Monday 16 May 2011

Manic May ...continued

So the manic month of May continues, but it's fun. On Saturday and Sunday I went to see the Man-Child perform in a Nirvana tribute rock show. He sang and played guitar on the opening two numbers and boy, does he have stage presence. I was the archetypal stage/rock mom after the show - basking in his glory walking through the bar behind him as everyone high fived him. Obviously he won't let me hold his hand so that everyone will know he's "my boy" but his guitar was in serious danger of taking out most of the patrons, so I was able to place a protective hand on it to stop it swinging, thus proclaiming my role in the stardom! (I know, I know - but I was a proud mom.)

On May 7th we had the fifth Annual sponsored walk for "my" school in Ghana, and the money is coming in fast. This year I was delighted to have a donor who has pledged to give 50 cents for every dollar we raise. I'm up to almost $5,000 already with only half of the kids having given me their sponsorship money so I'm hoping for a big number when it's all banked. Very exciting, and means that the school inches towards indoor plumbing, running water and those other little necessities we all take for granted.

In preparation for my trip to Ghana (with the Queenager) in July, we went for our shots on Friday afternoon. Given that I'm a hundred and nine, I have to have a lot more shots than the Q. She was done having 3 on Friday, but not me. Oh no. I had a meningitis in one arm and a joint Hep A&B in the other (bloody, bloody painful) after which I became all pathetic and light-headed, had to lie down and drink a sugary cup of juice. Typical. In two weeks I go back for the yellow fever and DTP shots, (I think). We also have to start oral polio boosters this week, and I have to call somewhere in England to try to get hold of the cholera vacinne as they don't have it here. There's a cholera outbreak in greater Accra (where we're headed) and I have the digestive tract of a 99 year old, so better safe than sorry.

This week I'm organising the world's biggest garage/jumble sale at our school. It takes two full days and an army of volunteers to set it up in 3 gymns, then it runs all day Saturday & Sunday. The proceeds go to our school's scholarship fund and we typically raise about $45,000. Fabulous.

It's no wonder I'm always exhausted by the end of May, but this year it doesn't quite end there. The little guy's birthday is a week before the Queenager's high school graduation (a big affair) here, followed quickly by my mother's birthday. Since she'll be here, it'll involve more than a card through the letterbox. Oh, and there's a senior prom in that week too!



Then I jump on a plane for some 'me' time in London (plus CyberMummy) before the Ball & Chain brings the kids over.

8 comments:

  1. Love that your son is in Nirvana cover band! It must feel great to watch him play! Enjoy the rest of may, sounds seriously crazy.

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  2. I got tired just reading about that. Yes, you are juggling many things in the air all at once. How do you manage? One or two of those alone would be enough for me. I do hope you have a good time with all of them, though. It sounds like you will.

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  3. Wow what a busy monmth. Mini at 4 is aking to learn the guitar, one day I may too be a back stage mum!

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  4. "Obviously he wouldn't let me hold his hand"....I love that! Five paces behind, Mum!

    Hope the rest of your shots go ok, you poor 109 year old soul xx

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  5. So cool about your son. I wish wish I could be a stage Mum, but my two eldest boys are very shy and only interested in sports. So am very much the reluctant soccer mum. Tallulah sings and song-writes all day and then freezes on stage. I just made them all do the talent show at school. They have to hate me for something!

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  6. My secret is a rather large blackboard in the kitchen where I write everyone's activities for every day, on Sunday night. Don't know why I bother really as they invariably change through the week, but it helps keep my head in place.
    The Queenager suffers through being 1st violin in the High School orchestra and I suspect will never set foot on a stage again. The boys however, seem to have the bug. Man-child is a wannabe rock/punk star and the Little Guy wavers between acting and (untrained) opera. There's no need to be pushy with these two!!

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  7. It is really good about the Ghana trip and I look forward to hearing about it with photos.

    Will catch up with part one.......

    I do like May though.
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

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  8. I love the bit about not being able to hold your rock star's hand... such a mum. Sweet.

    I dont love the bit about all the jabs. Well, okay yes you need them but ugh. Do you have to take malaria tablets as well? Research that well if you do, as one kind seems to be much better than another if I remember correctly. Im sure you're on top of it. Just had to give my bit.

    Your cholera jab reminded me of a similar experience with the BCG. Before moving to Whitechapel I asked my Dr in northern Minnesota for a BCG (TB jab) and he looked at me like I had sprouted a second head. He told me he doubted if anyone in Minnesota had any BCG vaccine as TB is so rare. Of course, Whitechapel has the largest concentration of TB in Europe. I had to wait until I moved to get it.

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