Dancing Boys and Mountain Views

I should be working on revisions 10 and 9 of stories 1 and 2 (respectively) right now (they need to go in the mail by Thursday--Friday at the latest), but first I wanted to tell you that:

-M went to his first dance Friday night. Fifth grade, ack! When I dropped him off, he just zoomed off into the darkened, crowded gym without a backward glance at his old mom. When I picked him up, they were in the middle of the last dance, some sort of prescriptive number where the singer goes, "jump to the left, turn to the right, etc." (everyone I explain this to seems to know what song I'm talking about, though I've never heard it before). M was about 12 feet behind what was left of the crowd, following along to all the moves (though he'd told me in advance that he was NOT going to be dancing), covered in glow sticks and clutching a big bag of candy he won in a raffle. It turns out he was the only fifth grade boy who went, but he was totally fine with that. I can't imagine how I could have given birth to such a confident kid.

-Saturday was the last day of soccer, thank whatever gods oversee elementary school sports. The season ended ignominiously, with me shivering on the sidelines from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and M's team getting slaughtered (not a single goal in two games) while slip-sliding in (and growing steadily taller from) the mud. I didn't even get any knitting in because I didn't want to drop my yellow sweater-in-progress in the mud.

-Sunday we went hiking at the Kennebec Highlands, where I've wanted to go for a very long time but have never gotten around to it with our friends J, B and O. It was the perfect hiking weather--cool but not cold or windy, sunny but not hot. C and the boys disappeared up the trail--I only saw them at the top of the mountain for lunch and back at the car--and I hung back with J and B, bribing O with lollypops like I used to do with E and Z back when I was doing my hiking blog.

Cracking beech nuts.

Z's arty landscape photography.

M pole-vaulting.

I can't pass a mossy rock like this without laying my head on it. They are the best pillows ever.

A real view!

Of course, I "should" have been home doing housework, but that's no fun. I did manage one load of laundry each before we left and after we got back (so no one had to wear underwear inside-out this week) and made some progress on this month's Total Home Overhaul room (more on that next week).

-Monday night I did something totally out of character and went to go see The Flaming Lips in Portland with a friend of mine who won tickets. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of their music (it takes a lot of energy to pay attention to the radio, remember band names, etc. I just don't have it in me these days) but I had a great time anyway just dancing and screaming. I think I've been needing a good primal scream for a while. When I described the crowd to C as "aging hipsters," M said, "You guys are hipsters, right." Aww, what a sweet kid (though I think he was probably thinking "hippie," and since C does have a pony tail, after all, that would more hit the mark. Alas, "hip" is not a word that could describe either one of us).

-I'll be back with my regularly scheduled blog programming, at least temporarily, next week!