morning the kid thought it was strange that her roommate hadn't come home, but then she checked her messages. Late Sunday night she had received a message from her roommate's twin sister after she had already turned her phone off, who said that her sister tried to kill herself that night. Apparently she drove herself to a service station in the small college town, slit her wrists and took 30 Benadryl. Someone had found her and called 911. Later on Monday, another message arrived from K herself saying that she would be spending a few nights in the hospital then going into treatment. Our daughter knew that in the past she had eating disorder issues, and had recently broken up with a girlfriend. Her parents were also very overprotective of her, especial...

I went to my Moms as usual the other day and she was putting something down the spare bathroom's sink. There was an awful smell in the house (manufactured home) and she thought it was coming from the sink. I traced the smell to a duct in the den, it was so gross. She thought possibly a pipe from the bathroom  had broken under the house so she called her handyman after I left and he came over. He's been around awhile and figured some animal had crawled under the house and died. He said to give it a few days and if it doesn't go away or at least dissipate, to call a plumber. I'm just glad I don't have to sleep there and smell it, especially knowing it might be a dead thing; shudders. Last Thursday I snuck off to Eastern to have lunch with the kid. We've been wanting to do this for awhile and since hubby naps in the afternoon before he goes to work it seemed like the perfect time. We'll both go some Sunday for their brunch, I promise. It was really nice seein...

Way before my daughter left for college I heavily resisted reading about the 'Empty Nest Syndrome'. I knew what it was, I knew I'd feel it and I didn't want to feel sad before I had to. But one day I did. All of the websites had basically the same information but one I landed on (and now can't find again) said something a little different that I really understood. It said that it might not be so much that we miss our children but more how we feel about our own life and what it means for us when they leave. It's a new phase in our lives; we're dealing with our parents and our own aging issues. I was not a young person when I had my daughter and so I could not relate with anyone my age about having a newborn. Now the same is true, everyone my age is a Grandparent taking on whole new (fun) roles. I'm kind of stuck in the middle; an empty nester with an aging parent AND Grandchildren. So WHO am I? I didn't know who I was before I had her; how in ...

A week has come and gone since we moved the kid into her dorm and she's actually home this weekend, much to our delight! Move in day was easier and less stressful than I thought it would be. I had planned to take lots of pics but only got a few. This one of all of her stuff lined up ready to be loaded in the car. We had to take the bench seat out of the van and everything fit nicely then. Then we drove over to her old High School's parking lot to get a few more of a full car. She took a few of her room when it was mostly furnished. Oh well, we were on a roll and just wanted to get done. I wasn't smiling like this at the end of the day It was easy to find a parking space and they had large totes to transport things. My step-son the Professor was working so he came to help and we got it all done in two loads, such a help. Then we got to see his office and had a wonderful dinner before coming home. We were all putting off the inevitable; saying goodbye. We went ...

Although the kid is already gone I wrote this last week . T-minus 7 days until our Daughter moves off to college. Just a few thoughts on how I'm feeling about that. One of my FB friends said "It's not like she's moving to Bolivia, you'll be fine". I don't care if it's 30 or 3000 miles away, it's still a turning point. It's the next phase of my life in which I'm not sure I want to enter. Friday the 13th. Several times her and I looked at each other and said, "Next Friday at this time....." It went from we'll be unpacking stuff, having dinner together at EWU, to crying ourselves to sleep. Saturday. She went to EWU with her big brother to help him get his office ready. Since she will have 2 classes in his building, she took her map and figured out her route from her dorm and other buildings. The evenings will be the hardest. We all watch TV together, probably too much. She sets all the shows to record so we'll have to lea...

When I graduated from high school, my Mom put together a basket for me with all of the essentials a new college student would need. I went straight to an apartment instead of a dorm so maybe the items she packed were more geared for that. To be honest I don't even remember what she put in my basket but I thought it was cool, and as my daughter has grown I always knew I wanted to do the same thing. The basket my Mom used was an old produce basket and she painted it white. One little space was left untouched where one of us kids drew a cute little house. The basket must be at least 40 years old, but it's still in good shape. I started buying supplies at the beginning of summer and by the end of August it was so full I could hardly lift it; it weighed in at 32.6 lbs.  I've got it packed full of laundry soap/softener, towels and wash cloths, umbrella with EWU logo, EWU logo'd pen and pencils, snacks and drinks galore, fruit cups, Top Ramen, small cereal boxes, peanut...

All summer we have been buying things my daughter will have to take to college to furnish her dorm. Many things we could figure out on our own; computer, bedding, clothing, carpet, towels, washcloths, detergent and fabric softener. You just can't take things from your house, you have to buy new, or buy crap that you wouldn't mind getting lost or stolen. As much as you would like to trust other people in a dorm, they suggest locking cables for your computer and lock boxes. She's been texting her room mate and just met her recently. I'm glad she is also from Spokane so they had the opportunity to meet first. They have split up the larger items to buy so there are no duplicates. We found a fridge on Craigslist and she picked up a microwave. Some things I didn't even think of is a full length mirror, mattress pad, shower shoes and caddy, trash can, ear plugs (would be a must for me), first aid kit, thermometer, flashlight, dishes and silverware. The list goes on and...

I thought I better get around to posting a picture of my daughter's graduation. This is a professional picture taken by a studio. I'm glad we got at least one good one. After the ceremony it was so darn crowded and took so long for what little family that came, to find each other (truthfully, because my husband had to pee). After a few shots, my older brother and his wife said they had to go, and took off. My younger brother and his wife didn't come because it was hers as well as her Mother's 90th birthday and they were having a party. So it was just Hubby and I, youngest step-son, his Mom and fiance as well as my oldest brother and wife. We had a small lunch earlier in the day at the house with one other guest. I tried to make it the best I could for her and hope it was enough. So there were only a few pictures taken and only one with all three of us; I'm very sad about that. We may have to make her dress back up in her cap and gown to get more pictures in the...

There are times when you just gotta say, "I'm done." This isn't an earthshattering event, just something that torched me one day and I cracked. First I have to say that my Daughter is the best kid....ever. But for many reasons she can be lazy. In part, it's our fault with her being an only child and well...you get it. Her academics have always come first so we've never been very strict with helping around the house, taking out garbage, dishes, laundry, etc. Her only real chore is feeding the dog once a day and making sure she has water. A few years ago I got so tired of reminding her I started taking her allowance away. Five bucks off for an infraction kind of hurts the wallet at the end of the week so she's much better at it. And I know I was no better when I was her age, having to be reminded to do even the simplest thing. It drives her Dad nuts when she walks right by something that needs to be done and just knows that one of us will do it. This i...

All good things must come to an end. This year the Mozzarella family will not be taking their annual vacation. It's been a good run, 17 years with maybe one missed in that time. It's something we save and plan for the day after we get back from the latest one. But with finances up in the air--not knowing what financial aid will cover for college; we had to put our tax refund in savings for that reason. Come on, let's get the show on the road Got license? I can't walk or crawl, so I'm just gonna sit here Most of our vacations were spent at the beach, either in Washington or Oregon. Our Daughter's first time was at the age of 10 months. We have a lot of photo albums full of pictures and hearts full of great memories. I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. In time she'll be making memories with different people in her life and our trips together will be a distant memory. We will be taking one long weekend in Leavenworth, a closer-...

We're getting pretty used to changes around here lately. Well not really, but what choice do we have? After our last visit to EWU campus our daughter was getting more used to the idea of going there. In the meantime we had been getting mail regarding a special Honors program at the local community college; one to which she had applied and already been accepted (to the college that is). The American Honors is a special program with less than 200 kids accepted and she was urged to apply. We threw them away after setting our sights on Eastern. But they were persistent and called me to explain the program. Hubby and the kid went to an informational meeting and then explained the program to me. The kids take all honor classes in smaller settings and it included a lot of classes online too. They have an advisor for those two years who helps them pick their major when transferring. Both of them got excited about it but she still had to fill out a separate application for it which could ...

For months now my stress level has been on high alert. A lot of it is college related. Between financial aid forms, college tours, and the Sr. Culminating Project, I'm about ready to jump off a bridge. It's a miracle that Seniors in high school don't become orphans due to the stress load on their parents. Even though we have hired someone to fill out the financial aid forms for us, there are still corrections that need to be made. They highly stressed that by hiring them, the forms will be filled out right with no chance of hold-ups due to wrong entries. Ours were filed promptly on Jan. 2 which was awesome but then we get an email that hubby's name does match the SS number on file. Are you shitting me? They had used a different initial; like if your full name is Robert but they call you Bob, they used the B. The email directions from their office said you you can go in and make changes but if the PIN # doesn't work, please call the office so we can walk through ...

This college stuff is all too consuming. I have been eating, sleeping, and pooping it for weeks. We're coming along though, she's applied to 4 colleges in all, and 3 of them are very close. Then there's the submitting of  transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, and letters of recomendations. We met with our financial guy in person, he's pretty nice I guess, but still a little out of touch with us peons. Now we're gathering more info so they can prepare our financial aid application for us. A fun way to spend the weekend. Hubby bought a new car, a  '99 Pontiac Gran Prix, about a month ago. I think it's been in the shop for 3 out of the 4 weeks. It had a lot of work done on it before he bought it but he's had to have a leak fixed which was causing the inside windows to steam up bad, more than just your usual condensation. He's also having a hard time figuring out what's causing the check engine light to come on after filling the gas tank. It has something...

I hate my inner clock. It is so dead on, that any deviation from the norm throws my sleep cycle into a frenzy. I set my alarm for 5:15 every morning except weekends. Who wouldn't love to sleep in on the weekends? Although I still wake up at 5:15, I sometimes fall back asleep or just catnap until 6:30 or 7:00. But by the time Sunday night comes I can't sleep because I've gotten too much sleep over the weekend. If I can't fall asleep in my usual 15-20 minutes, I'm screwed. Then my head starts spinning and I can't turn it off. This was my night last Sunday. I made it a point to be in bed by 10:00, my usual bed time, but it sure didn't make any difference. Heard my radio go off of its 20 minute sleep mode. WHOMP...heard the furnace come on. I'm usually asleep at this point so it only mildly wakes me. Since my bedroom is right next to the furnace room, it scared the Hell out of me. Still awake at 11:00, I growl at my clock. WHOMP....furnace comes on a...

....being a parent of a Senior in High School. When our daughter was born a little over 17 years ago we didn't even think about college. Let us enjoy this time, that's a long way off. Even as she went from Grade School to Jr. High, we said 'Oh, we have lots of time to ponder that'. As a Freshman in high school, thinking about college, choosing a career, and the financing of it all still seemed far off. But as we are realizing now, we wish we had really started planning then. We foolishly thought that a guidance counselor would walk us through the steps but how can they? One counselor has almost 400 students to take care of, our daughter has not even met hers this year. I guess if you're not a troubled kid, you never even get close. As soon as she started school this fall I started doing research on filling out the FAFSA (financial aid application), and you know how it is when you look one thing up; 100 more like-minded topics show up. I was getting inundated with ...