Was it really only ONE week? (Sheesh...felt like more!)

This week turned out to be kind of a chaotic one, and as such, when I finally sat down today to ponder how best to corral the events into any kind of unifying theme, even what I considered my most promising attempts still lacked...cohesiveness. (Translation: "sounded like a rambling mess". Wait, some of my posts end up like that anyway, don't they? Eh, let's make that "even less comprehensible than usual" and we'll just go with it, okay?) Thus I decided that the only real option was to use a hodgepodge approach-- which honestly is more indicative of how things unfolded--so without further ado, here goes:

--Riley's first season playing for his High School soccer team was supposed to have wrapped up on Friday...and it would have, if Monday's game hadn't been postponed until next Wednesday, due to the wet, squishy field conditions. (See, wasn't that confusing? Welcome to my world...) The finale was scheduled--as it usually is--against crosstown rival East Chapel Hill. Those of us rooting for the home team were rewarded by a hard-fought 2-0 victory, meaning that the JV Tigers and Wildcats split the series this year, each prevailing on their own turf. With only the makeup match to go, Riley has told me that--while he's definitely enjoyed being a part of the squad--he's feeling the fatigue from the combined effects of 3 months worth of nightly practices, and getting to bed late because he has to tackle his homework afterwards. He admits he's looking forward to a break--and he'll get it, all right...for about 2 weeks, until his club workouts begin. (Siiiighhhhhh....for both of us....)

--Meanwhile, Derek, having apparently internalized the Perils of Procrastination when frantically scrambling to complete and submit his first 2 college applications, said something along the lines of, "I'd really like to finish the next 2 that are due at the end of October before this weekend, if possible." (Pause: HAAAA-LE-LU-JAH ! Continue...) Aiding the process, one of them was already partially done, since it involved the Coalition App, which he'd "turned in" (you know, electronically...I just wanted to say that, because it amuses me in a nostalgic kind of way...) for University of South Carolina. One more pass of proofreading the demographic and other pertinent details...some Optional-But-Mom-Says-I-Have-to-'Cuz-It'll-Make-Me-a-Stronger-Candidate documents (which is an absolutely terrible name, right? I really should tighten that up...oh, yeah: "Recommended". Doh!)...and an edit of his autobiographical essay, to cut it down to the word count limit so he could include it as an also-not-required-but-why-not-it-can't-hurt Personal Statement....and that was that.

Oh, and the other one was substantially simpler, since they didn't really want any extra materials outside of his transcript (request already filed with the Counseling Department) and test scores (already ordered from the ACT program). Sooooo, the official count now stands at: 4 down, 3 to go...and the deadline for those isn't even until November 30th. Aaaahhhh....

--Switching gears: in seasonal news, we answered the doorbell on Friday night to find a plastic cauldron full of treats on our front porch, with the explanatory note that we'd been...BOOed. Not surprisingly, reactions around Team WestEnders varied, with Husband shaking his head and proclaiming it "silly"...and the boys more vociferously ranting about how they wouldn't support such nonsense, and couldn't believe someone had done this to us, an there was no way they'd follow the (very detailed) instructions and reciprocate. Whereas I walked into the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about and immediately exclaimed, "Oh, how CUTE! We're totally going to keep it going--who do you think should get BOOed next?" (Derek was predictably mortified--he gaped at me for a moment before snapping his mouth closed and retorting, "See? I KNEW she'd say something like that!" in his best tone of mock outrage.)

Hey, in my defense (if I needed one, which I DON'T, right?) our cul-de-sac street wasn't part of an actual neighborhood in Maryland, so while we often saw the evidence of these kinds of things, we were never included in them...and yeah, I'm excited to participate, so what? Anyway, I began considering what to purchase at Target to put into a basket for whoever we chose to "trick" the following night...but Derek brought the discussion to a screeching halt when he crowed, "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's just make it easy--put in 2 cans of beer and leave a sign that says 'You've been...BUSCHED'!" Oh. Good. Heavens. (You see what I have to work with? And this is why, my friends, I NEVER consult the Male Trio when planning holiday festivities...)

--And finally, since we're already sharing Derek's...ahem...razor-sharp-wit...or what have you...we'll bring this to a close with tales from the Senior's recent educational adventures. You see, he experienced not one, but TWO field trips this past week. The first involved a visit to a Health Careers Symposium at UNC Hospital. On a side note, Derek reported that--even though the High School kids' activities were confined to the medical portion of the campus--it was still interesting to be at the university when the undergraduate students are in attendance, and to witness the atmosphere that occurs during a semester.

As for the actual event, he got to participate in some hands-on lessons--for example, one involving fake (dummy) patients and the practice of health care techniques. The directions said to "administer a solution of sodium chloride." At which point my beloved child tells me that he turned toward his friend Mac, who was across the room, and called, "How about we just give them SALT, instead?" (Face...palm... ) Of course he was kidding, and achieved his desired result, which was reducing Mac to hysterical laughter. However, when recounting this to me he commented that, "Now a bunch of kids from snooty private schools think Chapel Hill is full of idiots!" He sounded entirely too gleeful--and satisfied--about this, if you ask me...but at least he had a good time? (Whatever...he didn't get thrown out, and I didn't get a call from his teacher, so we'll just move on...)

His other excursion had him traveling to a spot in Durham on the Eno River, to collect soil samples for analysis by his AP Environmental Science class. Beforehand, he was entirely unthrilled by the prospect of wading, in late-ish October. When he returned, though, he admitted that it had been fairly amusing--even if the only reason was because he missed yet another day of confinement in the actual school building, and instead got to advance his knowledge in the Great Outdoors.

So, there you have it: a week full of sports...Halloween shenanigans...school stuff (both K-12, and higher learning varieties). And now, for a weekend full of....N-O-T-H-I-N-G...whoo hoo!