Now that Spring is here (sort of - it snowed on Sunday but it melted and there is green) the pre-teens are out roaming the streets of Granby. They move, like elephants, from the skate park to the library (computer use, bathrooms, water) to the Town Hall (candy) to the Verizon store (fudge) to La Guaracita (ice cream cones) to the bakery (more water) and then repeat however many times they can before their parents track them down (they do not answer their cell phones.)
Yesterday in the library four kids (Bubba, Trent, Jose and Garrett) got into a fight over a bag of Doritos. As the story evolved, Bubba got the chips first and although Trent and Jose were there, he touched them first. Garrett entered the dilemma later - I think he was just hoping to get some Doritos and doesn't usually hang out with this particular group of kids. I asked each kid the story and naturally each story was different as to who saw the chips first. But the commonality was that they got it out of a dumpster. I said, "You're fighting over a bag of chips you got out of a dumpster?"
"Yeah, the dumpster at City Market"
"There's a dumpster at City Market and you found a bag of chips in it that you're fighting over?"
"No, not just one bag, I mean there was one bag now, but usually there's a bunch of bags."
"What are you guys talking about?"
"The Chip Dumpster."
"It has a name?"
"Yeah," and they all exchanged eye-rolling looks.
I asked Ian about this tonight at dinner. He said "Yeah, the Chip Dumpster."
"What in the heck is the Chip Dumpster?"
"It's where the grocery store dumps all the chips that explode in the bags when they come over the pass."
(I probably need to explain something here - when you start at 5,000 feet, or Denver, and come up over 14,000 feet, Berthoud Pass, and then into Granby, 8,500 feet, things explode, like basketballs....don't ask me how I know this)
"So who knows about this?"
"Everybody (more eye rolling.)"
"I don't know about it," I replied.
"Neither do I," Mike chimed in.
"Well anyway," completely exasperated with us by now," you can go down to the dumpster and get chips."
"Are they good?" I asked.
Ian shrugged, "Sure."
(Why am I asking a 14 year old if something tastes good...seriously.)
I guess all the kids in Granby and probably some parents, know about the Chip Dumpster. I tried to explain to Ian that he could get arrested for this and it's disgusting and he said he doubted it because when he and Conner were there this weekend the guy that was dumping the chips just gave them the full box of bags of chips and told them to throw the box away when they were done and not leave garbage in the parking lot.
My consolation is that one day this will be a good story to tell his kids and that I will probably miss a town like Granby where it's considered entirely appropriate to go dumpster diving.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Mom vs. 14 Year Old....Clean? Or Not?
Ian is supposed to clean his room every Saturday before he takes off to "hang out" with friends. (He looked at me with quite a bit of disdain when last week I asked if he wanted to invite some friends over to "play" so now it's "hang out.") Ian's idea of a clean room and my idea of a clean room are polar opposites.
The room cleaning started when Jordan came home for the weekend and we loaded up his truck with furniture I couldn't sell at a garage sale even if it was marked "FREE!!" This furniture has been downstairs in the "boys" area, which means the area I never go down into unless I smell something. It's decorated with a Foosball table, antlers, hats on antlers, a table that wiggles, a dart board with darts that have weird things written on them in permanent marker, a sofa bed that doesn't work because Mike and Jordan dumped it out of the second story window rather than take it down the stairs and, my favorite, food in various states of decay.
Jordan is sharing an apartment down in Bailey with a young man he worked with on his fire crew last year so naturally their apartment needs furniture-they are two young men recently graduated from college. I told Jordan he could have Ian's twin bed since Ian never sleeps in it. Ian sleeps: on the sofa bed, on the floor, on two chairs pushed together, on one chair, on the wiggly table with pillows underneath and on the floor. Ian does not like beds. When he was small he would sleep in his closet in, what he called, his nest, which was a bunch of blankets and pillows mushed up. One time I found him in the bathtub with blankets and pillows mushed up. I'm not sure what Ian has against beds, but he wasn't too upset when we loaded up his twin bed for his older brother. Not that he is that giving with is older brother, just that now I can't yell "You have to sleep in your bed once a week."
Taking apart Ian's bed revealed numerous object that I had been looking for, which is where the idea of a "Mom Clean," versus a "14 Year Old Clean" comes into play. I found the fence pliers, the ones with the orange handles I had been looking for. I found three kitchen knives. I found something the color of magenta in a plastic bag which I was afraid to open. I found duct tape. I found stick pens, pens, pencils, erasers and his ruler which we searched for frantically last Friday in the middle of a Science experiment.I am convinced that Ian will grow up to be a hoarder and be featured on TLC's "Hoarders" television show.
Ian also creates things. I found something that was taped and stapled together. I found something that was wired together and included bolts that he had painted. I found a piece of orange braided hay rope. I found more duct tape. I found pennies hot glued together.
Jordan is very neat. Jordan would love to have a label maker. Ian would take the label maker apart. Jordan is very organized. He has colored coded notebooks for college. Ian has color coded notebooks that he has duct-taped shut. Jordan has boxes that are labeled. Ian has boxes that I'm afraid of. Jordan will be very successful in life. Ian will be a mad genius. Ian moved his dresser out into the garage and now his clothes are laying in his closet in a jumbled pile (more of the nest syndrome). Jordan took the dresser back with him.
It's funny how two boys, same DNA, same parents, same beliefs, same everything, can be so different. They will both do well in life; Jordan because he follows the rules and Ian because he does not.
The room cleaning started when Jordan came home for the weekend and we loaded up his truck with furniture I couldn't sell at a garage sale even if it was marked "FREE!!" This furniture has been downstairs in the "boys" area, which means the area I never go down into unless I smell something. It's decorated with a Foosball table, antlers, hats on antlers, a table that wiggles, a dart board with darts that have weird things written on them in permanent marker, a sofa bed that doesn't work because Mike and Jordan dumped it out of the second story window rather than take it down the stairs and, my favorite, food in various states of decay.
Jordan is sharing an apartment down in Bailey with a young man he worked with on his fire crew last year so naturally their apartment needs furniture-they are two young men recently graduated from college. I told Jordan he could have Ian's twin bed since Ian never sleeps in it. Ian sleeps: on the sofa bed, on the floor, on two chairs pushed together, on one chair, on the wiggly table with pillows underneath and on the floor. Ian does not like beds. When he was small he would sleep in his closet in, what he called, his nest, which was a bunch of blankets and pillows mushed up. One time I found him in the bathtub with blankets and pillows mushed up. I'm not sure what Ian has against beds, but he wasn't too upset when we loaded up his twin bed for his older brother. Not that he is that giving with is older brother, just that now I can't yell "You have to sleep in your bed once a week."
Taking apart Ian's bed revealed numerous object that I had been looking for, which is where the idea of a "Mom Clean," versus a "14 Year Old Clean" comes into play. I found the fence pliers, the ones with the orange handles I had been looking for. I found three kitchen knives. I found something the color of magenta in a plastic bag which I was afraid to open. I found duct tape. I found stick pens, pens, pencils, erasers and his ruler which we searched for frantically last Friday in the middle of a Science experiment.I am convinced that Ian will grow up to be a hoarder and be featured on TLC's "Hoarders" television show.
Ian also creates things. I found something that was taped and stapled together. I found something that was wired together and included bolts that he had painted. I found a piece of orange braided hay rope. I found more duct tape. I found pennies hot glued together.
Jordan is very neat. Jordan would love to have a label maker. Ian would take the label maker apart. Jordan is very organized. He has colored coded notebooks for college. Ian has color coded notebooks that he has duct-taped shut. Jordan has boxes that are labeled. Ian has boxes that I'm afraid of. Jordan will be very successful in life. Ian will be a mad genius. Ian moved his dresser out into the garage and now his clothes are laying in his closet in a jumbled pile (more of the nest syndrome). Jordan took the dresser back with him.
It's funny how two boys, same DNA, same parents, same beliefs, same everything, can be so different. They will both do well in life; Jordan because he follows the rules and Ian because he does not.
Monday, May 16, 2011
One Down, One to Go
Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We drove down to Flagstaff and saw Jordan graduate from NAU on Friday. My big plans for this milestone are that he can pay his own cell phone bill and car insurance. He has a job working on the fire crew in Bailey, Colorado until November, then he's heading back to Flagstaff to be a coach for the ski team. He earned a degree in International Affairs - do any of the above jobs have to do with International Affairs? I'm not sure since I don't know what that degree means. I keep asking him what he can "do" with this degree and he says, "Oh, lots of things." I guess fire fighter and skiing come under the "lots of things."
The week before he graduated I got a phone call, on a Sunday afternoon, from the Burn Center in Phoenix, Arizona. This is how it began, "This is Judy from the Maricopa County Burn Center and we have your son in our emergency ward. Now don't panic, it's not that bad."
Not that bad? What was she talking about? I always imagined those kinds of phone calls, you always do, especially when your kids start driving. One time when Jordan was still in high school we got a call from an extremely nice police officer in Denver, at 1 in the morning, letting us know that he had warned Jordan about an incorrect right turn but he thought we should know about this and perhaps talk to him. Talk to him? I didn't even know he was in Denver. I thought he was spending the night with his friend Derek, in Granby.
Apparently Jordan and his frat buddies were camping and he had fallen into the fire and burned his arms, hands and palms. He had some third degree burns on his arms, which is why he was in Phoenix. He had first gone to Flagstaff, they took one look and called an ambulance for a drive to Phoenix (I'm assuming they also checked to make sure our insurance would pay for this.) After my heart slowed down and I talked to Jordan, who was on quite a bit of pain medicine, I called my mother, who is a retired nurse and lives in Phoenix and she spent the next four days with him in the hospital.
He's okay and of course, since I'm such a great mother, I asked him if he had been drinking. Just a little, he said.
We got the bill yesterday......$84, 218.50, which is more than his college education, which took four years and this only took one night. Go figure. He now is worth more than our house and if I could figure out how to sell him and move to Bend, I would....
The week before he graduated I got a phone call, on a Sunday afternoon, from the Burn Center in Phoenix, Arizona. This is how it began, "This is Judy from the Maricopa County Burn Center and we have your son in our emergency ward. Now don't panic, it's not that bad."
Not that bad? What was she talking about? I always imagined those kinds of phone calls, you always do, especially when your kids start driving. One time when Jordan was still in high school we got a call from an extremely nice police officer in Denver, at 1 in the morning, letting us know that he had warned Jordan about an incorrect right turn but he thought we should know about this and perhaps talk to him. Talk to him? I didn't even know he was in Denver. I thought he was spending the night with his friend Derek, in Granby.
Apparently Jordan and his frat buddies were camping and he had fallen into the fire and burned his arms, hands and palms. He had some third degree burns on his arms, which is why he was in Phoenix. He had first gone to Flagstaff, they took one look and called an ambulance for a drive to Phoenix (I'm assuming they also checked to make sure our insurance would pay for this.) After my heart slowed down and I talked to Jordan, who was on quite a bit of pain medicine, I called my mother, who is a retired nurse and lives in Phoenix and she spent the next four days with him in the hospital.
He's okay and of course, since I'm such a great mother, I asked him if he had been drinking. Just a little, he said.
We got the bill yesterday......$84, 218.50, which is more than his college education, which took four years and this only took one night. Go figure. He now is worth more than our house and if I could figure out how to sell him and move to Bend, I would....
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Odds and Ends of Life in Granby
We just returned from our scouting trip in Bend, Oregon where there were stores, paved roads and various restaurants - what a find! The person at the desk at the motel we stayed at was very apologetic about the weather. She was sorry it was snowing. I didn't know what she was talking about. I looked out the window and saw some sort of wet heavy stuff coming down, but it wasn't snow. It was more like thick rain. She warned me to be careful about driving as she thought the roads were slippery. Once again I turned around and looked out the window and saw bare pavement; not a problem I told her. Well, she said, I hope your rental has four-wheel drive. Finally I said, "Look, I'm from Colorado and haven't seen bare pavement, dirt, flowers or rain in six months. All I've seen is snow as far as the eye can see, so this looks pretty good to me."
I did not want to come home, especially after I called my friend Betsey from the airport in Portland and she told me it snowed four inches this morning and that it was still snowing and that Michael Paul was arrested for shooting a firearm in the city limits. I didn't know that was illegal in Granby. It's not, she said, he was arrested for concealing a weapon. Michael Paul is Betsey's sweet, hardworking but rather aimless nephew. He lived in our rental for two years and it was sort of like having your own son at home but you couldn't say anything to him about drinking, cars, girls, dogs, work, friends and drinking.
But today, which is Mother's Day, it is beautiful. We had our Annual Mother's Day Ride with six daughters, one grandmother, three mothers and about 17 dogs. These are the times that I know I will miss; riding with friends, yelling at dogs, laughing at our horses, trespassing (we do a lot of that and we draw straws before we ride as to who is going to make up the lie to tell the property owner -"Really, we're trespassing? I had no idea. I thought we were on (insert made up name here) property."
Ian is almost finished with many of his subjects. He only has to finish 80% of each subject and he's been diligently checking his progress everyday - heaven forbid he complete 81% or 80.5%. Literature, Writing and Vocabulary are done. He still has Science, History, Math and Art to complete so he's pretty excited. When we were in Redmond checking out schools he started thinking that maybe he should do online for the "hard subjects" (his words) and go to school for the other ones - like PE, Art, Computers, stuff like that. I think it might be a good decision and I'm hoping he made it because he has realized that he does better at school when he's setting his own pace and not distracted by others and that maybe, just maybe I'm not a bad teacher (except for math). Or maybe he thinks it's easier this way. But I think his easier is not that it's easier, it's just that he's successful and I think maybe kids connect that with easy.
At any rate, Spring is here, really, really here, I'm back riding, the sun is shining, Redmond is a great town so life is good....for now. Wait until menopause hits - then I think it'll be all over again!!
I did not want to come home, especially after I called my friend Betsey from the airport in Portland and she told me it snowed four inches this morning and that it was still snowing and that Michael Paul was arrested for shooting a firearm in the city limits. I didn't know that was illegal in Granby. It's not, she said, he was arrested for concealing a weapon. Michael Paul is Betsey's sweet, hardworking but rather aimless nephew. He lived in our rental for two years and it was sort of like having your own son at home but you couldn't say anything to him about drinking, cars, girls, dogs, work, friends and drinking.
But today, which is Mother's Day, it is beautiful. We had our Annual Mother's Day Ride with six daughters, one grandmother, three mothers and about 17 dogs. These are the times that I know I will miss; riding with friends, yelling at dogs, laughing at our horses, trespassing (we do a lot of that and we draw straws before we ride as to who is going to make up the lie to tell the property owner -"Really, we're trespassing? I had no idea. I thought we were on (insert made up name here) property."
Ian is almost finished with many of his subjects. He only has to finish 80% of each subject and he's been diligently checking his progress everyday - heaven forbid he complete 81% or 80.5%. Literature, Writing and Vocabulary are done. He still has Science, History, Math and Art to complete so he's pretty excited. When we were in Redmond checking out schools he started thinking that maybe he should do online for the "hard subjects" (his words) and go to school for the other ones - like PE, Art, Computers, stuff like that. I think it might be a good decision and I'm hoping he made it because he has realized that he does better at school when he's setting his own pace and not distracted by others and that maybe, just maybe I'm not a bad teacher (except for math). Or maybe he thinks it's easier this way. But I think his easier is not that it's easier, it's just that he's successful and I think maybe kids connect that with easy.
At any rate, Spring is here, really, really here, I'm back riding, the sun is shining, Redmond is a great town so life is good....for now. Wait until menopause hits - then I think it'll be all over again!!
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