August 15th, 2011 | Author: trancejen
My stepdad sings that song just to irritate the J-Man. As you can imagine, it goes over really well.
There are two days until school starts, and my eager and happy morose and moody child is thrilled to the gills angry as hell to re-enter the hallowed annex of learning chamber of torture.
I have to admit I’m approaching this school year with a little trepidation myself. With last year’s bullying problems and poor grades, I can’t say I’m anxious about the eighth grade.
We did have a great math tutor over the summer and worked on building better study skills, but I wonder how much of it he really and truly absorbed.
I’ve also been giving near-daily lectures on how to better get along with the kids and better deal with the somewhat sizable population of ill-bred little asshats who torment him, but I do realize that his knee-jerk reaction is to either yell something sharp back or to wind up in the nurse’s office, vomiting.
Oh, the vomiting.
He’s lost 19 pounds since December, probably much of it due to the vomiting, and while his doctor is thrilled and I’ve been somewhat proud myself because he did certainly have extra weight to lose; part of me also worries that he lost most of it in an unhealthy fashion due to this nervous stomach problem.
Over the summer he’s been OK, for the most part. I think he’s thrown up twice or three times. Still, school approacheth, and I wonder whether this year is going to echo last year with its pitfalls and problems.
All I can do is advise and hope for the best.
Now that he’s a slimmer J-Man, he wants to wear skinny jeans. Have you seen these on the rocker boys? They look utterly ridiculous, like women’s jeans, or the popular yet stupidly named “jegging”. I broke down and bought him one pair, but I think they look crazy. Your thoughts on the male jegging, if you please. I think the tight-ass pants should best be left to Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, and men of their ilk.
In other news, football season is almost upon us, and I could not be more thrilled. I am getting so sick of baseball and our sadly mediocre Sox that I could spit, and while I am attending one more game this year which I will wholeheartedly enjoy, I am enjoying the football preseason and watching our Bears knock the shit out of some folks. Soon, my beloved Notre Dame will be out there, getting the shit knocked out of them.
Why am I a Notre Dame fan? Because I enjoy the abuse. Bring it.
In still other news, We have a mysterious flea outbreak – mysterious because our cats do not ever, ever go outside. Ever. None of them have ever escaped, not even once. How then, have we contracted fleas? Are the little fuckers getting in through the screens? Is the J-Man bringing them in from someone else’s home? Am I a dirty person?
It mystifies me. So far they seem to be contained to the basement (lucky me), but I am covered in little red welts, and so is J. We are very snackable, apparently. I have dosed the cats with Frontline and am almost ready to treat the scruff of my own neck, so frustrated am I.
I have managed to hide all of this from my stepdad so far, because if he knew, Catmageddon would ensue, and the offending beasts would be tossed out into the cornfield.
(Yes, there is a cornfield behind my house. I am country now.)
In still other news, I called child support today for oh, the forty-fifth time this year and was told that they do have a lock on The Shit and that I should be receiving regular money soon.
And the people rejoiced.
He’ll probably quit his job again, but maybe I’ll get a couple of months out of him.
In the final news of the day, today’s nail polish is navy blue. I think it’s quite fetching.
The final news of the day was anti-climactic as hell, but what do you want? I’ve become boring and passe.
Happy Monday.
Oh nos, not the fleas! I had a flea infestation once and they LOVE me. If I could’ve shed my skin, I would have. It was MISERABLE. Here’s hoping that gets under control right quick.
Sorry to hear about the J-man’s tummy troubles. I hope it gets resolved soon.
Ugh, the fleas. My mom swore that by eating a yeast tablet every day, they never bit her. She’d feed it to the cats too. Apparently, it makes your skin taste bad to fleas. On the skinny jean, my husband wears Levi’s skinny jeans (511, I think) and I think he looks hawt. They aren’t too too skinny. He just lost a bunch of weight too.
Man, the only thing I hated more than 8th grade was 7th grade. Hopefully J-man is past the worst of it. Just watched a bullying special with the woman who wrote Queen Bees and Wannabes and her advice was to shut down the bullying as soon as it starts by standing up to the bully. So much easier said than done. It’s something I still struggle with and I’m frickin 40! I wish I had learned to do it when I was in 8th grade, I’d be well practiced by now. I really feel for the kid.
Fleas begin in grass and hitchhike in to your house. good luck. winter is good for killing them as they hate cold.
I’m actually teaching 8th grade this year – just got transferred from 7th grade – and I can attest that 8th is MUCH better than 7th. 7th graders…oh the angst and drama. And no, I do not like these ridiculous “skinny jeans,” but I will SO take them over the saggy, baggy, ass-revealing jeans we’ve been dealing with.
Sorry to hear about your Sox, but my (Red) Sox are kicking butt. (mostly, can’t win them all)
I use Revolution for the flea control, seems to be working. The vet once told me that treating the animal will take care of the flea problem–that the fleas can’t live in carpets, furniture, etc, so no need to bomb the house. Hope that’s true, for your sake. Best of luck to you on that.
Thanks to all for your flea commiseration. Hopefully the evil little bloodsuckers will be gone soon.
And Jennifer, maybe you’re right – at least the child isn’t exposing his Jockeys to the world. I hate the baggy little gangsta jeans, too!
Anne, the Red Sox are pretty much doing great. They spanked us but good, I am sad to say, but hell, we’re even getting spanked by fucking KC lately…
Why is the J-Man getting sick? Is he having anxiety until he throws up? I used to have this issue and it was a nightmare- panic attacks and vomiting. I do heart the Zoloft, which has almost entirely rid me of it, but I understand that’s a bit extreme for an 8th grader. Just suggesting, it might be more than nervousness, and a full on anxiety disorder? I wish someone had considered that for me when I was going through it.
It’s an anxiety issue, and yeah, he’s being medicated for it, as much as I hate the idea. I think he’s a little young for any kind of meds, but they have helped to a degree.
Happy to hear they’re helping. He’s really lucky he has a mom like you. My parents were/are great, but not so savvy with mental issues. I mostly had to bumble my way through mine, and it took almost a decade. He’s got a really good head start and a great support system.