High School Happenings (Grade 9 - First Semester)

On August 28th, Lewie started high school, and it's been a whirlwind, to say the least. On the one hand, Lewie's "social transition" has been great. Since most of his friends are in a grade above him, he missed them last year as he was in middle school while they were all starting their first year of high school. This year, with him being in 9th and them being in 10th, he's been fortunate to have lunch with them and even to be in one or two of their classes!

Since Lewie does not play sports, I was eager to have him get involved in other ways--maybe he could join theater or an assortment of clubs, such as chess or math. He turned them down, citing he wasn't interested, and they would take him away from his homework time. (I even had his school counselor and advisor strongly encourage him to join "something.") 

Then, at the start of October, I quickly saw his A average turn to low Bs and Cs. YIKES! Here I was stressing about his involvement in school, and now he was getting Ds on his quizzes and exams. I took advantage of "parent-teacher conferences" and quickly requested a review of his 504 plan.Then, I started emailing teachers (history, geometry, Spanish, and biology) to see how he could get back on track. I started dropping him off at school at 6:50 a.m. to get tutoring in geometry, and I had Spanish textbooks sent home, so I could tutor Lewie in Spanish. Needless to say, helping Lewie through high school, so far, has felt like a full-time job! Although, while most parents are spending HOURS of their time driving their kiddos to meets, practices, games, and competitions, I'm spending HOURS at home making flashcards and drilling him on high school trivia--factoids I thought I could leave behind 30 years ago after I received my diploma.

We've been retaking quizzes, but surprise, once he finally starts to gain traction, there's a new test or quiz (one he hasn't fully studied for yet), and he's back to the beginning. The cycle is exhausting, and I'm wondering if anyone else has this trouble. Lewie's a bright kid and does his homework, but the tests come...and even with extra time and a quiet environment...he struggles. Either his memory is not there or his ability to apply what he knows to the problems in front of him is missing. After the New Year, mid-terms will be starting on Jan. 12th, and we'll be back to feeling stressed out. We've been studying what we can over the winter break, but I can't tutor him in history, biology, or geometry.  Top that off with the fact that he tested positive for COVID on the Saturday just before Christmas, and he's been battling exhaustion (and frustration from having to quarantine away from friends and family), too.

In other high school news, Lewie had his first Homecoming Dance in November. In typical high school drama fashion, he told a friend he was thinking about asking a particular girl to the dance, and the message got back to her. I never received the full story, but supposedly, she said she wasn't interested in going with him because she wanted to go with someone else. Thankfully, he didn't let "being rejected" (his words) stop him from going. One of his friends went with a long-term girlfriend (of one year), and his other two friends went solo, like Lewie. I bought him a cheap tux on Amazon and made sure his dress shoes from his 8th-grade graduation still fit. I have to admit that he left looking (and smelling) pretty dapper.

Upon returning, he was disappointed. I am paraphrasing here, but ultimately, he had three complaints:

1.  Barely anyone brought a date, and if they did, they didn't dance together. The girls danced with the girls and the boys with the boys (like middle school all over again).

2. The music was TOO LOUD, and the DJ asked for requests but didn't play them.

3. The "food" was Dunkin Donuts, cookies, and other desserts.

I felt bad that Lewie was looking forward to this dance for the past year only to feel like it wasn't much better than middle school. He showed me a video where the high school gym was packed, looking like almost every student from the school attended. Still, he wasn't impressed. He didn't have an opportunity to dance with any girls, and the girl he did want to ask ended up going solo herself. Even his own friend didn't spend much time with his girlfriend. According to Lewie, they only stayed with each other long enough to dance to some of the slow songs.

Ughhhh, high school. I'm not a fan. The studies are more challenging and so are all the adolescent emotions and life lessons. My son is excited one day and down the next. He's always tired, and it's tough to get him interested in anything beyond his friends and technology. He knows doing well in school is a requirement in this house, and yet, he groans and complains every time I suggest he study or we study together. Driving, of course, is on all of his friends' minds, and next year, Lewie will be old enough to apply for his learner's permit. Can I reverse time, please?  If anyone has any words of wisdom, I sure could use them right now.

A Christmas in the Woods

This August, I embarked on a new journey, which took me quite literally "in the woods." I went from being a higher education administrator (for over 21 years) to becoming an executive director at a local land trust. I had neither executive director nor land trust experience, but what I did have was an eagerness to learn the position and a passion for conserving forest, farmland, waterways, and wilderness corridors.

Since this was a monumental change in my life, and both Daddy Lew and Little Lewie have been dragged into helping me out with a few functions, I told them that our Christmas card should be "wilderness" themed this year. I had already picked out the cutest safari outfit with red and white knee-high stockings (for Christmas flair). My husband, always wanting to make people laugh, immediately wanted to be Sasquatch or Big Foot. (The role suits him since he has size 14 feet!) For Lewie, I proposed a gnome, Boy Scout, animal, or tree of some sort. When his teenage self shuddered at the idea of doing any of them, I looked up "tree costume" on Amazon and found the most adorable "Pretend I'm a Tree" T-shirt. That was it! I knew I wouldn't be able to force him to dress up in a full costume, but I could, at least, make him wear a funny shirt. (I must say, he did get into his tree character very well--he stood proud, tall, and still.)

Most of the pictures were meant to seem as if I was lost (i.e., trying to figure out directions) without knowing Sasquatch was just a foot away behind "the tree." I'm not sure if we fully captured that motif in our images, but it sure was fun! Of course, we had to have a few smiling family photos, too, including one where my husband reveals his face. (He was so reluctant to do it, but I insisted. Otherwise, how would anyone, then, truly know it was him?)

Our card read, "Wishing you PEACE this holiday from our neck of the woods to yours." 

It then said, "Wishing you love, laughter, & happy trails in 2024."

I personally don't know if my land trust journey will be my final career destination, but it's something that definitely made an impact in 2023. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my work commute into the woods and can see myself wanting to be a National Park tour guide in my retirement years...

Since my husband is a jokester, there was one more photo that only made it into ten of our Christmas cards--of course, the two Lews thought it was hilarious... I hope this incites a chuckle... Poor tree!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy 2024 to All!

Mystic, Newport, & the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular

Ever since we attended the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI. (when Lewie was seven years old), I vowed we would have to go again...

Although, this time, our trip looked a little different. This time it included FRIENDS because when there's a teenager involved, there has to be friends for anything to be remotely cool. Thankfully, the strategy worked. Not only did Lewie and his friends have a GREAT TIME, but Lew, me, and our friend Sue had an awesome time, too.

On our way to the hotel, we first made a detour to Mystic, CT where we stopped at the Olde Mystic Village for a bite to eat and to visit a few shops. (One thing we learned early on about these boys during our trip to North Conway, NH, is that they like to shop, which makes me chuckle because, under any other circumstance, Lewie NEVER wants to go shopping.)

The boys' favorite stores included Ice Imports (they have real swords), Irish Eyes (real imports from Ireland), Munson's Chocolates, and Franklin's General Store (with sugar-coated nuts, candy, and other delectable treats). Of course, the biggest kid of them all is my husband, who made sure to buy himself a butterfly knife along with yummy sugar-coated pecans. (He spent the rest of the trip "dazzling" the boys [or trying to dazzle the boys] with his knife tricks.)

Ugh...the age of cell phones.

Having fun trying on caps at Irish Eyes.

After a fun day shopping, we drove another 30 minutes to our hotel where we relaxed before our visit to the Roger Williams Zoo. Lewie's two friends had never been to the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular before, and Lewie, disappointingly, didn't have any recollection of it either. They didn't really know what to expect, but they were happy to be hanging out overnight together.

When we arrived, the memories for Daddy Lew and I came rushing back. There were beautiful light displays as we drove through the zoo to park our car, including several fun ones in their lake. 

          "Remember these lights?" I squealed to Hubby. 

          "Yeah, I do."

We parked and were pleasantly surprised to see that there were no long obnoxious lines to greet us. Granted, we chose to go on a Sunday at 9 p.m. when most families are getting ready for bed, but we still expected some wait. In 2015, the line we were in had all of us walking through the venue shoulder to shoulder. We could try to jump out of the line to get a picture or two, but it felt like there was always someone else's head or body in the way. 

Today, post-Covid, was so different! We had to buy tickets for a timeslot in advance, and I wondered if that made all the difference. We entered the event seamlesslessly and took our time walking through the thousands of lit pumpkins as if we had the place to ourselves. Dont' get me wrong, there were plenty of folks there, but we could easily stop, take pictures, turn back, or do whatever we wanted without an unending sea of people pushing us forward. It was AMAZING!  Even the music they played (along with the 50 degree weather) made everything SPECTACULAR!

I had to take a pic of this pumpkin since Lewie loved trains for the first twelve years of his childhood.

These boys love each other like brothers.

The next day, our group decided to visit Newport, R.I. before going home. Part of me was hoping to go back to the zoo during the day (I love animals), but this crew wanted to shop more. We started our adventure by going on the 3.5 mile Cliff Walk, which boasts panoramic views of the ocean while walking past some of the beautiful summer mansions of the Guilded Age. (Lewie had a chance to visit them last year during our Christmas trip to Newport.)

The boys seemed to be impressed by some of the mansions but then Noah exclaimed, "I'm really only interested in seeing Taylor Swift's mansion." Sadly for him, Tay Tay's mansion is in Watch Hill--not Newport. Still, I kept him guessing.

My friend Sue on the stairs.

Salve Regina University - I won't lie. Part of me fantasizes about Lewie going to College here.

The boys turned back from the hike before we finished it, partly because they were hungry and partly because they wanted to shop. We went inside a few store favorites like Newport's Best T-Shirt Gift Shop or my favorite--Pleasant Surprise, and then we ate at the Brick Alley Pub & Restaurant before leaving. Granted, we could have spent the entire day shopping, but I guarantee we would have left all our money behind. We quit while we were ahead.

It was a short, one-night, two-day trip, but we made memories to last a lifetime. Lewie may not have remembered our visit to the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular when he was seven, but I guarantee he will remember it now at age fifteen. If not, he'll have two other besties that will remember it for him.  What a glorious time.

I have a kid in high school...say what?

Lewie, yes my little Lewie, my baby boy, my sweet angel from heaven, started high school this month. He was looking forward to it all summer long, and truly, I thought I was ready. Really...I did. We went to the high school parent orientation, the tour, and even to several sporting events (mostly to see his cousin Sarah), and each time, I went with excitement for the "next chapter." Not forced excitment--real excitement.

Then, August 28th came, and I wanted to bury myself under the covers. Couldn't we all just have another day, week, or month of summer? Why did the middle school years have to end? I was just getting used to the whole awkward, voice-changing, pimple-popping, hormonal years of middle school. Now he would be entering the mysterious vortex of adulthood with all the complexities of dating, driving, and decision-making. After his first week, he reported back that the bathrooms were filled with aerosol mist from vaping, and the winding hallways led to the occasional corner fight or makeout session. A note from the principal also reminded us that the possession of marijuana at school (in addition to other drugs) was another concern.

Yes, on that first day of high school I had to let go of a piece of me--the piece that wants to nurture, control, and protect my little boy.  I still faithfully set my alarm for 5:30 a.m., so I can prepare his breakfast and lunch before watching him get picked up by the school bus at 6:30 a.m. But things are different. My son battles me about wearing a jacket when it's raining or cold outside, and I can only watch him get on the bus in secret through the living room window. (He would absolutely die if I ran out there to give him a jacket while he's getting on the bus. Teenagers aren't supposed to have moms...well visible moms. Still, I am tempted to do it one day. He'll forgive me...when he's forty.) 

Two weeks after Lewie's first day, I attended "Meet the Teacher Night." My husband wasn't interested in moving around to eight different classes, so he skipped it, but he still wanted to know my assessment. Lewie has Graphic Design I, Geometry, English, World History, Biology, Spanish II, Gym, and a class called Advisory. They are split between "A" days and "B" days, so the classwork is manageable, but I still was impressed with all the walking he has to do in a single day to get to each class. In some cases, the bell would ring before I made it. I was climbing three flights of stairs to the gym (our high school is built into a mountain), and then rushing back to the ground floor for Spanish. Then, I was back to climbing another two flights for Biology... His teachers seemed structured yet nuturing, and each used their six minutes of "talk time" to address the individual topics they cared about the most. There was no room for questions. The bell abruptly ended their speech, and off we went like lost sheep to the next classroom. There were definitely some quirks with the room numbers and the stairwells, so on numerous occasions, I had to stop to ask where I could find a classroom. Thankfully, for the first six classes, I had another mom friend to tag along with.

Now, we are past the one month mark, and Lewie has fallen into a routine. He had his freshmen year photo, and I'm diligently looking at details for a possible high school trip to Costa Rica in the spring. (Since the school opened in 2001, there has only been three of these trips, so I know that if Lewie doesn't go this year, he won't have another chance before he graduates.) I have told him that he needs to join at least one club or activity to which he is still groaning: "I thought I could wait until my junior or senior year." I recognize that as a kid that loves video editing and computers, he's not going to gravitate toward sports or the chess club, but I want him to get involved in "SOMETHING." Yes, my "control" is limited now that he is a teenager, but I'm still not out of the game. My new slogan is "Mom knows best." (I say this with the utmost confidence, not letting on that this new high school vortex has me terribly confused. Do I know best? I know one thing for sure. These are the years when teenagers will often not listen to their 'wise' parents and inevitably have to learn from their own mistakes. I know because even though I'm old, I still remember those mistakes.)

So for now, I'm adapting and reminding myself to savor these years because college will be next. Yes, it can be hard to have a perpetually tired, hungry, know-it-all in the house, but it's even harder when that presence goes away, and to be honest, my son is still this amazingly sweet kid; it just gets clouded when the teenage hormones kick-in. Now I'm getting ready for what the next month brings...Parent-Teacher-Night, high school football games, and homecoming. Oh boy!

The End of Summer...

 On September 23rd, our little house, like everyone else, welcomed fall. It wasn't exactly magical because we've adopted a "fall schedule" since Little Lewie went back to school on August 28th. Still, as I spent the weekend changing our summer decorations over to apples, pumpkins, leaves, scarecrows, and even some Halloween-inspired crafts, I couldn't help but get excited for everything the autumn brings--hikes, country fairs, pumpkin spice lattes, high school football games, haunted hayrides, and more... (My goal is to stay more current with my blog, so I could write about each of our autumn events as they unfold...)

While the summer for most of us is nothing more than an afterthought, I couldn't let this one pass without writing a recap. 

Allen Brothers Fruits and Vegetables, VT

If you've been reading my blog, you may know I found myself unemployed around this time last year. It was not only an ending to an eight-year tenure as an academic dean, but it was also an ending to a 21-year career at the same college. In essence, it was more than losing a job and a good paycheck; it was losing a family that I greeted for 1,092 consecutive weeks (except for when I took maternity leave to be with my wonderful Little Lewie). I was heartbroken, and I started the summer still feeling this way. Our goal to see another national park was sidelined as I continued to make myself available for interviews, and instead, we had small pool parties, a few day excursions, and a short weekend trip to North Conway, N.H.  Here are our highlights for Summer 2023:

1. Graduation: We had some important graduations to celebrate this year; thus, we were invited to a number of parties, and we had one pool party at our house, too. Lewie graduated from 8th grade, but his cousin Sarah graduated from high school, his cousin Frankie graduated from community college, and my best friend Jen and her daughter Kirsten graduated from nursing school and high school. I was SO PROUD of all of them! 

It poured during Lewie's outside graduation, so I captured a picture at Dunkin Donuts afterward;
 our cousins said he looks like Dwight from 'The Office' with his shirt and tie.

Lewie with cousin Sarah at her high school graduation.
He will be graduating from the same high school in four years. 

Sarah had 20+ medals around her neck from all of her swim and track awards!

Sarah's family (i.e. Lewie's aunt, uncle, and cousins)

My best friend's graduation from nursing school.
She's my age and went back to college for four years to get her nursing degree.

Posing with the graduate...Sheila (in the middle) is another grammar school friend.

2. The Newport Flower Show: After a three-year hiatus (2020-2023), my mom and I finally went back to the Newport Flower Show, which we used to visit anually until COVID hit. My mom (at almost 80) was worried about having enough stamina, but she got around wonderfully--proof that we can still do our fun mother-daughter day trips.

3. Lake Compounce, Pool Parties, & Ice-cream: Lewie's major request this year was "sleep-over pool parties," so for one weekend each month (June, July, & August), Lewie had his friends sleep over to go "night swimming." We have a tradition during the summer. When they come over, they usually watch movies, TikTok videos, stargaze, play video games, swim, jump on the trampoline, and have pizza and ice cream. In the morning, they all let me know their Dunkin Donuts orders, so they can relax and have breakfast by the pool. (On a few other special days, he had a chance to go to Lake Compounce or to spend time with other friends.)

 

Lewie and I had a chance to visit his old preschool teacher, Miss Kristen.
Miss Kristen is not old by any means, but we are so proud of her because
she moved on to start her own nutritional tea and shake business!

4. I.D. Tech Camp: At the end of July, Lewie took another I.D. Tech Camp week-long computer course. (He's been doing these computer camps for the last five years; in 2020 and 2021, they were virtual, but all the other ones have been hosted by local colleges.) Last year, he took one hosted at Fairfield University, and this year, he took one at Wesleyan University. On the last day, they always say a few nice things about the students and present them with a certificate of completion. This year, Lewie earned his certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He LOVED the fact that I made him pose with his certificate in a variety of campus locations. I am the classic embarrassing mom.

5. Trip to Jackson and North Conway, N.H.: In August, I did the unthinkable. I planned a trip, specifically designed with Lewie's friends in mind. (I still feel bad that he never went on his class trip to Boston or Washington D.C.)  Two out of his three friends could go, and another family decided to come with us, so in all, it was the three of us (Lew, Lewie, and me), Ryan's family (John, Ryan, and Sue) and Lewie and Ryan's friend, Noah. Each of our families drove up separately, but we stayed at the same hotel, The Christmas Farm Inn & Spa, and we did the same activities, which included taking the Cog Railway to the top of Mount Washington, hiking, and going to some of the cutest general stores and family restaurants in the area. I decided to capture the highlights (through pictures) below.

On the first day, we went on the Mount Washington Cog Railway, which they sometimes refer to as the "Railway to the Moon" because of its steep incline with some sections being a 38% grade! Mount Washington itself (part of the White Mountains) is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 feet, and as our diesel train traveled up the mountain in one hour, we went through three different climate zones to get to the top. You could see the difference through the changes in vegetation or, sometimes, lack of vegetation!

I wish I could say we had a beautiful sunny day with expansive views, but our weekend to New Hampshire mirrored most of our weekends this summer--RAIN. We saw clouds and fog, which to our surprise, is like most days at that high elevation. Thankfully, the temperature was a balmy 40 degrees instead of its average 20 degrees or its coldest temp ever recorded -50 degrees (below zero).

Another big draw of the trip was the vineyards, breweries, and shopping. We had a chance to stop by a few places on the way back from the White Mountains. On Sunday, we had a chance to visit Zeb's General Store in North Conway, Flossie's General Store in Jackson, and the Covered Bridge Shoppe in Barlett, N.H.

The rain disrupted some of our hiking plans, but we did manage to go to a popular 'water hole' called Diana's Baths. The weather also held out, so we could have a campfire during our last night at the inn. (The boys didn't stay at the campfire long--instead, they chose to hang out for over an hour at the playground. Here's my favorite quote of the night: "Hey Lewie, look, there's some girls over there. Maybe you can get yourself a girlfriend."  The girls soon left, however, and the boys had their own fun on the swings.

My favorite part of this trip was "being a fly on the wall' when it came to the boys. At the Christmas Farm Inn, we rented a barn loft (converted to an apartment), which had a small living room and bathroom on the bottom and a large loft at the top. By far, the loft was the most comfortable area with its comfy king bed and two twin beds, but we reluctantly handed it over to the boys, so all three of them could stay in the same room. My hubby and I took the uncomfortable sofa bed downstairs. At the end of the day, though, it didn't matter. The boys laughed and laughed upstairs until at one point, I woke up and thought someone was crying. They were crying alright--crying from laughing so hard!  I didn't hear most of their jokes or conversations, but when I did, they warmed my heart. So innocent...so fun...so coming of age. When they were crying (from laughing), it was because the mirror in the bathroom fell down by itself. They were trying so hard to be quiet and then CLANG!! What a riot!

The Christmas Farm Inn

The Barn. (Our apartment was in the back.)

The loft upstairs where the boys slept.

At the same time that we squeezed in this trip, I started a new position as an Executive Director at a land trust. Then, at the end of August, I started teaching two classes at two different colleges. So, while it was sad to say "goodbye" to summer, the start of the school year and the fall was also a blessing--a chance to get settled into a new routine.

Now we are officially two days into fall, and while I still don't have a routine down, yet, I'm looking forward to more exciting adventures--this time with my high school kid. Oh boy! Something tells me there will be more silliness and laughter in our future.