| Happy Faces | | Date Created: Aug 06, 2007, 04:39 PM |
|
This is a picture of Happy John AKA NASCAR driver Mark Martin at the Fourth of July Parade. It took John about two hours to warm up to the crowd and smile or talk to anyone, but at least without the distractions of having to be a nice person he could focus on his driving...
We got back yesterday afternoon from our mountain vacation without the boys. It was wonderful. We stayed in a cabin near Lake Lure, North Carolina, that was truly closer to out in the middle of nowhere. It was awesome. No TV, no phones, no cell phone service. The cabin was under a huge canopy of trees, so it was cool enough in its shady spot for us to keep the windows open during the day. The cabin had an antique rope bed with a pillowy mattress and huge pillows on it up against the screened windows. This was Will's and my favorite perch. Both of us read like crazy people--short stories, novels, old magazines, new magazines, Will read a book about D-Day. It was incredible. We also slept late, drank coffee, drank beer, drank wine, drank scotch. We cooked on the grill, sat in the hot tub (cheesy, I know, but don't knock it till you try it--at least out in woods, at night, watching lightning bugs and drinking wine), listened to the bugs, owls, and bullfrogs, and drove a while on the country roads. Friday morning we hiked the trails on Chimney Rock. That was fun and also a good workout. Unfortunately, we rested on those cardio laurels and really didn't do much exercise the rest of the time other than getting up from the rope bed to change the music selection on the satellite radio. It was all sort of like playing house. Chopping an onion for the supper recipe didn't seem like such a chore when I literally had all the time in the world to do it and no one running through the kitchen waving a pirate sword. Oh, in odd news, we woke up Saturday morning to an earthquake that we found out later was a 2.8 on the Richter Scale. At 6 in the morning, I awoke in my semi-sleep in a big log bed on top of a juggling mountain and all I could think of was, Good Lord! Charleston's had another earthquake (the last one being 1886, I think) and all of our friends and family are dead and we're the only ones alive because we went on vacation! Ah, you can escape the kids and the dishes and the piles of laundry, but you can't escape the delusional anxieties or the ever-present guilt. Anyway, all around it was a great trip. I think the boys were pretty good while we were gone. Will and I were prepared for there to be some whining and fussing when we picked them up from my mom because they usually don't handle transitions well and then we end up feeling like crap because they didn't miss us and don't want us to be back. But I guess they are growing up! George did a cry a little--I can't remember why--and John was glad to see us but didn't want to leave my mom's and wanted us all to stay there, but overall, it was so much better than it has been at times. They really were happy to see us, I think. They gave us big hugs and smiles and told us about their weekend. And we weren't in the car two minutes before "it " all started.
What are we going to do when we get home?
Then what?
What's for supper?
Did you see my snake?
Connor bought us a snake.
Where is my snake?
Where is my snake?
Are we going to ours house?
Our house?
Where is our house?
Is this the way to our house?
What street are we on?
Mama!
Mama!
Mama!
ma-MA!
But at least we could laugh about it. I was a little bummed this morning because even after the wonderful luxury of a huge break, I felt sort of pouty about the day ahead of us. No big plans, lots of dirty laundry, hot weather. Also, I'm really sick of breakfast. And I don't even have to fix it! Will does. But I'm sick of seeing, smelling, and cleaning up the same stuff over and over again and I can never figure out anything good to eat myself. This morning it was a granola bar. Will does an awesome job making breakfast every single morning, but for some reason the collection of blueberries, Mighty Bites cereal, and cheese toast was like a big ugly face sticking its tongue out at me: Vacation time is over! Back to cleaning the crumbs and wiping the jelly!
But my day got a lot better. I took the boys to the gym with me. I haven't taken them to the childcare at the gym in a few years, because it was expensive and the boys didn't really like it. But they've reduced the price, so this morning the guys and I had a big-boy talk about it. I told them, there's a playroom at the gym with toys and cartoons and other kids. You'll go in there, and I'll be in the room next door in my exercise class. Can you handle it? George and James said yes with no hesitation. I purposely called it a "playroom" because I knew George is a sucker for anything with the word "play" or "toys" in it. James was on board because he loves to "exercise" himself and loves the idea that he's big enough to go to the gym. Of couse Happy John was the wrench in the plan. "Will there be grown-ups there?" "Yes." "Will you be there?" "No, I'll be in the room next door." "Will it be just for a short time?" "Yes. Can you handle it?" "Yes...I can handle it." Once we got there, George and James ran in, but John had to be enticed with a big truck. He leaned over to get a better look at the truck and I darted out. When I went to pick them up an hour and fifteen minutes later, they didn't want to leave. Yes!!! Suddenly out of nowhere I can go to the gym pretty much whenever I want to!
The boys are waking up from nap (those of them who actually slept), so I better run. I'm hoping I have plenty of vacation memory fumes to get me by until school starts..... |
|
|
