High and Low Life

Today was a day of highs and lows. Let's start with the Halloween candy issue. There was the splendiferous discovery that when you procrastinate and buy the bags of sugar on the day before, they are half off!!! For those of you who suffer with fraction-itis, that means that for the same price, I could buy twice the amount!!! So that is the high point. The low is that I can eat twice as much.

Then, I WARNED my son to not open the bags. He said it would be fine because the candy is in little bags. He had the audacity to then whip those things open, pour the little bags of treats into a big bowl, and stash them in a cupboard where I could reach it. Another low. What was that kid thinking? For goodness sakes here, people, I have been going to Pilates for over a week now. Was all that exercise in vain when I can just waltz into the kitchen at any time, day or night, and devour twice the amount of chocolate before Halloween is even here? WAY low point.

Then came dinner. I decided home made mac and cheese was the best thing for tonight. I make a mean, bad a** mac. But tonight, on some kind of crazy fling, I went for a new recipe. This may have worked out, but my first born ensured me that he needed to have a doubled recipe. He is a mac addict. The doubling did not work. Soon after the roux was not thickening the sauce properly, my other son made the mistake of asking when dinner was going to be ready.

I screamed at that poor kid like a banshee from hell. Perhaps I should feel guilt and shame after my poor behavior, but I was in the middle of a thin roux. You can understand the frustration and agony I was under. Would this be classified as a low parenting moment, or a high on voicing clear and honest communication and feelings? You be the judge.

The day was saved with my clever recipe manipulations. The mac turned out just as good as normal. I know you are itching to know what I did to rescue my soiled sauce, but it is too personal to disclose. That's just how it's going to be.

My third high/low challenge comes from my sons. The oldest was not at home when the mac came out of the oven. He was off carousing and causing chaos with his dance buddies. He is in the Nutcracker Ballet. So you know what that means--hours of practice, great exercise, wholesome friends, and a healthy life style. This is hard for me to admit what he is putting the family through. But I know there are others out there with great teenage sons who suffer also.

The other son did this tonight: the dishes, played the piano, and completed his math homework with a pleasant attitude and high spirits. Where did I go wrong with this bunch?

(Now before you go defending yourself and wondering about your own kids, rest assured. Those sons of mine have their issues too. It's just that today was a good day for them both.)

So there you go. My day of highs and lows. Tomorrow is Halloween night, and at midnight starts NaNovWriMo: National November Write a Novel in a Month. Who knows what kind of crazy spell we will be under in just a few hours.

Heather Leigh
High and Low Author.
P.S. I apologized to my son for the Banshee scream. He understood once he found out it came from almost ruined mac and cheese. He knows the importance of a good roux.