The Never Ending 'Finish' Line... Darling Daughter Graduates from High School

A busy time for The International Laundress!  Need to make more time to write more regularly... sorry to my readers! :)

Like most Mom's this is a crazy time of the year....kids ending school, bringing home all the crap they have accumulated from the whole year----(I think I still have a black bag of last year's crap still in the garage) ...This year, I will be entering into a new phase of life, Darling Daughter is graduating from H.S. and boy, has this been an interesting 'journey' --- that is, getting her educated and through our school system - and to graduate with decent grades....A MIRACLE!   I honestly think I have a hangover since graduation... have been sleeping a lot too and I feel really achy. Hmmm?

I recall the first school meetings about Darling Daughter's 'behavior' ....an unmedicated wild-child who had barely survived to age 7 (not to mention me) ....I would meet before a tribunal of administrators with stacks of folders to 'discuss' (err, I mean, rip my kid to shreds) .... I had stubbornly refused to medicate her until my dear friend (a doctor) bashed my head with a 2 x 4 :)  no, really, she had to take me aside to say 'the medication for an ADHD child..IS the 'diagnosis')   well, she was right and after even the first day...we saw a change in Darling Daughter that was comparable to a Divine intervention!  I thought the whole school was going to have a parade for us!  OMG ....those were the days... to go from 'paying attention' ZERO % of the time to .... (post-meds) .... 100% of the time was truly an amazing feat!   The 'tester' even thought they were observing the wrong child!   It was that day that defined my 'new' life with this child.... I had found a survival tool!  and with that, I became a born-again pill pusher when it comes to treating ADHD  !  It was that dramatic for us and for her !

As any Mother of a teenage daughter knows - these days in particular, are very tricky.... we are all in a secret club - desperately trying to keep our daughters whole and 'grounded' .....we're. battered and exhausted from this journey and there are days when I feel as though I have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome from this parenting experience!    At least for my kid, she is now independent - stubbornly voices her opinion about all things and will no doubt be a successful adult..... but no getting around this...she has been HELL to raise to this point.   Need to go to bed (again)  it's been exhausting and I am worn out.

Vacation Value 'tip' :)

Hello to all my tired, frazzled stressed out readers....

Here's a worthwhile 'tip'.... 

If you are like me and never 'get away' from the madness of your life, I highly recommend that you find an older person who needs to return from Florida and drive them back through the Midwest to a Northern state like Michigan or Illinois.   The migration of 'Snowbirds' with Spring Break creates a convergence of traffic and crowds and that equals good value for a vacation!  A 5-day trip can feel like a month!   Campers,  swinging trailers, U-hauls, 3 wheeler motorcycles, semi-trucks along with long recreation vehicles give you the variety you need to make it an interesting trip!  'Remodeled' vehicles now look like full rooms have been added... an 'addition' on the back! (or a second floor on the top) !  American ingenuity at it's finest!

I recently returned from a 'month- long' journey to bring 'Grammie' and her little dog Sophie back to the North and the drive wasn't too bad.  We had left a treeless gulf in Florida ... (err I mean 'fabulous golf community') for the beautiful hills of Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky which improved my disposition considerably.

Prior to that, I found myself in a community of 'Happy Seniors' ...Viagra-laced along with prescription meds, many who began drinking alcoholic beverages (only $1.75!) at their daily 'happy hour' ritual starting at 3:30 pm!  - to then find myself after-hours  (in the pitch dark) in a maze of 'fancy' golf carts that mingled with real grown-up cars just inches from real roads and that's not a good feeling. 

I was actually one of the unfortunate hostages  - (like an Amish person in a slow moving buggy)  trapped in a festive golf cart.  We were surrounded by low-seated driving geezers navigating  behind very big steering wheels  - honking and trying to be patient though the 'rush' of traffic! 

It was like a  bad dream   from 'Bedrock' when slow moving open sided vehicles  -meet- The REAL Cars and that's when I start to shake!  Can we all say "Yabba Dabba ....DON'T."  !!  I  don't mean to be a sissy here but I would much rather ride in a truck with my ADHD teenager driving and that's say'n something!


NOTE: Golf Carts are NOT Automobiles
 (or can they not see that!?)

Seriously?

This is not a 'real' Rolls Royce!

xo  :)

The International Laundress