Kyle and I just took our thirteen-year-old to Registration Day at his middle school.  Registration Day is, as it sounds, a school-sponsored event in which parents have the opportunity to completely and utterly embarrass and annoy their 7^th and 8^th grade students by existing in the same plane of the universe.  It’s also a chance to buy a new gym uniform.  Here is an inexhaustive list of the difficult situations Thirteen had to endure in the fifteen minutes we attended Registration Day:

• He had to attend Registration Day.
• He had to attend Registration Day with his parents.
• He had to attend Registration Day with his parents without knowing he 1) had to attend with his parents and 2) had to attend school at all at any future date.
• His parents asked him questions like, “Do you need a new gym uniform?” and “Do you want to play football?”
• He had to stand in line behind one of his friends and have his mother talk to his friend’s mother.
• He had to get his class schedule.
• His mother asked him to hold his own class schedule in his own hands.
• His class schedule didn’t have any classes with the friend who was in line with us (so far as each boys’ mother could tell, as the moms were still holding the schedules).
• He had to take his school photo.
• He had to take his school photo without knowing he would have to take his school photo, even though nothing about his physical appearance would have changed if he had known.
• His mother made him open his locker.
• His mother made him locate his home room.
• His mother asked him if he wanted to locate any of his other rooms (no).
• His father asked him if a nearby teen was the same girl from his Kindergarten class (yes) and if he ever talks to her (no answer).

As noted, Thirteen was not alone in his torture; the halls were filled with sullen teenagers whose parents deigned love them enough to educate them and keep them in properly-fitted uniforms.

Seven years ago nearly to the day, Thirteen and I walked into his elementary school for Gearing Up for Kindergarden!, a school-sponsored program for moms and dads to get all of their crying out before their babies went off to school for the first(ish, as my own little fella was covered in stickers from preschool) time.  It was also a chance to buy some scented pencils.  Here is an inexhaustive list of the awesome stuff Thirteen got to do at Gearing Up for Kindergarden!:

• He was asked to write his name on a piece of paper, and so his mother got down on her knees and said things like, “Okay, buddy, remember – we make an ‘A’ by going uuuppp the mountain, and then dooowwwnnn the mountain, and then acrrrosssss the mountain.” The teacher said he did a very good job.
• He got to wear his new school shoes, which were blue and flashed red lights when he stepped down.
• He got to sit at a big table next to his mom and dad and cut out shapes to make craft projects and then take those craft projects home.
• After Gearing Up for Kindergarten was over, he ate a cup of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles from Dairy Queen.

I do like having a teenager.  He can get things down off high shelves and move heavy furniture, and I’ve learned a lot of useful slang, such as “Bunnnzzz” and “Sigma” and “Bro bro bro BRO.”  Also, this is by far the most interesting and thoughtful he’s even been in his life – teenagerhood is when children start to step off the well-groomed path their parents have built for them and forge their own byways and map points.  Plus, we now have a lot more deodorant around the house than ever before.

Having a teenager, however, is also like moving to a new town and having the most popular girl in school – who is also kind of a mean girl but you met her one summer at the lake and she shared all of her My Little Ponies with you – come over to “check things out.”  My friend, Sarah, described it like this:

“This morning my son sat beside me and started to tell me about something or other and I was like, ‘OH MY GOSH HE’S TALKING TO ME [smooths hair smooths clothes] BE COOL, SARAH, DON’T MESS THIS UP.’”

Once a day, I get a spark of that kid with his flashing shoes and sticker-laden t-shirt.  Sometimes it’s when we’re watching a movie and he forgets that he’s too cool to snuggle.  Last night one of his friends knocked on the door and said, “Can Thirteen play?”  Before he realized what he said and corrected it to, “Can Thirteen hang out?”  Those sparks are important for my own kindness and sanity when I ask him for his afternoon plans and he replies with, “Stuff.”

School starts in two weeks, which means Thirteen will soon be subjected to such torture as “School Clothes Shopping” and “Being Asked Again If He Needs a Gym Uniform.”  For my part, I get both the pleasure and the pain of dragging around a giant grump so as to spend a few precious final summer break moments with my beloved babe.

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The photo above popped up as my Facebook memory on the same day as Registration. It’s of my mom holding Thirteen right after he was born.

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This week on North Dakota Today we talked about Marilyn Dehne, my Nice “Person” of the Week, as well as a community group making big changes in Grand Forks. Enjoy! (Valley News Live)

Remember when I talked about Sheila Capistran of Climax on ND Today?  Now her husband, John, averted CATastrophe.  And the librarian mentioned is Sheila’s sub, Judy Moen. In the words of Sheila, “Happy Day!” (I NewZ)

Did you attend Heritage Days after reading it on ND Nice? (or just wherever)  If so, you were the first to know that Deb Solem won the hotdish contest with her “farmer’s hotdish” of Polish sausage, sauerkraut, and noodles. (Grand Forks Herald)

I was in the studio when Tatem came out in her Cinderella costume and she look perfect for Addie’s Royal Dessert Table. (Valley News Live)

Cavalier is covering itself in flamingos to raise money to fix up the pool. (Grand Forks Herald)

If you watched the US women’s team at the Olympics, you probably saw Bismarck’s Terry Steiner. (KFYR TV)

For the 12th year, the Iron Pigs have taken to the streets to raise money for various charities. (Grand Forks Herald)

Eat food, raise money for budding filmmakers. (Minot Daily News)

Fargo’s Hope & Coffee is a lot (or a latte) more than a coffee shop. (Fargo Forum)

Park River’s Maci McMilland and her sister Misty Praska just cannot get enough Dairy Queen. (Fargo Forum)

Kyle and his friends, Corey and Kelly, have a podcast called North Dakota After Dark where they talk about youth hockey in North Dakota.  The latest episode is up and is an interview with Annie Spicer.  Check it out. Bonus: you can watch it on YouTube. (North Dakota After Dark)

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