Beach Day!

Little B had not behaved well. At school, he'd hit, pushed, spit on and licked other kids. Simone decided that little B would be "suspended" for the day.

They started the day at 7:50 by taking the 13 year old to school. Then little B and Simone ran a few errands before heading out to walk the dogs. Afterward, it was time for physiotherapy. They went to the library... Barely time to catch their breath and it was time for lunch.

Simone decided that the day had dragged on long enough. "Do you want to go to the beach now?"

Little B stared up at Simone, bewildered. "Really?"

"Really," Simone assured him.

And so they packed up the car with sand toys, towels, sunscreen and swimsuits. The beach was nearly deserted.

"Hi!" Shouted little B to a small group of children.

One of the children waved back at little B. Encouraged, he strutted toward the kids. Within seconds, he was splashing in the ice cold lake water with them while Simone wondered how long she might be able to stand the heat.

Two hours later, fully sunned and with slightly frozen toes, Simone and little B headed back to the car.

Sometimes a little sun and sand is just what the doctor ordered.

And little B did not hit any other kids the following day at school.

(But he did jump on one of them. Darn. That wasn't in the rules now, was it?)

Le petit B fait l’école buissonnière

Simone secoua sa tête. Le petit B avait, encore une fois, frappé un ami à l’école. Il avait craché et léché des amis dans l’autobus. Et, de mauvaise humeur une fois de retour à la maison, il avait poussé sa mère. Celle-ci décida qu’il faudrait y aller fort pour corriger le comportement du petit B.

« Pas d’école demain, » déclara-t-elle.

Le petit B ouvrit et ferma sa bouche à plusieurs reprises. « Mais, je veux aller à l’école! » Pleurnicha-t-il finalement.

« Et bien tant pis, » Simone rigolait à l’intérieur. Une journée de congé pour le petit B voulait dire qu’elle aussi aurait une journée de congé. Bon, d’accord, il faudrait faire la morale au petit B mais comme la journée suivante s’annonçait belle et chaude, il y avait une grande possibilité qu’ils atterrissent à la plage…

Scream Music

This time, the 13 year old's school held the concert. Since the ages of the students in her school went from 12 to 19, the musical selection varied immensely, from pop ballads to... scream music.

Simone and little B unwisely chose to sit in one of the empty front rows. They arrived late and the front rows were empty. That SHOULD have been a sign. But did Simone listen to that germ of doubt in her heart? Nope. Not one bit. Instead, she felt gleeful because she was in prime position to videotape the event.

The 13 year old soon came out to perform "Don't Stop Believing". Simone got excellent footage of the event. She left the stage, the band stayed on and... the noise began.

The long haired lead singer hopped up and down on the stage, his bangs falling over his face, obscuring any expression he might have had. Little B exploded into laughter and pointed with delight at the band's antics. Little B might have said, "Look at his hair!" But Simone's ears were ringing badly and she couldn't be sure.

When the lead singer bent in half and made puking noises into the microphone, little B couldn't contain himself any longer and stretched out across the bench, laughing and wriggling at the fun of it all.

As for Simone, the front row seats no longer seemed like such a boon...

Un AUTRE concert de fin d’année

La fille de 13 ans a été invitée au concert de fin d’année de son école. On lui a demandé de chanter « Don’t Stop Believing » avec un groupe mais ce qu’elle a véritablement pratiqué fut la chanson « Ensemble ».

Vous pouvez la voir pratiquer dans la voiture en suivant le lien ci-joint…


Cliquez ici pour le lien.

Loser versus Freak

Simone accompanied the 13 year old to a gLee concert. Preparations involved painting the girl's nails with various, fluorescent colours, topping each nail off with white (like a slushy) and writing the letter g L e e, one on each nail. A hand with the fingers forming the letter L graced the middle finger. The sketch of a slushy finished off the thumb nail.

The young woman drew various gLee slogans on her arms and hands, donned a t-shirt and jeans and voila! She was raring to go. Except...

"Mom!" She screeched, glaring at Simone. "What are you wearing?"

Simone was wearing bubblegum pink tights, a multicolor American Apparel dress and a hot pink jacket but since these facts seemed painfully obvious to the naked eye, she refrained from answering the question directly. She grinned at her daughter instead.

The 13 year old sighed, rolled her eyes and said, "I guess we'll have to go with you dressed like that."

At the concert, Simone peered at the legion of females (and some guys). They all wore t-shirts and jeans.

"You know," Simone remarked to her daughter, "gLee is all about embracing your loser side, right? That's why the capital L's everywhere, right?"

The teen nodded her head, her sideways glance letting Simone know that her agreement was conditional upon the second part of Simone's argument.

"Don't you think that dressing up completely differently than everyone else would qualify me as a loser?"

They looked around at the screaming, cheering crowd. No other bubblegum pink tights in sight. The 13 year old finished off her survey by looking at her mother and sighing.

"Dressing up differently than everyone might make you a loser," she agreed, her voice reluctant. "But dressing up like you do?" The girl shook her head. "THAT makes you a freak."

Le concert

En fin de semaine, Simone est allée voir un concert avec la fille de 13 ans. Personne d’autre ne voulait l’accompagner et veut, veut pas, Simone n’allait pas laisser l’enfant aller au concert sans être accompagnée d’un adulte.

Il s’agissait de gLee. La jeune fille avait signé un contrat avec Simone afin d’obtenir les billets. Pendant plusieurs mois, elle avait galéré sur ses devoirs car il fallait à tout prix avoir de bonnes notes avant d’avoir la permission d’aller au concert. Et la jeune fille y réussi!

Donc, belle surprise pour tout le monde et en prime, les billets étaient à treize rangées de l’estrade. En supplément, certains artistes (il y en avait beaucoup) passèrent à côté de Simone et de sa fille au cours du concert. La jeune fille en est encore toute bouleversée!

A regrettable ultimatum

Simone et al stayed in a hotel Saturday night. Simone and the 13 year old were attending a concert in the downtown area and Simone thought they might as well turn the occasion into a mini-holiday.

Prior to their departure, there was some hesitation. The 4 year old had been sick. Should he stay home with Daddy? However since he showed signs of recuperation, Simone decided to bring him. The boy spent a part of the day sleeping but perked up enough in the evening to go to the play centre and generally act like a proper 4 year old.

As a result of all his naps, little B couldn't get to sleep. At 10:30 pm, Simone left him in his hotel bed and informed him she was going to sleep herself.

At midnight, the little guy was wandering around the hotel room, looking for Mom. Sighing, Simone joined him. The little guy pulled the curtains open. "It's daytime," he declared, in direct opposition to the facts.

After some yawned negotiations, Simone told the little guy, "Either you go back to bed with me and Daddy or I climb in with you but either way, I'm going to sleep."

Little B chose the "Mom goes to sleep in my bed" option. Only he does not make a good bedmate. He rolls around, talks and screams in his sleep and walloped his mother on the head more than ones as he rolled over.

Someone remind Simone NOT to use the "I'll sleep with you" option with the four year old. Because sleep is not part of that equation.