It's Good to be Queen...

It's Good to be Queen. 
Or Not.


Last week was homecoming week for Bunny.  

I find these events are so much more special in a small town because, well, because, size matters.
Really. In this case, smaller is better. I'm becoming the biggest advocate ever of smaller schools.

Anyway, Bunny was nominated to the Homecoming Court meaning either she or one of her three friends was going to be crowned Homecoming Queen. And all of the girls were/are good friends.

And because this is a small town the girls got to be interviewed by the newspaper and be the stars in the parade.

Since this is my blog and Bunny is my baby, I get to share her week with you.

It started with an article in our newspaper, The Mountain Mail.

Homecoming week always has themed dress up days.  Seniors get to wear togas, so Bunny and one of the other queen-wanna-bees coordinated their costumes.

Natty and Bunny

Thank goodness for "YouTube" and toga tying instructions.

On Wednesday there was a school assembly on the football field where the "court" was presented to the student body.

Bunny and her escort, Jett, are second from the right. 

(Photo courtesy of M. Moltz)

Wednesday after school there was a parade down the main drag.  The queens-in-waiting led the pack, waving and throwing candy.

Smile! 

Adorable old Dodge convertible....

After the parade was a bonfire, which I did not attend, also documented in the newspaper. 

(photo by Ryan Summerlin)

Thursday was, blessedly, an off day. No homecoming court duties required. Thank goodness.  I think all of the girls were exhausted at this point.

The football game Friday night was the highlight of the week. Bunny specifically requested (demanded) that her dad fly 1000 miles from Texas to escort her onto the field. Being a good dad, he complied.

photo M. Moltz

What Bunny didn't know was that her sister, Belle, also flew in from Florida as a surprise. Belle hid out in town at a friend's house, only showing her face once the football game was underway and Bunny was safely tucked away in the school library.

I love this picture taken by one of the other moms.  She managed to catch Bunny's face just as she realized her sister was in the stands. 

In the end, Bunny was not Queen. Kaitlyn Moltz won that honor.

                                                                                         photo M. Moltz

Did it matter? Not one bit. 

Back to School, Back to Colorado

Back to School, Back to Colorado.

What? 

Monday was Bunny's first day of school. She was registered for school in Texas. 

However, somewhere in between the High School personnel not being able to understand me because I was speaking English and the registrar asking me if Bunny had been in Special Services like "you know, Gifted and Talented or Pregnant", a decision was made.
(BTW, Yes to Gifted and Talented, No to Pregnant.)

Bunny started school in Colorado. We got here Sunday.

 Bunny in her ever important "First Day of School Outfit".

You're never dressed unless you're overdressed. 

The drive up was so easy and uneventful that I could not believe it. No lightning strikes. (Last year's drive here.) No traffic. No trauma.   We even made an unscheduled stop at the Cadillac Ranch to see the "planted" Cadillacs. 

And still got here quicker than expected. 

(Thank you, Ann, for suggesting I alter my attitude towards the drive from hateful to anticipatory.

Some strangers, some Cadillacs, Carlos, Me all at

Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, Tx. 

Carlos is so happy. 

And Tuesday is Belle's first day of college classes. 

I don't have a First Day Official Outfit photo but I am hoping her first day of college goes better than her first day of preschool.

Belle, not so sure about this school idea.

A feeling she never has quite gotten over....

And me? 

Looking for a job since this time I will "do it like I mean it". 

And... I find it interesting that in less than 24 hours I have chatted with 4 neighbors here, including meeting the two new goats next door, Martha and Maynard. 

That is three more neighbors than I communicated with all summer in Texas. 

Friday Follow-Up

Friday Follow Up

As I mentioned here, back in May Belle graduated (was graduated? my mother would know the correct grammar on that one) from tiny Salida High School.

Belle with her proud mama.

Which means Belle is going to college.

YAY!

Belle is a singular child. Determined. Knows what she wants, how she wants it and what color it should be in. Whatever "it" is.

Ever since she was in elementary school she has said "I will go to college by the beach, NOT in Texas. I want warm weather."

Belle's College Requirements:

Toes in the sand, sun on her back, ocean in the distance.

O! And classes. 

She's never been too specific about what she would study, although she has cycled through Veterinarian (couldn't put the animals to sleep, though), Marine Biologist (chemistry-not her forte) and hair stylist. She's a girl of many talents.

That's okay. It's a rare 18 year old that knows what they want to do for the rest of their life. Hell! I'm 58 and still struggling with that decision.

And so she made her college decision by looking at the map and researching small schools and acceptable (to her) locales.
I guess there are worse ways to decide.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and Palm Beach State College won.

PBSC Amphitheater- Gardens Campus

Since we were in Colorado, it was a Herculean task to get to Florida and back over even a long weekend to look at the school, so we didn't. Until this week. Texas to Florida ostensibly is an easier trip. (Although, of course, with our luck, that wasn't quite the case.)

Talk about cutting it close. School starts on the 22nd. Belle had NO back up plan. Didn't want one. She knew this is what she would do. And this is a school that offers ZERO school housing. No one could even suggest a place for her to live. I assumed that we would easily find something once we showed up on campus and talked to administrators and students in person. Wrong.  Nothing. No suggestions. Nothing on the Student Center boards. Nada. Zip. Zero.


The college is in the middle of a luxury community. No apartment complexes within 20 miles.

Panic.

We both loved the school. Small.  About 9000 students. Friendly. Nice demographics. Safe.

But housing.

I scrolled through the realtors online until I found one that looked motherly. I called and pleaded my case. She referred me to an outstanding Coldwell Banker realtor, Arlene Love, that totally got what we needed. And assured me it would be very hard to find. But she was willing to try.

The next morning she had two listings for us to look at. But, as she said, sometimes you only need two.  Or one.

And the first one was it. A small garage apartment behind a large house in a lovely quiet community. Alarm system. Furnished. (I barely dared dream of a furnished apartment- that seemed to be asking too much to even think of.) And furnished in a way that Belle would have done if she had the chance.
Within 5 miles of the school. And 5 miles to the beach. With a washer and dryer. Internet included for a small additional fee. Parking outside her door.

The selling point for Belle? 

A bathroom counter that went on for days.....

The skies parted, the sun shone, angels sang.

Belle has a place to live.

Actually the sun did not shine.

On our way to the airport we got word that our flight had been cancelled.
We were rescheduled for the following day.
We boarded the plane Thursday and sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes because of rain. Took off and flew. And flew. And flew. Later we found out we had flown down almost to Cuba before heading towards Texas. And then we were held off some more because Texas had rain. Twice we were told of delays. We made a sharp turn and drop as the plane rerouted to Corpus Christi. They had held us off so long that we needed to refuel. This time an hour on the tarmac. No more water on the plane, it was getting warm and since we could look at our phones, we got to read about 298 people being shot down on a Malaysia Air flight. (Reassuring. Not.)

But we made it home. Only 18 hours after our originally scheduled arrival.

That's okay.

It was a successful trip.

.......................

I've had a few people question my sanity re: sending my 18 year old daughter off to live on her own 1000 miles away.
I get it.
But I also know this child. She will do just fine. There will be hiccups but if anyone can do it, she can. I am slowly collecting names and numbers of people in the vicinity in case of emergency. But I predict this one will go off and be successful, whatever she does.
Now her little sister. Not a snowball's chance that she would be allowed the same privilege. Love her, but no.
And older brother wouldn't even consider the idea. He doesn't like travel.

Besides, as my friend Libby pointed out: "Apple, tree, etc."
At 18, my parents dropped me off in San Miguel de Allende, in the middle of Mexico, for school. Like Belle, I knew no other students.
This was pre-cell phones and pre-computers. A long distance phone call took a minimum of two hours just to get through to an international operator. Then there might be a line available, might not. Mom left me at a boarding house and within a month I had met a friend and we had found an apartment.

My first two room mates at the boarding house.

Cathy, Claudia, Me.

(Love those high waisted pants!)

How did we know how to rent a place? I have no idea.
How did we get someone to rent to us? We had no jobs. We were foreigners. Again, I have no idea.
It was all an education.
And isn't that the point?

O! Libby is soooo right.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Apparently a bathroom counter that went on for days was my priority, also.

This was from a Mexican house we rented my second year down there. 

No. 49: Make a new friend

No. 49: Make a new friend
Can that be put on a list and done? 
YES!
(Part One)

We are winding up our school year in Colorado which I guess means we will have to return to Texas.

I have lots of observations to share but somewhere along the line I realized that I have definitely accomplished No. 49 in the past year.

Kathy, Lisa, Janna, Me

Party at Boathouse!

Last week I went out with these three women.   One (Janna)  I had met when my girls first made friends here. She's the mom of one of the many girls that my girls have hung out with for the last five years.   But all three of these women are also Cheer moms. In fact, on the left is Coach Kathy, the Salida High School State Champion Cheerleading Coach.

I ended up spending a lot of time with these ladies back in the fall and found them to be loads of fun and great mamas and very welcoming.

I know that I can count on them if needed and if I have a question, they know the  answer.
Since they all live in town and have for years, they know the different kids (and parents) at the school and have given me advice on who I need to be worried about and who qualifies as a good kid.

Every parent of a teenager knows how valuable that info can be.

Also, they know what's really a tradition and what is just "I'm gonna tell mom this is a tradition and she won't know any different."
Bonfire for homecoming?   I was a told that's a tradition that parents don't go to.
Ha! The entire town was there EXCEPT me because I believed those girls.
That's when I started checking up a little more.

Homecoming Bonfire 2013

Photo by Anthony Himes taken from The Mountain Mail

One of the girl's boyfriends parents are out of town? Thanks.  I would not have known and No, you may not sleep over at anyone's house this week.

Name of a doctor?  Got it.

Where to get my hair done?   Got it.

What's the schedule for cheer?

What? How? Where?

You need friends when you move someplace new!

So Kathy, Lisa and Janna- thank you for being my No. 49s.   Not just one friend but three.


And more to come....

Taking a minute out to be proud....

Proud!

I'm taking a minute from everyday life to announce how proud I am of middle child, Belle, for graduating high school and pretty much having her life planned out. Or at least as planned as you can get at the tender age of 18.

Last Saturday Ms. Belle walked across the gymnasium at Salida High School along with 57 other of her newest closest friends. She was handed a lovely diploma holder and picked up the real thing in the school office after the ceremony.

And what a fun ceremony it was!

I have only been to the ginormous Texas high school graduations where there are 600 kids and it is held in a stadium and people come and go. The only advantage to those graduations is that our last name starts with a B and graduates are announced alphabetically.


This little ceremony started with the Pledge, a song from the choir, the band playing and a procession of the graduates coming in two by two.

Surprise! Not alphabetical.  Belle was one of the last to come in.

No hired speaker- the students spoke and also chaired the program.

 Proof! She really graduated.

There was a slide show that had the kids' baby pictures first, followed by their senior picture.  The students got to choose a snippet of song to be played while their pics were on display. It was fun trying to guess which kids were which either from their song or baby picture. Belle's song was "She's Like Texas" by Josh Abbott Band. Perfect.


After the diplomas were handed out, there were a few more words said by the muckety mucks and then there was the recession.  (Not the economic kind but the departing procession kind.)


O Boy!

Accustomed to the staid deportment of 600 graduates quietly filing out after a brief flurry of cap tossing, I was totally caught off guard by the party that left the gym.

Two by two they left.
The first couple of pairs were waving and smiling.  Then two boys walked down the aisle wearing rooster hoods. A few students later, one had removed his robe to reveal his fire fighting outfit. (Forest fire fighting is a BIG thing here and many boys go into the field.)  Another was in his dirt bike  racing uniform; he's  going pro next year.  (You go, Garrett!) There was a horse head hood. Lots of the kids had party cannons that boomed and sprayed confetti. Boys carried out girls. Boys carried out boys. Belle and her friend met center stage, theatrically air kissed and beauty pageant walked and waved down the aisle.

Belle and Madison in a flurry of confetti.

They were allowed prior to the ceremony to put whatever they "needed" under their chairs. "Needed" items included masks and party poppers.

Anything could be and was worn under the robes. Many of the boys obviously had on shorts.
In a perverse twist, Bunny's friend boy who graduated actually had on a tie- a rare and coerced occurrence. I attribute that to his mom being from a more Southern state. She's trying hard with that one to make him civilized. He would prefer to be a country boy, thank you very much.
And one student even had on a tux. This is the kid who every single day of school has worn a coat and tie. Always. By choice. It's his thing.

I love a school where everyone is allowed to let their freak flag fly.

And Ms. Belle?

After a brief chat, she headed to Sonic for lunch and then home to change. She wanted to work one last night before heading home to Texas, where she will work some more.

That girl is driven.  She likes money and she knows she needs to work to make it.
In April she took a job here waitressing and worked five days a week. Coincidentally, the restaurant is only open five days a week. (A little shout out to Buffalo Smokehouse- good BBQ if you are in the area. The owner is originally from Texas. He knows what he is doing. And there is a wonderful museum collection of motorcycles and Western memorabilia.)

And now Belle is back in Texas for three weeks getting summer job(s) lined up. Last year she worked for Grimaldi's Pizza and hopes to pick that job up again while graduating from hostessing to waitressing in the process. She also has an in with another restaurant for a hostessing job. Her plan was to get back to Texas before all of the other kids got out of school so she could get a jump on the summer job situation. Smart.
Even smarter, one of those restaurants has a location in Florida, near to the school she plans to attend.  Guess who also plans to work in Florida?

She will do well in life.

 Belle with her proud momma.  

She's really only a half inch taller than me. 

I had on heels. She had on HEELS.

I am so proud.

Thank you....

A Big Thank You

Today I am taking cookies up to the front desk of the high school.

I think the school has been one of my favorite parts of our stay here. The front desk ladies are amazing. The principal actually knows me! (And not because of discipline issues, but just because we are new.) 

The girls and I have been made to feel welcome from the very first day they enrolled. The differences between the school here and the school in Texas are many, many. Some things are better, many are the same, some are probably worse. 

But overall, no regrets. None.

Good ol' Toll House cookies.

High Altitude version.

Yum.

The girls have LOVED the four day school week.
Bunny has been researching schools in Texas that offer four day school weeks. Guess what!? There is only one! And it is nowhere near where we live! Our Lady of the Hills Catholic High School in Kerrville, Texas fits the bill. Unfortunately we aren't Catholic, we live nowhere near Kerrville and Bunny doesn't get to go to private school.  Five day school week for that girl next year. 

Salida has small classes. Small school. Only about 300 kids. So many things are possible when the school is not tasked with crowd control.  

The teachers know everyone. The principal knows everyone. Teachers that don't actually teach my girls know them as "the Texans".
(Hell! Half the people in town know the Texans. I was getting my windshield repaired and the repair guy knew the Texans AND who they were dating. Because the girls are both dating local boys, people know of my girls. I'm always getting told what nice families these boys are from.)
Having always lived in a big city, this is just endlessly amusing. 

But my favorite part of the school has been the flexibility and sensibility. 

If the girls are sick or even just going to be traveling, I call the front desk, they make a note and Voila! it's taken care of. I don't have to send a doctor's note or lie that they were ill when they weren't or explain anything.  Amazingly I am considered the parent and therefore capable of deciding what constitutes a reason for my girls to miss school.  The school still has a maximum number of days a kid can miss each semester-just like Texas-but I have yet to be threatened because the girls have been absent.

This is so unlike Texas that I just can't explain.  Last year when Bunny was very sick, she missed many, many days of school.   Her absences were all documented. She had doctor's note after doctor's note. We still received a letter from the school district saying we were subject to prosecution and a fine because we were not getting Miss Bunny to school on a regular basis. (You can read about that ordeal here and here and here.)

Contrast that with Bunny texting me last month saying she was having a horrible day and she just really wanted to come home. She'd had a fight with the friend boy, she wasn't feeling well and it was just a no-good day. I called the front desk and mentioned she was having a bad day and wanted to come home and maybe there was a little drama going on. I was met with concern and advised that she had missed a lot of her last two classes but she hadn't missed too many of the mid day classes, so if she wanted to leave for a bit to recoup, that was fine as long as she came back for her last classes. "Just have her stop by the front desk".  
Common sense.
Compassion.
It can be hard being a teenager.

Academically a few of the classes have not measured up to what they would have been taught in Texas. Overall I think the classes in Colorado have emphasized more hands on projects, more group projects and more real world applications. Maybe school wasn't as hard, maybe it was just taught differently. There was one week of standardized testing. I believe last year in Texas the girls had three weeks. But overall they learned what they needed to. Bunny will do fine next year. Belle will graduate and go to college.
The experience over all outweighs any educational deficiencies.

But the main reason those cookies are headed up to the front office? 

When Belle was in middle school in Texas, I volunteered every Monday for three years at the front desk. The principal would come by often and occasionally we would interact.
But.
That principal did not know my name. He did not know my daughter. He could not have put my face with my daughter's or even connect our names. And yes, I did introduce myself to him.

The first month of school here in Colorado I was leaving a restaurant and passed by the principal. I had met her one time. She stopped me and asked how the girls were adjusting to the new school.
What? She recognized me even though we weren't in a school setting.
Amazing. 

Those cookies are well deserved. 

I will miss Salida High School. 

Salida Spartans State Champion Cheerleaders-

Homecoming Parade

For some background on just why we are in Colorado rather than Texas click here and here and here.