I Got Gyped: Use Your Words

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.
I'm using: family ~ stretch ~ fun ~ warmth ~ break ~ school
They were submitted by Diane of On the Border.

                          
I got gyped this summer. School break did not go as it should. I had this all worked out, planned the time and counted down the days like I always do. And this one was going to be epic, almost 15 weeks off from school. I'd have my youngest home for so long I'd get sick of having him here.

Three years ago for a Secret Subject Swap, I published a piece called Holding On While Letting Go. It was written when my oldest, College Boy was a freshman in college and my youngest, PurDude was a senior in high school. It was an emotional time for me, filled with pride but also with melancholy. My entire family dynamic was about to change forever. Our time of living together was about to become a school-holidays-only occurrence.

Somehow we survived it. Over the past 3 years we settled into an existence of counting down the days until the next school break. Spring break we met up at the beach for a week of fun in the sun. Intersession, between semesters, became one of my favorite times as he was off not just for a week but for 3 weeks. But I lived for summer break. A good long stretch of family time, somewhere around 12 weeks of watching him sleep, baking all of his peanut butter and chocolate favorites, and hearing the garage door go up at 2am. Ahhh, pure joy.

Peanut Butter Cookie Blondies

This year, as I looked forward to the warmth of this summer, I knew that I would tap into those same feelings I'd written about years ago. Holding on while letting go is moving on to a whole new level. You see, this is it, the summer before his senior year, my last of having him home for this long lovely stretch. More than likely next summer he will be moving to wherever his first job takes him. This summer he actually will be off for 14 weeks and I will enjoy every minute of them. Even if I do spend a preponderance of the time waving as he goes off to work or a concert or just a night out with his friends. 

Gyped. Shafted, cheated, tricked, double crossed, screwed. Behind my back (well, we discussed it but still) he had gone to an on-campus job fair and applied for an internship with Honeywell. And he got it, dammit. I'm proud, honestly I am. But school is 10 hours away and Ohio is 5 hours even further. He would be home for 10 days. Period. My last summer with him has been reduced to Ten. Stinking. Days. 

They went by in a second.

And during that fleeting second that I had him here, we worked on his resume.

Holding on, while letting go. 

Again.

Here are links to all the other Use Your Words posts:

Spatulas on Parade
The Blogging 911 
On the Border
 The Bergham Chronicles
Simply Shannon 
Southern Belle Charm
Part-time Working Hockey Mom
The Global Dig 
Climaxed

Peanut Butter Cookie Blondies

                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 stick margarine
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
6 fudge covered peanut butter filled cookies
4 eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour

1/3 cup Butterfingers baking chips

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 baking dish.
*Place butter, margarine and white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Heat at 70% for one minute. Stir. Continue to heat and stir at 20 second intervals until white chocolate chips are completely melted.
*Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla for one minute. Whisk in the salt and flour.
*Cut cookies into quarters. Set aside.
*Slowly, while whisking, add the white chocolate mixture to the egg mixture. 
*Spread half of the batter into the prepared baking dish. Evenly space the cookie pieces onto the batter in the dish. Press down slightly. Spread evenly with the rest of the batter. Sprinkle top with Butterfingers baking chips.
*Bake for about 30 minutes or until completely set and starting to brown around the edges.

*Cool, then slice.