Where have I been? The days have been melting into one another and yet my routine is feeling fractured. After the great basement flood of '09, I've taken some time to regroup. I'm happy to report that all is right in the Minch world again. New padding was installed and the carpet was laid back down, cleaned, and disinfected. Ed and I wandered over to Home Depot this past weekend to purchase a battery powered backup sump pump for the window well, look at smaller egress window styles, and discussed putting in more drains in the backyard for ground water to seep into for drainage into the street and not into the basement. I do not ever want to experience that feeling of helplessness again.
I have also been busy marketing and promoting my note cards and stationery that I produced with my photos. Currently, they are available at Magnolia's Fresh Flower Market in downtown Plymouth, on Forest Street, and Starring the Gallery in downtown Northville, on Main Street. They can also be found at Gina Agosta hair salon in Novi on Grand River. I am working to get them placed in Livonia, Dexter, and Chelsea. For me, it has been a wonderful distraction producing something with my photos. I realized, what's the point of taking so many great pictures, if no one gets to see them? In addition to the note cards, Magnolia's also features some of my matted prints in a handmade twig frame. Sometimes Mother Nature is better than Michael's or Hobby Lobby any day. I've also signed up to do a craft show on November 21st at Plymouth High School, courtesy of the Plymouth Music Boosters.
The Camster has been quite busy with summer school, baseball (at one point), and football. I must say that I am quite proud and impressed with how he has been handling his responsibilities and managing his time. We still have some areas we continue to work on, however, like making sure we check our pockets for ink pens before we do laundry because they tend to explode in the dryer! Thankfully, only his clothes were ruined, and not mine. He has truly become quite the "young man" and even though this is what I've hoped for all along, I'm still not happy because Cameron being a young man translates into Rebecca being an old woman. Yuk.
And if Cameron is maturing, then Alex is really maturing, because he's two years older. Ed and I started seeing signs of this last summer. It was last August, during one of Alex's summer football sessions. Ed, Cameron, and I rode our bikes up to the high school to observe. We were not alone. Many parents and siblings were there to check out the team as well. I distinctly remember the moment. Ed and I were standing together along the fence. Cameron was a few feet away. Alex looked over, waved and acknowledged Cameron. Not us, but Cameron. Ed and I looked at each other and said "Did you see that? He just waved to Cameron?" Not that they don't have a close relationship, but to actually acknowledge your little brother in public while amongst your smelly, manly friends? Who does that and why? That was one of those moments where as a parent you look at your kid in a different light and say "Well...that was nice."
A second "aha" moment came this past spring. It was finally a beautiful Saturday morning and Ed and I had been outside dinking around in the yard. I asked where the boys were and Ed replied that Alex was upstairs cleaning and vacuuming his room. I looked at him as if he had just informed me that the sky was falling. All I could say was "What? Why is he doing that? What's wrong? Is something wrong? Something must be wrong? Why would be doing that on a day like today and without us asking him?" I immediately ran up the stairs and tiptoed into his room to make sure everything was all right in his world. "Why are you cleaning your room?" I asked. "Is something wrong? Do you have some bad news to tell me? Are you guilty of something and you just can't take it anymore and you feel the need to dust?" Shame on me, but that's what us experienced mothers do. We never accept anything at face value. That's what naive mothers do.
Then, the latest moment occurred last night. Cameron had been gone all day since 7:00 a.m. First he had summer school until 1:30 p.m. Then he went over to do football conditioning from 1:30 until 3:30. Then he had a meeting prior to them leaving the school for a passing league in South Lyon at 4:45. He and Ed did not return home until after 9:00 p.m. I walked into the kitchen where I saw Alex filling up the tea kettle to boil water. Knowing that he had just eaten Subway, I couldn't imagine he was making himself something else to eat or having a cup of tea. I asked him "What are you doing?" He replied "Making Cameron some ramen noodles to eat." I looked at his girlfriend in utter disbelief and said "What an incredibly nice and mature thing to do!" She agreed.
Now, Ed and I will be one of the first people to tell you that we are very proud of our boys. They are kind, gentle and respectful. However, they can also be lazy, obnoxious, and a general pain in the butt, like all children. So to actually witness the fruits of your labor firsthand is so rewarding.
Due to all of the Michael Jackson music that's been playing on the radio and on TV, I do find myself singing "Jelly Bean.." oops, I mean "Billy Jean is not my lover...." I continue to be amazed at the "MJ mania." I did watch the memorial, mainly because I wanted to see who was going to sing. It's unfortunate that so many people did not come to his side and sing his praises while he was alive. I wonder if he knew so many people cared? Whether he is actually guilty of any criminal doing I don't know. Is it possible that he was just an odd and naively innocent and childlike adult? Yes, it is possible. I know that so many felt he was unfairly persecuted by the media (the same media who is devoting 24-hour coverage to his memorial), but why would you call your son "Blanket" if you don't want to call attention to yourself? I couldn't but help laugh every time someone, while delivering their tearful eulogy, spoke to the children and said "Prince..., Paris...., Blanket". That makes Gwyneth Paltrow's kid's name "Apple" sound totally normal! Hopefully, whoever becomes his legal guardian, one of their first acts will be to start referring to him as P M II (short for Prince Michael II), or PJ (short for Prince Junior), or PMJ, or even Duvet, which is french for a down comforter, which could go hand-in-hand with Paris' name. Just a thought.
