10 years gone.

OK, so i don't blog enough, i guess that's a given. But in my defense I've been very busy over the last two months since i blogged, as shortly after my birthday my middle daughter, halie, came to stay with me for an extended period of time. It lasted almost two months and it was glorious. What made it even better is her brother, my oldest son and youngest child from marriage number one, Cole, also came to stay for what would be a month. Actually, this whole year has been a real watershed time in terms of my relationship with both of them. For that reason alone I say I that the layoff was somewhat of a blessing. It's fun now some of the 'inside jokes' we have as a family. Some of the fun things we've learned about each other and just the fact that we've been able to connect on a level we've not ever really connected before. Which isn't to say we weren't close, but now we're closer.... it was funny and gratifying everytime Halie or Cole would say, "ohhh you do that, so that's where we get that from" I've always said that each of the kids, while they definitely have some of their mother in them, also are very distinct aspects of my personality as well. IT's fun to see that grow and develop. And it was fun to have it around me 24/7 for just a little while, but then it also makes it quite apparent how much I missed not being able to raise them the way one imagines when one first sets out to start a family... Ten years gone. Ten years of relationships that i never got to develop with them.. Please excuse me if i feel just a little bit sad about that for a moment.

So, I dropped Kenny off at school friday and headed down to LA for Kirsten's college graduation, which will be followed up next month by Halie's High school graduation. But this weekend was Kirsten's show, and what a show it was. For those of you who don't know, she attended Otis School of Art and Design, a rather prestigious and cutting edge school in Los Angeles, and she majored in graphic arts and illustration. Thursday and Friday were the Gallery Showcase nights... the artwork and concepts were wonderful..It was truly an artistic showcase... and friday, the graduation ceremony.. 4 years of blood, toil hard work and sweat rolled into a 1.47 second walk accross a platform to pick up a piece of paper. It was really cool. I never felt prouder. Not that i can remember.
tho, a close second was what happened Thursday, the night before I left. Kenny, my youngest son, was given the opportunity to try out attending a new school for next year, a school with "Waldorf" methods. For two days he attended classes and participated in the schools curriculum. At the end of two days he told his mom and I what he thought. "Mom, I don't want to go to this school... when I go to school, i think it's important that i learn something everyday"

I was equally as proud of my 7 year old son for seeing that as I was of my 20 year old daughter for graduating. It was a good week.