nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Sloth and grrrrs

It's been a weekend primarily full of complete sloth, with occasional spritzes of accomplishment.
We managed to spend the majority of the weekend in comfy clothes or pj's, curled up watching stupid movies, playing Risk or in front of the computer/video games.
I DID manage to get the air conditioners put away, laundry completely caught up, plastic put over about a third of the windows (have GOT to keep the electric bill down!!) and the younger two boys' Raingutter Regatta boats painted and pieced together. I also kept on top of dishes, which is always a ton o'fun.
Grocery shopping was accomplished too and tonight I made homemade beef noodle soup out of a roast...turned out peachy keen, if I do say so meself.
Other than that, much time was spent sleeping or in bed, just chillin'. Sometimes...well, sometimes you just need a weekend like that, ya know?
I picked Brandon up from his father's this afternoon. I left feeling more than a little aggravated but not overly surprised. Brandon's been given an opportunity to go with a travel club here to New York City in July of 2008. It's an awesome trip, with visits to all the typical sites (Chinatown, Little Italy, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, etc) as well as Ground Zero, the Dakota (where John Lennon was shot), the Today Show and behind the scenes at NBC studios. They'll also get to see a Broadway show, all of this over a 4 day period. A lot of the kids going are good kids and ones that Bran is friendly with.
Brandon's completely pumped about going. My agreement with him is as follows: he has to keep his grades up (he's maintaining a steady high B average, GPA is 3.3) and he has to do some of the fundraising they offer which consists of selling candy bars (I think this is important because he's going to enjoy something more if he's had to work a little for it).
In return, I've paid his $150 registration fee and will cover whatever isn't raised by the deadline, as well as help with spending money. As soon as he found out about it, he called his paternal grandfather, his dad and just about every member of my family because he was just over the moon. Coming from a smallish Ohio town, this is a big thing for my 8th grader!
With Christmas coming as well as Bran's birthday in March, most of the relatives said the same thing: part of his gifts will involve money donated towards his trip. Everyone, that is, except his father.
To this point, since Bran moved back in with me, I've paid for everything for him. I haven't had a problem with that---I've just been beyond content to have him here with me. Doctor's bills, orthodontist (Holy God, they make a killing!! $4000 for braces for two years??! thank bejesus for payment plans!), school supplies, fees, clothes, you name it. I get minimal child support and no help for him otherwise.
Brandon's stepbeast is refusing to ALLOW his father to put any money at all towards his trip (in spite of his outstanding grades, which I think really show he's earning this trip) and his father is BOWING DOWN TO HER.
Yes, it pisses me off to no end that she's pulling this crap (they both work, make more money than is healthy so that's not the issue) but it pisses me off even more that he's not showing some backbone for his SON.
When it's all said and done, however, if he contributes not a dime, I can't say that I'm surprised and honestly, I'm pretty proud that I'm able to do this for him. He deserves it---he's a good kid, respectful and responsible.
When I was a freshman in high school, our choir took a similar trip and it was life altering for me. It showed me that there was so much more to the world and to life than a tiny town in Ohio. It was awesome and I'm hoping that it'll open Bran's eyes too.
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So. Slothful weekend. I feel like something out of that movie Se7en, ya know? Maybe not quite so gross about it, though!
I'll make up for it this week.
On that note, I'm off to bed.
Happy Sunday!
N.

10:05 p.m. - 2007-11-11

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