November flies by

November is really flying by, but I'm enjoying it. One more week of school, then a week off (then Rocket Boy leaves), then a half week more -- and then December. 

We're having lovely November weather, cold and crisp. A bit lacking in snow, but we might get some at the end of the week. The kids seem to have forgotten about winter -- OK, late fall -- and we keep having fights about long pants, shoes, coats... Teen A keeps GROWING, which yes, I know, it's normal, but it means I have to keep replacing all his clothes. Yesterday I had to make an emergency run to Target to get him another pair of pants and two shirts. Fortunately Target isn't very expensive. But he also needs new pajama pants, and I need some new pants...

Yesterday I spent almost $300, just doing ordinary things. How did I do that?

• Haircut for Teen A ($30)
• Vet appointment for Baby Kitty ($69)
• Target run to get pants, shirts, cat food, chips, bread ($62.43)
• Gas for Rocket Boy's car at Costco ($47.71)
• Dinner out at Village Inn, plus a whole pie to take home ($82.33)

That's, let's see, $291.47. It would have been a little more except that they gave us the "senior discount" at Village Inn (which we didn't ask for). 

Yes, there were some special things: we don't get haircuts EVERY week (though sometimes it seems that way), and the cats don't go to the vet that often, and we only eat out once a week, etc., etc. But there's always something special. How are most people managing right now?

I look at that list of purchases and try to think how we could have reduced it. I guess I could have shopped for Teen A at Goodwill instead of Target, but teenagers have very specific requirements for their clothes. At least his shirts are cheap ($6 each), but of course then you think about sweatshops and all that. They were made in Indonesia, probably by very poor people.

I could have made a pie instead of buying it. I should have done. In penance, I have already started dinner prep for today (we are having Spinach Rice Casserole from the Moosewood Cookbook).

***

This was a fun week, despite the fact that we were sick. I came down with that virus on Friday the 4th and now it is Sunday the 13th and I am still coughing a little. I was really good about staying home, taking it easy, getting enough sleep, doing nasal cleanses and salt water gargles -- all of that. But the darn thing hangs on. I'm the only family member still showing signs of it. I have a feeling that's how it's going to be from now on. I've become a little more fragile than even Rocket Boy.

On Tuesday, Teen B's music teacher sent out an email to all the parents informing them that some grant had come through which would enable a group of students to attend a performance of Rigoletto at Opera Colorado on Thursday -- and did any parents want to be chaperones? I said yes immediately, but then there was the problem of background checks. There hadn't been any need for those in middle school, due to the pandemic, and I'd let mine lapse. I finally applied for a clearance on Wednesday afternoon and it came through within hours, so I was good to go. 

On Thursday morning, Teen B and I (armed with many many cough drops) joined about 27 other students, 2 other moms, and a teacher, and rode a school bus to Denver. The bus let us off about a block from the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, where I had never been before, and we walked quickly through the cold, getting there about 10 minutes before the opera started. It was a performance specifically for schools, and not just high schools. There were lots of elementary school kids there -- and what they got out of Rigoletto I have NO idea. During intermission they sat out in the lobby and ate their sack lunches, looking confused. But I loved it! The music was wonderful (even in the shortened form they present to kids)! I don't think I had ever heard this opera before, other than the famous aria that is used to sell pizza, but the music just delighted me. Teen B was a little less impressed. He had refused to let me educate him about opera, this opera, or anything beforehand. He told me afterwards he had thought "Rigoletto" was a type of music, not a character's name.

I'm sure he didn't learn anything useful from this, like, listen to your mother when she tries to explain something to you? At least now he has some idea of what opera is (and will probably never voluntarily see another).

But that wasn't the end of our cultural enrichment for the week. For the past few weeks our next-door neighbors have had a yard sign advertising not a political candidate but a musical, Mamma Mia!, at the other high school (the ones the twins don't go to). Performances were Wednesday through Saturday, and I thought Friday might be our best bet. All performances were sold out, but the website said if you went at 6:15 when the box office opened, you might be able to get seats that someone else had turned in. So Rocket Boy and I did that (the twins were not interested). We put our names on a list and waited for a while, during which time we opened the door for other people (for some reason the outside doors were locked). We were sitting on a bench next to a recycling bin, so after a while RB reached into the bin, pulled out an empty water bottle, and put it in the door to hold it open. A man came by and removed the water bottle, so when he wasn't looking, RB got another bottle out of the bin and replaced it in the door, and later still another. This embarrassed me horribly and he teased me for being embarrassed.

Eventually our names were called and we got excellent seats, right in the middle, maybe five rows back from the stage.

The only problem was, I couldn't fit in the seats. They were big enough for my bottom, but not my legs. This particular auditorium is constructed very oddly, almost as though the architect thought only short people would be sitting in the seats. Or maybe the original design wasn't going to accommodate enough people, so they shrunk the rows? I don't know. All I know is that for someone with a bad knee, that threatens to lock up occasionally, those seats are scary. If there is an empty seat next to you, you can sit sideways (this is what we did the last time we attended a performance here), but this time there were no empty seats near us. We sat down and I immediately freaked out. "I can't sit here," I said. "If my knee locks up, I'll be screwed."

"What are you going to do?" Rocket Boy asked. He was having his own problems fitting his long legs in his seat's space. 

"I'll sit in the lobby and wait until it's over," I said. "You stay. Enjoy it!" I got up and left, Rocket Boy trailing after me. He tried to get me to ask someone to switch with us -- maybe there were some seats for people like me. I refused to consider it and marched out of the auditorium. I sat down on the bench in the lobby where we'd waited for tickets and got out my phone. Only 43% power. Would it last the two-plus hours I'd have to wait? Well, I didn't need a phone. I could just sit there. Or I could walk home, but it was really cold.

Suddenly I heard Rocket Boy's voice calling me. I looked up. "I got us seats!" he shouted. "But hurry!" I got up and followed him. "I asked two girls to trade with us," he explained. "They were very happy to have our seats." We rushed into the auditorium as the pre-play announcements were being made. I couldn't look at anyone, I was so embarrassed. He hurried me to a row of seats in the front of the balcony that had nothing in front of them -- full legroom. Glorious. But so embarrassing. He teased me about it all the way home and all the next day.

We enjoyed the musical thoroughly, and our next-door neighbor's kid had a small but delightful part.

The next day I decided to make a list in my list book of all the "events" I'd gone to in 2022. I used to do that (I've been keeping a list book since 1980), but stopped about five years ago or so. You don't go to too many "events" when you have elementary-school aged children AND you're flat broke. But seeing both Rigoletto and Mamma Mia! in one week made me want to record "events" again. So I tried, using this blog as a memory helper, to recreate the year. 

It's a pretty sad list. I saw a high school play and a high school musical, one middle school musical, three of Teen B's band concerts, one free "Faculty Tuesday" concert at CU, and Rigoletto. We took two trips (Nebraska for Spring Break and St. Louis). I had a cardiac catheterization and Rocket Boy had a horrible creepy surgery. We watched the twins graduate from middle school. 

Surely I can do better than that. Maybe I'll make that a goal in 2023. Or 2024. At some point I'd like to start going to performances again, even if the twins don't want to go.

***

So we have two more weeks with Rocket Boy. One week of school and one week of no school. I need to firm up my Thanksgiving menu and start shopping for it, as the FlyLady recommends. All I've bought so far is some frozen spinach and some extra butter. Most of what we need is fresh stuff, so I can't buy all of that ahead -- but it's not too early to buy potatoes and cranberries, I could do that.

I finished the book for the book group last night, and today I picked up three books at the library that I'd requested, so I have lots more to read. 

I'm still puzzling about Christmas gifts. We decided to go ahead and get the kitchen floor (with its big hole in the middle) replaced in December, so that's going to cost about $2500. We put a $1500 deposit down on Friday (speaking of spending money recently). Then we've got to buy Rocket Boy a plane ticket to come for Christmas, which is going to cost around $400, though I'm going to make him pay for that himself. Our joint bank account is really suffering right now.

Then there are charitable contributions. I always like to give away a lot of money in December. This year it will be less, but I'd rather give at least some money away than spend a lot of it on unnecessary presents.

So what do I do about the presents? Could I make some? What on earth do you make for teenage boys? Maybe some gift certificates, like "I Owe You one batch of your favorite kind of cookies." Wrapped in a big box, maybe, or a big reusable gift bag. 

I went to McGuckin's today, just to have a look at their Christmas stuff. I bought an Advent calendar (an inexpensive one, $6), and a box of Hanukkah candles (the cheapest they had, $4), and a Christmas-themed magnetic list pad ($7), and with tax and "rounding up for charity" it came to exactly $19. Christmas adds up quickly. I didn't buy any candy, or any holiday dishtowels (though I admired them), or a new ornament (saw a cute quail), or a box of cards (I'm going to drag Rocket Boy back there next weekend to choose some). 

There weren't very many people in McGuckin's, nor at the grocery store either. I don't know where everyone is this weekend.

Well, time to go make Spinach Rice Casserole, help with homework, and enjoy a little more November. We've got a cold week ahead of us. Glad we have a cozy little house.