Monday Melange

A melange (may-LANZH) is  grab bag, a potluck, a medley, a potpourri, an assortment, a variety. You get the idea.  Melange is French, and anything French is an instant pick-me-up, similar to a bouquet of flowers delivered "just because." 

1. I have been wanting flowers "just because" but haven't received any.  I think I will deliver some to myself this week just because it's been a very long winter already and just because I can only take so much grey and white and slush and mush. 

2.  Why haven't I shown pictures from my son's graduation from college yet? He walked across the stage December 20th, shook hands with some distinguished looking folks, and then breathed a sigh of relief that his five years of getting his BS in Computer Science had finally ended.  We were extremely proud of him, and extremely grateful that his internship turned into a full-time, well-paying job in the field he loves.  He declared, "It's so much easier not to have to work part-time AND go to school!" 

3.  Fast forward to tonight, when I find out via Facebook that he has decided to start his master's degree program! Oy. 

4.  Our daughter started her master's program last week. She had been dreading it; her days are already stressful with 26 first-graders and her evenings grading papers and planning ahead. However, she is going through this program with the same Christian friend she was in undergrad school with, in their cohort. Then, on the first night, the kindly, older, innocent-looking professor cracked everyone up by making a slip of the tongue. He was going to address the rules about cell phone use. He inadvertently said, "I know how important it is for you all to be sexting--
I mean texting--!". The dear old man turned 50 shades of red.

5.  This Friday night is the science fair at school. My 6th grade boy and his curious dad have successfully built a battery-powered motor.  I'm not sure who's been having more fun, but the fun ends when Mom helps with the writing portion. The boy likes to skip introductions and get right to conclusions, and has a fondness for starting sentences with conjunctions. And that is not proper, given the pseudo-formal audience of science geeks and teachers on the judging panel. 

6. Tomorrow we have a field trip, barring weather aggravations. We are visiting the Meyerhoff to hear the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Walters Art Gallery. Not being an art teacher this year, but rather just a chaperon and yearbook photographer, I will do my dead-level best not to play the educator role. Wish me luck. 

7.  Chaperon is another French word. Be still, mon coeur. 

8.  My oldest son and daughter-in-law moved into their new home last weekend and said they couldn't wait to start renovations. Well, I thought they meant "can't wait till spring" but noooo....They waited exactly one week. Now, thanks to her uncle who is a contractor, they took down a wall in their foyer that was blocking the views. And they painted the faux red brick a crisp white.  (Faux is French. I'm on a roll.) I haven't seen the redo in person, but am quite impressed with pictures on Facebook. Were it not for Facebook, would I really know what my kids were doing in their lives? 

9.  Eight is enough. (Did you watch that show way back when?) I get the feeling people stop reading after the 1259th word. Oui?