Hairspray

WOW! Desert Stages put on an incredible show of Hairspray. The cast was perfect - singing, dancing and acting their hearts out. The theatre has come so far since Shana was involved in their kiddie program, adding performances for us big kids, too. But as I sat there with my about to leave the nest for good little performer, I kept remembering her as a pirate and a munchkin and a Grease dancer and some kind of dog with flashing lights in The Grinch and so many more. Thinking about all those rehearsals and shows and costumes and dressing room Mom days, made me a little teary-eyed (sobbing, ok, sobbing).

I hope everybody thought it was all the hairspray.

Back to School

In a last ditch effort to see a too busy friend before school starts and her life gets even busier, I volunteered to help set up her second grade classroom. We cleaned the walls and desks using non-approved, environmentally incorrect products, we stood precariously on insecure shelving to reach up high, we hung paper and brightly colored borders on the walls, the alphabet above the chalkboard and put up a tree by the door for the "Everything Grows" themed school year so the "bees" in her class can fly to the top as they progress with their reading. This teacher stuff is hard work. But, paper cuts and all, it was fun. It gave me hope. I often think of one of my old college teacher's mantra "the real world sucks, don't go" when a new school year begins. School's cool. Every few months there's the chance to start from scratch, learn something new and even get a little reward at the end. It definitely beats the monotony of the real world. But this year, as other parents gather up new backpacks and lunch boxes and clothes and plan for the meet-the-teacher nights, my very last back to school task list has just one thing on it. New laptop. Where's the fun in that? No full cart at Staples. No mob at the mall. But the hardest part - next year's list will be empty.

I may have to go back to the bee tree for a little inspiration.

Help!

I won! I won! Two free tickets from showup.com to see the Sneak Preview of The Help! The book was incredible and now local girl Emma Stone takes crack at it. She would have gone to Chaparral like her brother if she didn't run off and get famous. So, my own Chaparral girl and I went - got the special, on the list, showup.com seats and LOVED the movie.

By Myself And With My Friends

Took a little Semi-Retirement Half-Day Wednesday trip with the family gang to Tempe to the always exciting ASU Art Museum for a little Andy Warhol and a little animal love - amazing, hilarious exhibit about how our furry friends live. Could have sat there for hours...

Maggie's Place

Shana just finished up a summer internship at Maggie's Place. It's a truly amazing organization that provides support for pregnant young women. If you've got some time or money or supplies, send some their way and they will put it to good use making the community a better place. Shana did a little bit of everything there - marketing, PR, answering phones, oohing over the babies, fundraising and being an overall hospitable addition to their staff. I accompanied her to a celebration party last week and the praise for her just oozed out of everybody. She's so bright. So helpful. So positive. Takes initiative - all the stuff a mom loves to hear. They even gave her a brick and she chose the above saying from her 8th grade theme song "I Hope You Dance." Makes me cry every time.

Now...on to more summer-y things.

Adios Amiga

Darling Diva Cathy is off to Denver. Rounding up the gang and heading north for a little fresh air, a new house, new schools, a coppery new job. We surrounded her at Zinc Bistro for a French Farewell, complete with congratulations and good lucks, a heartthrob Frenchy owner, boobs, boobs, of course, the planning of a book club Denver trip, the two too tall armoires, reminiscing about the good times,

Look, Jaye showed up, too.

Then, so did Brent. No manly photo, but he came complete with dirty jokes and even paid the tab for all of us lushes (anything to steal away his bride of 24 years, Jilly-B, for a French celebration of their own).

So after four hours of fun, frolic and friskiness, we bid adieu. Until we see you again!

Pinetop last year - Cathy's first big Diva trip away from the kids

For the boobs...again

Look left, way left. There she is years and years ago down the hallway holding her newborn baby. 

AT A STRIPPER PARTY!!!

Now who wouldn't miss a girl like that?

:(

Move Madness - Crazy Stupid Love

A Crazy Stupid Love story just perfect to kick off a hot, hot, hot August with Shawn and Shana. Beats working every time.

Rain Man

Shawn thought he was done for the weekend. Quiet day. Cool, "feels like it's in the 80s" evening, he said when the rains came after a nice little Sunday night pizza party for dinner. Then Shana came running. There was water streaming down into her room through a light fixture on the ceiling.  As I screamed, "Don't turn it on," Shawn headed for the roof. In the rain. In the dark. And it was lightening. Lots of lightening.  

See, we have this pine tree. Starting out as a two foot cute little Christmas tree in a pot gift years ago that we plopped in the ground, not giving it much hope, it now wreaks havoc on our roof, blanketing the flat part with pine needles, clogging up the drainage thingies and forcing water inside our walls. So, besides thoughts of cutting it down in the middle of the storm, I thought about Shawn, trudging around above me, standing in several inches of water, holding a metal flashlight as the sky kept lighting up. I thought about one of his patients telling him last week about two of her relatives sitting outside in Northern Arizona a couple of weeks ago during a storm. One is now permanently in a wheelchair after getting hit by lightening. Her father died from the same strike. I ran out there with an umbrella, jumping up and down, making everything worse, standing right by the pool, then figured maybe we both shouldn't be such risk takers, not on the same night, at least. He yelled for a broom and dust pan. I heard more trudging. My heart was racing. Life insurance crossed my mind. Worried. Mad. But sort of relieved that somebody was up there taking care of business. Smart? Stupid? Some kind of one-track minded, time for Wapner, Rain Man? Shawn finally appeared inside. Wet, crazy, all he-man, safe. And then the water stopped in Shana's room.

Money Bags

Come on guys, pull it together. 

Travel Lag

It happened back in Spain. Suddenly, Shana was the one showing me around. After dragging that kid all over all those other years, it was her turn to show me. She kept going, too, trekking through Europe, even alone sometimes, for five more months and the message sunk in. I'm done. I freaked out for years trying to show her new places, cramming in as much as possible, giving her ideas, hoping she would be ready to get out on her own. And now, for her last summer at home before graduating, we seem to be staying close. Going to some of the old near-by faves, maybe pushing in a different kind of world view that she'll remember.

There's no place like home. Right?