Thursday, March 1, 2012

Three Things




Once again Thursday is upon us, and it's time to share three thoughts even if a person can't think of a single thing to say.

Signed,
That Person

I'll take a stab at it anyway.

1. Above is a seriously zoomed in shot of a boat docked down Redart. Several closer shots of this and other workboats were taken at the dock, but a gentleman there told me to drive down Thus and Such Lane for a better angle.  He was right about the better vantage point; only problem was to get that shot I would have to traipse across someone's back yard. I really wasn't in the mood to trespass traipse that day, so I sat meekly in my car on the state road and zoomed in.  (Those other shots from the dock will go up in the next few posts.)

2. My son is going to a party on Saturday that starts at 3 p.m. and ends at 11 p.m.  In 10th grade, if I had told my mother that I was going to a party for 8 hours, the answer would have been, "Not as long as I'm drawing a breath," or "Go ahead.  Make my day," as she polished her pistol.  Or something similar. (She didn't really have a pistol, but she did brandish a BB gun on occasion. Also a fly swatter.)

2b. It's important for me to note for social anthropologists' records, however, that in these times "party" is--or can be--defined as "a group of teens gathering at a parents' house, and the parents are at home, cognizant of the fact that teens are gathering, and generally aware of what they are doing. For the most part." It's a party even if only three or four people are gathered.

2c. Compare that to my definition of a party as a teen: House PAR-TAY, y'all! Mass numbers (as in waaaay more than 20) of teens (often from surrounding counties when word spread far enough) descended on a house or a yard or both. The parents who owned said house/yard were out of town--faaaar, far away--and had no earthly idea what was going on in their absence. The theme of these parties was very simple:  Reckless Abandon.

Note for the record: I never once held such an un-chaperoned party at my own house and only participated in about two of these in high school  (one of which was graduation night in 1982 at Alda's house in Port Haywood); and maybe two more during my summers home from college. I'd like to think I was a little less reckless than most. The fact that I'm still here, alive, contributes to that theory, which has been formed primarily by hindsight, perspective, old age, parenthood, and fear.

2d. Reconciling the past with the present is exceedingly difficult when parenting teenagers. The End.

3. It's supposed to get up to 75 degrees today!  I'm looking forward to a long run, as in more than six miles, to prepare for the 10K at the end of March. Never in a million years would I have guessed the words looking forward to a six + mile run would ever come from my mouth.

Now it's your turn.

Please share three thoughts. Tell me what's happening in your world.

Whatever you do, though, please don't tell me what teenagers are really doing these days. Let me live in my sheltered little county world for a while longer.

Serenity now.

Welcome to March.
Across the creek there is where the first picture was taken, from the back of that house.

13 comments:

deborah said...

I don't have a clue what teens do today...mine are twenty-somethings still living here, working and being generally responsible people. Who am I kidding? Having their own money the stuff they do is the stuff nightmares are made of - the youngest son is going to buy a motorcycle this weekend.
Nothing happening here, just taking care of the husband. Have to take him back to the doctor on Friday, a 2 1/2 hr drive each way.
What fun!
Love the photos! You can't tell it is March from those - it was warm here but we had thunder and lightning all day.
Patience now is going to be my new mantra since I seem to be running low on it lately:/
You go girl! Can't wait to hear how far you ran! I'm cheering for you!

Mental P Mama said...

LOL! 2 a-d is gah-worthy.

And 3? So jeeelus;)

Daryl said...

March is coming in on wet feet here .. but they arent snowy feet so thats okay.

I was invited to a party when I was in high school and my parents, actually my father, told me I had to be home by 10 pm .. I whined, er, I explained that the party would be just getting going then .. my dad said 'whatever happens after 10 pm can happen before 10 pm' ... I am still trying to understand what he meant by that ...

I am so glad I dont have the responsibility of raising children

Jamie said...

1. Being easily distracted, I keep focusing on the "Choose an identity" prompt on Blogger. I don't see Wonder Woman as an option.

2. I went to the gym last night and it didn't kill me. Also, I am still capable of walking even after doing 7 miles on the bike and walk/running over a mile. I might be in shape for this 40 mile AT backpacking trip afterall.

3. What's there to do on St Patty's Day in Mathews?

growing wild on waverly lane said...

Party? Oh, I'm a veteran of three wars there. You overlook Baby Sis's cleverness in setting up Sodom and Gomorah in our beloved basement while our heads are turned. I still have nightmares from one of those heathen inferno's. Burn, Baby, burn indeed.

Who among us can party for 8 hrs?

Rodney said...

thanks for the blog fixes! keep them coming....

Windsmurf said...

1. We got up to 65 degrees today, feels great, we got cheated out of the 70 degrees last Friday by an Easterly breeze that brought drizzly rain and 40 degree temps.

2. I remember what I did as a teen, fairly mild by todays standards, and what my daughters did, less mild but they survided and so did I. Now it is my granddaughters - I find I am more restrictive with them than I was with my daughters thus forcing them to be more clever. Shoot me before any great granddaughters come along!!!

3. One of the "Then and Now" series books just came out about the town where I live - Havre de Grace. I was a little disappointed, but maybe just because I already knew most of what was presented. I liked yours better.

3a. Happy Thursday all.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Deborah-Hope your husband is doing better. Good luck with your trip tomorrow.

MPM- How you survived TWIN teenagers is beyond me. I am in awe.

Daryl-He was a wise man, your father...

DJ-If there is an identity called Bora Bora Permanent Resident, sign me up for that one. Thank you.

WOW (Wild on Waverly or MOM Upside Down) - Thankfully, I was entrenched in college nightlife a very comfortable 3 hours away and missed all of Baby Sis's antics. The answer to your question of who among us can party for 8 hours shall be left unanswered. I'm not sure which one I'd choose.

Rodney-You are very welcome. Glad you enjoyed your stay here. Remember you have to return when things are green and birds and insects are singing. But get here before the killer ants and mosquitoes do, we don't want to traumatize you for life.

Windsmurf-Thank you...I've driven by the Havre de Grace sign on I-Whatever (95?) many, many times. I'm pretty sure I've been there at least once. The river near there...can't remember the name to save my life but I've been to a marina on it several years ago.

fighting mermaid said...

1. Just today my mother brought up one of those parties that I didn't mean to host while the parents were in Florida (I still stick to that story). I dread Noah becoming party age.
2. The weather today was so beautiful. I hated being inside even more than usual. I want to be a farmer again.
3. I walked through the front door at MHS for the first time in ___ years. I passed by the classroom where we locked the Spanish teacher out and escaped through the window. I felt a wee bit guilty.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Fighting Mermaid, thank you for the laugh. Esp. #3. That is priceless.

Hayley said...

"Reckless Abandon" hahahhaa

Windsmurf said...

CBW, yes the major highway that passes by Havre de Grace is I-95. The river you drive over on I-95 is the Susquehanna River. It is also the river that the town is next to. There is some argument about exactly where the Susquehanna ends and the Chesapeake begins, but we contend it is right here in Havre de Grace. We choose to ignore that the broad, shallow area called the Susquehanna flats extend a couple of miles beyond.

Meg McCormick said...

Yes, it is hard to find the right balance between "mothering" and giving your little birdies enough freedom to find their wings, isn't it? I find myself having to back off constantly, at least for the almost 16(!) year old...

Hope the nasty storms of today (Friday) aren't hitting your neck of the... neck.

We just had our 3rd bathroom redone - it was in such bad need of it, I can't possibly exaggerate how bad it was - and NOW it's the nicest one in the house. Nicer than mine, which is off the master bedroom. Which means my 13 year old has the nicest bathroom. There is something not quite right about this... but I'm glad he can enjoy it.