Just Call Me HOLLYWOOD

I was at Sue J's house the other day for a short time. I had met her youngest daughter, RJ2, on previous occasions and had babysat for her. But until then, had never had the pleasure of meeting her oldest, CJ.

First of all I have to say that these 2 adorable little girls were just...well...adorable! Full of life and smiles. When they were talking to me, I couldn't have wiped the grin off of my face even if I had wanted to.

Most of you have read CJ's poems and know how smart and talented she is but it was even more apparent after meeting her, (no surprise, like mother like daughter).

After only about 20 seconds, CJ got this "awestruck" look on her face. Very quietly she asked me "Do You Blog?". I told her that I did and she covered her mouth with her hands, her face exploded with smiles and she yelled out "You're MyADHDMe!!!" Then she just laughed and laughed with excitement....

....Just call me Hollywood.

Still Very Symptomatic

For 5 years teachers have constantly told me that Alberquando (note to newbies...Alberquando is the code name for my 12 year old son. (long story) ), is definitely ADHD. I knew it but really tried my best to avoid medication for a child. I thought between he and I, we could keep everything straight....as I've said before, "The blind leading the visually challenged".

He is very smart. He always scores proficient and advanced on his SOLs but struggles to pass due to lack of follow up and lack of focus...where does he get that from??

Well, the first 9 weeks of school are over and report cards have come home. At least he is consistent. SO, I bit the bullet and....bit the bullet? Why would one bite a bullet? I read that the phrase probably originated during the Civil War. Patients were given a bullet to bite on during amputations to help then not focus on the pain.....gee I bet that helped a lot. There was usually a shortage of ether and other meds so the patient "bit the bullet" and went along with the amputation etc. Speaking as someone that needs nitrous gas to get her teeth cleaned makes me realize that we have it just a wee bit easier than those men did.

Anyway, I bit the bullet..not really---I.E. I followed the course that I feel needed to be taken even though I wasn't completely sure it was the right thing to do. Then again, the alternate route hasn't been working out very well.

OK...ENOUGH OF THAT!!

Bottom Line. We are trying out the ADHD meds on Alberquando. (against his wishes) It has been about 2 weeks and I think I am starting to see some improvement. Not sure, but I think so. Doctor said it could take 2-6 weeks to work, depending on the patient.

All that said and done, there was one part of the conversation between the doctor, Alberquando and myself that just really stood out.

We all talked for about 20-30 minutes. Alberquando voiced his concerns and I voiced mine. The doctor gave us the pros and cons and I think he did a great job of explaining the meds, how they work etc.

During the conversation, I stated "I am taking the highest dosage allowed by the FDA and I am......" now before I was able to finish my sentence, the doctor looked me square in the eye-or was that rectangle in the eye, and finished my sentence for me, saying......"....... still very symptomatic?". Now, how did he know that I wasn't going to say "I am taking the highest dosage allowed by the FDA and I am very pleased by the results..or am doing so much better."? How did he assume my sentence was going to be " I am taking the highest dosage allowed by the FDA and I am Still Very Symptomatic"?

Ok, he was right and that was one of the concerns I was going to voice...but is it that obvious? THAT IS A RHETORICAL QUESTION! NO NEED TO ANSWER!...but still. Actually, I was more likely to have said something like "I am taking the highest dosage allowed by the FDA and I am still ..er..well..you know...kind of like...crazy."

ANYWAY, we'll see how things work out for Alberquando.

As for "Still Very Symptomatic"....well, I like the sound of that. it suits me to a T.
HHmm suits me to a T...not an X, not an R, but a T. Tailors used to use that phrase to describe how a suit would fit the prospective buyer. he would stand there in the suit with his arms out to the sides and the tailor would exclaim, "It suits you to a T!". Well, I'm not buying a new suit but I still think "Still very Symptomatic" suits me to a T.

I'm probably going to get a blog make over in the near future. Might even change from "Monkeys Are Funny" to "Still Very Symptomatic". After all, I really don't think monkey's are all that funny. I just love the comic strip at the top of the page...and it is a great response for when I lose focus. However, "Still Very Symptomatic"...I think that might just suit me to a T...and a W.

How to Ruin a Touching Moment in 5 Seconds or Less

I occasionally babysit for Chatty Kelly. I earn some extra money and it gives her some free time for the essentials, (manicures, pedicures, shopping etc).

Of course I only charge her to babysit for that type of thing. She knows that I would never let her pay me to watch her children for "family" stuff. You know, when you need help for something or any kind of emergency etc.

Well, yesterday was one of those "family" things. Her husband had a medical procedure done (don't worry, not serious...although he may say otherwise when the pain medication wears off). As it is with most hospitals, they were able to give her an approx "window of time" for when she could expect to go home. The staff assured her that they would be finished some time between 4:00PM and whenever.

She knew it would be a long day. The hospital told her that there would be 3 patients before them but that she and hubby still needed to be there early so the doctors wouldn't have to wait between patients.

And it was a long day for everyone. She finally got home around 9:30PM (she had been there since morning). We were both tired. She was very grateful and proceeded to tell me, "Thank you...etc..etc..etc..". I responded in my typical MyADHDMe way:

"You realize that today would have cost you $110.00 if I had been charging you..."

DEFINITELY How To Ruin A Touching Moment In 5 Seconds Or Less.

Dad (yes, I know it isn't a snappy title...give me a break...I haven't written a real post with actual words in a while!)

It's been a difficult week for many of us. Many of us could use a smile. I aim to please.

I had a picture of the flag at half mast on my blog today. A symbol of our country in mourning. It's time to move on. SO...here I go.

My dad.

My dad is a pretty neat guy.( Many of you may have heard me refer to my mother--'nough said about that), but except for the Pizza dinner, I don't think I've ever referred to my dad.

First the facts. My dad has not had an easy life. He gave up a probable career in professional football to find a "practical" job, marry his high school sweetheart, and have children. They had 4 kids, each about 4 years apart. (that's about 18 years straight of having at least one teenager in the house). He worked shift work at the same job for 32 years. After work he came home to do laundry, grocery shop and do pretty much all the stuff the stay at home mom would normally do if she wasn't "mentally unstable", (being nice).

In high school (early 1950's), he was the Quarterback for his school's football team. As Freshmen, He and his roommate played on the varsity team---something that had never happened in the school's history. He was named All City, All Central, All Group, All State, All Southern and All American. He broke records and held them for decades. He was scouted out by most colleges east of the Mississippi. But, most of all, He was definitely a family man, so in order to stay close to his parents and wife-to-be, he chose Va Tech.

While at Tech he broke more records, He was unstoppable.

He was scouted out by the Greenbay Packers and The Washington Redskins. He was a legend in his time. Even today, when people hear my maiden name, they often ask if I am related to him. And I am always proud to answer.

In 1994 he was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame.

Anyway, as I said earlier, he gave all that up for a "practical" job and to have a wife and family.



He is now in his 70's. All of his children love him completely. As a matter of fact, I've never met anyone in my life who has ever said a negative thing about him.

He did have a difficult time in school. Although undiagnosed at the time, he had/has dyslexia. (However, as I have mentioned before, he doesn't believe in ADHD...it's just laziness)

oh, and he IS country! He has always reminded me of Andy Taylor from the Andy Griffith Show. I think he resembles him a little and he also had that same hair cut...including the little black tuft of hair on top. Even when he speaks, there is a definite Andy Taylor Twang.

Quite often my friends used to ask me to tell them my "Dad Stories".

Now before I go any further (or should I say farther...or perhaps father), PLEASE, PLEASE know that this is all said with complete love. However, if we can't laugh at ourselves (and I've proved I can do that quite regularly), our family and our friends.....well, things would get pretty boring.

I've actually had people ask me to tell this story more than once:
One year at Christmastime, my dad came to me and told me about the beautiful "african" he got for our mother for Christmas. I was probably in my 20's at the time, so I knew exactly what he was talking about, but couldn't resist egging him on. "An African?", I asked. He responded to me that it was a beautiful african and would look beautiful (actually he said "real nice" ) laying across the back of the sofa. Well, since it was a Christmas "african" I asked him what he was going to do with it the rest of the year.....I bet we were the only family in the neighborhood that kept an "african" in a box in the attic every year from January through November. Lucky for us, we had a different "african" to keep out during those months.

Then there was the time he was telling me a news story about the "bum" that was found in a pregnant woman's car. When I asked him what the "bum" was doing, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said it was just sitting there in the back seat of the car and then it blew up. Luckily the lady got out of the car in time. That could have been very messy.

When ever we went out for "take-out" dinner, it ranged in 2 categories. Pizza or "A Burger And All". Oh yeah, sometimes we also had "Captain D's And All. And where else to get "A Burger And All", than MAC Donald's.

When we had vegetables, we had Ve-Ge-Ta-Bles. Pronounced like that...emphasis on the Ve.
A salad wasn't complete without I-talian (Eye-Talian) dressing.
We never went out in the rain without an Umbrother.
ET and her family went on a trip to Ha-Why-Ya (fine, thank you).
Oh, and all of his daughter's had their "years" pierced. Yep each year....but not every year.

Can't you just see Andy Taylor talkin' to "Ant" Bee and Opie?
Everyone loved Andy Taylor. ( I'm not talking about the Obama Andy Taylor. I'm talking about the Good ol' Country boy, Andy Taylor)
Everyone loves my dad too.
They just don't make them like that anymore.

GOD Bless Us

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GOD BLESS AMERICA. TODAY AND ALWAYS.

Defend Your Values.
Defend your Life.
Defend America......PRAY ABOUT IT and THEN VOTE!!

Writer's Block