Stumble it!
June 9, 2008
Drew Busts A Move
It’s rare for me to have uninterrupted time with any one of my sons. Drew and I drove to Greenville on Friday and spent the night, and then I dropped him off at camp the next morning.
Drew padded his seat in the car with his favorite pillow, his iPod, and his teddy bear. His bear is less cuddly than you might imagine, as Drew pierced his ear and stuck a gold loop earring in it. He then unraveled the bear’s knit cap and refashioned the strands into blue dreadlocks. That is one reggae teddy bear.
I spent part of the drive teaching Drew how to blow a bubble with bubble gum. We bought three flavors of Bubblicious and chewed them, then I went through the “flatten, tongue poke, and blow” routine with him. I highly recommend this activity as a bonding experience.
I let Drew pick the music on the way up, and we listened to the rap playlist I created with all of your valuable input. I added a couple of tunes of my own, and so we listened to Chic sing “Good Times,” and then noted that “Rapper’s Delight” shares the same background music. We did the same exercise with “Superfreak” and “U Can’t Touch This.”
While Drew got the point that a major part of rap involves sampling other songs, I don’t think I’ll be teaching Porter the same lessons just yet. I can hear the questions now: “Why can’t you take her home to mother?” “What’s she doing on the street?”
I sang every word to “Rapture” and the background vocals to “Bust A Move.” Drew showed a definite preference for “Brass Monkey” and “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” He was thoroughly entranced with the latter song, and I have no idea why he found it so appealing, thus illustrating Will Smith’s premise, I suppose.
He also asked insightful questions, such as, “Which came first, Bubblicious or Fergalicious?”
One of my college friends lives in Greenville. I’d let her know we were coming up, and she emailed back and said they had a Scottish parade at six. I wrote back, “WTF is a Scottish parade?”
Turns out it’s exactly what you’d imagine, and it marched right in front of our hotel.
I never dreamed that Greenville, South Carolina was the heart of Scottish parade country, but there you go.
This man was clearly the star of the show.
Drew was entranced by the spectacle. The bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace” was a far cry from “Baby Got Back,” but I guess that just shows Drew’s appreciation of a wide range of music.
He didn’t say so, but I know that inside Drew was thrilled that he’d worn his plaid Old Navy shorts, like a true Scotsman. He fit right in, except that he was wearing underwear beneath his plaid.
The next morning we got to camp, and my Braveheart got a bit jittery. The custom at camp is to register and go straight into the lake for the swim test. A camper must get a rank of 3A in order to be able to do the water activities such as sailing and kayaking. Even if you plan to stay on land, planted firmly on horseback or on the tennis court, you’re required to take swimming lessons if you don’t reach a 3A. This happened to Drew last year and upset him so much he almost decided against going to camp this year.
As I wrote earlier, Drew worked diligently on his swimming all spring, culminating with his triumphant swim in the triathlon a few weeks ago. Still, even with that under his belt, returning to the scene of his earlier failure, coupled with the prospect of three weeks away from home, turned my usually unemotional son into a red-eyed, quivering mass of bones.
The camp encourages you to leave before your son goes for the test, but it was such an emotional hurdle for us that I found a towel to hide behind and watched as Drew walked down the pier to demonstrate his racing dive, his crawl, his float, and his ability to tread water for twenty minutes.
Although he’s grown several inches this year, he still looked tiny to me.
They got out and stood in line to get marked with the level they’d achieved.
I thought I might die from the suspense. It would be embarrassing when a counselor found my corpse lying beneath the mildewy towel. Plus, I was wearing a pretty short miniskirt, and if I collapsed, I might look indecent. I’d be the “Superfreak” personified– the mom who couldn’t live through her son’s swim test and then died with her leopard undies showing.
Thank God this had a happy ending.
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One year ago in My Tiny Kingdom:Bad Bride
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June 9th, 2008 at 8:34 am, CourtneyRyan369 Says:
If he enjoyed the bagpipes playing “Amazing Grace” you should check out the Dropkick Murphy’s version
Not all of their stuff is kid appropriate, but a lot of it is so slurred with a thick accent it can be hard to hear what they’re saying. AG has no lyrics though.
CourtneyRyan369’s last blog post..my inner child
June 9th, 2008 at 8:55 am, Kathy Says:
Aww, bless his heart. He does look small standing by those other boys. I admire his bravery!
June 9th, 2008 at 9:13 am, Joy East of theKingdom Says:
HOORAY 3-A!
One step closer to manhood. Good job mom!
Joy East of theKingdom’s last blog post..Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye…
June 9th, 2008 at 9:28 am, Erin Says:
YAY Drew!
June 9th, 2008 at 9:57 am, Sam in SC Says:
We are festival happy in SC - my personal favorite is the Okra Strut! Congrats on this rite of passage (both for you and for Drew). Hard to image the “3A” going where the swimmies used to!
June 9th, 2008 at 10:00 am, Headless Mom Says:
Yay! He’s racking up a bunch of great accomplishments lately!!
Headless Mom’s last blog post..The Kindergarten Question- Part 4- The Parent Factor
June 9th, 2008 at 12:09 pm, Jane Says:
Not that the parade is the point of the post, and not that you actually care about the history, but. After the Jacobite Rising in 1745, a lot of Scotsmen were exiled to the southern states; Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida etc. Because of the lack of port in South Carolina the British government offered large land grants to entice people to move there and the Scottish took advantage. More than you ever wanted to know…:-)
Congratulations to Drew!
Jane’s last blog post..Dream #24
June 9th, 2008 at 1:52 pm, Liz Says:
3A!!!!
That is so cool!
Liz’s last blog post..Eep!
June 9th, 2008 at 2:16 pm, Nikki Says:
We used to live in Greenville and miss it terribly. Hope your son loves his time at Camp!
Nikki’s last blog post..River Oaks Country Club
June 9th, 2008 at 3:34 pm, Katherine Says:
I’m impressed that Drew is going away to camp for 3 weeks. Many of my 9 yo’s friends are too scared to go away to camp for 3 DAYS (Cub Scout camp half an hour from home - with boys and leaders they know).
I hope Drew has a great time and congrats on that 3A!
Katherine’s last blog post..Packing for camp
June 9th, 2008 at 3:52 pm, jenny uk Says:
well done drew, I wouldnt swim in lake water for anything, bleeugghh1 we dont swim in lakes much in the uk, nice heavily chlorintated pools!
June 9th, 2008 at 6:43 pm, Alison Says:
Good for Drew! It’s always great to conquer your fears.
Alison’s last blog post..SITS Contest: Make Your Blog Beautiful
June 9th, 2008 at 8:57 pm, Laura Says:
wHoot wHoot! Holla! (Just staying with the theme, you know. It’s how I roll. Or kick it. Or…um…)
Laura’s last blog post..The World’s Shortest Memorial Day Parade
June 10th, 2008 at 8:32 am, Tara Says:
I am sorry to gatecrash this blog, but I wanted as many people to read this story about a 26-year-old leukaemia sufferer who is writing an online diary with one aim -to save others.
It is so utterly moving and, for any mum out there, totally heartbreaking.
He only has weeks left to live - I just thought it would be nice if he received all the support he could get from us mums out there.
Tara’s last blog post..The most heartbreaking story you will read this year
June 10th, 2008 at 5:24 pm, Christine Says:
Woo Hoo - go Drew - plus such a brave mommy - a mini & leopard undies!!! you are my idol.
Christine’s last blog post..Dear Baby in the Belly,
June 10th, 2008 at 5:46 pm, Russ Says:
Hey you were passing through my old stomping grounds. I still get through there every so often, mostly on my way to a Clemson football game.
Russ’s last blog post..The Family’s Trip (part 1), By Russ
June 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm, Cassie Says:
I’m not far from Greenville if you need anything, just pop me a line.
He’ll have fun, and that’s what counts.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:06 am, Coach Sherry Says:
I am so proud of my little Duckie! I knew he could do it, but I will tell you my heart rate went up as I scrolled down to see the writting on the arm. I actually cheered. Tell Drew “I love you Man” and I don’t even want his Bud Lite!
Momma Duck
June 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pm, Susu Says:
Was that Betty White riding in that burgundy car in the Scottish “WTF” parade? Sure looks like her.
Anne, just don’t leave your leopard undies by the side of the street when you leave Greenville, like those you saw in the Kingdom that day!! We saw a condom and box in the parking lot of Zaxby’s recently and all of the boys with us wanted to know what it was. I proceeded to let them know exactly!!
June 12th, 2008 at 10:17 pm, Shannon Says:
Anne-
If possible and you aren’t breaking all kinds of copyrights laws by doing so, you should post your Soulja Boy’s Mom column…I couldn’t find it on the Lipstick site.
Shannon’s last blog post..I Am Now Planning My New Wardrobe: Jimmy Choo in the Carpool Line, Anyone?