Day 182: PSAT Day

You ask what is the PSAT? The Practice SAT of course! Harrison & Spencer and all their pals took the exam today. While they are only in 10th grade the idea is that you get students prepared by taking the test early on in High School. The score then can be used as a benchmark.

If you score poorly you've got plenty of time to bone up on your studies ... or if you do fairly well then you know you are on the right course. Key is exam strategy as these tests are timed and there is a lot of material to get through.

I picked up 6 boys after the test. I had to giggle at how damn cute these 15 year old boys are. They put a smile on my face everyday. Just the mundane simply things of listening to them talk in the car about music (mostly rap) or their friends or teachers ... I just relish being in their company.

They all reported that they felt the test was not too challenging, but that they didn't have enough time to complete all the sections. This is just a matter of learning test strategies and being more conscious of how much time you have per problem.

The reason we had so many kids to schelp home is because Spencer and his three classmates had to work on an English project. They read Cather in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger and had to put together an entire project on their thoughts of the book. They have worked all afternoon, with me feeding them for fuel. Talk about committed students!

All this was going on while my darling niece Olivia was over and we worked on her college application essays. What a massive undertaking that is! She has to submit different essays prompted by different questions for each University she is applying to. Geez, all the writing!

It's been a school day at the Simon's! All I can say is I'm really happy I'm not in school anymore, I couldn't keep up with these kids!

Day 149: First Day of 10th Grade

Today was the first day of 10th grade for Harrison & Spencer at Palisades High School. Wow, already 10th grade for my two babies. Brandon began his second year of college a few weeks ago... still can't believe that either!

As is tradition in the Simon house - since the boys began pre-school - we have been taking a picture of them on their first day of school in the same spot in front of our house. Oh my gosh how they have grown over the years.

Pictured above are all three of my scrumptious boys from L-R, Spencer, Brandon, and Harrison... photo taken on Harrison & Spencer's first day of Kindergarten at Canfield Avenue Elementary and Brandon's first day of 3rd grade at Westwood Charter Elementary School! Oh the memories!

So my boys joined some 700,000 students today across Los Angeles -- some entering Kindergarten others entering Senior year -- all beginning the year with a fresh start ... a chance to have a productive, healthy, and fun new year in school.

Parents across the district were scrambling today with logistical concerns ... some buses have been halted due to budget cuts so there's the transportation issue ... there's the "what to pack for lunch" question as the lunch lines are way too long to stand in during a very brief lunch period ... there's a new bus route to take home from school, the new time schedule, the new baseball schedule... all honors and AP courses ... it's going to be a rigorous year with challenges, but no doubt incredible rewards as well.

Pictured here are my 15 year old teenagers Spencer & Harrison on the first day of 10th grade (today) ... in the same spot in our front yard on Canfield Avenue ... the only home they have ever known!

So we kicked off the day easy-peasy... boys rise early, get ready, eat a hearty breakfast and out the door they go ... pick up was a breeze and a stop once again by Office Depot for more school supplies... dinner, homework... we are back to the grind already on the first day!

Oye, it's gonna be a long year!

Day 137: Backpacks, Levi's, and Socks

All the essentials for starting 10th grade! You gotta have your jeans, and the correct length sock (who knew there were so many levels of men's athletic socks) and you gotta have a clean new backpack especially if the zipper on last year's is shredded to pieces... oh my goodness we have not even made it to Office Depot yet to stock up on school supplies! Yikes so much to prepare for before school even begins.

Well it is fitting that today is September 1st and the boys and I took a trek to the mall to buy Levi's, socks, t-shirts and new athletic shoes for their cross training & baseball practice which will kick in the first day! Yikes those boys are worked so hard.

For those of you who have children who attend Palisades High School or are familiar with the Pacific Palisades then you know all too well what Temescal's incline is like ... believe me I know as I train up that hill for my running and folks it is a bitch! Brutal, Brutal. And the boys run that thing like it's nobodies business.

Every September it is a ritual for all families with school aged children. Lists of school supplies issued by the teacher or school; new clothes and shoes; new backpacks; it is part of the "Back to School Regime."

I was thinking today as I sat in Macy's waiting for the boys to finish trying on their jeans, that I've been school shopping for 14 years. I figured from Kindergarten on ... and Brandon began Kindergarten at age 5 and now he is 19. So for 14 years I have made the pilgrimage to the stores to prepare my boys for the new school year. WOW. And they say Mom's don't do anything! Well those naysayers should spend the day with me as we have this ritual.

Buying all these supplies makes it feel real that school is around the corner for my boys. And it is ... first day is September 13th. The college boy started classes this week.

It's another year. Another season. Another grade. Another year closer to them leaving childhood. Damn can I just stop the clock!? Really, I'm not kidding!

Day 86: Rewarding Hard Work

Whew, what a day. I'm exhausted. Spent time visiting the kid sister Jennifer whose in the hospital following our trip to Bass Lake where several of us caught a virus -- food related perhaps. Had several tests done myself to see if I had/have the same food virus. Ran umpteen errands for the family, cooked the yummy shrimp & pasta dinner for 7 teenagers then made a trek with 4 of them over to the local Target for a big purchase.

Brian and I have never been the parents who say "you'll get a dollar for every good grade you bring home on your report card" or similar comments. We have always told our boys to work hard, apply themselves and do their best. If their best is always an A so be it, or if it is less than this so be it, but if they know in their hearts they worked hard then we are always happy to praise and acknowledge a job well done.

Harrison & Spencer completed their first year of High School magnificently. And I don't just mean because they aced their academics, but they really mastered this freshman year well. They hung in there with an enormously difficult baseball program and both made the Palisades Baseball Team. They collected a whole new lot of terrific friends who I am happy to welcome in my home at any time, and all along the way they maintained a stellar GPA.

As parents all you really want for your children is for them to be happy & healthy. That really is the bottom line and everything above this is like the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.

I had told the boys that if they ended their first year of High School with the best grades they could achieve then a reward would be granted. I just saw them working so hard and really maturing during this very emotional and challenging first year of High School and I wanted to acknowledge this hard work. They made good on their promise and so did I tonight. So we piled in the car both of them and two friends and headed to Target where we bought an XBOX 360 -- for those of you who don't know what that is it's a video game console. My boys didn't have one (schocking because it seems like everyone does).

They were very grateful, but I was even more grateful. Grateful & thankful that they surround themselves with good friends, thankful they are very healthy, thankful they are bright and school is a natural for them, and mostly grateful because they are my two beautiful sons.

Day 9 & 10: 30 Years Later on the Pitcher's Mound

Some moments can't be visualized until they really happen. That was the case yesterday. As many of you know Brian and I attended the same High School here in Los Angeles - University High School. Many of you also know that Brian was a baseball player and all 3 of our sons have followed him and his love for the game. I remember sitting in the bleachers 30 years ago watching my afro haired boyfriend heave the ball from the pitcher's mound... yesterday 3 decades later I sat in the same bleachers and watched Harrison & Spencer, my twin 14 year old sons stand on the same field hitting & heaving the ball. Wow! Talk about a whirlwind of memories and emotion.

Starting with where the hell did 30 years go? How am I still with the same man from High School? How did all three sons become pitchers & ballers? A lot to process for me... or anyone for that matter. I think because it's a perspective which leads to reflection. Here I am in the same town I grew up in, raising my family in the same neighborhood and my boys are visiting my almamater playing on the same field that I watched my boyfriend play on 3 decades ago. If that doesn't give you pause, not sure what will!

That's the thing about being a parent. You watch your children through your own life and when you have an opportunity to actually see them do what you did as a child, it is magnified. If I had known three decades ago that I'd be returning to my almamater to watch the boys play ball, accompanied by my high school prom date, would I have done things differently? Taken a different course in life? Wished for a different outcome?

Not for at least another 30 years!