Just Ruminating: 04/06/08

My son Grant is now 16 and half! He's had one speeding ticket already and a ticket for driving after nine when he hadn't quite yet gotten around to getting his after-nines! He sometimes procrastinates! Wonder where he gets that tendency?

He's a really talented artist himself! Drawing well comes easily for him. He has painted skateboards with graffiti for years. When he went to camp at Woodward in PA, he earned some big bucks painting other kids skateboards.

Grant's requested homeschooling starting next year for his junior year. This boy of ours is a free spirit and has "issues" (as Olivia says so often!) with the over-structure and perhaps to be honest, with authority in general. We've agreed to allow it. Just seems to be the right thing to do. He's been "looking" for employment since Christmas--funny how NO one is hiring!!

We're very proud of Grant. I'm proud he told us how unhappy he is in public school. I'm proud too, that he's a non-conformist. He has his own mind. I've had posted by my desk for many (probably 20) years this from Robert Anthony: "The opposite of bravery isn't cowardice but conformity". Seems my children have taken this to heart! Bless them.

Above is self-portrait

Grant's nick is "Grizzle". He tells me his skate friends starting calling him this because of

his tendency to kinda growl at himself while skating.

I LOVE this one above. The detail is amazing.

Olivia Shumate's Senior Show Front Page

Olivia's Show.....Journal Entry

Asheville, Olivia, Her Show

From my journal, April 5, 2008:

It was fabulous! The whole trip was a dream! Loved every minute of it! Being with her, watching how she’s blossoming, helping her, having Jug there, all the people that came because they think so much of her, my pride in her, ---------it was all just ecstatically thrilling!! Can’t say enough!

Man, oh, man! From the beginning: We spent all Thursday afternoon hanging her pieces. There were three of Ali, three of Phillip, four of Amanda and six of Olivia. I hope to never lose the image of the gallery in my mind. We hung the first one of Ali first. How thrilled Olivia was to see her work hanging up on the bare wall! She just about jumped up and down with her happiness! She hadn’t ever seen her pieces hanging all alone on a white bare wall like that with the spot lights on them casting fabulous shadows everywhere. Each piece then one by one was hung with great care, measuring distances from the floor to the next piece making sure they were level. Then she pushed and pulled the huge ladder to each piece and adjusted the spotlights making the shawdows just right. It was all painstakingly accomplished! Each piece was evaluated as to how did the piece make your eyes flow? Did each piece flow to the next? If in one the subject was looking to the right, say, then she made sure that that did not make you look then to a door or window!! If the subject was looking to the right, then that piece had to be on the right! Whew! It was a chore but a very fun and satisfying chore. So VERY GLAD and APPRECIATIVE that Jug was with us!!!!!!! Can’t imagine his missing this and oh, God, if he had, he would have just been so depressed about it—seriously—he would have. He made hanging the pieces so easy! I just basically sat and critiqued them as to spacing and levelness—didn’t have to do much! Olivia mostly directed us and worked on the lighting. She was so excited and also so tired!

In spite of the condition of her apartment, and once I’d vacuumed and we’d straightened just a bit, we just enjoyed being together and talking and sharing and planning. I just tried to put the “surroundings” out of my mind. And just see her! And God, is she a beauty to behold! How she is growing up and becoming a woman of SUBSTANCE!!!!! She had a psychology workbook on her coffee table that she’s had to enter thoughts about things and of course, I read it while I waited on her and Jug to wake. She’s just amazing!! What she thinks about and very well grounded she is! Reading her thoughts on things, I realized I have absolutely nothing to worry about concerning her. She is going to be just fine in this life! And happy too. She knows so well how to prioritize and focus on what is truly important! She is very insightful into others AND herself. God, can you not just hear how proud I am of her? How did Jug and I produce such a beautiful person? She is such a gift! Such a blessing in my life!

She had everything planned but did not overplan it either. She was just anxious enough to have given it plenty of forethought but then was relaxed about certain things. She’d already done a good bit of the shopping after she’d decided what food to have. And we started preparing the food early Friday morning. The ONLY glitch was getting all the things baked that had to be baked and not having some things come out so early that it would not be fresh at 6:00—as her oven would only hold so much. She probably should have had her friends pitch in more. But both Ali and Amanda were sick yesterday and Ali had a paper or project of some sort due. I think Olivia may have a little trouble asking for help. But we got it done. Jug and Olivia went on over to the gallery to set up what was ready while I stayed behind and finished the baking and did my hair and make up and brought the rest over. We got it done and on time.

It was so thrilling and heart-warming to have so many come such a long way and just because of their admiration for Olivia!!!!!! Lisa, Pug, Shasta, Marisa, Mel, John, Sandy, Tony, Jim, Michelle, Joan, Grant, Marina, Don and Pam Curley, Nathan, Suzy, Carol —can you believe it? All came all that way just for her! It really and truly swelled my heart! Just thinking about it makes me want to cry! We are so blessed. So very truly blessed!

I don’t know if I’m just biased and prejudiced or what but I think her work is absolutely fabulous!! And I don’t think it just my bias. We heard so many say how very impressed they were! The pieces are large and my God, seeing them across the large gallery was just so impressive and just breath-taking! And close up you’re not disappointed either! Such emotion in each piece. And her artist statement—got to get her to send me a copy of it. How very well she expressed herself! How caring she is about people and how different and wonderful we each are. One of her psychology professors commented to me initially about the great food and I said how Olivia and I had prepared it all and he said, are you her mother? And I affirmed I was and then he commented on how very glad he was that he’d come because he had no idea how very talented she was and how in touch (or something to that effect) she was into human psychology and I said, and don’t you see how right on her choice in her career has been? He then asked me what her choice was and I said, art therapy and he had an ah-hah! moment!! Oh, yes, he says! I’m sure she’ll be hearing comments from her teachers and peers for weeks to come! And how good this will be for her confidence! She has worked so very, very, hard and the pay-off will be great! She’ll swell with confidence and know now she is a GREAT artist!!!!!!!!!! I’m so happy for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Opening Part Seven

Olivia, Grant and Marina

Ain't they cute?

Olivia and pal Aly

And Kristin!

When I spoke to Olivia yesterday (Saturday, day after show) she was experiencing such great relief to have this behind her. She had quite a journey getting here--lots of hard work and it's such a huge accomplishment! She said, though, that she couldn't shake the feeling that she was supposed to be doing something! For so very long she just couldn't quite relax for always feeling she was supoosed to be working!! Friends, Kristin, Aly, Amanda and others can attest to the fact that they seldom got time with her that she did not have some part of the project in her lap. They'd watch Buffy or X-Files while Olivia also worked!! Such dedication!

I'm so proud!

The Opening Part Six

YES!! A great pic of my great friends Michelle and Joan!!!

Hmmmm.....dagnabit--think Jug took this one!

It's tangible the bond between these two!!

Can you not see the pride beaming from this daddy?

Jug, Kim, Olivia and Grant

Loving sibs--yeah, they really do!

The Opening Part Five

Sandy Hayes from Boone and Joan McCord from Wilkesboro.

Lisa and Mel

Aunt Pug

From left: Pug, Kim, Livvie, Michelle, and Joan.

The Opening Part Four

Aunt Suzy (Kerley), Aunt Mel (Hudson) and cousin Lisa Pardee. They all traveled close to two hours to come and support our Livvie!

The Curley's cut up with Aly, Kristin and Olivia's schoolmates.

From left: Don Curley, Krystal, Kristin and Amanda (of Amanda's wall).

Left is college pal of Livvie's, Ali Rahimzadeh and on the right is friend from high school, Nathan Hanks who came from Boone.

From left: Mel Hudson, Lisa Pardee, Sandy Hayes (came from Boone), Joan McCord and Michelle Gann. Thank you so much for coming so far guys!!

The Opening Part Three

Aly Curley with her parents Don and Pam posing in front of "Aly's Wall".

Michelle Gann and Joan McCord with Grant Shumate and Marina Oshel. Joan and Michelle are enjoying the tasty treats Olivia and Kim had prepared for the show. We had quite the spread!! Please visit Michelle's store, The Vintage Home, Main Street, Wilkesboro. I'm still intimately involved in it and love to see it thrive! Also check out her blog of the store:

http://www.the-vintage-home.blogspot.com/

Grant and Marina.

Michelle and Joan.

Grant (Grizzle) and Marina (Mea-ner)

The Opening Part Two

Olivia with college friend, Ali Rahimzadeh.

Above: Olivia greets Joan McCord from Wilkesboro.

Joan and Michelle Gann with Olivia.

Suzy and Carol with Olivia's younger brother Grant and girlfriend Marina Oshel.

Aunt Pug (Welborn) also from the Wilkesboros.

The Opening Part One

Olivia greets her aunt Suzy and Carol Reid. Carol is Alan's (Suzy's oldest son) mother-in-law. They came all the way from Mooresville to support Livvie!