Getting old sucks enough without having to drag Jack & Diane into it

I've noticed something about popular music that kind of says something about today's generation and  I got it full force on my way home from work today.  Angel #4 is jealous of people my age for getting to be teenagers in the 80's.  Though I didn't realize it at the time, looking back now, the 80's were a great time to be a teen.  We had John Hughes, Ronald Reagan, Eddie Murphy (R-rated, not todays PG version), tight-rolled jeans and some really incredible hair.  The mid-80's were pretty much the peak of the glam age - I had hot-pink mascara for pete's sake!  Like #4 says, the 80's were cool, nobody says they wish they were a teenager in the 90's.  Our music was pretty awesome too.  For the most part it was pretty optimistic and, I'll admit, rather self-centered, but that's what the 80's were all about.

Fast-forward to today.  We've got All About That Bass and Secrets (I don't care if the world knows what my secrets are) which is all about, this is who I am, like it or lump it, suckers.  Sorry, that stuff just didn't fly when I was in high school.  You did NOT go to school in your pajamas, you DID comb your hair daily (and applied about 2 lbs of Aquanet) and no matter what Madonna wore onstage, people did NOT see your bra straps out in public.  #4 looks back in envy of the days when people made an effort before going out in public.  I'm not saying everyone should plaster on the make-up and spend an hour on their hair every day, but fresh clothes and a shower certainly shouldn't be out of line.  But then when I think about the other song I heard on the radio today and I understand their look of defeat.  Yes, it was the dreaded American Dream.  The song that states that it's "not the same summer song that you used to know, Jack left Diane 30 years ago."  Jack and Diane are MY people and they need to keep them out of their depressing little ditties.  J & D were all about making plans for the future, doing something with themselves, having dreams; to drag them into a song whining about whatever happened to the American Dream is just depressing us all.  No wonder teenagers can't seem to find the energy to get out of their pajamas in the morning if all they think they have to look forward to is just surviving life.  Okay, bitter middle-aged rant over.  Now I've got to go get my broom and tell those rotten kids to get off of my lawn.

On a totally unrelated note.  We've really got to get the curtains up in the living room.  With the big patio door in the middle of the wall and all the people out there shining deer down our road, I feel like I"m in a big fish bowl, or that alien zoo episode of the Twilight Zone.

Another parental last....YAY!

Angel #4, my baby, turned 16 on Monday.  Today, after 2 1/2 hours in the DMV, she received her driver's license.  That's it for me.  No more teaching kids how to drive.  No more temporary license restrictions.  No more having to go everywhere with my kid so they can get more driving practice.  Done.  Over.  She did really well on the behind the wheel test as well, only losing one point out of a possible max of 25, and she feels he just docked her the point so she wouldn't get a perfect score, because when she told the girl in line next to her why she got a point off, that girl said she never even looked in her mirrors while #4 was told she was supposed to check surrounding traffic  in her mirrors every 6-8 seconds.  Sounds a little nit-picky to me, but who cares?  She got her license!!  She's already made plans for the weekend.  I may never see my car again, but at least I don't have to haul her to the mall anymore.

In other wonderful news, the carpet was laid in our living room and new family room yesterday.  The guy finished around 5pm and as soon as #4, WE's girlfriend & I got home from belly dancing class, we moved the furniture back in the rooms and it looks great and feels so roomy after being crammed in the dining room for the last 3 months.

Yesterday was the last belly dance class.  I'd like to say we all improved drastically over the course of 6 weeks....but I can't, because we all still looked as uncoordinated the 6th week as we did the 1st, though Angel #4 caught on pretty well and could do the moves much better than the rest of us.  Next adventure?  Yoga

it's been a month already?

Okay, this is what's happened since I last wrote:

Life is fine
Went to San Diego for a weekend to watch WE graduate Basic Training
WE is now a Marine
The new Marine is currently home on leave and getting bored and ready to go back to work
The living room still isn't done being remodeled

I guess that's it.  Look at all the time I could save by only doing monthly recaps rather than writing something every week.

Oh, we did do something fun in San Diego.  WE's girlfriend and I flew out and met hubs, his dad & Angel #1 for the basic training graduation.  WE hasn't seen any of us since he left back in July.  I told his girlfriend that he was going to hug her first and she seemed to think that because I was his mother, I'd get the first hug.  So I devised a plan.  When the guys were dismissed and allowed to come over to their families finally, all of us stood in a long line and nobody could move, so WE had to make the decision who was going to get first hugs. (yeah, I'm kind of mean that way)  He took one look at us and knew what we were doing and said: are you really going to do this to me??  I was right, the girlfriend got the first hug, which is fine, I'm sure she missed him more than I did.