Last night – CPR from 6pm to 10pm. So far I’m certified in Adult and child, tomorrow night (6 to 10 again…yuck) we do infant and first aid. Feel free to NOT need CPR around me, although I do feel strangely powerful with these skills. I just don’t want to have to ever use them. I think fear kept me from ever taking a CPR course. I didn’t want to have to do it in front of everyone. Fear of screwing up, etc. Well, the two people I was paired with actually made me look like a professional EMT, if you get my drift. If I ever pass out from choking, please God let someone else know how to handle it.
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This morning we took Junior to Kindergarten orientation. We met his teacher, and it turns out I know her…after her whole presentation to us, I did that “You look so familiar” thing. When she said she graduated in 82 (from my high school) I placed her immediately – she’s one of my cousin’s closest friends – they all graduated the year ahead of me. I don’t think I have the yearbook from that year or I’d find her to show Junior.
I was completely overcome with emotion this morning during the orientation, and not for the “normal” reasons. Walking into that building just ripped my heart right out of my chest and put it out for everyone to see. Oh my GOD it’s just the same in so many ways! And stupid things like walking into his room and realizing that I was only a year older than him when I first started at that same school – his room was my first grade classroom, and the coat hooks in the hall are the SAME ONES FROM WHEN WE WERE THERE! I mean, these are original, my GRANDMOTHER may have used one when SHE was his age too. The school was built in 1894. Looking at it as an adult I’m in awe of these ornate tin ceilings and all the woodwork. As a ex-student there from 1971-1977, I wanted to run around screaming and pointing to things. “That’s where the piano used to be!” “I know what that big vent up there sounds like when they let the chain go to close it!” etc. etc. Totally wasted on Junior. And it just kept hitting me over and over again, in so many little ways. Hell, 6 years of your life when you’re 12 is half of it. I spent half of my known life at that point in those rooms, 5 days a week. And I hadn’t been back in about 25 years (my sister was there for two years after me, so I may have gone in at least once in that time).
So anyway, I really don’t think it was me being emotional about him not being my baby anymore (I’ve been fairly depressed about that all summer, it’s not like it would just hit me this week all of a sudden.) But oh my God, being in that school…wow.
Anyway…I had already taken today as a vacation day and earlier this week I’d been telling Mr. Dump that I was considering taking Jr. to Canobe Lake Park (medium-sized amusement park less than an hour from home…I LOVE this park) because we hadn’t been yet this year, and I love amusement parks, plus I figured kids would be starting back at school, so maybe it would be a good time to go. Then this morning I was thinking I should stay home and get some work done, so it was probably good that I hadn’t told junior anything. Well, we all went out to breakfast before the orientation and Junior starts with the “Mama, remember that time you took me to this place…blah blah blah….” it takes me a couple of minutes to realize that he’s describing…Canobe Lake Park. I swear to you, I never ever mentioned anything about it to him. Mr. Dump just looked at me, shook his head with a look that said “He may look like me, but he’s so you.”
We both came up with the same place? Must be an omen! So we spent the day up there, stayed a little TOO late, of course, and I just got back at about 9pm. I’m wasted. If I didn’t plan to keep this note as a record for my “Junior files” I probably wouldn’t have stayed up to write it. Sun and hot and walking for 8 hours and I’m ready for bed.
So that’s our day. Oh, really ODD thing…I realized that I made the exact SAME mistake last year, thinking that the kids starting school would make the park attendance light. I just checked my blog archives, and while I missed a day of posting, if you read the ones for 8/27 and 8/29 , you’ll see that it’s when I went to the beach and Canobe Lake. That’s right, the Wednesday of last year, which would have been the 28th. Basically the SAME FREAKING DAY. Oh, and last year we ran into my sister’s neighbor up there around dinner time. Around dinner time this year? We met HER OTHER NEIGHBOR. I swear to God, it was actually almost spooky. I mean really, are the odds that low? She only has two real neighbors (one to the left and one across the street/to the right because it’s a cul de sac). Gee, maybe next year my sister will make it! Oh wait, he’ll be in school all day next year. *pout*. Well, hey, it is open from noon to ten until after labor day.
Someone just remind me next August to not go up there THIS week? Thanks.
