Left of Center

Knoxville Catholic High School
Magnolia Avenue Campus

   My high school tenure coincided with filmmaker John Hughes teen angst movie making years.  The confluence of these two events means that twenty-plus years after graduation what I remember about that time in my life is now an interesting mash up of things that actually happened mixed in with plot lines from Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink.  These movies were such an integral part of my high school existence that it's impossible to think of one without the other.  I wore out two Pretty in Pink cassette tapes because it was the perfect soundtrack for my own angst-filled teenage existence.   The song "DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME"  from The Breakfast Club was the prom theme my junior year and the prom was held the night of my seventeenth birthday (the prom was on my birthday, how cool is that!). As for my ongoing love for Sixteen Candles and the scene at the end of the movie where Jake kisses Samantha and all her birthday wishes come true - it's still dreamy, even now.

Jake Ryan.  Sigh.

May 1989
Anywhere's Better Than Here

    So, what's sparked this particular trip down memory lane? Without going into any detail at all, it turns out that being a grown-up is for the birds.  When I got home Friday night all I wanted to do was find something entertaining to watch on television and turn my brain off for awhile. Not five minutes after I started channel surfing I landed on Pretty in Pink and happily sank into a nostalgic haze. The fact that I now fondly remember my high school years would be a shock to my eighteen year old self. (See photo, right. Only hours away from being a high school graduate and I knew everything.) My favorite song in the months leading up to graduation was a little number by The Replacements called "ANYWHERE'S BETTER THAN HERE" and I vividly remember sitting through graduation just wanting the whole thing to be over with already. It wasn't until I helped organize our tenth class reunion that  I started making peace with my teenage years, and even then I had the Gross Pointe Blank soundtrack set to play on continuous repeat while I addressed envelopes and counted RSVPs (if you're unfamiliar with GPB,  it's billed as a dark comedy about a man who returns home to attend his 10th high school reunion and mayhem ensues).  By the time our twentieth reunion was on the horizon, I realized that somewhere along the way I'd gained enough distance to be able to look back at my teenage self and smile. Time had both softened the awkward edges of my high school experience and distilled my memories to a point that the good outweighed the bad.  As for the graduating class that I am privileged to be a part of, they're a great group of people.  If you are a part of this class, you know it's true. 

College Roommates
at our 20th High School Reunion

     I used to roll my eyes whenever my mother would tell me that someday I would look back on my teenage years and remember them as some of the best times of my life because, clearly, she didn't understand anything at all! (insert sarcastic tone and add a heavy sigh for emphasis).  As with so many things that my mom said to me over the years, it turns out she was right about this one. Back when I knew everything, I swore up and down that I would never say the ridiculous things to my kids that my mother said to me. Of course, all that changed once I realized the power of phrases like "because I said so, that's why!" My mother passed on a great deal of wisdom and I'd be a fool not to share it with my own offspring.  This is why I know for certain that when my children start complaining about how hard their lives are and arguing that I can't possibly understand what they're going through, I'll say to them "Yeah, I know (pause for effect) - but believe me, someday when you're all grown up with kids of your own you're going to look back on these times and remember them as some of the best years of your life. Really." And now, because I am grown up with kids of my own, I need to go do some laundry so they'll have clean uniforms to wear to school tomorrow and clean up the kitchen because it needs to be cleaned up, all while listening to the Pretty in Pink soundtrack on my iphone because it turns out that the music that soothed my angsty teen soul way back in the late 1980s is still able to sooth my angsty 40 year old soul today.  Some things never change.

_______________________________________

A few of my favorite John Hughes movie quotes. All but one are from the three movies mentioned above.

"Screws fall out all the time. The world's an imperfect place."


"Can I borrow your underpants for ten minutes?"

"Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"

"Drinking and driving don't mix - that's why I ride a bike."

"Life moves pretty fast. 

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.'

Eight

Zero

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Also 5 & one of my favorite photos ever.

Six

Seven

(she had the flu, but we partied anyway)

Eight

The Next Generation

Scene 1:

Driving home from a school function on Wednesday night.

Owen and Sarah are in the backseat.

Owen is reading and Sarah is bugging him.

(Sarah bugging her brother has nothing to do with the

dialogue below.  I only mention it so this record

of our lives is an accurate reflection of how things really are.) 

Owen: "Hey mom, I got this great Star Trek book from the library. 

It's about when Captain Kirk was a kid.

Me: "That sounds like a good book."

Owen: "I've already read some of it.

I bet you don't know where Captain Kirk was born?"

Me: "Iowa."

Owen: (Incredulous) "How did you know that!?!"

Me: "I've been married to your father for a long time."

SCENE 2:

Thursday night. Joel is folding laundry in the living room.

I'm cleaning up the kitchen.

It's 9:15 and Owen and Sarah are still not in bed.

Sarah says she can't go to bed because Owen's not in bed.

Owen's not in bed because he's telling Joel about the 

Star Trek book he's reading before heading upstairs (again).

Joel: "Hey wife, do you know what the "T"

in Captain Kirk's name stands for?

Me: "Tiberius."

Joel: "Very good, I'm impressed.

Do you know how many starships have been named Enterprise?"

Me: "More than two."

    I know that "more than two" is not the correct answer, but the children were still awake, so I couldn't say what I really wanted to say. What I'm wondering today is how is it that my life has morphed into a never ending Star Trek Pop Quiz?  I'm also wondering if there's an alternate timeline* a mirror universe out there in the vast unknown-ness of space where Joel is constantly being barraged with a series of random Jane Austen questions?

"Hey Joel, what's the name of Mr. Darcy's estate?"

"Who is Elizabeth Bennet's best friend?"

"How many sisters does Mr. Bingley have?"

*Joel, after reading this story, explained that when I said "alternate timeline" what I really should have said was "mirror universe."  He went on to explain that in a mirror universe everything is almost the same, but not quite.  For example, in a mirror universe the main characters might be sporting goatees because now they're bad guys.  Thanks for the help, sweetie. Also, is this seriously how "goatee" is spelled?  I thought it would be more French, like gaeuxtee. 

It's Not Called Gymnicetics

January 2006 - Almost 2

     When Sarah was a tiny girl I enrolled her in a parent and child gymnastics class. As the saying goes, she took to it like a duck to water.   In the six years since her first class, she's progressed through the toddler and preschool levels and even spent a year attending an invitation only "advanced preschool" class, which may sound impressive except for the fact that I'm pretty sure the kids who were invited were considered  "advanced" because they were potty trained and followed directions most of the time. For the last year or so she's been on a non competitive team called the "Shooting Stars" and she's enjoyed it, except for the non competitive part.

Sarah on Saturday

    The Program Director came to Sarah's class this week and evaluated the girls to see who might be ready to move up to the competitive team. This was a surprise evaluation for the girls (and their parents), which was both good and bad.  It was good because she (we) didn't have to worry about if for days ahead of time but it was bad because once Sarah realized what was going on (about 15 minutes into class) she got really nervous.  It was a tough night. We both thought she had done well enough, but not knowing what they were looking for or how many girls were going to be asked to move up made the next few days a bit anxious. Sarah had a lesson scheduled for Saturday and as soon as her coach saw her sitting on the wall she walked over and scooped her up and said "Well, do you want to know how you did?"  Given the fact that I'm writing about this, it should come as no surprise that she made the team. Finally.

      Gymnastics is tough, but the things that are tough about it (at least from a parent perspective) are no different than any other competitive sport.  I believe it's a universally acknowledged truth that wherever two or more parents are gathered together in pursuit of their child's athletic advancement there will be anxiety and strife.  It's tough out here in the trenches of parenthood and I don't remember any of this competitive athletic stuff being covered in the hundreds of  "How to Raise the Best Child" books that I've read over the years.  It's been a long few months at our house gymnastically speaking (see that "Finally" in the above paragraph).  That's why on the way home from practice on Saturday afternoon, Joel agreed with me that rather than wait until her birthday to give Sarah the American Girl Gymnastics doll that was sitting in my closet, we'd give it to her to celebrate that's she made the competitive team. She's most definitely earned it with all the hard work she's put in the last few months AND she still has a great deal of hard work ahead of her before she competes this fall. Congratulations, Sarah Grace!  Your mom and dad (and even your brother) are very proud of you!!

Tennessee Trails and Byways

      During the week between Christmas and New Year's I spent some time country cruisin' through Middle Tennessee.  Most of the photos below were taken along The Old Tennessee Trail, one of sixteen driving tours that have been developed across the state in an effort to increase tourism and promote the economic development of rural communities (www.TNTRAILSANDBYWAYS.com).  The Old Tennessee Trail winds through Williamson and Maury counties.  Maury County bills itself as the "Antebellum Homes Capital of Tennessee" and it did not disappoint.  Of course the fact that I was out driving on a beautiful blue-sky winter day was an added bonus.  My only regret is that I didn't start touring earlier in the afternoon. By the time I reached Leiper's Fork the light was fading and I was anxious to be home. I have plans to head out again soon and see what else I can discover about Middle Tennessee.

Above photo was taken along the Natchez Trace

Behind Closed Doors



Whiskey & Coffee Cabinet
My favorite.

I spent New Year's Day cleaning out and organizing my upper kitchen cabinets. The inspiration to tackle this project came to me while I was watching an episode of "Hoarders" - not that my cabinets were that bad but watching "Hoarders" always makes me want to throw stuff away.  After almost ten years of living in our house, the upper reaches of our kitchen cabinets had become populated with all kinds of stuff.  You know how it is, you have empty space and you accumulate things to fill it.  I only wish I'd thought to take some "before" or "during" photos of the process because it's amazing how much paraphernalia* I pulled out. In some ways, it was like a time capsule of our lives since we moved here.  I found pacifiers, empty glass Gerber jars, baby bottles, photographs, preschool art projects, sippy cups, broken toys, oodles of batteries and an emergency stash of money that I'd forgotten about.  I also pulled out a large assortment of coffee cups, flower vases, casserole dishes and salt & pepper shakers that we never use. Many things are being donated to Goodwill and many others have been thrown away - nothing was stashed someplace else.  If it didn't fit back in the cabinet it couldn't stay in the house. I made a clean break with those things that weren't going to live in here anymore . I'm not sure what I'll organize next and I don't have grand household organizational plan.  For today, I'm content that my cabinets are organized.

Coffee Cups & Glasses

Mostly Dishes

First Aid, Emergency Supplies, Flower Vases

Travel Mugs, Water Bottles, Breakfast

* I Googled the spelling of "paraphernalia".  This still doesn't look right.

It's the Hap-Happiest Season of All

Coach & Son

     Christmas is over and the new year has begun which means that Team Vallejo can now focus all of our time and energy on basketball!  It really has become the hap-happiest season of all at our house. I love, love, love basketball season and basketball Saturdays are more fun than a barrel of monkeys.  Joel is coaching and Owen and Sarah are playing and I'm cheering from the stands and trying (very hard) to conduct myself in a sportsmanlike manner (which isn't always easy).  Owen has settled on basketball as his sport of choice and he's developing into a decent player.  The benefit for me when I watch him play (especially this year) is seeing his tenacity and determination (character traits that make being his parent a bit challenging and frustrating at times) channeled into guarding and rebounding and stealing and blocking.  He's fortunate to be on a team with a group of talented and hard-working kids too, many of whom have been playing together since first grade.  Joel and several of the dads are team coaching again this year and earlier in the season they decided to invest in new personalized "BEARS" jerseys for the SBA Red Bears.  They're awesome.

New Jerseys.  With Names.

So very cool.

GO BEARS!

Winning is Fun!
Winning with your friends
is even funner!

      The 2nd Grade Bears just finished up their fall season in a local church league and will begin their "competative season" this Saturday with the West Nashville Sports League.  Although these girls can be giggly and wiggly and often talk too much during practice, as a team they play really well.  They also want to win every single game - because winning is fun. Of course the point of this second grade league is teaching the kids the fundamentals of the game, but if you can learn how to play and win while you're doing it then that's just the best of both worlds.  Sarah Grace isn't always the most focused player and at times she looks more like she's doing ballet than playing basketball (she spends a lot of time on her toes) but she's low to the ground and she dribbles well. She's also scrappy and not afraid to fight for the ball.  These girls are so fun to watch, they really are. So, if you need me on any given Saturday between now and mid-March, you'll find me on the sidelines cheering on BEARS big and small and loving every stinkin' minute of it.