Or... The Day the Mommy Died...
With fear and trepidation, I faced the fact that Lee did indeed have to go back to work at some point. He will be able to work 1/2 days through July, Praise Be to God! Today was the first of his half days.
Did you ever notice that your children will wake up at 6:32 EVERY DAY for days and days, until you need them to get up at 6:32. And then you'll have to wake them up at 7:30 to leave by 8? And when you can sleep in maybe, they will ALWAYS get up at 6:32?
Today was a 6:32 day. Because we needed to leave by 8, Sunday was a "oh no, how do you wake up sleeping children without them needing therapy because you wouldn't let them sleep, and oh my goodness, LET SLEEPING GRUMPY DOGS LIE." And also Monday, because we needed to leave by 8 for the Dr., was a "Ok, everybody up... it's 7:30... pee and get dressed... breakfast in the car" day.
Anyway, back to Lee deserting me, I mean going back to work... the children were up and dressed by 6:35. We had breakfast together and we all saw Daddy off to work. The kids kept checking "Ok, Daddy home lunch?" Yes. "Daddy? Daddy home lunch?" Yes. "Mommy? Daddy home lunch?" Yes, yes and yes.
We did our usual morning routine, which is nothing special, believe me. Even got in a little school. I mean like 20 minutes. We do the Today is... Tomorrow is... Yesterday was... and a little reading and printing.
The kids wanted to go to the M playground, but I had forgotten that summer school was in session until we got there, so we went to the L playground by church. Wouldn't you know it? They were laying down fresh mulch. Strike 2. So we went to our least favorite park downtown. Teenagers hang out under the pavilion there... smoking and swearing. The kids didn't really want to play, but I thought, "Well, as long as we're here, *I* may as well get some exercise." Because goodness knows that Mommy could use a little workout. I started kind of half heartedly jogging on top of the playground equipment. There were 2 landings with 2 different kinds of swinging/swaying bridges between... it made a nice little track. Anyway, I started doing that, and H thought I was chasing him... so he started running the track too. Then Y joined in. Well, after about 6 laps, my heart was beating pretty fast (you know, because I'm in SUCH excellent shape), and it was SO muggy that I was already sweating profusely. The kids kept wanting me to "chase" them, so we did that for about 20 minutes. I tried to indicate that they could chase each other. No go. By then it was close to 11, so I took the "scenic route" home to make sure it would be after 11 when we pulled in. We played a couple of rounds of Concentration, and then Lee was on his way home.
No one died. Nothing exploded. Lee asked "Do you still like them?" and I was able to answer truthfully that "Yes, I do." They were glad to see Lee, and no fingers were pointed at me, so I must have done OK. :)
5 comments:
Praying for a wonderful day two!
Great work Chris! Sounds like things went well for you! And hey, maybe they will sleep good after all that running!
Blessings, Kim (YG)
If you chase them more often, they may sleep till 6:40 or even 6:45!!!
That's fabulous Chris! I'm so glad your first half day sans Papa Lee went well. We should find a park half way between, and the five of us could run each other round. I'm always on the equipment with Alannah anyway (unless Auntie comes along and I get a little break). ;)
Much love,
Nicola :)
Chris-
I was telling a friend, who is a U46 first grade teacher, about the tooth on the roof incident. She said that in the U46 first grade Making Meaning program (a part of the U46 reading program that was adopted after I left) there is a book about tooth customs, and this African custom was in the book. If you happen to have contacts with any first grade teachers, maybe they can get their hands on this book for you--it may explain a few things! Sorry, she can't remember the title of it. The book was a read-aloud; evidently this part of the reading program consists of read-alouds and then specific questioning to ensure comprehension. Even though it is a children's book, it may be above the language level of your kids at this point, but you may find it useful!
Lynne B.
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