![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/225\/2012\/08\/7_quick_takes_sm1.jpg\" "\\"7_quick_takes_sm1\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n#7<\/p>\n
Remember how I\u2019m not great at suffering<\/a>? Yeah. That\u2019s still extremely true.<\/p>\n (In my meager defense, let me just say that for the first time ever I\u2019ve had a third-trimester return of the first-trimester nausea and vomiting. <\/em>Yeah. Kill me.)<\/p>\n But I think I can get through these quick takes without complaining. I think<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n<\/p> #6<\/p>\n Sienna starts school on Monday, so last night the Ogre and I went to this parent meeting thing at the school.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t that the meeting was unpleasant, it\u2019s just that they handed out sheets of paper and then went through all the points on the paper out loud. I couldn\u2019t help but think, \u201cI\u2019m paying a babysitter right now to listen to you read to me what I can read myself. Couldn\u2019t we have covered this in an email?\u201d<\/p>\n I really do understand that there needs to be a time for parents to ask questions, meet the administration and teachers, and all that jazz. But you know what would make that time go much more smoothly?<\/p>\n Shots. Shots for everyone.<\/p>\n Seriously. If they greeted us with tequila and limes, I bet you fifty million dollars that not one parent would walk out of that meeting and think, \u201cwell that was 2 hours wasted.\u201d Nope. They\u2019d be like, \u201cDude! We got free shots! Best. School. Ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \n<\/p> #5<\/p>\n I told the Ogre my brilliant idea about the shots 2.5 minutes before I glanced around the gym full of parents, kids, and high schoolers and realized that I\u2019m still\u00a0<\/em>closer in age to the high school seniors than I am to most of the parents.<\/p>\n Then I wondered aloud if maybe it\u2019s just my youth and immaturity that makes me not fully appreciate these sorts of administrative gatherings. The Ogre said, \u201cIt\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Then I said, \u201cAt least I didn\u2019t suggest kegstands. Because that\u2019s really the way to go if you want to break the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n \n<\/p> #4<\/p>\n I know, I\u2019m immature. But\u00a0 think <\/em>about it! A whole room full of parents doing kegstands! We\u2019d all be way better friends after that, and probably much more receptive to the idea of doing volunteer hours.<\/p>\n Speaking of my maturity level, isn\u2019t that the most awesome onesie ever? I really want one for Lincoln.<\/p>\n \n<\/p> #3<\/p>\n Sometimes I think that someone should give a class to adults on how to use subterfuge when giving someone the stink-eye. Because here\u2019s the thing: if you\u2019re trying to subtly glare at someone or even just give them the wary once-over, it\u2019s best not to turn your head 180 degrees around to accomplish it.<\/p>\n If the person you\u2019re trying to glare at is seated directly behind you, happily imagining everyone in the room doing kegstands, you could probably angle your body sideways and pretend to be looking at\/talking to the person seated next to you. Then, if you happened to glance over your right shoulder, it wouldn\u2019t be a big deal when the object of your visual wrath happened to catch your eye. You could just blow it off, like, \u201cI was just looking around at the bare walls of the gymnasium which are visually captivating to me\u201d and it wouldn\u2019t be a big deal.<\/p>\n But if you keep your body firmly facing forward and pull a full-on Linda Blair, it\u2019s completely impossible to shrug off that awkward moment of eye contact as accidental. It\u2019s a stink-eye fail. This is basic high school social skills, people. Let\u2019s remember these lessons to avoid awkward eye-contact in future parent-teacher meetings, shall we?<\/p>\n \n<\/p> #2<\/p>\n I know what you\u2019re thinking.<\/p>\n Right? School hasn\u2019t even started and I\u2019ve already come up with two totally practical contributions I can make to the parent-teacher\/parent-parent dynamic: shots and lessons in social subterfuge.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a gem.<\/p>\n \n<\/p> #1<\/p>\n All joking aside, though, look how excited this kid is to start school! That smile is totally worth all the lengthy and potentially awkward parent-teacher meetings in the year to come. She\u2019s a little nervous too, but mostly excited. She asks every morning if she can wear her school uniform. It\u2019s adorable. I\u2019m really hoping that this year goes well for her, that she gets along with her teacher, that she\u2019s not behind her class due to my abysmal homeschooling non-skills\u2026we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n I guess I\u2019m a little nervous too.<\/p>\n And on that note, I\u2019m leaving you with the song I keep listening to over and over in an effort to remind myself to choose <\/em>to be happy instead of wallowing in my beached-whale-esque misery. Also, it reminds me of college, which always makes me happy. Enjoy, happy weekend, and go see Jen <\/a>for more quick takes!<\/p>\n<\/a>Okay, so I haven\u2019t been posting because I literally cannot think of anything to write about except how miserable I am in this last trimester. And I didn\u2019t want to inflict that on you, since it\u2019s already being inflicted on my husband, my children, my friends, my neighbors, and the check-out clerks at Trader Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n