Where is everybody? Is there a party going on somewhere to which I was not invited? har!
Hey! Guess what! I have ANOTHER interview! That makes 2!
I’m having mixed feelings about telling you all, because what if I don’t get either one of them? Then I have to tell you I suck and you will all feel obligated to *hug* me quite a lot, and I’ll feel better for it, but I still won’t have a job.
Anywho, I have another interview and that makes me happy. Also, my brother got a job! Which must be a harbinger of good things to come, right? A general trend? An upwards turn in the economy, the market, etc.? Another chance for me to use the word harbinger?
One of the first jobs that I applied for was one that my nearest colleague also applied for. She got a call for an interview today. I did not. That makes me sad, but I guess I can’t win them all.
I made the zucchini-soup-that-rocks-the-mostest last night and brownies for the Regional Singers, as we are calling ourselves. We had our last practice last night. Performance is on Friday in front of 50 people, many of them our close friends. Eeep! I have butterlifes in my stomach. Much bigger and fangier than butterflies, let me tell you. Singing in front of a bunch of strangers? No prob. Singing in front of friends and/or family: total nerve-wracked shaking spazzathon. Although, usually, once I’m ACTUALLY singing, it’s fine. It’s just the beforehand part that gets me.
A Family Dilemma
Anders, who is the best father that ever could live, and who takes a huge amount of interest in his children and their interests, is very hands-on about being involved with our children’s activities. He was, as I’ve mentioned before, a Scout leader since way back and has been really looking forward to getting involved again with HIS kids. He’s also encouraged Karin’s interest in ice-skating and soccer, and has plans to be a leader for the ice-skating school that Karin is going to start in this fall, partly because she won’t do it without him. Both my kids are very stubborn, individualistic and frighteningly capable of demanding that their world conform to their desires and ideas.
Karin and Anders came home early from soccer practice (otherwise known as playing around on the field with a lot of balls) because Karin refused to participate. All decked out in her blue and yellow soccer outfit, yellow knees socks, pads and NEW soccer shoes, she stood on the sidelines and pouted for 30 minutes because 1) they had forgotten to bring her fleece jacket and 2) they had forgotten to bring her water thermos. Finally, after trying to persuade her that it was okay and she could just go ahead and play anyway, Anders gave up and brought her home. Mad as hell. This is not, by the way, an isolated incident, especially when Karin is involved. His feeling is that there are tons of parents out there that DON’T care and DON’T get involved and DON’T encourage their kids in activities or sports or whatever, and here he is, doing his damndest to be there, and his kids keep thwarting him at every turn. I didn’t know what to tell him.
Part of me thinks that he is doing those things partly for HIMSELF and not just for them, but that’s not really fair, because he IS doing them for them, and I know it. He has plenty of hobbies and activities that he pursues just for himself, and he genuinely wants to make sure the kids are stimulated and excited about their lives and recreations. But, I still don’t know what to say to make him feel better, to encourage him, to make him understand that they are not doing it to hurt him personally, and that it IS a good thing to have stubborn, individualistic, highly demanding children, when they drive me crazy sometimes, too.
This may not seem a big deal, and indeed, in the scheme of things, grand or not, it ISN’T a big deal. It’s just the ways things are, and a general indicator of the personalities of those involved. But, there must be some way to encourage our children to participate, to try things out, to give it a go, and at the same time learn that the world is NOT always going to conform to their expectations, and that sometimes THEY need to conform to it instead, without bending them the wrong way, and so that we, as parents, can feel GOOD about our input, our involvement, our desires and dreams for our children, too.
Happy, Happy Birthday Wishes to orangepoppy!