Bev's luck as an (almost) PowerBall winner.

Sitting at home day after day with an injured back is BORING.  I decided to clean out my purse.  I found some Powerball and Mega Million lottery tickets that were folded up in the bottom of my purse.  The Powerball ticket was from the November 19, 2011 game.  So I went on line and checked the winning numbers.

11/19/2011            9  16  17  28  30    11     x 3   

1st winning number, 9

I HAD 9

2nd winning number, 16

I HAD16

3rd winning number, 17

I didn't have 17.  
This is usually where it ends for me, 
with 2 matching numbers.

4th winning number, 28

I HAD 28!

At this point I realized I had 3 winning numbers.  I NEVER win anything at Lottery, MegaMillions or Powerball so I didn't know if it would be $5.00 or $50.00, but I was already excited, thinking I had won something for sure.

5th winning number, 30

I HAD 30!!!

Now I was like, OH MY GOD!!!  I have matched 4 out of 5 FREAKIN POWERBALL WHITE BALL NUMBERS THEY DRAW.  I thought I had possibly won THOUSANDS by this point.  Then they picked out the last ball.  A damn red Powerball:

Red ball/Powerball winning number, 11

I had 20

I figured, who cares about the stupid red ball, I matched 4 out of 5 white balls, the main balls, right?  Surely I'm a big winner.

I looked at the prize amounts.  I saw Match 4 out of 5 + the red powerball = $10,000 prize.  

I was freaking out.  I figured maybe they shaved a few grand away for me not having the red ball number, but I still thought I was a winner of thousands of dollars.  I was already thinking that JEN CAN GO TO COLLEGE, the rest would have to go to bills & a few Christmas presents.  Until I read the next line....

Match 4 out of 5 white balls WITHOUT matching red powerball  = $100 prize.  

A HUNDRED DOLLARS?  THAT'S IT?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  A $9,900 DIFFERENCE?  THAT'S A BIG FREAKIN DIFFERENCE FOR ONE LOUSY BALL, don't you agree?  

I MATCHED 4 NUMBERS.  Do you know how hard that is?  I've never done it in 20 years of playing stupid Lottery big games. I think a drop from $10K to a hundred bucks because of one little red ball is ridiculous.

But I guess that red Powerball is pretty damn important in the Powerball game, who could of guessed?  Not Lucy over here.  I already had the money spent in my mind.  Ha ha.  And I guess that power play x3 thing would have made me a $300 winner, guess that's pretty important too, I never pay extra for that, damn it.

Now that I think about it, I've never won more than 3-4 dollars on a Lottery big game ever.

Now that I think about it, I can't believe I've continued to put money into games like Lottery, Powerball or MegaMillions for 20 years with no pay back.

And then today, I FINALLY match 4 out of 6 numbers and only win $100 bucks?  What a racket!!!  I guess just the mere idea of a chance at winning millions of dollars made me give it a shot, time and time again.  But I have to forget about all of that and try to see the good.

It was pretty exciting today, seeing the big game numbers matching my numbers for once in my life,  just not enough of them, just my luck. 

And it taught me a lesson.  I promise to stop playing the big games.  I'll spend $20 a month on instant tickets or even at the casino and have a much better chance of winning.  I won't ever win millions, but I bet my odds of winning $100 bucks are better.  

My glass is 1/2 full.

It's still good news. 

I WON $100 BUCKS!  

Our daughter, 18 & A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!

  (Lorens, Jen & Me.  Jen's senior prom, June, 2011)

On Wednesday, October 19th, we were invited to an awards ceremony at 4:30pm in downtown Chicago.  Jen had entered a writing competition and won 3rd place.  Jen said "Forget it, its not important, we don't have to go."   I told her parents wait all their lives for nights like this.  Nothing was going to stop us from getting there.   I was determined for Jennifer to see that its not just her old teachers & parents thinking she has amazing talent, it was the world.  Jennifer has amazing talent in everything she does, she just needs to show the world.  She's one of those people who uses both sides of her brain.  She's one of those kids that gets straight A's and is also the lead actress, stars in the Improv Troupe, etc.

(Jen freezing at the train station last winter)

I heard on the news that there would be almost tropical storm force winds and cold ass rain this afternoon in Chicago.  Of course!  Because Bev/Lucy Ricardo needs to travel by foot downtown today.

So, we waited for the train in the cold wind and rain, but the train wasn't coming.  The automated voice on the intercom at the train station kept saying there were mechanical issues.  When we got on board, the guy taking our money told us actually there was a bomb threat earlier and so that's why our train was 40 minutes late.  Just my luck!

When our train finally arrived downtown, it was almost 4:30pm.  We had to run 7 blocks in the pouring rain with 40+ MPH winds to get there on time.

It was on Jackson so we had to run past the Occupy Chicago movement and protesters near the Chicago Board of Trade and banks.  They were beating on drums, shouting, "We are the 99%!"  I wanted to join in but I had more important things on my mind.

This was Jennifer's night.

We ran inside their beautiful building with a marble staircase leading us to the ceremony upstairs.  At the top of the stairs, there was a check in station.  They had a name tag for Jen printed out already with "Competition Winner" printed under her name.  Lorens & I filled out name tags for ourselves.

We were soaking wet, hungry and out of breath, but I didn't care.  My daughter was about to be recognized for the amazing writer that she already is at 18.  As we caught our breath and walked in, I was trying to wipe the rain off my face and hair, stand straight and not embarrass Jen.  It was hard, my mouth was practically hanging open when I looked around.  To my left, there was someone playing a grand piano.  In the main area there were tables and couches with a buffet dinner near the back.  It smelled heavenly.  To my right there was an open bar.  We had some dinner then I told one of the guys asking us if we would like a drink I'd like a glass of Caberet wa wa wa (some fancy name of the wine they were offering).  Lorens got a Heineken.  Jen got a Pepsi and we held up our glasses and said "Cheers to Jennifer!"  We were laughing, and of course, I was also crying.  This was already an incredible night.

Then, award winning teachers and best selling authors were coming up to us and telling Jen they loved her story.

It was hosted by the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation.  She was one of the 12 winners of their writing competition, winning 3rd place in her category.  After dinner, she got to read an except from her story, won a $200 cash prize and best of all, her story was published in their 2011 Anthology!

The stories and poems are judged in a two-part blind process.  Award winning teachers pick 25 finalists and then, Best Selling Authors judge them and select the 12 winners. The stories are then published in their 2011 Anthology which is sold everywhere.  They told us to take some copies for our family and friends (I took 10 copies and had Jen sign them all).  She was asked to sign several books by people that attended as well.


Part of the Preface in the book, titled C&AF Review, 2011, reads, "We at Civic & Arts believe that, because of the large number of applicants and the rigorous judging process, we present in this anthology some of the best writing by young writers in the Chicago area."

She was glowing, I was crying.

It was one of my proudest moments 

and one of the best nights of my life.

 She's only 18 and now 
she's a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!


http://www.civicandarts.org/index.php/arts_competitions/winners

(Jen & Me (crying again).  Jen's high school graduation, June, 2011)

Pay it forward lesson #1/good deed #1

Well, its 5:00pm and this is what I've accomplished in my new adventure, helping others since I saw the movie Pay It Forward for the first time last night:  

I babysat until 1pm thinking about what I would do after the baby got picked up.

I decided that first I would drive to the homeless guy that regularly stands, dirty and sad looking, at the traffic light outside my local WalMart.  Its the same young guy day after day.  Every time I go to WalMart to buy some groceries, I give him a dollar or two, no matter how broke I am. He holds a sign saying, "HOMELESS, PLEASE HELP, GOD BLESS YOU".

I always have felt good helping him,  knowing what he must be going through, however small my donation.  I decided to do more this time.  I decided I would pack a few bags of things I would want if I was homeless in Chicago in October.

So I packed a big leather/insulated bag with 2 of everything, socks, underwear, shirts, sweatshirts and jeans.  I thought he could probably use some toiletries as well but didn't think I had much of my own to give.

I was surprised when I found so many things I though he could use that I didn't even realize I had.  Small bars of soap from hotels, a brand new toothbrush, razor, a first aid kit, toilet paper, body wash, matches, deodorant, etc.  I felt like there might be a bigger force at work here.  Where did all this stuff come from?  I didn't remember having most of it.  

Then I put another bag inside the leather bag that had a new container of peanut butter, jelly and a 1/2 loaf of bread.  Then I put a sleeping bag in a big plastic bag and took that with me as well.  

When my husband saw me about to leave, he was upset.  He told me I was making a big mistake.  He said the guy is a scam artist and probably had more than us.  I ignored him.  I didn't even know I had this stuff, what harm would it do to try and help someone out?  Here I was on good deed #1 and he was trying to block me already.  He told me our car was on empty, he didn't want me to use the last of the gas.  I told him there was enough to get me to WalMart and back (2 miles each way).  

So I left the house with my big leather bag and the bag with the sleeping bag in it before he could flat out put his foot down and tell me no.  I was so close to helping this poor kid, or so I thought.

So I drove to the street outside of WalMart where he stands EVERYDAY.  When he sees me he usually waves, knowing I'll give him whatever I can every time.  He's the only homeless guy that is ever there, I've never seen anyone else.

Imagine my surprise when I pulled up and there was a new homeless man there, much older, much skinnier.  I was feeling disappointed that "my" homeless guy wasn't in his usual spot and would miss out on this great gift I was trying to bestow.  I made a u-turn so that I would be able to pull over to get out and talk to the older guy.

Just then, I see the young guy riding past on a bike, he was much cleaner than usual, even clean shaven.  I waved him over.  He looked happy to see me, recognizing me.  When he got to the car I said, "I'm sorry, I don't have any money this time, but I have this bag with clothes and.....".  That's when he cut me off and said, "I have plenty of clothes lady, I don't need any of that kind of stuff".  So I continued, thinking maybe he doesn't realize there's more.  I said, "Well there's also a bag with toiletries and a sleeping bag.....", he laughed, interrupted me again and said he doesn't need any of that stuff, just money.  He said "maybe that old guy at the corner can use it, he's homeless".  I told him, "sorry, I'm broke this week and I thought you were homeless." and he just rode away on his shiny new bike. 

I was crushed.  

My husband was right.  

This guy was a fake!!!  

I had been trying to help him for months, giving my last dollar to him more than once, he had never been in clean clothes, clean shaven, or had a bike.  I felt like a fool.  I don't think he's homeless at all now.  He laughed at my gift bags and wanted no part of them.  

I was hoping the older guy wouldn't react the same way, I would be the laughing stock at my house if I returned with my gifts, unwanted.

I waved the older man over, he looked very excited and jogged over to me and my car.  I figured he probably thinks I have money and his smile will fade like the young guy when he realizes all I have is care packages.  I said to him, "I'm sorry, I don't have any money but I have a bag with some clothes, some toiletries and some food, if you want them", expecting him to brush me off like my regular guy.  He said, "Oh thank you!!!  That is so kind of you, you don't know what this means to me!"  I was shocked and excited again.  I said, "Well I also have a sleeping bag in this bag if you want it".  He said, "A SLEEPING BAG?!!! REALLY?   I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH!!! ITS GETTING MIGHTY COLD OUT HERE.  GOD BLESS YOU!!!"  I told him I know how he feels and I just want 1 thing from him, for him to pass a kindness to 3 others.  He promised me he would.

My faith in humanity had been restored. 

AND ISN'T IT FUNNY?  I didn't know I had all of that stuff to give.  I found it here and there, from vacations past, on shelves I normally don't look on in the closets.  Then I realized, IT WAS ALL OF MY MOTHERS STUFF!!!  After she died, I inherited the contents of her home.  These were HER things from HER vacations past, that's why I didn't realize I had them.  She always wanted to help the homeless.  My brother, sister & I were upset when our mom announced, a few years ago, after our father died, that she wanted to invite a homeless person to come live with her.  She knew how scared we were for her and so she never did it.  Now here it is, a year and a half after she's passed away and I guess she got to help a homeless guy after all.  I THINK MY MOM IS THE COSMIC FORCE AT WORK HERE.

And in all the months I've been going to WalMart, this guy was never there before.  I had never seen him before.  That young guy has been the "WalMart Homeless Guy" to me and my friends/family for months now.  But here was this brand new older homeless guy, for the first time, when I needed him to restore my faith that this good deed was not worthless, and he needed me and my gift.  

Maybe God didn't want me to get discouraged on my first good deed attempt.  At least I won't waste my money on the fake homeless young guy any more.  At least someone was truly grateful for my gift.  At least I got to feel that I helped someone, that my good deed wasn't prepared for nothing.  At least my mom got to help a homeless man, just like she wanted to, more than a year after she passed away.

When I was leaving the parking lot,  my niece called me and said she needed a ride home from work.  If I had been at home I would have said no.  But now, I was all the way at WalMart, just a few blocks from where she worked.  So I said yes.  And to my surprise, when she got out of the car at her house she gave me money for gas.  So its like my gas for bringing the homeless man that stuff was paid for!  I was in a better place all around, in my heart and in my car, than I had been in when I left.

I received more than I gave today.  Lesson 1 complete.  I've got to start dinner now, so I think I'm done for the day, but who knows?  When you spend your time, hoping to run into someone in need so you can somehow help out, something good is bound to happen, to you, to them and maybe even to the world.

IT REMINDS ME OF THIS QUOTE 

BY MOTHER THERSA:

I found the meaning of Pay it Forward.... 11 years later.

The sun isn't even up yet, but I have a story to tell. 

I was sitting there last night, flipping through the channels, hoping to find something good to watch.  I saw a movie was just about to start called:

Pay it forward.  

That sounded so familiar.  I've heard Oprah say that phrase a hundred times, something about doing good deeds for others.  So I looked at the movies description.  It was a movie made in 2000,  based on a book, starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt and that kid from Secondhand Lions. 

I started thinking, Oprah did a show about this movie too so it must be good.   I had never seen the movie and so I only have a vague memory of the Oprah show from that day.  But what I remembered was stories of  people that were given money by Oprah to give to strangers.  The people they gave the money to were told to pass on the good deed/pay it forward to 3 other people.  That's about all I knew.  

I was hooked into this movie right from the beginning.  It tugged at my heartstrings.  I just never felt I had much to give others.  I was so intrigued that during a commercial, I went on my computer and looked up "Oprah, pay it forward", and sure enough, she HAD done a show about this movie, in October, 2006.

Ah haaa!!!  

That's why I probably only 1/2 ass watched it.  2006 was the worst year of my life.   I probably saw people even less fortunate than me, people more deserving than me, get what I had hoped for, an angel like Oprah coming to save the day.  I was probably a little jealous and only saw myself as why couldn't we be one of the recipients?  I never thought I could be one of the givers, those people had money from Oprah to give away.

Well, the commercial was over, so I went back to watching the movie.  The kid helped a homeless junkie.  Brought him right into his home.  But that's not what got to me.  It was what the homeless guy did that got to me.  He used his car fixing skills to help the kids mom.  Then he told her all about her sons idea, to help 3 people, pay the good deed forward.  I realized, hey, I could do something good for others, who says I need money?  If this guy can do it, surely I can.  Same with the drunk lady in the movie that played Helen Hunt's mom.  She gave a guy a ride when he needed it most.  I thought, I have a car, I could do that.  Maybe not help a criminal escape, but I could give someone a ride.

Commercial time again.  I went back on the computer and typed in Pay It Forward.  I left out the word Oprah this time because I wanted to read about the book during this commercial, find out if it was a true story.  What came up shocked me.  I saw links to the Pay It Forward FOUNDATION.  The Pay It Forward NATIONAL MOVEMENT, etc.

I found out that this book, written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, wasn't based on a true story, yet the story was so inspiring, how we can change the world, make it a better place, one person at a time, that it had become a friggin national movement!  Where had I been?  Oh yeah, WALLOWING.

Then, at the end of the movie, the kid who started it all gets stabbed and dies.  That sucked.  I cried my eyes out.  My husband and kids have never seen the movie and didn't understand why I was upstairs crying.  I told them this was another life changing movie I had just seen.  They rolled their eyes at me.  I had recently watched Eat Pray Love with Julia Roberts for the first time and announced that if my husband ever leaves me that's what I'm going to do, go explore the world for a year, go to India & Nepal.  Maybe meet with the Dali Lama.

Then this movie came on TV tonight and I had a new realization:

I don't need to go anywhere. 

I can help change the world from the suburbs of Chicago.  

I can find my fulfillment by helping others.  

The people in this movie were doing kindness for others through their own individual abilities.  I have abilities, though limited.  I can make people laugh, smile.  I might be able to talk someone off a bridge like that homeless guy in the movie, or at least give them encouragement.  I could forgive someone I never thought I could.  I can give of myself.  

After watching this movie,  instead of saying, why me, I'm saying WHY NOT ME?  Why can't I be one of the do good-ers?  That would be better than being a recipient.  Being a giver.  Just like the bible says, its better to give than to receive. 

And here's another thought I had, why do I need to stop at 3 people?  I don't.  I give a dollar here and there to homeless people all the time.  Maybe next time, I'll stop and talk to them, ask them what they need.  Maybe it's something I can help with.  Maybe I'll bring them a plate of something homemade I've cooked, or offer them some of my clothes so they can find a job.  I can cook, I have extra clothes.  Who knows?  The possibilities are endless!  I feel inspired.

My friend Tina called and I told her about this new adventure.  She said, "Bev, what are you talking about?  I've known you for 30 years and you have always tried to give to everyone you meet, in some way.  You're one of the most generous, kindest people I know.  What do you mean NOW you're going to start giving?"  That was so sweet of her!  I haven't even started and my heart feels warm from her words, because of all of this, just the mere idea of it all.  I guess what I mean is that now I'm going to try to do this on a conscious level everyday.  I'm going to try and follow the rules of Pay It Forward:

1. IT HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT REALLY HELPS PEOPLE.
2. SOMETHING THEY CAN'T DO BY THEMSELVES.
3. I DO IT FOR THEM, THEY DO IT FOR 3 OTHER PEOPLE.

I didn't sleep well last night, I couldn't wait to get started on this next part of my life, this next adventure.  I've stopped wondering why I couldn't be one of the recipients, and I'm joining the world of givers.

I don't need to go to India to find my new purpose, I think an 11 year old movie, about an 11 year old boy, based on a fiction, just helped me to do that.

The sun is up now.  
Time to get started.

Hopefully stories of good deeds done will follow.

My tribute to our son, Michael....

So I thought I should write a little tribute to my son Michael because its been a Jennifer overload on my blog. Michael said it's all I can think of this summer.  I did write the story of Bev's Best April Fools Day, 1993 (http://bev-benyamin.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-best-april-fools-day-ever.html) when I found out I was pregnant with him, but that's about it.

So this ones for you Michael! 

Jennifer has always been the straight A, creative, gifted student and Michael is the natural born athlete and musician, just like his father.

One of the things that amazed me about Lorens when we were dating is that he was good at every sport he's ever tried.  I realized that it must be natural born talent when Michael showed signs at an early age of being just like his dad.  When Michael was like 5, he would spend hours shooting hoops in our driveway.  He was on the basketball teams in grammar school.  When he was going into 6th grade, we moved to Manhattan...Kansas that is.  He won the Little Apple Optimist Club's Annual Hoop, Holler & Shoot  free throw contest for his school.  He was only 11 years old and he made 8 out of 10 baskets from the free throw line, breaking a 23 year old school record.  The winner from each of the 10 area schools got to be in the Free Throw Championship during halftime at the televised Kansas State University vs. Texas basketball game at KSU in December, 2005.  He made 7 out of 10 baskets that night and was given an autographed T-Shirt and an award.  He was one of 10 kids that made it to the Championship out of about 800 that tried.  Its a really big deal for these kids.
*************************************************************
This was an article about the contest last year....

Kansas State Collegian > 

Elementary students to compete in free-throw contest at K-State games

By Tiffany Roney

senior staff writer

Students who like to hoot and holler from the stands of Bramlage Coliseum have the opportunity to cheer on not only the Wildcats, but also some half-pint players, when fifth- and sixth-grade athletes compete during the game tonight.  This competition is part of the Little Apple Optimist Club's "Hoop, Holler ‘N Shoot," an annual free-throw shooting contest.  Thad Hall, chairman on the "Hoop, Holler ‘N Shoot" committee for the Optimist Club, said 838 Manhattan area kids participated in the event this year.   "A huge number of kids participated, so it's a big honor for these kids to make it to the Bramlage shoot," Hall said.

Prizes for the winners include a $100 grant to the classroom of the first-place boy and first-place girl, scholarships to basketball camps, plaques, autographed T-shirts, K-State merchandise, fast food coupons and more.  Hall said the participants show a healthy level of sports-style pride in representing their grade schools. He pointed out many K-State students are probably graduates of the schools represented.

"There will possibly be future K-State students shooting at this event, so it's always good to support our local kids," Hall said. "It's a good event for our community, and I think it's a fun event for the kids as well."  Tipoff time for all games is 7 p.m., and all "Hoop, Holler ‘N Shoot" contests are during the halftimes of their respective university games.  The event is sponsored by K-State Athletics; The Manhattan-Ogden Public Schools U.S.D. 383; local radio stations 97.5 Power Hits, Q 103.5 and 1420 "Talk of JC" KJCK; Kansas State Bank and McDonald's.

**************************************************************

We moved back to the Chicago area after the school year when my husband lost his job.  Mike was on his middle school basketball team both years.  When Mike started high school, he wanted to try organized football.  He never played football before high school.  This video below is of his first game quarterbacking in 2009 as a H.S. Sophomore.  He completed a 50+ yard pass within the first 10 seconds of this video.  At 50 seconds into this video, Mike makes another long completion (my favorite one).  At about 58 seconds into this video, I'm the nut in the white shirt, galloping sideways down the sidelines, arms waving for the receiver to keep running.  Then I try to compose myself so I'm clapping.  

Michael was Jr. Varsity, #17, in 2009, Quarterback
Willowbrook Warriors
"Silver & Blue, Through & Through"

He threw for over 300 yards this game but his favorite part was the quarterback sneak for 2 points at about 1:50 into this video.  His coach told Mike after this game that Mike was his fantasy football player of the week.

He was on the football and tennis team for 3 years.  But this year, his senior year, while he loves football, he's decided not to be on the football team.  His grades were really bad last year and we encouraged him to make some tough choices.  If he wants to go to college and have 1/2 a chance in life, he's going to have to concentrate on his school work this year and get his test scores up.  

He had to make a decision about giving up some extra curricular activities.  He surprised us when he said he'd give up football.  He said tennis is his favorite sport and what he wants to do in life (well besides girls and his garage band).  He never played tennis once before high school either.  I never would have thought of him as a tennis player.  But he's so quick and so tall, (already 6'3" and still growing).  He's got a long reach with his long arms and so not much gets past him.  Turns out, he's perfect for tennis.  He wears a size 18 shoe (so far, he's still growing) so its been tough finding him good tennis shoes unless they're online.

His tennis coach has been working with him and clocked Michael's powerful serve at 80 mph.  He said Michael could make it to the State Championship this year if he keeps at it.  He said Mike could possibly get a Tennis Scholarship like he did if Michael concentrates and devotes himself to tennis this entire year.  There will be a lot of colleges watching. 

One of Michael's favorite players is the tennis great Andre Agassi.  Agassi's father was in the Olympics for Boxing twice and is an Assyrian from Iran just like Michael's dad.  So Michael is 1/2 Assyrian just like Andre.  Michael also refuses to cut his hair.

Below is a picture of Michael last year as a Junior at the Willowbrook Varsity Tennis Invitational.  There were 56 players from 8 high schools competing in the tournament.  MICHAEL WON 2ND PLACE.

There are preseason football games starting and I already miss being a football mom.  I can still go cheer on the team and help sell refreshments but it won't be the same.  Then again, my heart was in my throat watching Michael get hit, so maybe I'll enjoy the games even more.  And in the end, its exactly what needed to happen.  He has more time to work on his grades and tennis.  If you ask him, he's got more time to work on girls, his song writing, guitar and drum playing with his friends.  They got some studio time last week and he said it was heaven.  He is thinking he'll be a professional athlete or a famous rock musician.  I don't want to be the one to crush his dreams but I did let him know the odds are against him.  I told him, you need a back up plan Michael, like a college degree. 

Lorens reminds me that Michael IS a gifted musician, showing signs ever since we got a piano when he was 2 years old.  If he heard you play something, he could play it.  Lorens was upset I lost the guitar tuner the other day.  Mike said, "dad, don't worry about it, I'M YOUR TUNER".   And he tuned it perfectly by ear.  He plays guitar at school and will be playing in the guitar ensemble on stage this year.  He spends hours each day on Tux Guitar online writing music that he then plays for us.

BOTH of my kids are awesome in their own, unique ways.  

Even though I'm not a football mom this year,
I AM A LUCKY MOM 
TO HAVE MICHAEL AS MY SON.

Michael,  Homecoming, 2010

2010, Michael was Varsity, #16, Tight End

f

Bev's week from hell/my nest is full again.

So, how was your week?

This was our week over here at Bad Luck Central:

My daughter started and ended college this week and was in an Earthquake, and a Hurricane.  I was a Full-time Day Care Provider for a teething 2 year old during a Chicago heat wave with my thermostat stuck on heat and set to 90.  I was a  mentor to my son on his bad, first day back at school.  I was the driver of my injured husband to the new Hospital, which, of course, was on fire & I failed my CDL tests.  

So I haven't written in a few weeks because its been a stressful time, lots of tears, not much to laugh at.  My daughter made it into the college of choice but I didn't know how we would get her to D.C.  I figured, maybe if she's away from us she'll be spared the family curse that seems to be upon us.  I WAS WRONG.

Wednesday was so stressful, that as I was dropping off my husband at the Emergency room at 8pm, I shouted into the sky, "IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG TODAY?"  Big mistake.  By 10:00 pm, the fire in the hospital had been contained and I started to laugh as I thought about this week, it had been a total Bev/Lucy bad luck week.  Maybe I should start from the beginning....

MONDAY, 8/22/2011:
Monday, my husband and our daughter flew to D.C. so she could start college at one of the most expensive private colleges in the U.S.  Even though we're poor, she's extremely talented and gifted and was awarded almost $45K in scholarships to attend so we thought she could go.  The airline tickets were made possible thanks to our niece Aimee.  She used her airline miles from her new job in Texas to get two tickets.   When Lorens got back from D.C. Monday night, we started looking for smaller apartments so we could send Jen spending money each month.

TUESDAY, 8/23/2011, THE EARTHQUAKE:
The next day, Tuesday, less than 24 hours after she arrived in D.C., I was watching T.V. and they interrupted  for a special announcement.  The largest EARTHQUAKE to hit D.C. in over a hundred years had just struck.

I was shaking as I dialed her cell number.  I got a constant busy signal.  I was hysterical until I finally got through to her an hour later.  She said she was in her dorm room when the earthquake hit.  She's OK, just a little shaken, they evacuated the college and they were all standing outside.  I was way more freaked out than her.

Being the major smart ass that she is, and trying to make light of it so I wouldn't worry, she said, "Don't worry mom, the hurricane will put out any fires from the earthquake."  

I said, "HURRICANE?!!!"

That's the first time I had heard about the 2nd disaster 
that was about to hit D.C. this week, Hurricane Irene. 

That was my Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY, 8/24/2011:
I had to babysit our terrible two Grandniece Grandniece and their dog, and agreed to babysit them as long as necessary.  The 2 year old is getting her molars in and it was very hard to make her happy.  I'm usually funny, silly, Auntie Bev to her, but nothing was working this morning.  I was stressed out, tired and feeling way older than 45, running after her all day.  Lorens promised me he'd be home by 5pm to take over for me until she fell asleep.  She was like a terrible 2 on steroids over tired.

Then the phone rang.  It was my daughter, crying, "Mom, I'm not going to college here anymore, please get me home NOW!"  She talked to financial aid, bottom line, it will be 4 times greater out of pocket than what her award letter indicated for her to attend this University.  Turns out it's about the 8th most expensive University there is, and we're poor.  And Jennifer doesn't want thousands of dollars in student loans when she finishes college, not that we could ever get them.

I was still on the phone with Jen.  My mouth was hanging open but I didn't know what to say.  My head was spinning with the thoughts I had only a few days ago, that my child had made it out, she was getting away from this life.  Now those hopes and dreams were fading away, all in a phone call, it was over, she was coming back to this life, back to nothing.  

Just then, Michael walked in the door and slammed his books down and went up to his room.  He said he had a bad 1st day back at school.

So, hoping Jen wouldn't hear the tears in my voice, trying to hold it together for 1 more minute, I told Jen I needed to call her back.  I was having major family drama at home today on all fronts and needed 10 minutes to gather my thoughts and call her back.  She asked if she could come home before Irene.  Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten about Irene.  

You know Irene, she's the 
CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE
 that is expected to hit D.C. on Saturday.

My daughter goes to D.C. for less than week 
and she is going to experience 
an Earthquake and a Hurricane?  
Oh yes, she's definitely Bev's/Lucy's daughter.

I finished giving my Grandniece her bath, turned off the chicken/oven, dressed her and laid down with her in my daughters room.

I was quietly crying, looking around at all Jen's awards.  Years of working towards making something of herself, to get out, to get away.  Now I knew she's not going to go to this University, which accepted her, her #1 choice for years, something she's worked towards her entire life.  Pondering my next move, I wiped away my tears, still feeling guilty because I didn't have the time or money for either of my kids at that moment.  

But the baby wouldn't fall asleep, it was too hot.  I had to get up and deal with it.  Why was it so friggin hot?  Then I remembered I caught the little ninja my Grandniece, an hour ago, standing on the stairs, next to the thermostat (to reach the top of the fish tank) pouring the entire open bottle of fish flakes in. There was fish food EVERYWHERE, and it smelled like dead fish in my house.  Lorens hates fish and I haven't cooked it in the house in 20 years, unless I'm mad at him.  He's not going to be happy when he gets home.  OH WELL.  I could see she had actually pushed the lever DOWN to "HEAT" and the little lever had snapped off.  It was set to 90.  No wonder it felt like heat was coming out of the vents, IT WAS!  I used a pen to snap the broken lever back up to A/C and turned the temperature down to 72.

HEAT MYSTERY SOLVED.

With the A/C now on, my Grandniece FINALLY fell asleep and I went upstairs, checked on Mike, tried to give him words of comfort and wisdom and then I called Jen back.

Jen was over the initial shock and tears, so was I.  She said, "Mom, I can get a degree in Anthropology at a school in the Chicago area, I'll be able to volunteer in the inner city and just live at home.  There are great colleges in Chicago.  A college education is a college education.  I'll be fine."  

The baby woke up 20 minutes later when the doorbell rang and the 3 dogs started barking like a pack of wolves.  Just enough of a nap to make her more cranky, great.  I was ready to kill whoever just rang the doorbell.  It was Lorens.  I opened the door, wondering why he didn't use his key.  He said he got hurt helping his friend.  I thought, yeah right, likely story.  It was probably just an excuse to get out of babysitting.

I thought,  I'm going to do a hand off with her like a professional football player and run for my room.  So I gave him 2 Tylenol P.M.s.  Then I said "here you go!", and I put her down like I had dreamed of for the last few hours, hand off complete.   He said "Bev, I can't move my hand or shoulder!"  I said "OK, GOODNIGHT," and ran upstairs.  Bad wife, I know, but I really, really needed a few minutes alone.  So after a 5 minute break upstairs I was calm and already feeling guilty.  So I came downstairs thinking, we'll just tag team with the baby the rest of the night.  Lorens was gagging from the smell of fish, giving me a dirty look, assuming I had cooked some.  He said "drive me to the hospital right now or call an ambulance."  I looked at him, his hand and shoulder were swollen to twice their normal size.  So, OK, I guess he wasn't faking.  I felt dizzy myself, my high blood pressure was probably through the roof by now.  Maybe the hospital was a good idea.

But I didn't have a car seat for the baby and our Niece was already at work.  I finally got a hold of her fiance' to come pick up his daughter, told him I had an emergency.  They weren't the only ones with drama today.  He was 5 minutes away and came over to get her, 14 hours after we picked her up.  That was the best part of my day.

I rushed Lorens to the emergency room and went to park the car.  I parked and just sat there for a minute, cried a little more and shouted into the sky, "IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT CAN POSSIBLY GO WRONG TODAY?"  Then I went inside.  When I asked why there was such limited seating, they said it was because they had so many exam rooms in this new E.R., more seating was unnecessary.  They were wrong.

During hour 2 in the supposedly "new and improved" waiting room, with nowhere to sit, I thought, once again, can this day possibly get any worse?  JUST THEN, the lights all started flashing, and an alarm was going off and on.  Then an automated voice came over the intercom "CODE RED, CODE RED, CODE RED".  And I thought, Lucy, what have you done now!!!  You should have kept quiet and stayed in the damn car.  

So I went up to the receptionist and said, "Is there a fire?"  She said "Yes there is", as if she was saying have a nice day, and went back to her work, she was going to leave it at that.  I said, "Soooooo,  should we evacuate the hospital?" as all the lights were still flashing.  She said, "No, they're working on containing it, just don't open any doors."  GREAT.   The automated lady on the intercom  made an all clear announcement about 15 minutes later.  By that time I felt a migraine coming on from the flashing lights.  Lorens said he'd had enough of this "new and improved" E.R.  He said the Tylenol P.M's were starting to work and he just wanted to go home and go to bed.  He woke up every 2 hours in pain which means so did I.

THURSDAY, 8/25/2011:

I spent Thursday figuring out how I was going to get Jen and all her stuff home in the next 48 hours before Hurricane Irene.  I swallowed what was left of my pride and borrowed money for a train ticket and to ship her belongings home.  Hurricane Irene is scheduled to hit D.C. on Saturday afternoon, right after Jen's train is scheduled to leave with 100mph winds pushing it towards Chicago.  Great.

Then our other niece (the mother of the 2 year old) called and said I may need to babysit her daughter full-time, 5pm-1am, second shift.  I held back the urge to scream and laugh like a crazy woman and said as calmly as possible, "Sorry, no freakin way.  The starting time for my new job is 6am."  Now she's mad at me.  She can join the club.  I really hope I get the job tomorrow, knowing my new, other option, is watching a 2 year old full time.

FRIDAY, 8/26/2011:

Well, its currently Thursday night, 10 minutes to midnight in Chicago, so by the time I post this it will be Friday.   I was offered a job as a school bus driver if I can pass the CDL test.  I have my truck driving test at 7am.  I had planned on studying all this week, and then all of this happened.  I'm afraid of all the things that could go wrong with me driving a 40 foot, 2 ton vehicle.  I don't want to have to add anything else to this week from hell post.  I need to go to sleep.  Goodnight.

UPDATE:  IT'S FRIDAY AFTERNOON:  I thought I had studied enough for my 3 tests.  On the way there, I was pretty confident I would pass....UNTIL I GOT THERE AND FAILED.  You get 3 chances.  On my second attempt, they were all new questions, luckily the ones that I had studied, and I passed with flying colors.  I got my CDL permit and I start work on Monday at 6am, training behind the wheel.

Nothing catastrophic happened to any of us.  Maybe this week of bad luck is over.  I got home and checked my e-mail, I have some new followers on Twitter, a screenwriter and publisher from L.A, Lawry's Steakhouse in Chicago (Yummy) AND BEST OF ALL, an anchor woman from CNN!!!  Maybe someone will say, hey, I know someone that can help this chick get published.  Where's some wood, I need to knock on it, quick, because I still have my nieces damn dog and Michael came home sick from school today.

And my daughter made it home, safe and sound.  The earthquake and hurricane only caused minor damage.  She may not be at American, Princeton, Stanford or Yale like a few others in her graduating class, but the students that were, along with her entire senior class, voted HER "Most likely to rule the world".   She was also voted Best Actress, starred in the Improv Troupe and Speech Team, winning 1st place and the most points ever earned in speech team.  She is in the National Honor Society, has won countless ribbons and trophies, broken records, and is a gifted writer and a natural comedian.  She was accepted into several top universities, but now,  it's to late to start anywhere else this semester.  She will start community college in Chicago in January.  She's saving up to go to Kenya for 2 weeks next summer to volunteer in an orphanage through Daniel Radcliff's (actor who plays Harry Potter) volunteer program (http://www.volunteerhq.org/about.html).  Then she plans on transferring to University of Illinois at Chicago.  Their Anthropology program is highly regarded.  She wants to volunteer in the inner city.  She'll be fine.

It's D.C.'s loss and Chicago's gain.
They're just lucky I live 800 miles away.

Signed, Mama Lioness

1/2 empty nest, day 1.

So this is the day I had hoped for?  

Then why the panic in my stomach and the tears in my eyes?

Why wouldn't the butterflies fly out of my stomach?  

Because my 18 year old daughter is alone,
at Freshman Orientation in Washington, D.C., 

hundreds of miles away, that's why.  

You hope that your child will graduate high school, 

she did.  

You hope that your child will be accepted into a top university, 

she was.  

But with that comes your teenage child moving out of your house, in my case, hundreds of miles away, to Washington, D.C. to attend this university.  She's there right now, only for a few days, for freshman orientation and I feel like I'm holding my breath, waiting for her to come home.

Lorens said, "Come on Bev, let's have a day like we use to have before we had kids", (to try and stop me from worrying, biting my nails and being a nervous wreck like I had been all day).  So we bought a steak burrito cut in 1/2, a 6 pack of beer, and we went to the rocks at the lakefront.  It's at the part of Montrose Harbor where you look across the water at the skyline of downtown Chicago, its beautiful and one of my favorite places in the world.

We sat on the rocks in the sunshine, there was even a cool breeze.  We watched fisherman with their lines in the water,on the pier, relaxing, merely hoping for a bite.

We were at the harbor exit to open water, watching boaters taking their boats out of the harbor for a dinner or sunset cruise.

We therefore, got to judge every boat getting ready to go out onto the lake.  We quietly ranked their boats as we fantasized about which one we would sail away on, one day.  We waved to the boaters from the rocks where we were sitting, and then we all held up our drinks in a mutual cheers to each other.  

Us with our cans of beer, 

them with their glasses of wine or champagne.  

Lorens saw my face and so he continued to try and remind me of good times we had here in the past, coming here to make out circle.  We use to talk about our plans for life, what an adventure it would be, and how we would raise our future children.  We both said we would want our children to go to college.  We wished our children's lives would be an ADVENTURE, not a struggle for survival like ours had been.

So we told our children, don't be like us.

If you apply yourself you can be anything you want in life.  

You can get out, get away, get better, be better. 

If you believe in yourself and work hard.  

And she did it.  I'm so proud of her.  So, I try to tell myself, parents do this all the time.  Their children go off to college and they're OK with it.  They fly away, out of the nest, just like I hoped for when she was a bratty teen a few years ago.  But now it seems to soon.  She's only 18. This is crazy!

So Lorens reminded me that she needs to move on to the next part of life, and so do we.  Its a day to say cheers to each other, celebrate, we did our job, we actually did it and so did she, she got into a great University.

I'm grateful that I have a good husband that reminded me that today is a GOOD day, that our lives are good, that our daughter is at COLLEGE, WHERE SHE BELONGS.   She got a chance to get out and she took it.  Good for her.

ONE DAY, ONE OF THOSE BOATS COULD BE HERS.

SHE'LL HOLD UP HER GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE 

AND TOAST THE ONLOOKERS RATING HER BOAT.

SHE WON'T HAVE TO ADMIRE THE BOATS 

FROM THE ROCKS, WITH A CAN OF BEER.

UPDATE:  She made it back home safe and sound.  They thought her Chicago accent was funny (What ACCent are they tALKing About?)  She can't wait for August when she goes back for good.  I am breathing easy again.... until then.