March 30, 2010 Full Worm Moon

As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

This month I have had the opportunity to witness how often people still think of John…his uncle had a benefit concert in his honor and people were just soo generous…it really took my breath away! In the course of the evening I spent time with lots of young moms and they told me that they liked my blog…especially when things got “tough” with their kids…so I decided I need to tell more stories about John…he was funny but he did drive me crazy…and I always thought that it was a reflection on me as a mom if he screwed up…which of course I now know couldn’t be more wrong…kids are suppose to screw up..that is their job….and our job is to help them work through the mistakes, to learn from them and move on…somehow Johnny turned out to be a sweetie in spite of how often I called me a “loser” (and I did it so many times that his friends from high school also called him that…should have been a clue to me to stop…but he just plain drove me nuts sometimes!!) And this is one of those times…

He waited until the last minute to get his college applications out…he told me that he had until the Wednesday of Christmas vacation to get them into the guidance department. I found out that he supposed to have them in BEFORE vacation and his guidance counselor was coming in on Wednesday especially to get his stuff ready…and that set me off right there….it went downhill from then on…

So, on Monday I told him I would help by typing the essential information into one application on my computer while he wrote the essay to another college on his computer…then we would swap. He agreed and while I was typing away, looking for social security numbers for every family member, etc. etc, I started hearing music…I honestly couldn’t believe my ears…no, he couldn’t be…yes,,, yes,,, he was! OH …. MY….GOD…( I can still get myself worked up just thinking of it) I ran upstairs to see if the essay was finished…trying to give him the benefit of the doubt…and nothing…I mean nothing …was on the screen…

I ran to the basement stairs and started flicking the lights on and off…that was the signal that I needed him..he couldn’t hear you if you yelled (although, as I think if it…he may have been able to hear me that day) Anyway, after a few vicious flicks of the lights he came sauntering around the corner to look up at me…very casual…not a worry in the world…and the first thing that came to my mind was “I am very glad that I bought you a hard case for your guitar because you will be playing it on street corners the rest of your life!!! Now, get up these stairs and get to work!”

I think I had a sore throat for three weeks I was yelling so loud…and he just walked by me as if I wasn’t even there…went back to work, finished the essays and brought them to the school….

Post Script…of course, he got into all the schools he applied to …who wouldn’t want the president of his class with good grades and so many awards…he knew that…he must have just had a song come into his head and he had to play it…and aren’t I glad now that he did…

The message was, and is, do not, I mean do not, sweat the small stuff…they do turn out ok…really they do …and if you are lucky enough to have one that can give you the funny memories that I have received along the way…Bonus!!