The Lights Are On, But No One's Home

Coadster singing "He Can Only Hold Her" for her special act at the Winter show.

Well, this was the first weekend I spent in my new house where I didn't have family visiting or I wasn't cleaning my old apartment. I actually got a lot done. The living room is almost how I want it now. I just have to paint it this week. We bought the paint today, because I've heard it's going to snow 1,457 inches in the next couple of days, and I thought it might be a nice hibernation project. I think I'll wait to do the floors at least until the Spring. I just don't want to have the self-imposed pressure of getting everything painted and ready in the next couple of weeks. Plus, we want to get our tree next weekend and if we tried to do the floors, it would overwhelm me even more than I already am...If that's possible.

Coadster dancing to the James Brown medley for show choir.

Friday was a great evening. We got our furniture delivered that afternoon and got a couple of rugs to match it that evening. Basically, as I predicted, we all lounged around on it and watched movies. It was a nice mellow night and I really needed that.

Coadster singing her solo ballad.

On Saturday, my cold was mostly gone. Of course, I had to lay off the running for four days in a row and that almost killed me, but it helped with the healing. Most of Saturday was spent running kids to high school and back for various activities. Then at 3, I went to Coadster's Winter show choir/jazz band show. It's one of my favorite performances of the year. Stinky and I took photos and were both all dorky and proud of Coadster's talent.

Saturday evening, I did go out for just a bit. My heart wasn't really in it, because all I could think of was all the stuff that needed to be done at home. It ended up being good, of course. I sat next to a guy named C., while G. talked to his wife. We both realized that we've never had a real heart to heart before. Sure, we shoot the shit, but we had a great conversation about classical music and parenting for the first time.

C. has two boys who are in their early twenties, but gave him all different kinds of grief when they were in high school. We commiserated about having two teenagers at the same time. If you've been there, you probably know what I'm talking about. Even if you have model kids, that combination of being dumb asses, but thinking they're smarter than everyone else is maddening. I told him that his sons' behavior was no reflection on his parenting. He thanked me for that, because he said he felt like sometimes people judged him. Basically, I think we do the best we can as parents, and sometimes we get lucky, and sometimes we don't. I will say, 16 seems to be the toughest age... At least for both of my girls.

Anyway, it was worth it to go out and have that conversation. Most of my friends are childless, so it's always nice to talk to someone who is at least a little familiar with my life.