Category: teenagers

Dear new PTA parent,

Just as the PTA meeting looked like it was over, you raised your hand to ask a question. “Does this PTA do anything except raise money? I want to know what can be done about the bad kids in this school.” As the words left your mouth, I wish I’d had the courage to move […]

Aspies heart coupons

Coupons are all the rage right now. Gone are the days that coupons were only something poor people used to save a few pennies. Now, coupons are considered smart. I think coupons are groovy, but I am not a member of the coupon cult. First, I am capable of buying something without a coupon. I […]

from the cutting room floor

Two short anecdotes that didn’t make the cut: In preparation for my youngest child’s first musical performance, we practiced songs daily. The day of the event, we sat near the front of the auditorium and waited. Our child’s turn on the stage was spent staring at his feet, rocking on his toes, wandering from his […]

Dear mouthy teenagers,

Cattle guard? Seriously? You really think it’s funny to mock a group of girls who are incredibly smart, talented and kind? These girls are honor roll students. They are in the honor society and key club. They work jobs and they volunteer in the community. One other little thing, they won every Color Guard competition […]

teen speak

I was once told that people add “in bed” to the end of every fortune from a fortune cookie. I don’t know how accurate that was, but it was one of the more believable stand-up bits from the source, so let’s just pretend that even though I had never heard it before, it’s something most […]

not so deep thoughts

In the moment of stunned silence that I realized Noah outgrew the clothes that fit him a few days ago, I briefly visualized Noah as a large green Hulk in tiny, tattered clothing. I wonder if the misunderstood Hulk would have been so cranky if he hadn’t been stuck wearing Bruce Banner’s pants.

Halloween gets tricky

What is the Halloween version of the Grinch? Me. Well, if you ask my teenagers, it’s me. Tommy hasn’t gone trick or treating for years, but suddenly he has started mumbling that trick or treating sounds like fun. It’s only mumbling though. He is happy with the long-standing deal that when you stop trick or […]

vandalism is not school spirit

Bearden High School has some new art today. It’s NSFW, but the images are here and here. When I toured the local high schools, I looked for and asked about vandalism. The schools in West Knoxville clean and repaint constantly to reduce its’ presence. The scars it leaves behind are still visible on the fences […]

boy post updates

I gave Tommy some suggestions on making his politics paper’s topic more substantial. He went to his grandfather’s and they “discussed” the paper. Tommy called me and whined for an hour that he can’t write a paper without offending someone. I told him that it doesn’t matter what his topic is as long as he […]