Friday Night Lights

Nice title, huh? I'm pretty sure it has something to do with football or a football show or something. Anyway, I know it refers to playing football in high school under the lights on a Friday. Right? Right?

Tonight we went to the high school football game. It was very crowded. We stood in line to get in and got in just about.....halftime. There was no place to sit. But my husband and I did find a nice piece of fence line upon which to lean, so it wasn't all bad. We went to the game at the request of our daughter, who just HAD to go. But not to watch a football game, heavens no! Only the high-schoolers and the parents watch the game. The under 15 crowd shows up to see and be seen. And to see who can wear the most outrageous outfit, hair extensions in approved school colors, glitter, make-up, face paint, fishnet stockings under shorty shorts, and all manner of shredded apparel in school colors.

Not being a huge fan of football, I only remember attending one high school game. It was fun. We won. It was big deal because it was some sort of championship. I don't really remember the details, but I remember rushing the field after the big win and thinking, hey, this is fun! Did I know the score? Did I even know who the opposing team was? Nah. In college, I never attended a single game. Not a one! My college experience was more work/school/sleep than football games and frat parties. I did attend a college game once, but it was at another college and only because the friend I was visiting for the weekend invited me along.

Thus, I have never painted my face in the spirit of the game, never shredded a t-shirt, never sat stuffed like sardines on metal bleachers shouting cheers and fist-pumping my way through a football game. And now, well, it's just not cool to paint your face after 40. So, I go to the games when my kids ask me to take them. I watch the game (sorta). I people-watch a LOT and I overhear things that would shock the parents of the children I know saying them (oh my, I don't remember using that kind of language when I was 13!). Once we hit the main gate, we don't see the kids until they need a ride home. I have no idea what they do during the game - for all I know, they sneak right out the gate and go smoke pot behind QFC. Haha. Just kidding. I think. I know what they do. They walk around, bump into similarly-dressed friends, chat, move on. They circulate. For the most part, they are not even aware there's a game going on except for the sudden burst of cheers when their team makes a touchdown. Then they look up, vaguely aware that they are, in fact, at a football stadium, not a spirit-wear fashion show that serves pizza.

But sometimes they surprise you. Tonight, after the game, I asked our daughter "who won?" and she said "we did!" then added "32-30". Wow. She knew the score. They grow up so fast.

Old School

Never fall asleep before the rest of the crowd!

Not sure why he pulled up his shirt so his belly was exposed, but it really adds to the look dontcha think?

Jeff in his "man cave".......

Marie chomping on the bread!

Larry

Jeffrey

Jeff pretending to play the guitar while singing karaoke......

Marie Parker, me, Kerri Williams

Well, through the wonders of Facebook, I reconnected with many friends from high school. The funny thing is, I barely remember most of these people, since I only attended that school my senior year and of course, as I've gotten older, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast anyway. But I have added them all as friends, because, why not? We all graduated together. Well, it's been fun to catch up and just see how nice many of them turned out. I found out one friend, Marie, has been living in Kirkland, just 15 minutes from my house! And another friend, Kerri, lives in Coeur d' Alene, not far from my sister, Monica. So, we decided to meet up and what better reason for Jeff to make a beer? We decided on a weekend and this was it. Kerri and her boyfriend Larry arrived in Seattle on Saturday (while Jeff and I slept away the early morning triathlon wake up call) and saw the sights. They arrived for dinner around 5:30 and Marie arrived around 6. Jeff made an awesome dinner of this delicious pasta dish he created, bread and salad. We sat around the table all evening, reminiscing, talking and just having a good time getting to know one another (in HS, as it turns out, we didn't really know each other - in fact, Kerri left the school halfway through jr. year, so she and I never actually went to school together!). Jeff invited over his friend from work, Jeffrey, and the two of them pretty much had their own drunken party in the family room, drinking untold amounts of beer and singing karaoke! The rest of us sat in the dining room and drank untold amounts of beer (except me, I had my two "sex on the beach" drinks and that was it! Didn't even taste "my" beer!). Anyway, Jeff ended up crashing on the black recliner that resides in our redneck garage right next to the beer fridge (oh wow, writing that makes it sound even more redneck!) and Kerri and Larry headed up to bed. I, being somewhat disgusted with Jeff and his lack of socializing with us, couple with his excessive beer intake, stayed behind to take some embarrassing photos of him, and then, in a flash of mean streak, decided to graffiti his face with a lipstick. Which is why you should never, never pass out before the rest of the party guests! Anyway, it was a good time.

A record?

Well, 11 days into school and we have our first casualty. Hannah was sent home sick today. Now, "sick" is a relative term, and she just has a cold, but apparently she felt miserable enough to go to the nurse, who of course sent her home - who wants a germy, possibly swine-flu infected, jr. high school student around? But really? She doesn't have a fever, just some cold symptoms and is really tired.

So, Jeff asked me, what is it about jr. high and high school that seems to make kids sicker? Well, duh! They are going through hormone changes, they get up earlier and get less sleep, they eat junk from the vending machines and cafeteria, they share drinks and food with friends, they are crammed together at lunch, in assemblies and in classes. No wonder they pick up whatever comes along.

When my kids were smaller they never got sick. Hardly an ear infection among them as babies, rarely picked up the cold of the week as preschoolers, and spent most of elementary school well and in attendance (few exceptions, Hannah's appendix for example, were flukes). But now it seems that Hayley and Hannah "don't feel good" more than they do. And there's nothing worse than not feeling good when you are sleep-deprived.

I really wish school didn't start so early for the older kids. They need their sleep and little kids get up earlier naturally. We've even started a 9 p.m. bedtime (as opposed to 10 for the older kids last year). My thinking is that they need to be IN bed earlier so they fall asleep earlier. Even if they lay in bed reading or listening to music, at least their bodies are resting.

So, tonight I made homemade chicken noodle soup with all its healing properties to hopefully ward off any more cold symptoms in the rest of the family. It seems like last year at least once a week, SOMEONE was sick and staying home. And even one missed day in jr. high and high school is a biggie. It's so hard to catch up.

As of this writing, Hayley has been away from home for 12 hours. Leaving at 6:30 p.m., school for six hours, drama rehearsal for two hours after school and now she's into the second hour of an ASB meeting, and STILL hasn't been home to do homework or eat dinner. By the time she gets home, she will just have enough time to complete any homework she has, eat something and be off to bed, only to start it all over tomorrow.

I miss summer!