September Swan Song

I don't know about you guys, but to me, it felt like a loooooong week. (Do I hear some "Amen"s out there? And also, "Whoo hoo for the weekend"? That's what I'm talking about...)

For me, it started off on Sunday morning with a local 5K that I had opted to run solo. It benefited an excellent cause--UNC's Children's Hospital--and began and ended at the iconic Old Well, so it was an easy choice for a September race. As a delightful bonus, it was only about 70 degrees at the start...which made the approximately 972% humidity slightly more bearable. Having done this course a number of times, I also knew each and every hill to expect along the way.

The wild card, if you will, was my rebellious left knee, which has been obnoxiously, stubbornly painful lately, despite all efforts to placate it. So I strapped it in place with a soft brace, admonished it to be on its best behavior, and hoped for the best. And while these measures did not miraculously cause me to clock a fabulous time for the 3.1 miles, at least I got through it...which was honestly my only goal for this one. Still, 81st out of 253 participants, and keeping it under a 10 minute mile? I'll call that good enough for a Win.

Next, let's catch up on a couple of Derek stories, shall we? First, a lesson learned: when we moved him into college last month, I was appalled at the...concrete-like firmness...of the mattress provided him in his dorm room. I asked him at the time if he'd like to purchase a cushiony pad, while I was there, but he dismissed this suggestion with a breezy, "Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine." Fast forward five weeks or so, and he admitted that it's gotten to the point that he feels like he's bruising his knees and elbows when he rolls over at night. (One second: I. Told. You. So. Which part of "always listen to your mother" has somehow failed to sink in after all these years? Siiiighhhh...) So after doing some online research, he sent me a couple of links, and I helped him select an appropriate one to have shipped directly to his PO box at the university. (The next time we spoke, he raved about how soft and comfortable it is, and how much better he's sleeping, so apparently we chose wisely. Phew!)

And now, in the social category, based on his self-report, Derek is doing a bang-up job of finding ways to have nice, clean fun during his Freshman year. Such as, he told me he and some buddies played pool one night in the Student Center...until 5 a.m. (Yeah, it makes me want to crawl under the covers right now, just thinking about staying up that late...er, "early". You?) It's okay, though, because he also mentioned the fact that they created (wait for it) a spreadsheet to keep track of their stats, like the numbers of attempts and successes, types of shots, angles of attack...and a bunch of other stuff I've forgotten, but which is equal parts adorable male sports-centric bonding...and super-geeky. So at least he's using his budding higher education brainpower for good? (Or whatever...)

Then there's an amusing by-product of his bank accounts being bundled with ours, meaning that when I routinely check them all, to make sure there's no suspicious activity, I get a glimpse into some of Derek's outings. Like what has become a pretty much weekly occurrence...the pilgrimage to Waffle House. Now, this is an establishment that I'm fairly certain Derek had never patronized before moving to The (Further) South, but evidently it's a popular thing to do, so he just goes with it. (When in Rome, right? Or, you know, "Columbia"...)

On a more academic note, I was somewhat confused one day to see not one, but three separate transactions in a short space of time...all at Office Depot. I wondered if this was something I should be alarmed about--did he misplace his card? Had some, I don't know, nerdy criminal mastermind swiped it, and gone on a...school-supply-buying...rampage? So naturally, I texted him to check if he'd made all of the purchases himself. His response: "Yes, I have an insatiable craving for rubber erasers. I like to snack on them between classes." At which point I felt justified in (affectionately, but sincerely) calling my beloved 18-year old son...a smartass...and assuming (since he never actually addressed the question) that there was no need to alert our bank's Fraud Department.

And finally, continuing with the education-related theme, I went to Riley's Back to School Night, and got to meet all his teachers, while doing a compressed walk-through of his schedule. First, the obvious: it was weird being there for just one kid, and knowing it was the only Open House I'd have to attend. But it was definitely worthwhile, since by the inexplicable luck of the draw, Riley ended up with a whole new crop of instructors that Derek somehow missed. (Except for Drafting--between the two of them, I've been to Mr. McS's presentation three times now, so we're like best buds, or something...) There was some required stuff that most 10th graders take--Civics and Econ, Chemistry, Math, English. And also a couple of electives, like Spanish 3 (since Riley enjoys learning the language and chose to keep going with it) and AP World (because he's a glutton for punishment--I mean "a dedicated student"--and wanted to try a challenging course as a Sophomore).

In the ultra-quick snapshot of each class, all of his teachers gave positive first impressions, while none particularly stood out. That is, aside from the AP, which is taught by a well-known local celebrity...who has written books, regularly gives public seminars on special historical topics, tapes his lectures and uploads them to his own podcast, for crying out loud...the guy is a seriously Big. Deal. Oh, and did I forget to mention, HI-LARIOUS? Just based on his 10-minute spiel, and the funny quotes Riley comes home and relays to me on a quasi-daily basis, I think could listen to him talk for quite a while. As a matter of fact, he did point out the recliner situated in the back of the room, and invited us to drop in anytime we were free, and felt like listening in for an hour. Hmm...Fridays are good for me...

And with that, September draws to a close. Now we can finally move on to Fall pursuits...like appreciating the Great Outdoors without sweating buckets, if we're lucky...perhaps even while sipping a pumpkin spice coffee (although still iced--after all, we wouldn't want to jump the gun and get all crazy now, would we?). Who knows, in the next couple of weeks, we might...just maybe...be able to throw on a sweater once in a while. Hey, one can dream, folks...I'm keeping my fingers crossed....