I Bitch Because I Care

The kids are gearing up to go back to school next week. For the Man-Cub this means forcing himself to go to bed at an hour that happens well before midnight; this is a futile attempt to retrain himself for early mornings, which; are going to kill him for the first week or so. Poor baby, that's what happens when you spend two months on the couch until 1:00 in the morning. I'm just saying.

Anyway, for The Teenager, school preparations have meant one thing: volleyball try-outs. And, this is the portion of our program wherein I leap onto my soap box to harangue coaches about the necessity of getting to know their athletes, and, specifically, what motivates them. For the record? My daughter is not motivated by having a coach tell her that she is "barely in the running" to make the team. And, while I realize that some kids might take that statement as a challenge and work extra hard to prove the coach wrong (as I suspect the coach intended); my daughter takes it as an attack on not just her athletic abilities, but, on her person as a whole. Then, she spirals down into a panic attack of self-condemnation and anxiety which leads to tears and a decided drop in self-confidence. Thanks, coach. Can I take this opportunity to tell you that you are barely in the running for a spot on Team Humanity? You might want to improve your skills if you are to make the cut.

End of soap box lecture.

Other preparations for the new school year include the purchase of supplies (done for the Cub, not so much for The Teenager) and acquiring new outfits for the first day. This will have to wait until Saturday when we have a chance to get to Neighboring City. I'm not planning to spend much on clothing, especially for the Cub, who is growing at a fast enough rate to give pause to the idea of actually purchasing pants. Or, shoes. Ok, underwear will definitely need to be purchased and I'm pretty sure that is a safe expenditure to make since he won't outgrow them anytime soon. I mean, he won't, right?

Oh my god, I don't think I want to know.