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Peaces Of Me++++
++++ The miles just keep rollin as the people leave there way to say hello I've heard this life is overrated but I hope that it gets better as we go |
March 31/02 Grandma had Easter Dinner, almost 40 of us! Grammie came too and had so much fun that she stayed long after us! I was glad that she had a chance to experience a day with the entire Edwards's family without being intimidated by the many faces. Lots of guitar playing sing along, random rooms of fun! Nadia had Dianne and Natasha over for a movie and they ignored Crystal. Nadia says she could have gone downstairs, but the three of them should have invited her, made her feel welcome. It is really upsetting to see Nadia be so mean to anyone - to Crystal and her Grammie. Crystal is also playing the part because she could have gone downstairs instead of acting so hard done by. It takes two and boy are they both contributing to this problem. I invited Crystal to Jessie's game. Later Stacy, Amy and Crystal went to Liquid where Brent is working. Annie at 3/31/2002 04:55:00 p.m. I helped Fran with Katelyn's birthday party by taking a car load of boys to Oshawa Civic swimming pool. They had about 17 wet kids at the party. avery happy April is sleeping over too. James worked on the bar, the wine rack is coming away from the ceiling. The basement has been the easiest room in the house to keep clean. The kids know that if they want to use it for their entertaining, then it has be to be clean before and after. I wish the rest of the house was that easy to keep clean! Crystal played Easter Bunny at work. Michelle was thrilled to be hugged by a giant headed bunny! She did it so well, wiggling her bunny bum and dancing. I think she has found her calling! Brent went to Derrick's and fixed his computer and impressed the hell out of Derrick. Nadia said Derrick didn't know all the things his computer could do! Stacy went to the movies with her friends. After supper, Caesar jumped up on the table and ate the rest of the pork chop, butter potatoes and carrots. Looks like we are going to have to clean up right after supper because I don't think that our table can handle the strain of a dog that big! Annie at 3/30/2002 02:47:00 p.m. Last night I fell asleep before the kids came home. April woke me up to say she was home but I don't remember the others. I feel like a bad mommy when I sleep before they are all in Good Friday James and I went to the Donut Press in the morning and Dave and Marita pulled out in front of us and went to the same place. They cut the tables in half so that they could make a bigger sitting area. Strange way to decorate! There is nothing that makes me more upset than my girls forgetting to get their supply of birth control pills. It is their number one responsibility. Stacy forgot to get her pills again so she phoned Mark and he went to his office and got her a couple of months free supply. Stacy left to spend the day with Jessie. Holly spent the day at out house. Monica went to the movies with Holly and Sheena. Mark talked to James about Crohns Disease- he seems the most knowledgeable. Toni came a while later and we had wine. Yes, I drank wine! Annie at 3/29/2002 04:37:00 p.m. Telling lies about a teacher Brandy lied bout Monica's teacher, a perennial favourite teacher of all my children. Brandy says that the teacher told her not to hang around with Ashley because her marks have gone down. The parents complained to the school and he was called on it. The girls said that they were offended that he won't admit to it. They are rallying the rest of the girls in the class to go to the Principal and back Brandy up. At lunch I asked if Monica heard it what Brandy said. She said she was there but didn't hear him say that at all. I asked her how many times her teacher has lied to her and if Brandy has ever lied to or about Monica. I already knew the answer to that question. She has caused Monica a lot of grief there. After lunch Monica asked the kids if they actually heard the teacher say those exact words. Everyone said no, so all those kids were going to stand up for Brandy when no one heard what she accused him of. She told people that her mom said that she didn't want Brandy in the same room with "him" because Brandy' mom is afraid that he might rape her. Then the word rape started to go around and that is when Monica stepped up and defended the teacher. Brandy didn't say that he had done anything to her but the story had already begun to mutate. Monica told the girls that they just wanted some excitement and the girls turned their noses up on her. Monica was not popular with the girls after she stood up for the teacher. I am proud that she doesn't take the popular route and she protected someone that needed to be protected, even if it was an adult. Monica really is a leader. I talked to the teacher after school, he is so mortified that I am sure this will be his last year here. He is aware of what Monica did for him but he has lost his faith at the honesty of some of the girls. Went out to dinner with Dave and Marita and bumped into other neighbours as well so we all sat together. This seems to be a rare occasion that Jessie and Stacy saw each other. Annie at 3/28/2002 02:50:00 p.m. The teacher said that she couldn't have the detention after school today, so April lost her $10 baby-sitting today for nothing. College for Nadia and Derrick. They had their seminar today. Our Nutritionalist was the speaker and lil Mikes dad was the guest speaker because he run triathlons. He had never met Nadia before and was surprised that I was there. Teacher interviews for Brent, the teacher is in awe of Brent and Adam. She said that it was good that they are on their side. She said that they have learned so well because they aren't afraid to take chances even if the chances go beyond what is suppose to be the limits. In that regard they have no conscience, so that they learn more. She is willing to let them spread their wings and since the school has received their help, they won't be held back from convention at that school. Brent still has to go by the rules with his other school but here he is free to learn what ever he thinks he needs to learn. It is interesting that these courses and the co-op he are the only courses he goes to regularly. She also said that it was important that Brent get into University and he should do so by going to College and entering University in the second or third year. Basketball tournament for Monica. Monica's very first basketball coach was there and she looked so proud at Monica and said that she knew right from the start Monica was going to be that good. She even told her team that her little grade four girl had the potential of being like Monica so she should watch Monica play and that girl was so happy to be compared to Monica. The whole district is talking about my baby! When we got home from Monica told me that she forgot her boots. I think that I was actually going to say forget it until she said, "I mean I forgot your boots!" Nadia is borrowing $100. from me so that she could lend it to Brent. She is trying to get close to Brent and this is really important to her. I think she needs to have something in common with Brent that has nothing to do with Crystal. Stacy had driving lessons from 3:45-5:45 then she worked at the gym from 6:30-9:30- busy girl. Crystal went home tonight. Annie at 3/27/2002 02:23:00 p.m. We talked to Brent about Crystal and this morning so he told her that she should spend more nights at her own home. Brent is not saying that he wants her to move in at all, on the contrary we see him out more with his friends while she is at our home with us. Crystal was upset this morning. I hate to see her upset. She is important to us but she didn't say anything really - just cried as she left our house. Brent doesn't understand what is going on. I had a strange feeling about how she was handling this so I went to her work and she wasn't there. I went to her house and banged on the door even though her car was gone. I hope she is all right. When she did come to our house in the evening we had a huge hug at the door - she went to see her sister out of town. She has to get her head together, just because she wants something badly doesn't mean it will come true. Hopefully Crystal will understand that we want their relationship to be a healthy one and even though it is so easy to let her live here, it would not be good for them as a couple. We were talking about it on my bed and Brent came in and lay in between us. Crystal had just given him a blue light and he was playing with it. I said "Isn't this like a dream come true, you in bed with your girlfriend and your mother" Boy did he jump out of bed quick. I hope I didn't give him nightmares! Snow storm, so Crystal asked if she could stay. I have no problem when it is a matter of circumstance. Stacy and Brent are both sick away from school today. Stacy is still not all right. Her stomach still hurts and she doesn't know what to eat. She tried some chicken soup. April has to arrange to get someone else to watch her baby-sitting kids so she can have a detention that the teacher feels she has earned even though April doesn't know why. Annie at 3/26/2002 04:09:00 p.m. I spent some quality time with Nadia today. We had a long talk in the morning and went out to lunch around 3. Nadia believes that Crystal is pulling the wool over my eyes but I tried to assure her I could see Crystal and what she is doing very clearly. Crystal is in a survival mode and believes that she needs to be with my family and me. She doesn't realize that the move would hurt her and her relationships with each member of our family. I won't lose my family over this and I intend on helping Crystal as much as she will let me. I know she will probably rebel against me when she doesn't get her way but we will see. I just don't want all this to hurt my relationship with Nadia and Brent. My kids are very smart so hopefully they will see what is happening and interpret it the right way. Monica had a wrestling match today and she took the girl down in about 10 seconds, then was frustrated that she didn't have enough wrestling time. Monica and Holly really are crowd favourites. My daughter the female wrestler! As long as she doesn't add mud to it I can handle it! James went to a meeting with his partners and it appears that Bill was yanking Don's chain because he was so upset that Don took 3 weeks of holidays without telling them. So he showed brut force by faxing some of the suppliers and said Dan was taking over for him. I guess that he feels he can't deal with him unless he puts him in a corner. No they have to put their holiday plans in writing - something they should have done years ago. Stacy was throwing up sick, so she couldn't do baseball. Monica was so anxious about not getting time for homework tonight. Even though she always has a busy schedule, this is one of the rare times I wrote a note to try and excuse her from homework. Monica went from wrestling, to pitching clinic and then to baseball. She is beat. I didn't really excuse her from doing it, I asked if Monica could have some time to do it in class or at recess. James called me downstairs by phone. He wanted a date for a drink at 11 at night, which turned out to be more, and we had such a fun time, we laughed till our cheeks froze on our faces. We must have sounded like a herd of elephants as we body checked each other all the way up the stairs. Annie at 3/25/2002 04:58:00 p.m. Oh what a night we had last night. I ended up going to bed at 4am and up at 7am. When we came home from the dance Brent's friends were in the family room instead of the basement. Dan was really slurring his words. James asked him how old he had to be in order to drink. When Dan gave him the right answer James said "Then you are not old enough to slur your words." Brent has told us that he was having a couple people over after they went out to dinner to celebrate Dan's 18th birthday but I didn't expect many kids nor a party. Brent was very annoying as he tried to direct me upstairs in my room, but I had already noticed that Carlie was in Stacy's bed. I foreshadowed the event before I left for the dance when I said, "Remember Brent no one in our bedrooms." As I passed the bedroom, she was puking in a bag. So gross. I was not impressed. The party ended, we went to bed, but Brent and then Nadia both came up to my room to tell me how worried they were about Dan at different times in the night. He was not breathing properly and at times not at all. I told Brent that he had to stay up all night to make sure he was safe but they were so worried sick about him. We checked up on the Internet about the symptoms of alcohol poisoning and he had 3 out of the 4 and then I joined in on the worry. He had passed cold, was completely white, looked like hell and his breathing was very inconsistent. Brent, Nadia and finally I came down and tried to get him up. He would stop breathing and you would wait and wait until for him to try to breath on his own and then we would shake him and beat on him until he gasped for air. Brent started phoning his parents around 2 but their answering machine kept picking up. We all frantically tried to wake him up but there was no response. I told Brett to call everyone that partied here to come back except puke face Carlie, Dan's girlfriend. He protested but I wanted them all to see how bad it could be and I wanted his parents to see that no other kid was in this condition. They all looked sober. Brent phoned Brandon around 3am, the rest weren't answering their cell phones. We asked Brendan to help us get Dan to the hospital.The kids were afraid to take him to the hospital, that they would get in trouble, but I told them it was me who would be in trouble because it is my house, even though we weren't there when he was drinking, we would be held responsible. I had a friend die on his 18th birthday from drinking so you have to take it serious. I want them to learn how to drink responsibly, I don't want them to die trying. I hope Dan has learned a lesson. We finally got hold of his parents. A wet washcloth wouldn't even make him blink but the combination of an iced face cloth and Dan's mom's screaming voice finally pierced his thoughts and brought him back to the living. He woke yelling, "Oh my god, my mom!" Poor Dan. I don't know first hand but I have heard that Dan's mom is a gossip so I made sure she noticed the condition of the others and she conceded. I kept asking Dan how much he drank and he finally blurted out 9 shots of tequila! I told them that he should have learned the saying one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor! His mom didn't find that funny- I did. I needed some humour inserted somewhere in this evening. And Stacy was so disgusted about Carlie puking in her bed. She threw up in a bag, but still...... Volleyball playoffs this morning and the top teams lost there first games in both divisions so we did not play for first or second. People there talked about Monica's basketball tournament, the intensity in which she played and her cut. In the afternoon, Olivia's family came with us to track. Monica's relay team got first. Annie at 3/24/2002 02:41:00 p.m. Last night Stacy ICQ'd a nasty message to the weasel Darren (remember him?). He has been saying 'shit' to Jessie, things about Mario and Jessie. Apparently he was cut from Mario's team and he is nasty about it. She let me copy it into my diary. She wrote What an ass hole you turned out to be. Jessie doesn't suck at playing hockey, you do. Why do you think you only play one shift a game for school? You know what, try to be nice to people for a change, maybe somebody would actually like you, you might even make a friend. And seeing that you don't have any friends you must have a lot of time on your hands. Try growing some balls in your spare time. You bad mouth people on the Internet and won't say a word to them in person, you are such a pussy. Wow, Stacy used the P word! She told someone off! You go girl! I am going to burn a CD for my diaries because I am getting a message on my computer that scares me. I am worried I might lose everything. Monica had her School Basketball Tournament and they came in third. Monica got the MVP hat. In the second game Monica received an ugly cut above the knee and they had to take her off because she dripping bleeding down her leg. She protested and even tried to hide her cut but that is the rule, they can't see blood. Dejected beyond belief her head was bowed between her knees as she leaned against the wall, because she didn't want anyone to see her out of character. The coach reiterated that she needed a bandage so Sam yanked her used blood crusted bandage from her wrist and tried to place it on Monica's wound. I yelled "no" I didn't want to take the chance that Monica would accept it so that she could get back on the court. It was all innocent and cute, and gross. James and I are going to a Rep Baseball Dance tonight, personal invite from the head of the league 'to the greatest coaches on earth!!!!' Annie at 3/23/2002 04:57:00 p.m. Eye appointments for Stacy and April. He still doesn't want April wearing contacts for a long time. Her eyesight has disintegrated substantially. All because she was too stubborn to listen to the doctors instructions. She might not ever be able to use contacts again. Monica had a Basketball Tournament. They gave her almost constant court time and when they took her off for a few minutes the other team cheered. She was awesome - just all over the place. The last game he pulled her when we were winning but I can understand why. He wanted to be in level B - we wouldn't stand a chance in level A. One strong player can't win in level A but she could have won this game for her team. I have never been upset when a gifted athelete always has play time, it just happens and many times the other players rise to the occasion. I do feel the hostility that a few of the parents have but a school team has to be competitive. If it is intermural, then you play even time. That is the way that I always thought it should be, even if it meant that my own kid was the one sitting on the bench. Youu need the main talent out there. April went to Dragon Fly. Nadia was at Lacrosse again to hand out surveys. During the game she was invited to sit way up high in the press boxes! This whole College experience has been such a thrill for Nadia. James asked his mother if she would reconsider having Crystal live with her only to see if there were any other new options. Not that I thought Gramma would change her mind, but that I could have a clear conscience that I tried to help Crystal, just not in the way she wanted me to. Gramma said no because of Crystal and Brent's relationship. It just wouldn't be right. All the experience of the older generation must stand for something and I do respect it. Crystal is so unhappy with her living condition. She said that they put her down for coming home and having a shower. She called her "Princess Crystal" Crystal brings that on herself though, I have seen it. It bothered me when she dyed her hair blonde a while ago. She has been blonde long enough to know what the results would be, she didn't have to lock herself in the washroom and cry so that Brent would have to placate her, it was such a manipulative move. I wanted to give her a standing ovation for the dramatics there. Then to colour it a temporary hot pink, saying that it will come out when we all know it won't. Hello any body home? I was with her a couple of years ago when she put a red rinse on it, it never went away, she had to spend a fortune to get it back to blonde. She just basks the attention that Brent gives her. Annie at 3/22/2002 03:33:00 p.m.
Comic Relief I took one look at April and knew she had used Stacy's new lipstick, the kind that stays on all day, only she had only put it on part of her lips, someone surprised her so she stop in the middle of applying it and she tried to get it off. She walked around us all showing attitude willing us not to notice her lips. Her mouth was stained and she looked like a china doll with only the middle of her mouth covered. I put my lipstick on top since mine is a lighter colour. It is nice to see her paying attention to her looks, she has always been carefree about that. It has been Crystal's prompting and constant interest in April that has made her pay any attention to her looks. April wishes she had her real hair colour back though. She misses the blonde streaks. I spent the day with Crystal again, we have been talking about her and our family. Crystal said that for the first time in her life, she has found a family that wasn't interested in her for the money (that Children's Aid pays people to look after her). Other places she has been with they only care for the money and they keep getting more kids for the extra money. She said that having her would help with our finances, I guess she is thinking about the $400. a month we now have to pay for medical because of James illness. Crystal is trying to cover all the angles but Brent has not shown any interest in her staying here. It is not right. I expressed our concern about how hard it would be on Brent and her relationship and she said that she saw their relationship as long term. I said that it would be best if she moved out with a girlfriend, if she is unhappy with her living arrangements. I asked about this new girl that Crystal and just developed a friendship with. I mentioned Brie-she said Brie has been talking about moving out but never does and Kady but I think she thinks Kady is unreliable too. She is really trying to put pressure on me to have her live here but it would be such a big mistake, especially since Nadia and her do not get along, that in itself, why would I ever agree to that? Besides Brent has not been involved in the conversation at all so I think it is just wishful thinking on Crystal's part. Teacher Interview Teacher interviews and again Brent is uneasy about me going. I was surprised that no teacher mentioned Brent's suspension especially the biserk teacher. He didn't want me to be there and he could barely talk about my son even though Brent has a 90% in his course. Something more has happened and I am out of the loop. I can't understand what it could be; teachers normally would tell you if there is something wrong. Maybe Brent has bruised the teachers ego, I am sure that Brent knows so much more about the course than he teacher. The history teacher told me that she had heard a lot of great things about Stacy but she couldn't see it. She repeated herself 3 times. I can't figure her out considering Stacy has 80%. I just finished my teacher interviews and was about to go home with Marita when a man tried to get my attention. He wanted me to know how much he appreciated my daughter helping his son in school. I don't understand how he knew who I was. Stacy is in about 3 classes with Ryan and they do get along very well and his dad says his son’s marks have improved greatly because of my daughter! The math teacher asked me if Stacy and Jessie were going out. I said yes, is there a problem and he said that it was just that they were always together in class and that Stacy was helping him. He said something to the effect that Stacy was going out with a dumb jock and he wouldn't encourage it. So I asked him again if that was a problem and that Stacy was doing ok, so he just kind of shrugged his shoulders. I know Jessie is not the brightest but he is good to her and the other guys who were bothering her so much are leaving her alone, so to me the relationship is doing what I think it should be. It is manageable in that it is not an intense relationship, they are always with friends or family and he is not pressuring her for sex and she is not offering. This is where she needs to be at this stage in her life. Love, the kind with extreme passion will come one day and not with Jessie but this is good for her right now. I think that sometimes a teacher thinks that when you get good marks the parents wants better marks but I just want her to be happy and if she thinks she is doing her best that is ok with me. Stacy was off with her friends all afternoon. Jessie phoned a few times looking for her. She was watching Melissa make out with Paul. Luckily Woody was there and diverted their attention by playing cards with her and Amy. I wonder if Amy is interested in Woody? HMMMM. Jessie still hates Woody and doesn't want his girlfriend around him. Crystal went to get the pink taken out of her hair and it cost so much that she won't reveal what the damage is but she was gone 4 or 5 hours. I didn't think she would be that long and I started to worry about her. She really is involved in my life. Nadia went to an NHL game with Derick. Furnace pilot blew out today and we couldn't fix it, and it was one of the colder days in this mild winter so we had to call in someone at around 10 o'clock. It cost us $150.!!! I had to double wrap myself it was so cold in bed. Annie at 3/22/2002 04:46:00 a.m. Crystal spent the day with me. We have become so close. I have spent more time with her than anybody lately and it feels good that she wants to spend her days off with me. Before, when she didn't have a job we were always together and to tell you the truth I haven't been doing the housework when I am with her so I am guilty of trying to escape housework as well as enjoying her company. She asked what we were intending on doing with the furnace room and I told her that if and when we ever get around to finishing it (which we always say we are) then probably we would asked Nadia if she wanted it since she is the oldest and the one most likely to leave our home first. Nadia has wanted more privacy lately. Nadia wasn't feeling well and instead of staying at school, went to Derrick's. She came home in a better frame of mind but I think I have to talk to her about the way she is treating everyone in the family. I got April's haircut from Mario, she wants her old colour back but I don't think that is going to happen. Chelsea, Crystal, and April all went out to get their nails done. They are all playing cards right now. It is nice to see family activities like this. April has spent so much of her time with Crystal too. It is good for Brent because this way he can get to see his friends more because Crystal doesn't expect him to be with her like she did in the beginning of their relationship. Annie at 3/20/2002 03:57:00 p.m. Brent and Adam are helping Central with the security on the computers. They are so proud of themselves. I am too, I have always been worried that they could possible get themselves into trouble with computers by knowing more than the teachers but this school is treating them with great respect and they are very happy students. Went to Jessie's hockey game, they won. Amy came with and by the end of the game her toes were almost fluorescent blue. That is one cool Canadian Chick wearing her barefoot sandals! Annie at 3/19/2002 03:52:00 p.m. Monica woke up, came in my room and instantly complained of a headache. I asked Crystal to sit with her downstairs and after I gave her medicine she threw up a couple of times. James and I both went to Baseball practices, Stacy will have 5 tourneys this summer. April got her nails done before the March break. Her teacher noticed them today and pulled April aside and asked why she could afford to get a manicure when she couldn't afford an extra pair of running shoes. April explained to her that it was her own money that she spent. It was no business of hers. I did get new shoes for April. I can't help that she grew out of her other ones. She had no right to bring that up again. I talked to the principal about her shoes in the fall when she insisted that April bring a note in to say that we couldn't afford the second pair of shoes. She had already been aware that April and I were sharing a pair of running shoes because I interrupted her volleyball practice to trade shoes with April. I went to the Principal about it and I guess that it has bothered her ever since. The point is that it is April's money from baby-sitting and parents have told me she was spending all her money on her friends (buying their friendships). Crystal took her to get her nails done to show her that if you save your money you can have nice things. I had no idea that they were getting there nails done but Crystal's lesson worked because now April is handing over her money to us so that she can save for bigger items. I am so upset about this. Annie at 3/18/2002 04:12:00 p.m. Brent wasn't at home when we got up. We found out later that he partied here for a while with the guys then they went out for a walk and went to Adam's around 3:30am just as Adam pulled up with his parents from their trip! They must have been shocked! Went to Jason's Hockey game. He is on the top team. Bumped into lst year select coach, he wasn't chosen as the select coach this year, the coach who told me himself that he plans to do a lot of yelling got the team, I am glad that Stacy won't be on that team. Nadia will just yell back at him! We bought the rest of the Zamboni's and a display case. They don't quite fit so James is going to try to make one like it only bigger. It was fun to collect them all. We went from Flea Markets to sports shops and finally have it complete. The goal was to pay less that $3.00 each......well we paid $8. for the Dallas Stars. Dinner at Gramma's, James brother was there and he brought the Labatt's Stanley Cup picture from his friend , we bought sight unseen for $400.00. It is better than the one we thought we were getting, so we are quite pleased with ourselves. Annie at 3/17/2002 02:36:00 p.m. This was a lazy day for most of us. Nadia was with Derrick most of the day, bought some Hockey D'Art. April went out and about with Laura. Oh joy! Laura has a new boyfriend so she has April tagging along with her. I have to watch this closely because I think that Laura is on the selfish side and doesn't really care about April. I hope I am wrong. Well April came home frazzled and disappointed in her friend. They walked all over town and when April said it was time to go, Laura said by and let her go on her own. April didn't have where she was or what direction to start to find home. So she wandered alone in the dark. Poor thing. I hope April realizes that she can’t trust Laura to keep her word or keep her safe. Brent wanted to go out with the boys and Crystal wanted an early night so she stayed around with our family. Brent will have trouble again adjusting to the night shift since he slept most of the day. He had been doing so well lately with his sleeping and getting up even by himself. Annie at 3/16/2002 04:34:00 p.m. Took Stacy to Jessie's after she worked at the Rec Baby-sitting and at the Gym. She said he held her for five long minutes so she knows how sorry he is. We woke Monica up for her swimming lesson at 12! She really is turning into a teenager. Monica had her swimming test and they passed her at level 10 when they should have passed her at level 11. I argued that that she was good enough to pass level 12. When they phoned back, they apologized and said that Monica is a very strong swimmer and they will retest her for level 12! James and I went a new restaurant specializing in fish and it was excellent. Imagine James eating fish! Now that he must change his eating habits I might find myself at this restaurant more! We had a great time. Nadia and Derrick went to the Toronto Rock Lacrosse tonight. She was surveying people when they weren't watching the game. April and Monica went to the preteen dance and when we went to pick them up I saw Monica dancing slow with a guy that I knew wasn't her boyfriend because Cory is blonde. Olivia walked in and we mentioned how cute it looked at this age when the girl is taller than the boy. We both found out later that the boy was her son Jason! His girlfriend of 5 months started going out with someone else without telling Jason and he was mortified. Monica is a sweetheart for trying to console him. They have been friends since they were in diapers so I am glad there is still loyalty there. God love her! Brent worked at the nightclub again. I wish he would tell me if he plans to come home after work or not so I won't worry about him at 4am in the morning. Adam lost his job there, I think (details are sketchy) so I presume he will come home after work. Annie at 3/15/2002 04:45:00 p.m. Stacy didn't come home till after 12.30 last night and I didn't know where she was for one of the first times ever. I was worried when she didn't phone but she said she tried to phone twice. Monica didn't get to sleep until 7am; she hid from me to study. We bought 2 Nike bats today from the College but one looks like it is for hardball. They were talking about making new rules so that the new lighter bats that are made from special metals are banned because they are injuring pitchers when they come back so fast and hard. Holly was with us all day but I forgot to pick them up at the Dome, even after she phoned. In a panic I left to pick them up and when I realized I was late I couldn't remember where they were! April had her birthday party for Chelsea even though Chelsea didn't grace them with an appearance. I have to laugh because Marina had an argument with her dad yesterday when she wanted to stay here longer and he told she wouldn't be allowed to come here today. She told him that she could always get him to change his mind and I guess she does have him wrapped around her little finger because she was here. Erin stayed overnight. Stacy was stood up again by Jessie, but this time she went out with Melissa and Paul after waiting an hour and a half. Woody was there and Jessie doesn't like Woody, he thinks he is after Stacy. I am very happy that she didn't sit around waiting for Jessie. It seems to me that he is so worried about other people paying her attention that he is purposely making sure she is stranded at home while he is out with the boys (and the girls that are there too of course). His behaviour lately after what happened on Valentines, is like he has to prove to people that he is a man by showing people he can stand her up because 'he' is in control of this relationship. Brent worked at the nightclub but we had to drive him there twice because they weren't open at first. He came home early, had to walk home because April didn't take a proper message. James went out with his brother Steven, which I was very happy to see. I hope he is all right. Annie at 3/14/2002 04:14:00 p.m. We almost forgot swimming lessons for Monica today. We visited Dave and Marita. They found an extra room through an attic so that will be fun trying to plan what to do with it. How exciting! Monica is having a sleep over tonight and the boys will be leaving at 11:00. Adam and Sam broke up alias the make out kids. The whole class was paired off a couple of months ago but hey are gradually realizing it is not all as fun as they first thought. April has Marina over??? She came to prepare for tomorrow's party. Stacy told me that Woody has been inviting her places but not in the usual way a guy normally does. At least it can look that way because he is asking her to places like the mall with his brother and possibly Melissa. Since Melissa and Paul are going out and Woody is his brother it could be thought of as innocent friends but she doesn't want to take the chance because Jessie hates him so. Jessie only told of his hatred after people said that Woody was near Stacy so it is just pure jealously. I have noticed that he does that a lot. My daughter has a mind of her own and should be able to judge whether he is making a play, not Jessie, it is only narrowing her social life away from her own friends. Annie at 3/13/2002 04:01:00 p.m. Nadia and Derrick have been going out for 1 year now. Derrick got her a Team Canada Jersey, teddy bear and glass. She bought him an engraved watched. They went to his house for chicken fajitas (not at our house because we are chicken stealers!) We ate his chicken the other day, it was in our fridge so we assumed it was ours and cooked it up. Stacy was being saucy again today. She was trying to make Monica smile when Monica was being grumpy so she called out to her and when Monica looked Stacy hootered her. Just then Crystal walked by the door and couldn't believe that Stacy would ever do such a thing. I guess it was a drive by hooting! We went to the movies and bought Monica and April with us. Holly's parents weren't home and she didn't have her keys so she came with us. Stacy and Jessie went with us but to a different movie. Both movies stunk and April and Monica fought on the way home. So they were both grounded and they both had big plans so they weren't too pleased. Jessie can't handle April and Monica fighting, he says that he really doesn't want any kids. That would be a lonely life. James went with us to Jessie's game and Jessie came home with us. I was going to drive them home but they decided to go for a walk (at 11:45!) I waited for them to come home even though I was so tired. I was glad they did though because for some reason I am beginning to think that they are not trying too hard to be alone and that maybe their relationship is on a down hill spin. Annie at 3/12/2002 04:59:00 p.m. Brent got home at 3:30am after working at the all ages night. Of course he didn't get much in tips. He called them "Little cheap ass shits" They were all ordering water instead of pop. We took Caesar to the lakefront, he was pretty nervous of the lake and it was so cold and windy. Monica started swimming lessons today with Holly for the week of March break. Stacy went out with her girl friends for a birthday celebration and they all came back here and watch the party video I made for Stacy's party last month. They took very some very excited teenyboppers, April and Monica, with them for ice cream after 11! Nadia has been studying but went to Toronto for Toronto Rock Lacrosse. Brent and Crystal went to see Lord of the Rings. James's thoughts on coaching as told to Derrick for an assignment I have coached girl’s baseball – ages 9,10,11 and age 18 teams both league level and rep level. No, I would never put a player at risk of injury to win a game. Win at all cost is not my way of coaching. Firstly, I don't run into situations like this, but if you want my thoughts...... I would suspend the player. I do not believe in win at all cost, nor would I knowingly allow a player to risk their health just to win. I have and will continue to try to motivate players to play to my expectations. If I feel a player is not putting their best into the sport, it's my position to pressure or motivate them to do better. I would never ask a player to try to injure another player for any reason. I have stretched the truth in order to motivate the team. I don't feel there is any harm in this. If they are in a certain situation, like down by five runs in the bottom of the last inning, and I feel a story about a team I was on that won in this type of game. I'll use it to try getting them into the correct frame of mind. I am not a win at all cost type of coach and would not abuse an official. Furthermore, I feel when a coach starts yelling at an official, it doesn't motivate, it intimidates players. This is not the way I want to be thought of when the day is done, and players don't play to their best potential under too much stress. Win at all cost is not teaching your team the complete story. You have to lose in order to grow and get experience. You can't go through life without knowing how to be a good winner and loser, its called sportsmanship. Annie at 3/11/2002 01:47:00 p.m. We caught Caesar right up on all fours on our kitchen table twice today. Went to Gramma's for supper. After Stacy and I went to Jamie's hockey game He had 2 really nice goals that both went from one end to the other. One of the hockey dads told me about his Chron's disease. He doesn't have to take medicine anymore since he had an operation but he needs a temporary bag. He told me not to let James eat anything that has skin on it. I hope that doesn't mean me too. ;D Annie at 3/10/2002 04:14:00 p.m. James and I went for a walk and ended up at Gramma's. Soup and yummy bread greeted our tummy's! Crystal is not feeling well, she has been complaining of a headache all week. She seems to need me a lot these days, not Brent but me. She follows me around the house and even lies in bed snuggled up to me. My kids do that a lot, when I have to vacate my computer chair for someone I usually wait laying on the bed and that is when I get my drive by affection. I have been sleeping a lot these past couple of days and I know it is just a way of handling what has been going on with James. I can't let myself be like this. I am even getting his symptoms. I have to snap out of this. We were offered recently a medical plan but it will cost us $400. A month - heavy duty! But at least it will be peace of mind if things get worse and we have more medical bills. I told James who is really worrying about the money that we have been so lucky with no medical all along so this is no big deal. We are covered as of April. Annie at 3/09/2002 03:26:00 p.m. Brent left after 12 last night after he got a phone call and he isn't home this morning. Email from Joanie Hi Annie! Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner......Carrie had another baby girl on Nov 6th. Josie is her name & she's a cutie. Mia is a darling but she's a real two year old. About crohns yes that is what I have but since I got pregnant with Carrie it went into remission but I still have my bad days...that drug I took was prednizone not a nice drug lots of side affects but it seemed to help. Boy I sure hope he doesn't get a severe case, make sure he gets a second opinion. Well it took me all day to write so I gotta go lub Joanie Nadia was the only one who had to go to school today, everyone is off for March break. Derrick finally got rid of the Wrestlemania tickets. Imagine asking someone to get them for you and then refusing them! I guess he won't be doing favours for people again. He almost got burned for $330. Brent and Crystal did a major grocery shop today. Then Crystal took April to get her nails done together which was so sweet and good especially since April's friends were going to come over tonight, she cleaned the kitchen and they were a no show. Chelsea and Tara are famous for standing her up. I hate when that happens. Marina wanted to stay at April's for the night but I do not trust her at all. Monica spent most of the day and stayed overnight with Holly. Annie at 3/08/2002 03:20:00 p.m. Bad dog Caesar! When he finally decides to be naughty he does $$$ damage. This time he went into Stacy's drawer and chewed up her retainer. I picked up Jessie at lunchtime and took him to his co-op because Hannah's car was in for repairs. Unfortunately he is very bored with his co-op. He was so uncomfortably quiet, never said a peep unless I asked him something and then it was a yes or no. Hannah wants him to wait on a car and save for a half decent one. That is a good idea, he will have the use of theirs in the summer because they will be using the bike, so he is pretty lucky. Besides, a teen owning a car has a whole new set of problems, that I would rather Stacy and Jessie not have to experience yet. He is going to Montreal with his dad this weekend. Mario just kind of shakes his head about it because he said his dad just wasn't around when Mario first started to go out with Hannah. Jessie stood my daughter up tonight. She sat by the phone patiently waiting because he said that he would phone her with tonight's plans. She waited and wondered and waited and worried......all night. Email to Stacy Stacy, tonight you got stood up. There were a lot of if's tonight. You don't know if plans were not made properly, or if he wanted to be with the guys or if he got too drunk or if they all went home or if it was all guys, the fact is he left you up in the air. I don't think he has done this before but because your friends have stood you up, he probably knows how you feel about this. I don't know if he did this to prove that he is one of the guys, he is a big man or what, but there is no excuse, because it has made you worry and being worried is one of the worst feelings. And after someone worries, they usually get mad or sad and who needs that? You have the right to be upset especially since you won't be seeing him for a while and you should never be second choice or made to feel like you are. Right now he just treated you like the "old lady" or the "ball and chain". Someone that he knows he should be accountable too. Maybe him and the guys made fun of the fact that he might be in trouble with you, so the guy's might have put him up to it, but that is still no excuse. Amy pointed out to me tonight that it is not her choice of fun walking around looking for something to do. I agree. You have not enjoyed it either. You know that if alcohol always has to be involved at your age then something is wrong and it will only be worse. You have almost 2 ½ years until you are drinking age so getting together for a drink should never be a weekly occurrence. I wouldn't mind his friends coming over and having a game of pool or just hanging around even every week, but they don't have to get drunk or smoke pot to have a good time, every time. Every now and then I can understand the drinking, and as you know I have a different thinking than most parents in that regard. If they want to do it every weekend, then they are not learning how to drink, they are learning how to get drunk. Even if they think they are having fun drinking too much, chances are they won't even remember some of the night. How can that possibly be fun? An Example is when Jessie was dancing with Nicole when he never remembered it and actually had to ask her if he did and that is reason to worry for 2 reasons. One, they don't know when to stop and can get involved with someone else, even when they don't really like them that much. The second reason is that they are developing a drinking problem and it is called problem for a very good reason- it can take years to stop that kind of behavior. You know that I think he is a really good person. I am worried that he thinks he has to drink to have fun when he is with a lot of people. You told me before that a lot of times in the past they come to his house or others peoples houses and sit around and don't do much of anything. It doesn't have to be that way. A lot of people at your party were happy just playing pool. Others at the beginning of the night were having a great time just singing dumb old songs. You can have lots of fun not drinking but if you think you have to, to have fun you will never have fun. Remember when I told you that grade 11 was the toughest time for drugs and alcohol? It might mean you could lose friends, you might even lose Jessie, but don't lose yourself in that kind of lifestyle. You have many choices to make all your life and life is good, even if Jessie is not in the picture, there are always other boyfriends and girlfriends and lots of good times ahead. Your future is bright and you have always made excellent choices about your future. Don't stop now. You are not his mother- don't let him put you in that situation. If it is a choice between you or the guys and drinking (or drugs) I wouldn't want to be in that position because he will learn to resent you. He might already feel this way and is rebelling against you right now and that is wrong. He has every right to hang out with the guys every now and then, you know that I want you to hang with the girls too. But he needs to tell you in advance and not let you just hang, waiting for him. You don't want to worry about him and even if he is thinking he is having a good time tonight, tomorrow he will be worried about how you feel. It didn't have to be that way. You shouldn't have to be in the position of scolding or being mad or upset with him or worry about him. He put you in that position. Don't let him get away with this. Make sure he is ok and not hurt or injured in any way. If you are mad, be mad and take your time because he is going away. If your feelings are hurt tell him. Tell him to have a good time on his trip and you will talk when he gets back. Make sure he knows that you will not be waiting around while he is having fun now or anytime. You will not be stood up. No matter what happened, Jessie or one of his friends or parents (if he was incapable for any reason) should have contacted you, even if it was to say that he was staying with them. That way you wouldn't worry. This summer will be different again from any other time you will have with Jessie. His parents plan on Jessie having the car a lot while they use the bike. They are giving him lots of responsibility and lots of free time away from them while they travel. We all need his trust to feel good about him having all that responsibility. I won't feel comfortable when I think drinking or you being stood up is involved. Remember I give you lots of leeway when I think you are being looked after and are safe. I don't want that to change. I really like Jessie, you know that. Always remember that if you are starting to have more bad times than good, or you are arguing more than you are having fun, it might be time to part and try to be friends. I am not saying I think that this is happening. I just want to remind you that if it starts not to feel good then maybe you have some serious thinking to do. Hope everything works out Stacy but never let yourself be taken advantage of- ever. Love you lots! Crystal coloured the ends of her hair bright red. It is supposed to be temporary but we know from a couple years ago that Crystal's hair will keep the colour so she will have to keep it like this unless she gets it repaired like she did a couple of years ago when she put a red rinse of it. I was surprised at first that she liked it so much considering how much she hated she hair last week when Brent helped her die it in our bathroom. She didn't like the colour of the blonde- she thought it was a darker blonde but I think that she just misses her streaks. She will probably get it repaired again but I remember her saying that it cost her a couple of hundred dollars when she got it fixed last time and I don't think she can afford it since she is repaying her student loan and me. Annie at 3/07/2002 04:09:00 p.m. Brent just came home from an awards ceremony from Central. When we went to go in the secretary tried to stop Brent, got a close look at him and said "Oh it's you Brent" and let us in. When his teacher came in she came to where we were sitting and shook my hand. The vice principal looked at him from the front and said "Oh No not you. Do we have to give you an award?" His teacher said "We might have to give him two awards to keep him on our side." When he accepted the award the girls in the crowd caused quite a stir and when someone said "who is that?" one said "I don't know but he is hot" It was entertaining but strange as he was always considered a computer geek and that usually blinded any girl from his looks. Apparently in the morning Brent spent his time in the Vice Principal's office showing him how to keep their system more secure. The V.P. was taking notes as Brent spoke. Tonight was the last night for House league Basketball and both April and Monica were in the gold medal games in their divisions. Monica played so strong, dominated the court and while I was picking up April she got about 10 points and won. April's team lost in the last minute of play and took silver. I camera wasn't charged so Monica found a mother who took a picture of the team and I asked if she would send me a copy. We realized that her two girls were on my two girls team so we sat together and watched April's game. I mentioned not knowing my way around the one way street to find my son's school earlier in the day and he questioned it because I had already told him I was from his area. A light bulb went off in his head and he blurted out Brent's name. I was shocked and then I realized that with the information I had given him he had to be Ralph from Co-op who Brent was with last semester. Small world. He says that Brent surpassed any Co-op student he has ever had and he was able to let Brent have a free hand because he seemed to know everything about networking. He expects big things from my son. When his son realized whom his dad was talking about he yelled out, "My dad says that Brent is going to be the next Bill Gates." Wouldn't that be nice, but I don't imagine Bill Gates skipped school as much as Brent does. He has to get out of school before he can show that kind of promise. April is still having trouble with some of the girls in her class, they are still trying to blame her for the bad email in January. I wish they would just let it go. What is it going to accomplish? From the little that she is saying I think it is Erin and Alana.. Annie at 3/06/2002 04:52:00 a.m. James has Crohn's disease and the Dr. said how would have to take medicine for a life time. It is expensive about $200. Month and James is so worried about the money. I try to tell him that we have been so lucky so far in that everyone has been healthy so now we have to pay. We have to change James's eating habits anyway because they don't want him to have caffeine or dairy products. Hi Joanie How are you doing Kiddo? Its been a while. Is everything all right? You said that Carrie was expecting but I never heard how it went. Life here is so busy sometimes I can't think straight - you know all these teenagers! Joanie, remember when you got sick way back 21 years ago with Crohn's disease? I think that is what you had. I know you looked good after that steroid you had to take was out of your system but could you tell me how it has been since? Do you have to take medicine for it still? I hope you don't mind me asking because James has just been diagnosed for it today and I thought of you. I am pretty sure that's what you had but I am sorry to bring it up. I hope you don't mind. You said before that you couldn't read anything that took along time so I will write about the kids in another E-mail I still like your jokes! Bye for now Lub, Your bud forever, Annie We phoned Mark in the evening and asked him some questions about Crohn's. We don't even know what questions to ask. Annie at 3/05/2002 04:58:00 p.m. After lazing around snuggling last night, Brent and Crystal fell asleep. Brent decided it would be best if he came home but Crystal was in such a sound sleep that Brent couldn't wake her up for a drive home. Instead of phoning me at 2am he decided to walk home on a frigid blistery night where there was a windshield factor of -24. When Crystal woke in the morning, realized that Brent must have walked home, she bolted over here I found her fully clothed holding Brent in bed so remorseful. I knew that he came home around 3, his chattering teeth woke me up. Last week, Adam installed Microsoft XP on his school computer. Apparently they are allowed to install programs on there own computer at school and it automatically searched for a printer to hook up to. Adam thought it connected to the computer next to him but it didn't work. It connected to a printer in the school office when he realized the function of the office printer he had it spewing out admit slips in his name, hundreds of them! They think that Brent is a genius at this school and a devil at the other school, so they asked him about how he did it because they have been having problems with kids getting access to admit slips but they didn't know how. Brent offered to show them how easy it was to get the admission slips and with their permission within minutes he was cleared into their system. The teacher watched from behind in awe reporting to the vice principal on his progress. He got to their school transcripts and then into the School Board Office where they house all marks for all schools. Then he gave his teacher lessons on how to hack. He is hoping that they will ask for his help again. April said that the girls won't associate with her at school but the boys are. Marina is now involved when it never concerned her and she is making sure that the girls shun Appril. Marina has new power over all the girls. She was pretending to be friends with April, chummed with her last weekend. I think she is trying to get popular by making it worse for April. Nadia's marketing teacher has asked her, Derrick and Meagan to work for the Lacrosse in marketing research. Stacy showed maturity and compassion beyond her years. She had written an email to Jake and showed me before she sent it. She apologized for her treatment of him last year and one line basically summed it all up as what I always believed was true. She said that there were alot of guys interested in her at the time and it just scared her so much that she tried to get away from everyone. I am so proud of her for emailing him. She told Jake that he had done everything right which was so sweet of her. I hope his maturity level has risen too and that he keeps that to himself. First impressions sometimes do account for a lot. Way back then when, I thought that she really needed a friend and that he just might be the person. Maybe I was right. Tonight we witnessed a hilarious sight. Brent and Crystal were wrestling all over each other in the family room. Monica, my little instigator yelled "wedgie war" and instantly both of them grabbed each others behind and brutalized each other with huge wedgies while yelling "ow ow ow" over their own wedgies. Neither would surrender and they both need to purchase new skivvies. Monica and I were laughing so hard we were crying. I needed that stress relief. Nadia and Derrick asked me for a photo shoot in the basement tonight. I took quite a few. Annie at 3/04/2002 04:32:00 p.m. Dave and Marita came over with a tray of bread for us! I just wish we had a freezer. But it is ok, we will have sandwiches for a week, bread pudding and chicken with dressing! Just kidding! They bought a hard bodied camper. It wasn't a surprise that they would want one, but Marita's health has kept her close to home lately so maybe this is a good sign that she believes that she is getting better. April friends slept in the basement, didn't leave until 3:30 even though April was away at volleyball all morning. Stacy told me that there was a party and a bunch of kids tried to crash it but were turned away. They came back later in the evening and beat up 2 guys and put a gun to their head. They beat one of the guys face against the brick of the house, poor kid. It is no wonder I am so leery of a party here so soon after last week. The kids keep talking about partying here again, especially kids who were not here, they seem to think they missed something special. I keep saying to my kids to make sure they know there is no party here. For a while longer, at least. Things can go wrong when you have to turn kids away. Jessie was speared at hockey tonight without Jessie retaliating. It seemed like it took an eternity for a penalty to be called even though Jessie was backing up and away from the guy that was pushing him around. Jessie is no angel on the ice, you can see that he taunts the opposition by his mannerisms but this time he was the calm one. The ref in my opinion caused the outcome by not calling penalties earlier. I am feeling really agitated, the feeling that I get when I start loosing weight. I hope I don't end up staring at the ceiling again, that usually goes hand in hand. Annie at 3/03/2002 04:55:00 p.m. We can't seem to walk by La Senza without using my credit card. We just love that underwear! Monica was out all day, I mean ALL DAY with a whole bunch of boys, but no Cory. She kept phoning me from different boys houses. We went out to a movie with Shelly and Joe, while Sheena and Monica went to the Peter Pan movie. Brent is teasing me about how much Brandon drank in front of me, apparently he got drunk while I was talking to him the other night. First of all I wasn’t watching him for drinking, I was talking to him, treating him as an adult and 2nd, I am not his liquor control board! Nadia finally got to see Derrick and Stacy went out with Jamie. Brent is working, and Crystal is on the couch with a bad cold. April had Chelsea, Jen and Laura (gurr) stayed overnight and had a little celebration for Jen’s birthday. All the nice kids are still mad at her, while the one’s I rather her not hang out with are here. Crystal is going to have to quit her Sunday job that she has had for 2 years. It is kind of sad that a way of life is changing for them because Brent quite often would stay with her there while she worked, which sounds pretty boring, but if you are with the person you love it can be the best of times. He won't be getting all those Sunday morning phone calls that Crystal bomb barded him with whenever she had a break or was bored from work. I remember one day counting 9 times she phoned. It was so cute. It was the only times that you see life stirring from his room in the mornings. Annie at 3/02/2002 04:26:00 p.m. Brent's birthday # 18 was today and we chipped in and bought a video card for him. He put it in James's computer and lent James's video card out to Dan - not a good idea. Stacy came home early from school again with a bad headache. I would have taken her to the doctors but Crystal, James and I all have headaches too. At my request Brent had only a few close friends over for his birthday instead of the party he probably deserved. There has been so much talk of the success of last week's party; the rumours were flying at high school that we were actually planning an encore. The thought of masses of kids pouring into my house uninvited made me leery so my kids had to deny the gossip. Since last weeks party was still the talk of the school, I didn't want to take a chance of trouble if it turned huge. Brent invited me downstairs for a while and asked me if I would have a drink with them. I took him up on one drink. In a way I felt flattered that they wanted me down with them, me the parent. Because it was Brent's birthday and my own drinking age was 18, the same age Brent is now, I felt at ease sharing one drink. The Doobie Brothers were there Brandon, always a polite friendly guy, monopolized my attention, quite vocal about his disappointments with his father. He was extremely talkative about his dad, the father the twins idolized as young children, apparently has quite the temper. Both the twins are frustrated with their dad, who is good to them one minute and flies off the handle the next. I offered no words of wisdom, I was not quite sure with what my actual role was down there so I just listened. Brandon is bitter but Rich just would shake his head and silently stare at me, possibly surprised that his own brother was opening up to me when I really was an untested sounding board. Their father has taken away the boys pickup truck even though Brandon has put money in it. It is a known fact that their dad smokes pot and his boys have followed suit, so I had imagined that would bond them, make close but I guess not. Any thought of me being a cool mom was ruined with my exit. After bidding my farewell I tripped clumsily up the stairs! Just one drink and I guess they thought I couldn't handle it! James teased me upstairs about my new buddies. I am sorry but I will take every opportunity to get to know my son and his friends. Nadia was supposed to go out with Derrick but his mom wouldn't let him because it was the first day he has eaten solids. OK. She was sad because Lauren stood her up too. Stacy's email to her old teacher Hi Mr. D. It's been a while eh?? I was just looking through some old emails and I saw the ones you wrote me last year and I decided to write back to you again. I'm not sure if you'd remember my sister Monica, but anyway, she's really into sports now. She's really competitive in them too! Anything I do, she has to do too. Whether it's running track or just racing me to brush our teeth! She's in grade 6 now and my mom wants to take her to a bigger school. The sports aren't doing to well ever since it split up. Monica doesn't want to leave though. She's one of the 'popular' girls now, she's got tons of friends and a boyfriend (believe it or not- for about 3 months I think). I swear we must get about 20 calls a day from different boys for her (and that's not even including the ones from her boyfriend). My sister April is in grade 8 now. She's in with a tough group of kids. Probably about as bad as my brothers grade when they were at your school. I would say more then half of them smoke, but I'm sure April doesn't, she knows better. My brother Brent turned 18 today, he's downstairs having a party right now. He's really into computers, him and Adam. They are taking a 4-credit course for computers, they're both doing really well in it too. Brent has a girlfriend named Crystal and she is the sweetest girl. We all get along with her so well; she's like another sister to us (like we already don't have enough!). My older sister Nadia is at Collage in a Sports Management Program. She really likes it, she ended up with the 3rd highest mark in one of the classes. She has a boyfriend named Derrick; he's a nice guy. They've been going out for about 11 months I think. I'm glad she's so happy with him. As for me, school is going pretty well. We got our report cards for last semester not too long ago and my average is 89%. My classes were co-op, history and biology so it wasn't too bad. It looks like a good mark, and all my friends called me a genius but they don't know how hard I worked to get that mark. We started out new semester a while back and this time I have english, chemistry, another history and math. I'm finding math to be really hard this year. I'm learning things that my brother can't even help me with because he hasn't learned them yet. We just got our first test back and i got 75% which was one of the highest marks in the class, I really studied for that one!! I have my G1 license now... SO YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!!! Just kidding!! I'm not that scary driving... I think! I'm trying to save up to buy a car for when I get my G2. I've been working at the Rec Complex as a Fitness Leader so I've been raking in the cash! I just got a raise recently so now I am making $13.14 an hour, which is better then most kids get for flipping burgers! I have a boyfriend named Jessie; we've been going out for 9 months now. He's such a nice guy but my family doesn't get to see him much because he works so much. He needs the money though because he is saving up for a car too. It's weird how high school changes everything. As you know at school I wasn't the most popular person haha. I hung out with Jocelyne and Lalitha (who I haven't talked to since we left ), while Amy hung out with Andrea and Brittney , and Coral hung out with the popular girls and the guys. Now, Amy is my best friend, and Coral is a really good friend, and we all hang out with the guys! Amy hasn't seen Andrea since grade 8, and hasn't spoken to Brittney since the end of grade nine. Coral stopped talking to the popular girls, and most of the guys that went to another high school. Coral and Daniel just broke up this year, after 3 years. Everything seems to have changed since the good old days !! Well that's enough about my life! How is your life? Where are you teaching now? Do you enjoy it there? What courses are you teaching? Please write back and tell me about how your life has been going, it's been so long! I hope this email reaches you. Thanks for listening!! BYE ~Stacy Annie at 3/01/2002 04:44:00 p.m.
I forgot to wake up Crystal for work on her second day and Brent slept in too missing his ride so I had to drive him to school. Crystal has been sleeping here and it is still raising eyebrows. I think she is pushing the limits to see how we will react. James won't be too happy if he catches them in the same bed but that hasn't happened yet. James came home from Ottawa a day early. He has not been feeling well and is losing sleep because his back was hurting him so much. He is worrying me as he is always sick these days April was in the Principal's office today defending herself from the email rumours. She had the girl called to the office so the principal wanted the girl to know how serious April is in wanted the gossip to stop. Young teens seem to create their own drama. Unfortunately some of the kids end up getting terribly hurt and right now it is April. It is hard to figure out who said what about whom, and why it was said, or what was written, but they can be such back stabbers. It is as if they have to do it to find out what is socially acceptable, to find the boundaries of friendships. They try to paint each other into a corner to see if they can find there way out. They try to make one person look bad by making someone else look good. Whoever is left talking at the end are friends. Maybe that is what is needed to push you to the right friends, but it is hard to watch. They never say anything to the persons face, it is all whispers. In this case I hope April will learn to pick new friends when she finally becomes tired of the drama. And it looks as if that is happening right now. She has become tired. Tired of being talked about. Tired of trusting people who shouldn't be trusted, tired of not knowing who her friends are. Tired of pretending like it doesn't hurt. She tried acting like it doesn't matter but she is growing tired of that too. April is tired of the whole game. She had a number of kids hovering around our front door for quite a while this evening until I scooted them to the basement where they stayed until the wee hours. I let them stay late so April can feel that she just might have some friends. Or are they gathering ammunition to use against her. Will they all be talking about her again tomorrow? Stacy is working really hard to try to enjoy teaching the aqua fit classes. She has been sitting in and watching other people teach it. They do stuff like jogging and marching, lunge and stride jumps, bell front side and back kicks curls and crunches with the noodles. It became a lot easier for her when she saw one teacher and it made more sense to her so she appreciates it more now. Annie at 3/01/2002 03:23:00 a.m.
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