—1—
Back-to-school shopping is easier now than it used to be. For one thing, the older three are adults now so I only have three school supply lists left to juggle.
Also, the 14-year-old buys all her clothes on Depop on her own, all I have to do is sign off on the purchase and tell her to put it on my card.
That said, I do have two school supply lists staring up at me from the computer desk that I need to go through this weekend with the boys.
—2—
This week we didn't get much done, other than the unscheduled cleanup of a small tree that came down in our yard for no reason. But we did stay really busy with fun stuff.
On Tuesday we met up with a friend of my 10-year-old. It was their first playdate out of school and my first time meeting this friend and his family. They invited us to their neighborhood's private beach, and they were the most calm and gentle people. They're the kind of people I meet and think (1) I love being around them, and (2) I hope they aren't absolutely horrified being around us.
Their teenager came down to the beach for a little bit and had a full-on conversation with us, including full sentences and eye contact and everything. I think he may have been a cyborg.
—3—
On Wednesday I took the kids to a roller rink. We used to go a lot when my oldest was young, but fell out of the habit and the younger kids claimed that they'd never even gone before.
One of the kids was ready to go about an hour before everyone else, but everyone else had fun. I used to rollerblade in college but haven't done it in about 10 years. It's kind of like riding a bike, but also kind of not. So I looked mostly competent with a few almost-falls when I lost my balance for no reason.
Also, they played a trap remix of the Barney theme song and I enjoyed it both ironically and unironically.
—4—
On Thursday we went swimming at this beautiful clear water lake that I just love, it's my favorite place and we absolutely have to go there at least once a summer.
It was such a humid day, just perfect for the beach. Stepping out of the car, the 22-year-old said, "This feels like being in the water... with none of the benefits of actually being in the water."
We discovered a sort of sandbar across the beach that we didn't know was there, probably because the other times we've been there, we didn't see people walking around on it and looking like Jesus performing a miracle from our point of view on the other shore.
—5—
On Friday, the whole family went hiking at a state park that I'd found at the beginning of the summer when making a list of things to do. It wasn't the kind of day you'd think would be great for a hike: it was 85 degrees and a million percent humidity. But Phillip had taken the day off work, we'd reserved a park pass ahead of time, and we were going no matter what.
Most of the 5-mile hike was in the shade, and there were wild blueberries (which I think might be illegal to eat in a state park, but I'm not sure about that), and truthfully, all of the kids did really well. I heard very little complaining, even though two of them had already done intense physical workouts (cross-country practice and gymnastics practice) earlier that morning.
Afterward, we went swimming at the beach area. That's where I saw this sign prohibiting portable speakers "or other noise producing devices" that would bother other people. Which I read as my kids raced whooping and screaming into the water.
 |
| Sign that may or may not ban my children from the lake, emphasis mine. |
—6—
When no one can agree on what to watch for family movie night, the rule is that Mom and Dad get to introduce them to one of our favorite 90's movies.
This week we watched Sister Act, and I have to say that it held up. You never know if you're going to put it on and spend half the time cringing and trying to communicate the following to your spouse with your eyes:
- I didn't remember that being in there
- I hope that part goes over the kids' heads
- This aged terribly and is incredibly _____ist
- Wow, I really did not remember that being in there
But none of that for Sister Act. Everyone enjoyed it, and Phillip and I didn't have to hold a debriefing about it afterwards, either.
—7—
Boys are funny. I remember thinking something was wrong with my first son when he was a preschooler, because I kept comparing him to his two older sisters. When they get excited, girls will run around and scream, but boys will straight-up punch a hole in the wall. They just have too much energy to be contained by their bodies, and honestly I'm not sure when that ends.
Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch with my 18-year-old son making a plan for college move-in. I asked him to go check something upstairs, so he bolted up, leapt over the living room couch with a deafening thud, and thundered up the steps three at a time. There are no words.
1 comment:
I remember watching the 3 oldest when the 18 yr old was maybe 2. They were playing with the couch cushions and sliding off the couch on them. And then he launched himself up and over the cushions and face planted on the floor. Not much has changed!
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