Quotes from I need a lifeguard everywhere but the pool by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella

Me first: I keep a notepad and a pen with me when I’m reading my books. That’s a throwback  from middle school when every time I found a word I didn’t know I wrote it down to look up in the dictionary later. 

Do you remember the dictionary?  It was that big old book that little kids used to sit on to be tall enough to reach the table.  The one thing I will say I love about my Kindle is the built-in dictionary. Primo! Otherwise paper books to me are back in vogue.  

With this book though instead of writing words I didn’t know, I wrote quotes that made me laugh or otherwise struck a cord with me.  L  = Lisa the mom and F= Francesca the daughter.  Warning ⚠️ I relate more to the mom so I’ve got more mom quotes. None of the following are mine – source has been cited in title above.  Here are some faves in no particular order:

L= Lisa

1. Web M.D. is my online porn.
2. At her annual book club. I’m a hugger. It takes 2 1/2 hours to hug 1200 people. 
3. Either we need more in love or we’re giving more in love but either way this is a miraculous and wonderful improvement for all mankind womankind and book kind. 
4. The reason I not only read books but write them is to connect with people. Highest and best purposes of the arts – nurturance, happiness and love in that human connection.
5. Facebook is used to lie to friends.  Twitter is used to tell the truth to strangers. Word! Twitter is a free way  for geniuses and knuckleheads alike to express themselves constantly refreshing comments section for a good or ill. 
6. I’m a B and a C that I’m not a W.  B equals bulletproof C equals confident capable and cute. 
7. Breasts aren’t girls, girls have breasts.  I know I took AP bio. 
8. Generally a bra-less middle-aged woman is not being followed. Anywhere!
9. I’m just riding around on my bike without a bra woo hoo
10. I know that sounds totally wrong, but I read it on the Internet, so you know it’s 100% correct. When it comes to medical information the Internet is always dead on. 
11. I don’t even know why we have doctors anymore oh right, we don’t. 
12. All the arts are connected, his lyrics are poetry and poetry is certainly literature. 
13. I’m an expert on outdated slang. You go girl!
14. I’m going to get me a hula hoop. 

F= Francesca 

1. Prioritizing our pursuits is part of adult life, and not everything makes the cut. Certain interests get demoted to hobby or shelved forever.
2. Networking is the worst. I like people and I’m out going, but I like connecting on a real level… I make friends. I don’t make contacts. 
3. The entire chapter on why F loves NYC. Get out the tissues.  

Verdict remains read this book!  

Part 4 ~ I Tried, Really I Did!

Uneventful freshman and sophomore years.  New clubs and organizations.  Beginner band, drama club and year book.  Typical stuff really.  She made three really good friends. Grouped together by alphabet.  They became close.  

Then B had his accident and her anxiety sky rocketed.  She was sad, she said.  She didn’t know why but she was.  Her sleep was disrupted.  

I looked for professional help through referrals from my employer’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP).  I called countless places. Same responses: Either not taking new patients or only sees adults.  

I vividly remember her asking me 

“Momma did you remember to call?  Have you found somebody to help me?”

Eventually an appointment was made. The first therapist was nice but they didn’t really connect. After two 50 minute sessions, Lulu was told she didn’t need therapy.  She’d been given exercises to increase her coping skills.  

Yet nothing changed.  Lulu was still sad.   She was constantly worried.  

We made an appointment with a different therapist.  This person, an older woman, fell asleep during the first interview.  Seriously and poor Lulu just sat there. Too polite to go to the waiting room and get me. I complained to the referral service and refused to pay.   

Next she saw an actual psychiatrist.  Yay!  A medical doctor.  Has to be better right?   Nope!  We waited two hours past the appointment time before she was seen.  Then after a 15 minute evaluation, “doctor” sent her out the door with two different “potential” diagnoses and four (yes four!) prescriptions. The scripts went in the trash and we never went back. I mean come the fuck on – 15 minutes?!??!  

Then she saw another therapist.  This professional happened to be a new mom with her own baby.  She only worked part time.  Scheduling options were limited which meant Lulu missed her 1st period at school on Tuesdays.  This piled on anxiety about making up missed work to an already nervous kid.  A recipe for disaster.  And it was within the course of seeing this person that the terrible awful happened.

The guilt is overwhelming even now.   How did I allow this? How did I fail to protect my baby?  The what ifs are absolutely maddening !!!!

#SoCS for September 16, 2017 ~ Vol (hmm?)

Gather around boys and girls.  The time has come once again for Stream of Consciousness Saturday.  What’s that you ask?  Well here you go … take a look at these rules.  Rules?  That sounds more like homework.  Trust me not at all like homework.  You see the only real rule is to have fun by letting your mind flow.  The lovely Linda has given us a good one today.  The prompt is vol but vol is not a word.  Now this is gonna be tough.

Think, think, think, hmm … vol

Volunteer!  I did that Monday making Hurricane Irma care packages but I already wrote about that.   And, show some humilty J-Dub … I mean really ?!??

Think, think, think, hmm … vol

Volunteer! Brain why are you stuck on that?

Cuz this is hard and vol is not a word. LOL! 🙂

Given time I am sure I could come up with a stream centered around voluptuous, volume, evolve, revolve … Revolve … Revolution …

You say you want a revolution weelll ell you know.  We all want to change the world. Shu-be-du-op.  Shu-be-du-op.

I ❤ the Beatles.  I ❤ George!

We must teach the children about the Beatles!  We cannot let their music be erased from history.  Seriously? Seriously! Now let’s finish this, shall we?

Think, think, think, hmm … vol

I could tell you about the Lee Volunteers.  The NEISD school board has decided to rename Robert E Lee high school here in San Antonio.  For the second time in two years, this has been raised most recently coming on the heels of Charlottesville.  Now that is a hot button issue.  And too heavy for me this morning.  I definitely have a position but I will not have a one way discussion here.  That’s more like a sermon.  If you wanna chat though; let’s go to Jim’s for a two-way dialog and a cup of coffee.

Wishing you a peaceful, productive Saturday.

As always, more to come.