Escaping junior high

Sorry about no post yesterday. My parents are in town and we've been playing. A lot. Thinking about my blog really hasn't been at the top of my 'to-do' list. So, imagine my surprise when I turn on my computer yesterday to look up a take-out menu (my parents are in town, remember... it's like Christmas in July) and take a quick look at my email to discover my blog had been nominated for voting in an award. I have to say it felt pretty good.

I have always had the pet theory that none of us who survived junior high ever really escape it. I don't know about you, but those are not my most favorite years to remember. In fact, I've often wondered why on earth anyone thought it was a good idea to put as many 12 and 13 year old children together as possible under one roof with the supposed idea of teaching them something. Consider that they are essentially giant toddlers (they are doing the same developmental work as toddlers emotionally and cognitively) except you cannot pick them up and put them down for a nap when they need it. (I have had several instances of having a 12 or 13 year old while at the same time having a toddler. The exact same thing.) But in junior high you also get to add a heaping dose of self-consciousness. It is the time of life when a person is absolutely, positively convinced that the world is staring at them... and not in a good way. This feeling does not make anyone nice. Put it all together and junior high kind of becomes like the island in Narnia where all of your worst dreams come true. Everyone is looking at you. Everyone is laughing at you. Everyone is more popular than you. And you'll never be the one on top.

And that's why I say we never really escape. Those feelings are hard to shake even after you grow up and realize every single person felt the same way. But that perception of there actually being a 'top' lingers. In the adult world it comes out in what car you drive or what your house looks like or what vacations you take. It's still that junior high mentality of wanting, needing to be 'on top'. Because when you finally reach 'the top', then your life is golden. You will be THE popular person and everyone will like you and you won't have anything to cry about ever again.

Yes. Well, we all know that's not true.

Right?

OK, well yesterday, I realized that I was having my very own junior high moment. I won't lie to you. It felt really good to find out my blog (which because it's about my family and our life makes it pretty darn personal) was in the first group of blogs to be nominated for the Circle of Moms 'Top 25 Moms with Big Families' award. I am familiar with some of the other blogs on the list and it's pretty elite company. (Well, elite in the 'I'm a mom with many children and I have a blog' world.)

So here are the details if you feel compelled to vote. (Of course, if I want to stay in the top 25, I have to troll for votes.) Here's the link to get to the voting:

Scroll down the list until you see mine and click on the little heart and that's how you vote. 

Yeah, right, as if it were so easy.

It turns out if you are not registered with Circle of Moms, you have to register first and go through a couple of pages in order to actually be able to allowed to vote. So you'll have to decide if you're up to the hassle. (I rarely am... I hate that kind of stuff, so completely understand if you want to pass.) Plus, it's not a one shot deal. People are allowed to vote once every 24 hour period until the voting ends July 24. I promise to be low-key about this during the month. That seems like a long time to me.

My own personal advertisement over, go back to enjoying your Independence Day.