Saturday, March 27, 2010

Wonderland

Dear Mom,
I don't know what happened, but the week went by in a blur. I want to blame it on the hour that is being used up taking the Young Man to golf practice after school every day and then even more picking him up if My Hero is not available to do it. I can also blame it on Patsy. The time it takes to wear her out so that I can get something done is wearing me out and it feels like Nothing is getting Done. The rainy days last week were awful. I despair of my floors ever being clean again. Add in a 6th grade production of Alice in Wonderland, hair appointments ( the Young Lady wanted her hair styled for her convincing portrayal of a Daisy- even though most of her head was covered by her costume), and a 7th grade scheduling meeting, and there goes the week. No one went hungry or without clean clothes, so I'll add that to the WIN column. I'll take the little victories where I can find them.
And while I am thinking about the 7th grade meeting. I must say that it felt Good to be a veteran mom, having survived Middle School once already. The Usual Suspects asked the questions I knew they would ask. Questions that were scarcely veiled attempts at letting everyone in attendance know that they were The Best Moms with The Smartest Kids. There were also the questions from Nervous Moms, doubting the safety of their soon to be 7th graders in school with- gasp!- 8th graders! I caught one veteran Mom shaking her head and sadly muttering "ohhhh, honey" under her breath. A new experience in this meeting was an Angry Mom. Her questions were LOUD and belligerent. I give credit to the principals and counselors who calmly answered her questions and did their best to diffuse the ticking time bomb. Parent watching during Angry Mom's questions was entertaining. Heads whipped around and eyes popped. After making discreet inquiries about the identity of the Angry Mom, I found out that she has recently lost a staggering amount of weight. I think she probably needs a cookie.
The week was not without it's accomplishments. I finished the next sock ( is it #12? I am losing track) and this week's sock is well underway.


I spun and plied some yarn, which is drying as I write this post and is such a bright lime green that I am unable to get a decent picture to show you. I'll keep trying.


And last night, on the heels of the 6th grade production, the kids and I went to see Alice in Wonderland at the movie theater. It is a rare thing lately, to find a movie that both kids want to see. As it should be, with a 16yo boy and a 12yo girl. Were this not the case, I would surely be worried about one of them.
Anyway, despite my love for Johnny Depp, this was not a movie that I wanted to see. The trailers for the movie looked too frenetic. Too weird. I decided that I would take some  knitting with me to the show, just in case.


I have a car project, started several years ago, to occupy myself during piano lessons, car pool lines, etc. It is something that requires no thought, can be on the needles a long time, and something I can leave in the car. It is your basic "Wash Rag" blanket, and I am using up all those tiny balls of leftover sock yarn. It won't be pretty, and it may not be blanket size for a decade, but it is satisfying many needs. Anyway, it was this project I stuffed into my jacket pocket and took with me into the theater. I knit through the entire movie, and made only one tiny error, which I will easily be able to drop back and fix.



And even though I knit my way through Wonderland, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. We all did. It was not at all what I expected. I was completely caught up and unable to separate the fantasy of computer animation ( or whatever it was) from the 'real' bits. Very clever, creative, imaginative. I am glad we went to see it.

Today it is supposed to be warm. The sun is shining. I think I'll pick up some pansies to plant and admire their happy faces.

Love,
Kim