Mukilteo Musings

From Menopause to Homecoming

My head is spinning a little this morning. It could be the events of the weekend or maybe because Dave and his wine group just bottled this year's merlot. We sampled last night--of course, very young but potentially very very good. This is going to be all out of order but what a roller coaster the last few days mostly surrounding my daughter. The boy she told her friends to tell to ask her to Homecoming asked someone else. We had tears again last night and what a helpless feeling. "Hey Dave, let's sample a little more of that merlot!!" Seriously, I went to bed last night so upset about my daughter with a little prayer to calm her heart, my heart and to give her peace. It was all I could do. It's hard being a Mom.

The alarm went off at 5:55 startling me awake and I pull on my sweats and stumble down the front steps in the dark to get my three newspapers. Vandals had been in our yard. I knew we should put Lucas's Jeep with the provocative bumper stickers about our president in the garage. A sign was pushed into my newly planted planter box and it was pointing toward the Jeep. Since Lucas's Jeep had been broken into at our old house up the hill a couple of years ago, I was certain to see it egged or worse. Wait a minute!!! The Jeep is fine so I look at the sign again. What in the world?? "HC ??" OH! Oh my! Oh my! I run downstairs to wake up Kaley.



Down in the right hand corner was R.S.V.P.A.P. Oh my goodness, Kaley could not believe it. The arrow was actually pointing not at the Jeep but to a boy's house a few houses up the hill from us and those were his initials. This boy has graduated but somehow through the computer, through instant messaging, via live journals and through an entirely different world than we had, he knew what he should do when Kaley's original choice fell through. (It doesn't hurt that the original choice asked A.P.'s ex-girlfriend.) Of all of the boys on the planet, Kaley would have chosen this one to begin with but since he had graduated, she didn't think he'd be interested. Believe me there were no tears this morning. I reflected back to my little prayer last night. A lot of lessons here. Needless to say, we are going dress shopping today after school.

So while my daughter is facing a new and exciting world, I am facing the eventual winding down of my life. "Menopause!" My mother couldn't even say the word out loud and what does our generation do about it? We turn it into a musical and celebrate it. On Saturday night, most of the women of Mukilteo and Edmonds, including me, crowded into a Navigator limo, and headed to downtown Seattle. After champagne in the limo, and dinner at downtown restaurant where we got to see one of our U.S. Senators, Patty Murray who we love, we went to this screamingly funny musical. Most of these women were from my church but that did not stop us from going on the stage afterwards and kicking up our legs in celebration of our new freedom.


I'm the tall one with the curly hair and the pink scarf, holding a jacket.

Ah yes, life is a continuing adventure whether you are young or old.